Kael

Kael's POV 

I rushed to my father's house as soon as I dropped the call. I didn't rush because I was scared of him. I rushed because I was scared for my mother. I know how ferocious he is whenever he is angry and I can't risk my mother being alone with him. Moreover, using my mother as leverage against me was his favorite thing to do. 

As soon as I entered the house, the tension was there awaiting me. At that moment, I knew I was not going to hear the end of it. I stood, my hands in my pockets as I awaited him.

“See who decided to show up on time,” the voice I hated so much said. 

I turned to see the face of the worst person I know. My father had entered without a sound, as he always did. Karl Palmer was a master of presence. He was never loud unless it was to destroy someone. 

He wore a black suit, no tie, every button precisely in place. His graying hair was slicked back, and he carried himself like a man who owned everything in the room including the people inside it.

“Giving you the respect you always craved,” I mumbled with enough sarcasm for him to notice. 

“Sit, Kael,” he ordered. 

I wanted to say no but I looked at my mother who stood nervously near the doorway. The dreadful look on her face told me to obey. She just knows how to control me with those eyes of hers. 

I sank into the chair across from him, but I kept my back straight. Any sign of weakness would be used against me in this impending conflict. 

Just like always, the man in power didn't sit. Instead, he paced.

“An extra year,” he muttered, more to himself than to me. “Do you even understand what you’ve done?”

I didn’t answer because he wasn’t asking me a question, he was warming up.

“After everything I’ve invested. After every connection I’ve leveraged to get your arrogant ass into the best school in the state, you have the nerve…” he stopped pacing and pointed a finger at me “...to waste my time, my money, and my name by getting left behind like some common dropout?”

“It's just a few months,” I said.

“Are you out of your mind? Why did you get extra months when you colleagues graduated?”

“Maybe if you read the school prospectus, you will understand what it meant…” I started but he slammed his palm on the wall. 

“Karl, please,” my mother whispered. “Just calm down and…”

“Shut up, Monica. Shut the hell up and don't interfere when I'm talking to my son.” The words cracked me like a whip. My mother flinched, lowering her gaze to the floor. I looked at her for a beat too long and he noticed.

“You had two years to call him to order as the director of his school but you refused. You just sat there and watched him ruin his life,” he continued because he hates it when I look at her and not him.

“This is not about her,” I interrupted firmly.

I knew he was going to use my mother's position as the college director to hold her responsible for my mistakes but I don't plan on letting him. Not today, not never. 

“Oh, then what is it about? ” he snapped. “What was she doing while you were planning to become a college dropout? She was shielding you and your bullshit.”

My jaw clenched. I wanted to speak, to defend her, even if I don't defend myself. But I know what my father is like. I knew what he was going to do to my mother when I left. Karl Palmer wasn't the type to listen. He is only good at delivering verdicts.

“I will find a solution, just give me a few months,” I said as calmly as I could.

He scoffed. “You think the world will wait for you, Kael? You think because you’ve got my name, my money, you can be invincible and all? You can't do anything without me. And right now, you’re the weakest link in this entire family.”

I swallowed the anger rising in my throat. I’d spent most of my life learning to breathe through it. Many years of nodding through monologues like this one, holding back every word that might give him a reason to hurt my mother. 

But this time, something was different. He wasn't just angry. Underneath the fury, there was fear even if it was little , I could see it. He feared what people would say. What shareholders would think. What headlines would read if Karl Palmer’s son flunks out of college.

“This is what happens when you spend time with losers instead of chasing achievements,” he said, sneering. 

“Give me four months, I will bring you the degree,” I said before I could stop myself.

“What?”

I looked up. “I will find a way without your money, your help or your name.”

“And you think you can do it? You think you can do anything without me and the post I gave your mother?”

“I can,” I said confidently. 

“You were supposed to graduate this year. You were supposed to take over the Palmer Innovation Grant. Instead, I have to explain to the board why my son is still living like a spoiled frat boy.”

“Just give me four fucking months and I will be done. All you have to do is to stay put and don't get involved.” 

“This is my house!” he bellowed, slamming his hand on the table so hard I thought it would shatter. “And as long as you live under my roof, enjoy my money, and carry my name, you’ll talk to me with respect. No more excuses and no more fooling around ”

“I don't live under your roof, man” I said quietly.

He smiled. It wasn’t the kind type. “No Kael, you don't live under my roof but my money pays for your apartment.”

“You want a son but you don't want me to do things my way. You just want me to be your puppet.”

“No, Kael. I want a legacy. But if you insist on being an embarrassment, I’ll build that legacy through the hard way.”

He turned his back to me like I was already dismissed. My mother still hadn’t moved from the doorway but I could tell that she was scared for me. 

“All you care about is your damn name and nothing more. You don't even care about the people sharing the same name with you,” I spat, standing on my feet. 

“You have four months to take care of your shit,” he said without turning around. “If you don't, I will save our family name using my way. And you won't like it, Kael.”