Chapter 22 - Richard’s ConfessionRichard sat in the gold chair beside Jenna.
It was the same chair from which he had laughed at her.
Now he looked smaller.
“I was afraid you would leave us behind.”
Jenna remained standing.
“What does that have to do with the fellowship?”
“You were already independent. Your mother made sure of that.”
His voice shook.
“After she died, you became more like her. Focused. Certain. You did not need me.”
“So you took opportunities from me?”
“I told myself Felicity needed them more.”
Jenna looked toward the closed doors.
“She needed my invitation, my inheritance, my silence, and my humiliation?”
Richard covered his face.
“The first decision made the next one easier.”
That was the closest thing to truth he had offered.
He gave Felicity the gala invitation.
Then he forged the fellowship refusal to hide the first choice.
Then he withheld later invitations so Jenna would not meet the Montgomerys.
Then he supported Felicity’s version of events because admitting the truth would expose him too.
Every lie required another.
Richard lowered his hands.
“I was proud of you.”
“You never acted like it.”
“You made me feel unnecessary.”
Jenna’s voice softened, but not with forgiveness.
“A daughter’s strength is not rejection.”
He began crying.
“I know that now.”
“You know it because Silas stood up.”
The words landed.
Richard had heard Jenna defend her profession before.
He had seen her exhaustion.
He had watched her sacrifice.
None of it changed him until a powerful man treated her with respect.
That realization hurt more than the missing money.
Richard reached toward her hand.
Jenna stepped back.
“I need distance.”
He nodded slowly.
“Will you ever forgive me?”
“I don’t know.”
For once, Jenna did not offer reassurance she could not honestly give.
Richard accepted the uncertainty.
May you like
It was the first consequence no one could negotiate away.
👉 Richard finally admitted the truth, but Jenna’s refusal to comfort him marked the first boundary he could not cross.
