“You set me up!” she shrieked, pointing a shaking finger directly at my face. The aristocratic accent cracked, revealing a harsh, bitter edge. “You played a disgusting game! You spied on me like some kind of pathetic, paranoid old witch! Who does that? What kind of mother manipulates her own son just to ruin his happiness?”
“I didn’t have to manipulate anything, Tabitha,” I replied, my voice remaining completely calm and steady against her rising hysteria. “I simply gave you a stage, and you chose to perform.”
“Robin, are you really going to listen to her?” Tabitha turned on him, her voice turning venomous. “After everything we’ve planned? After all this time? If you let her ruin this, if you choose your mother over your future wife, don’t ever expect me to speak to you again. We are done!”
She waited for the panic. She waited for Robin to lunge forward, to grab her arms, to beg her to stay and promise that everything would be alright, just as he had done every single time she threatened to walk away during their previous arguments.
Instead, Robin simply nodded slowly.
“Okay,” he said.
Tabitha blinked, stunned. “What?”
“I said okay,” Robin repeated, his posture straightening as a massive weight seemed to lift from his shoulders. “We’re done. Pack your things, Tabitha. Leave the engagement ring on the foyer table before you walk out that door.”
“You’re throwing me away over an old woman’s prank?” she screamed, losing the last shred of her dignity as she realized her golden ticket—the wealth, the estate, the high-society status—was evaporating right before her eyes. “You’ll regret this! You’re pathetic, both of you!”
She turned on her heel, storming up the grand staircase toward the guest suite to collect her designer bags, her furious tears of rage echoing off the high ceilings.
When the heavy oak door of the guest suite slammed shut upstairs, Robin let out a long, shuddering breath. He turned to me, wrapping his arms around my damp shoulders, careful not to care that my wet uniform was ruining his expensive shirt.
“How did you know?” he asked quietly into my hair. “How did you know she was like this when I was completely blind to it?”
I smiled faintly, reaching into my pocket and pulling out the small digital recorder, pressing the stop button with my thumb.
“Because love makes us want to see the best in people, my boy,” I whispered, pressing the device into his open palm. “But wisdom requires us to listen when they show us who they really are.”
