Page 45 of My Forbidden Billionaire

I take a moment to compose myself before pulling out Jacob’s gift from under the papers on my desk. I run my fingers over the spine of the book, feeling the weight of it in my hands, before tucking it into my bag for safekeeping.

The rest of the day passes in a blur. I feel like I’m in a dream. By the time I make it back to my apartment, I’m practically floating on a cloud, humming to myself as I unlock the door.

The sound of my phone buzzing snaps me out of my reverie, and I glance at the screen to see my Mom’s name.

I take a deep breath before answering. “Hi, Mom!”

“Josephine, darling, how are you? I haven’t heard from you in a while!”

“I’m doing well, thanks for asking. Just caught up in teaching and gra—”

“So, did you hear?” Mom asks, not even bothering to let me finish answering her first question.

Here we go. “What?”

“Tom is getting married!” The tone of her voice is difficult for me to pinpoint. She announces to me that my ex-boyfriend is getting married with something between glee, spite, and a good dash of I told you so.

“I’d prefer we don’t talk about my ex-boyfriend anymore, Mom.” I sigh. “It’s making me uncomfortable,” I announce calmly.

“I’m just saying, that could have been you, Josephine! He was clearly ready to settle down. But you walked away!”

“Mom, he was cheating on me,” I say, feeling so immensely tired all of the sudden. My mother and I have had this conversation countless times over the last several months. At this point, I think the Guinness Book of World Records could give us an award for our achievement.

“It was a mistake, Josephine. I don’t understand why you couldn’t just look past it. You could have had a great life together. He’s a trust fund baby after all. He’s every woman’s dream and you let him slip from your fingers.”

I sit in silence, not able to believe the words that just came out of her mouth.

“Mom, I refuse to have a loveless marriage. I would pick being single a thousand times over being with a man who doesn’t respect me.” I try to remain as calm as possible, but there’s a drum pulsating hard in my ears as if a marching band has descended on top of my head. “As for paying the bills, I am perfectly capable of doing that myself. Just in case you’ve forgotten, I graduated top of my class at Harvard, all my work and my essays have been published and praised, and I have a position as the literature instructor for the best private school in the country.” I recite the list to her, feeling more and more empowered as I speak.

“Oh, please! Won’t you just stop it with that? You spent four years reading novels. That’s not college, that’s a hobby! And now, you’re putting your silly career before a man who could have provided for you if you would have just been willing to look the other way.”

“Provided for me?! Tom has never worked a day in his life—not because he couldn’t, but because he refused. Not to mention, he’d squander away his money every month and then mooch off of me, always promising to pay me back, but never once following through…”

It’s about time she knows everything that happened between me and Tom.

“What are you even talking about? He has his own family’s money to spend. Tom is a wonderful young man! And he’s very rich—”

“Nothing about Tom was wonderful,” I cut her off. “In fact, Tom was awful. I only stayed with him for so long because you gaslighted me into believing that he was the best I could get. But guess what mom? I don’t need Tom. Being with a trust fund baby was your dream, not mine. I’m perfectly capable of providing for myself. I don’t need to hide beneath the shadow of a man. Certainly not one who doesn’t respect boundaries or the sanctity of marriage.”

“I will not stand here and watch you throw mud at Tom like this.”

“Mom, Tom cheated on me. With the same girl he’s now marrying, mind you. Then he left me high and dry. How can you defend him? How can you be so blind? Are you in love with him or something?” My patience has finally run out.

“How dare you say such things about your own mother.” My mother is clearly just getting started on her rant, but I’ve already had enough.

“Mom, I have spent my entire life trying to make you proud. But it’s clear nothing I do will ever be good enough for you. I’m sorry that I’m not living the life you envisioned for me, but I am happy with the way things are. I have a fulfilling career, wonderful friends, and a chance at true happiness. I am done living my life for your approval. Goodbye, Mom.” With those words, I hang up the phone and let out a deep breath, feeling a weight lifted off my shoulders.

I have a desire to deconstruct what just happened, to get to the bottom of things. But doing it would be like swimming to the bottom of a deep and dark lake. It might look like a good idea to the well-intentioned explorer, but within are monsters waiting to grab you. Perhaps it’s best we let these monsters lie low, sleep even, and disappear with the tides.

All I know is, I’m so glad I’m no longer beholden to my parents’ expectations. I’m no longer settling for less than I deserve to appease them. And I don’t need their approval to be happy.

I have my own life to live, my own story to write.

And it just so happens that on Saturday night, I get to write a new chapter with Jacob.

Chapter Seventeen

Jacob