You Looked Down on Me Once Now You Look Up (Patricia and Oliver) novel Chapter 57

After Ben hung up, he just sat there on the couch, completely silent.

Zoey came in, phone still in her hand. She’d just finished a call with an investor, and the things he’d said were enough to make anyone’s skin crawl.

She was about to talk strategy with Ben—figure out what to do next—but when she saw him, the words caught in her throat. He looked furious, his face dark and unreadable.

“What happened?” she asked.

Ben didn’t look at her. “Call your brother. Tell him to come home.”

Nina didn’t dare ask questions. She pulled out her phone and dialed Joseph. He picked up right away—he was just leaving the wine shop and heading home.

Less than thirty minutes later, Joseph walked into the living room.

He barely made it through the door before Ben hurled a book at him. It hit him square in the forehead, and blood instantly began to trickle down his face. The pain made his head spin. “Dad?” he managed.

“Do you even know who Patricia’s uncle is?” Ben demanded.

Joseph just shrugged, looking completely unconcerned. “Isn’t he with the Parsons family? Who else?” Honestly, if the Parsons really cared about her, would they have let her marry Theo? She was just an orphan—why would they go out of their way for her?

“Isn’t he just—” Ben’s voice exploded, cutting Joseph off. His eyes flashed with anger.

“Atticus was your father’s commander,” Zoey said quietly, stepping in. She looked at Joseph, her disappointment obvious. He was ambitious, smart—maybe too smart for his own good—but he never learned to hold back.

“When your father left the service, we didn’t have enough for your grandma’s medical bills. It was Atticus who gave us two hundred thousand. He saved her life.” Zoey’s voice shook, just a little. “And when your dad made it, tried to pay him back, Atticus wouldn’t take a penny.” You can’t ever really repay someone for saving your mother.

If it weren’t for Atticus, there wouldn’t even be a Miller family now.

Zoey’s tone turned steely. “You might look down on Patricia. Maybe your fights didn’t mean much to the Parsons. But this time, you crossed a line. You grabbed her by the throat in public, pulled her out of her wheelchair. How do you think her family’s going to take that?”

Lunchtime rolled around before long.

Patricia had reserved a private room at a Riverdale restaurant nearby.

The place was big, but only Chelsea was there with her.

“I’ve told you a million times, you should’ve left Riverdale when you had the chance. But you never listen,” Chelsea said.

Patricia poured tea for her uncle and sighed, helpless. “Uncle, even if I’d left, I’d still be thinking about this place.”

“If you’re stuck on the past, it doesn’t matter where you go. You’ll still be carrying the weight,” Atticus said gently. “Sometimes it’s better to face things head-on.”

Before he could say more, Chelsea jumped in. “Why are you lecturing her? It’s not like she can’t make her own decisions.”