Part 15: The Test
Thomas’s resentment finally boiled over during the Harrington Capital annual charity gala — the same event where Maya had first appeared two years earlier.
This year, Edward had asked Maya to be the official photographer. It was a public acknowledgment, and Thomas saw it as a direct threat to his position.
During the event, Thomas approached Maya while she was changing lenses near the stage.
Thomas
“You know this doesn’t make you one of us, right? No matter how many photos you take or how many times Father introduces you, you’ll always be the girl who showed up with a photograph and a sob story.”
Maya lowered her camera slowly.
Maya
“I never asked to be one of you.”
Thomas stepped closer.
Thomas
“Then why are you here? Why are you smiling for the cameras and letting him parade you around like some redemption project?”
Maya met his gaze without flinching.
Maya
“Because my mother asked me to find him. Not because I wanted his money or his name. And because, despite everything, he’s been trying. Which is more than I can say for you right now.”
Thomas’s jaw tightened.
Before he could respond, Edward appeared beside them.
Edward
“Thomas. Walk with me.”
Thomas looked like he wanted to argue, but something in his father’s expression made him follow.
Later that night, Edward called Maya.
Edward
“I’m sorry about Thomas. He’s struggling with this more than I realized.”
Maya was quiet for a moment.
Maya
“He’s not wrong to be angry. I showed up and changed the rules of a family he’s been part of his whole life. That would be hard for anyone.”
Edward
“That doesn’t give him the right to speak to you that way.”
Maya
“No. But it gives me the right to decide whether I want to keep showing up anyway.”
She paused.
Maya
“I’m not going anywhere, Edward. But I also won’t let anyone treat me like I don’t belong. Not even your son.”
May you like
Edward was quiet for a long time.
Edward
“You really are your mother’s daughter.”
