Chapter 24 - Coralie and Eugenia
My first coffee with Eugenia after probation was brutal.
Public café.
No lawyers.
I asked:
“Why trash?”
She could have said:
I lost control.
She did not.
“I wanted everyone to see what I thought you had done to this family.”
I stared.
“You thought I cheated.”
“Yes.”
“Even though Roderick told you no.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because it was easier than considering the alternative.”
There.
If Niles was not Howard’s genetic grandson but was Roderick’s son, the alternative was her secret.
Roderick.
Malcolm.
Howard knowing.
Everything.
“So you made my child carry your shame.”
“Yes.”
I appreciated directness despite hating content.
Then she said:
“You kicked me.”
“Yes.”
“I had trouble walking for two days.”
“I’m sorry.”
She looked surprised.
“I thought you’d say I deserved it.”
“You deserved consequences. Not whatever I felt like doing.”
She nodded.
Then:
“I’m sorry too.”
“For?”
“All of it.”
“Too broad.”
She almost smiled bitterly.
Fair.
So she named:
The garbage.
The accusation.
The secret test.
The attempted trust challenge.
Her treatment of me as threat.
That mattered.
We did not become friends.
No need.
We became capable of sitting in same room without making Niles responsible for atmosphere.
May you like
Enough.
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