chapter 15: marius's anger

~marius~

       I've been trying to get hold of my father, but he hasn't been answering his phone. I don't know if he's ignoring me because I told him he can't see Fern and Harlow anymore or because he truly is the person who called CPS on us.

       Either way, I know if I want to get a hold of him, I won't be able to use my personal cell phone, so the moment I get to my office the next time I'm working, I use my business phone. It works, considering my dad answers almost right away. "Hello, this is is Russ Lannister speaking? Whom, may I ask, is calling?"

       "Your son," I say. "You know, the one you decided to call CPS on?"

       I'm really hoping that I'm wrong. That my own father didn't call CPS on my despite knowing I would never do anything to put my own daughters in harm's way. He has seen the way Fawn and I raise them. He knows this.

       And yet, he says, "They deserve to see their grandfather."

       He didn't deny it. If anything, he confirms the reasoning why he decided to call CPS. All because I told him he's not allowed to see Fern and Harlow anymore. "Well, congrats, Dad. You just added another reason to the list of why I don't want you anywhere near them. First, you invalidate their fathers' relationship and now, you made it out that we're abusive and neglectful? Fern is going through a lot right now. The last thing she needs is a stranger coming to her home."

       "I have the right to see them," Dad says. 

       "Not anymore, you don't," I say. "You know, I was second-guessing my decision. I was going to think it over a few days and possibly let you see them again if you could prove that you wouldn't continue to be intolerant. But not anymore. I made my decision and I'm not changing it any time soon."

       "Marius--"

       "No, Dad, I'm done listening to you. If you ever decide to change, which I don't see happening, then you know where I am. But until then, stay away from my family." I hang up the phone, not wanting to hear anymore of my dad's bullshit.

       I'm done with him. I gave him four years to at least tolerate my and Fawn's relationship, but nothing good came out of it. If he wants to ever see his granddaughters again, he has to work like hell towards it.

       Though I doubt that's going to happen any time soon.

       I already have enough to deal with because of the lawsuit. The last thing I need is my dad being a jackass.

       I don't even think I can be at work today with everything that's on my mind, but I know I should at least try to be here. At the very least, I get everything urgent done before deciding that my mind can't take anymore of forcing myself to work.

       One of the many reasons why I wanted to run my own company was so I could set my own hours. If I wanted to be at home for the day, I could, so that's exactly what I do. I tell Clark I'll be working from home for the rest of the day so if he needs anything, he could just call me from home.

       When I get home, I walk inside to an empty house, but I soon hear some noise coming from the basement. I walk down there to see the twins playing with the playhouse Fawn built, and Mary-Anne is watching them since Fawn is at work today and Mary-Anne is our designated babysitter.

       Mary-Anne loves babysitting the twins. Besides, we pay her a bit more than the average babysitting rate since she doesn't babysit everyday and it's how she makes her living. She won't be able to have a steady job and babysit, so we want to make sure she's able live off her babysitting wages.

       To get her attention, I quickly flash the basement lights on and off once. Mary-Anne looks over and once she sees me, she signs, You're home early.

       "Yeah, I couldn't concentrate so I wanted to get out of my office," I say as I sign. "Do you still need money for the day? You can continue to watch them if you want until Fawn gets home. I can just do some work around the house." I would hate to let Mary-Anne skip on a day of pay just because I decided to come home early. Like I said, her salary is solely babysitting, so the more we don't need her, the less she gets.

       "Yeah, okay."

       "Okay. Let me know if you need anything."

       The twins must have been very engrossed in their playing because they didn't even notice I came home despite me talking. As much as I would love to see them, I decide to just leave them alone since Mary-Anne is still going to be babysitting them.

       Even though Fawn and I constantly make sure the house is tidy, I do some extra tidying up today since I don't have much to do. There still isn't much to do except for clean up the twins' toys, but I decide not to since they're probably going to use them again. That's why Fawn and I always clean up after the twins before we go to bed.

       Maisy seems to be a bit restless, so I decide to take her for a walk around the town. I tell Mary-Anne so she doesn't worry about Maisy suddenly being outside of the house.

       Maisy absolutely loves the port, so I decide to take her on a walk there. Fawn is actually working there today, and Maisy spots him almost immediately. She wags her tail excitedly, but doesn't try to run to him. I do take her to him though, and she immediately jumps up on him.

       Fawn is a bit surprised to see her, but gives her all the love and affection. "What are you two doing here?" he asks. "I thought you had work today."

       "I did, but I couldn't concentrate," I say. "I got a hold of my dad. Turns out, he truly was the one who called CPS."

       "You're kidding," Fawn says.

       "I wish I was. He said it was because Fern and Harlow deserve to see their grandfather. So I told him to stay away from my family. I'm not even going to try reaching out to him. I'm done with him."

       "I don't blame you," Fawn says. "Hey, I know something that will take your mind off of everything. The annual beach festival is going to be on the weekend. Booths, food, games. A time to relax and just spend time with our family."

       I smile. "Yeah, that's definitely something we need."

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i can't write it because i only write in fawn and marius's pov but robbie is currently annoying his and marius's father behind the scenes saying stuff like "i'm straight but i will go elope with a man the moment i take over the company" "what would you say if i just married a man" "hey dad i'm marrying a man." robbie is straight but will 100% legally marry a man just for the hell of it lol.