Sør Family Residence, Redwood Hollow
6.50pm
Magnus Sør rarely visited the family home in Redwood Hollow anymore. He'd always traveled, of course and they had homes in many other places. They used to get together a lot more, too. They used to do a lot of things back when Renata was still here. The only time Hans had ever heard his father laugh was when he was with his wife, the great love of his life and truly his better half. Without Renata, Magnus was cruel and Hans was his favourite disappointment.
There was a tension in the air that Hans couldn't stand. All of his brothers - every last wretched one of them - were in the dining room now, speaking too loudly and pouring expensive drinks. They were bragging about their jobs, their partners, their avocado farm... Hans couldn't have rolled his eyes far enough.
The only reason he was still standing there was because Lottie was holding his hand. She was perfect, of course. They were all thoroughly disarmed by her charm and even his father was taken with her. Hans could almost relax. Almost.
There was another reason he was so nervous, though. There was something he so desperately wanted to ask his father. He had talked himself in and out of it several times though, but the longer he looked over at Charlotte, the more he steeled himself. Okay, he could do this. It was 6.50pm and Magnus was still in his office finishing up a few calls.
Dinner was scheduled for 7pm. Magnus Sør's birthday and it was perhaps the most dreaded day of Hans' life. He stood outside his father's office, hovering (oh, how Magnus hated when anyone hovered) and swallowed his nerves. He could have been a little kid again with shaking hands and watery eyes, and a sinking feeling his stomach. The sinking feeling was still there, now.
Taking a breath, he knocked and waited to enter.
"Hans," his father greeted, his tone perfectly neutral and his eyebrow raised in such a way that Hans knew he was, indeed, already disappointing him.
"Father."
"Have you come to wish me a happy birthday?"
"Happy birthday."
Magnus let out a long suffer sigh, closing his laptop slowly. Hans had a theory that the amount of patience his father had for his children had lessened and lessened with each one. As the last one, you can just imagine how little he wanted to have this conversation. He held his hands out, silently prompting Hans to get on with it.
"I wanted to ask you something. I want to ask you something," he corrected, standing up straighter and squaring his shoulders back. Magnus allowed him to continue. "Charlotte and I, we're involved now. We're together. I... I love her-," he said, voice stronger- "I love her very much and I want to ask her to marry me. I would very much like to do that with mum's ring." There, he had said it. And he knew that Magnus had it with him, of course he did. It always kept safe. What's more, Hans knew that Renata would have said yes in a heartbeat. Oh, she would have been so excited to hear this...
Magnus' cool indifference was a stark contrast to that imagined reaction. The silence stretched between them as Magnus gave nothing away, until his jaw twitched and Hans knew that he had made a terrible mistake.
"You think-," his father spoke softly and Hans wanted to run, "That I am going to give you her ring?"
"I just thought---"
"You don't think, Hans. You never think. There is no world, no universe, in which I am going to give you her ring. The unfettered arrogance-," he paused again, his jaw clenching, "You, Hans Sør, are truly the greatest regret of my life. The very fact that I have to sit here and look at you and listen to your outrageous drivel is enough to cement the fact that you are, and always will be, a disappointment. A lazy, selfish, bottom feeding disappointment. We will not discuss this further. Leave now and take your goddamn seat."
There was very little that Hans could do in that moment other than turn away and leave the room, and not look back. @alfredogusteausor
