Unsparing elders

I never thought the day would come when my parents met their match. The room was filled with arguments and curse words (mostly from Brook), but for the first time, I didn't feel small. I could feel my father staring holes into my face, but it didn’t shake me.

"Don’t look at him like that," Brook snapped, catching my dad's gaze. His voice was sharp, protective.

"I don’t understand," Vivian said, venom laced in her words. "I thought Raymond was your second chance. A chance to do better. And yet, you still messed it up. He could have died, and you—" she scoffed, shaking her head. "You have the audacity to call yourself parents?"

"Don’t talk to your father like that!" my mother defended him.

Brook’s rage snapped like a whip. "WHEN HAS THIS MAN EVER BEEN A FATHER TO US?!" His voice echoed in the room. "We were children. You gave us away before we even had a chance. He was cruel—but you?" His voice cracked, but his anger never wavered. "You let it happen."

He wasn’t done. "You still defend this sorry excuse of a man. A man who preaches about being strong, but couldn’t even lead by example. He had an affair, and you still stayed. Fine. That was your choice. But what I don’t understand—what I can’t stomach—is why you treat his words like law. Even when they hurt us."

My mother had that look—the one she always had when she knew she was wrong but refused to admit it.

My father, ever the narcissist, took the offense. "You ungrateful brats," he sneered, masking his anger behind a fake wounded tone. "Do you have any idea how much I invested in you? And you let me down."

Brook laughed—cold and humorless. "No, you let us down. But it doesn’t even matter anymore. It’s not about me or Vivian. We don’t need your validation. We never did. But Raymond?" He turned to me. "The one kid who actually put you on a pedestal? The one who wasted his life trying to please you?"

It was strange, hearing them call me a kid when I was pushing fifty. But for once, I didn’t feel belittled. I felt… protected.

My father’s voice cut through the air. "So, are you just going to sit there and let this fool disrespect your father?" His tone was sharp, demanding. Now, suddenly, I was the son he needed—only because things weren’t going his way.

I met his eyes. "Why should I?" My voice was calm—eerily so. "Dad, I’m almost fifty, and I never got to be myself. I lost my wife trying to fit into the perfect little box you made for me. You never wanted a son—you wanted a mindless puppet."

I took a breath. But I wasn’t done. "I neglected my own son just to chase your approval. And for what? You never even asked how I felt after my divorce. You just rushed me into finding a ‘perfect wife’—an obedient daughter-in-law to keep up your precious image. And when I failed to live up to your expectations, you wanna replace me like I was nothing." I let my words sink in. "Now that you’re cornered, you think you can turn to me for support?" I let out a bitter chuckle. "That’s ironic, Mr. Stan."

Silence.

My father—once an untouchable figure in my life—was suddenly so small.

"RAY, I AM YOUR FATHER!" he shouted, desperate now. "YOU BECAME A SUCCESSFUL ELITE BECAUSE OF ME!"

Vivian laughed, slow and cruel. "Hate to break it to you, but Brook and I turned out just fine without you." She tilted her head. "And if you had kept us? We’d probably be just as miserable as Raymond was."

Brook smirked. "So, yeah. Thanks for abandoning us. Best thing you ever did."

My father and mother sat there—speechless. For once, they had nothing to say.

Brook turned to me, his expression softer. "Raymond, are you coming with us?"

I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. And then, finally, I nodded. "Yeah. I am."

I turned my back on them—and I didn’t look back.

For the first time in my life, I was free.