Cindy’s brows furrowed, but she said nonetheless, “Hey, hold off the cigarettes for a bit; we’re still
outside.”
There was no telling if anyone was lurking around waiting to snap pictures. While pictures of Ian
smoking wouldn’t be considered scandalous, his reputation was still a long way from being mended,
and she would rather he lie low for a while.
Ian paused and turned to give Cindy a thoughtful look, then obediently kept the pack of cigarettes
away. He shoved his hands into his pockets, looking as though he had no intention of getting into the
car.
Cindy thought hard for a moment, then pointed out, “All that pent-up resentment can’t be good for you.
Come on, let it all out. I’m all ears.”
He sputtered. “I’m far from resentful. Things have always been this way with my father, and I just can’t
help but see the funny side of it. He can’t even hope to make up for all the things he did, and now he
throws in a couple of kind words in the sorriest form of repentance. As far as I’m concerned, his
apology is but a hastily-manufactured afterthought, and it’s not nearly enough.”
Indeed, it was not enough. Others might not know of the hardship Ian’s mother had gone through, but
Cindy had seen with her own eyes how Bryce had single-handedly ruined Aurora’s life.
Whatever Bryce had said back in the hospital room was paper-thin and meant nothing, but Cindy
supposed that someone like him could never understand his own flaws and mistakes, regardless of the
reflections he had done.
He might acknowledge his mistakes, but only so he could cite the whole ‘let bygones be bygones’
rhetoric and sweep his dark past under the rug.
There was no way for Cindy to show any amount of respect for a man like Bryce, even if he was Ian’s
father.
With a weary sigh, she said, “Well, we can’t do anything about it now. Maybe this is the kind of person
he’s always been, and at his age, there’s no sandpapering the rough edges of his character, not while
he has spent his whole life forming them. I highly doubt anyone else could make him change for the
better.”
For some reason, she was reminded of her own father. Her relationship with her father had been
complicated from the very start, and his death did little to change it.
Anthony had no great accomplishments under his belt during his lifetime, and Hazel had always
bossed him around the house, so he never did get a say in family matters.
That being said, he had been kind to Cindy, but he turned a blind eye whenever Hazel upheld
patriarchal values instead of allowing Cindy to do whatever she wanted.
There had been countless moments where Cindy protested against her father’s timid demeanor in the
household. She had hoped that he would change and start to take up the responsibilities of a father,
one who stood up for his children and asserted rightful authority.
However, all her efforts proved futile, for Anthony had always acceded to Hazel’s demands and
indulged in her ridiculous values.
Cindy would like to think that a person’s character was built over the years and would settle as soon as
middle age rolled around. When that happened, there was nothing that could be said or done to
change a person.
Meanwhile, Ian stood outside in the cool breeze and waited for the frustration in him to relent before he
got into the car. He didn’t feel like going home because that would mean throwing himself under the
bus and allowing Aurora the chance to interrogate him, and he was not in the mood to talk about
anything Bryce-related.
As such, he drove the car and sped toward Logan’s clubhouse. Along the way, he gave Logan a call,
only to learn that the latter happened to be at the clubhouse.
Upon hearing that Ian was coming over, Logan brightened up on the other line. “Come on over then. I’ll
be waiting here for you.”
When the call ended, Cindy asked quietly, “Aren’t you going to give your mom a call?”
Aurora was likely waiting up for them, and while she had the tendency to appear flippant, the topic of
Bryce could still rile her up. Cindy had a feeling that Aurora would want to hear about how Bryce was
doing.
Ian, however, disagreed. Several beats later, he explained, “If I call her now, she’d only ask me
questions that I can’t answer.”
Aside from the repentant speech that Bryce had given earlier, Ian couldn’t very well relay the rest of
their hospital exchange to Aurora. Moreover, he couldn’t be sure if Bryce had truly been repentant or if
it was mere pretense.
Having thought of all this, Ian dreaded telling Aurora about the conversation at the hospital; nothing
good could possibly come of it.
Next to him, Cindy hummed in response after hearing his explanation. “Funnily enough, I was also
thinking about how we should break it down to your mom if she were to ask.” She, too, had been
rendered speechless when Bryce tried to blame the separation on Aurora.
Ian sighed tiredly and said nothing more, merely staring straight ahead as he drove toward Logan’s
clubhouse.
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