Anybody But You

79

Chapter Seventy-Nine

Vibe: Wait, I Lied by Alfie Templeman

Taking a deep breath, Alice finally—after a month of avoiding it—willed herself to knock on the door.

After her presence was announced as the door opened, the duke looked up, "Alice?" His grey eyes fell down her body, as if expecting to see blood pouring out of her.

It had been awhile since she had a moment to talk to him.

Walking into the study, she bit her bottom lip nervously, "Good morning, father."

Putting down the documents, he nodded with concern in his eyes, "Is everything well, daughter?"

Shaking her head, she exhaled as she sat in the chair across from his desk. "I would like to talk to you about my plans for my future."

His eyebrows flinched in shock, "...of course."

Clenching her hands on her knees, Alice began, "I've been doing some research on the Audovera laws—particularly the laws on legal autonomy."

The duke frowned, looking just as confused as he was worried.

Alice continued, "I want to try to build a relationship with you, father. But in order for me to do that, I need boundaries." She inhaled, her fingernails pressed into her skin as her father listened to her silently. "If I'm constantly feeling the need to protect myself from you, I won't be able to let my walls down."

The aging man frowned, his expression humbling as he processed her words. "...I understand."

"I won't pretend that I don't depend on you at all," rubbing her neck she frowned determinedly, "However, I would like to do my best to depend on myself, too. I want to be the only person who can choose my future for me." With cinched eyebrows and blue eyes full of determination, she looked at her father, "I have no intention of insulting you, it's just that in order for me to even have the possibility of having a healthy relationship with you, I need to control my life myself." With a loud exhale, she stared at him before continuing...

"Before my coming of age party, I'm going to be contesting the law that gives you legal control over me."

~*~*~

A.N.

Eeee ! Dang Alice is one tough cookie. No words really.

Thank you for reading! How do you think the duke will react?

I'm currently on chapter 105 and *deep breath* my god. Prepare for a looong drawn out arc in a minute here. Good gosh. It's a whole damn build up. Action scenes with more than two people actually stump me. So so difficult... but it's finally getting bloody and exciting! Woo, kinda proud of myself for actually powering through and writing it (instead of backtracking and creating a different arc). I really hope y'all enjoy it. The emotional labour is real.