Next One Is a Babe

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.