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She nodded gently and once again ran her fingers over the frame of their wedding photo. She smiled softly and sighed happily. When he closed his eyes she slid off the desk and wrapped her arms around him. “Don’t let them get you down. You can do whatever you want, be whoever you want.”
Asher opened his eyes, looking at her. He smiled. "I know." He replied, kissing her cheek gently. "Thank you."
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She nodded softly and released him before she moved back to her spot on the desk. She sighed and stretched out her arms. “Is all you do just answering emails?”
"Pretty much." He replied. "Sometimed I'm in charge of setting and deciding on new policies for the company, but mostly it's just emails and such." He shrugged. "It's pretty boring."
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“Have you ever down anything different?” She asked gently, once again picking up their wedding photo to study it once more. She liked the way Asher looked in it. And if she were being honest, thought that she herself didn’t look to bad. “Have you ever thought of leaving the company?”
Asher sighed. "I…not really. I finished college, but I've got a degree in this. In business." He shrugged slightly, sighing quietly. "So. I don't know what else i could do."
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She leaned back and glanced at him. “What about music?” She asked carefully, knowing that could be a sensitive subject for him. “I’d support you.”
He sighed softly. "I…no. That's not feasible. I wish… I could, but…I can't leave the company. Who would take it when my parents died?" He shook his head slightly.
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She bit down on her lip and sighed. “I guess that is true… is there no other suitable man to take your place?” She asked suddenly, leaning back and picking up a pencil to twirl around her fingers. Instead of a smooth twirl, the pencil flew from her hand and landed some distance off. She pouted at it.
He chuckled softly at her fumble with the pencil. "No, not really. My parents want it to stay in the family, and…there's no way in hell my mother would let this company go to one of my father's, er… illegitimate children."
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She leaned back and bit her lip, a thought coming to her mind. She didn’t want it there, unfortunately, but it was there nonetheless. “W-would she settle for one of ours…?” She murmured softly, looking away and blushing. “I-If we raise a good heir will she let them lead the company? It would be a long time before you could turn over the company but- you’d be able to continue your music career…”
He drummed his fingers for a moment, and sighed. "Yes, but…I want to give my kids a choice. I'm not going to force them to take the company so that their father, who is in his forties, can do whatever he wants while they're stuck doing something they don't want to. I would rather work this company until I die, then force my child to take it over so that I can do whatever I want." He looked down at the desk.
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She leaned over to place a hand on his shoulder, looking sorrowful. “I’m sorry I even brought that up. That isnt something a father should do…” she felt extremely bad about offering up the idea. But it was what she thought happened to every child in a home. She thought they were all raised up towards one purpose like she and her brothers had been.
He shrugged. "It's fine. And…" He sighed. "Thats not the way i was raised, don't get me wrong. I'm expected to take the company, yes, but my father will still remain in an active role."
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Her head shot up. “It’s not!?” She blinked her wide eyes and tilted her head. “A-are you a special case? I thought everyone was raised like that.”
He frowned slightly. "Ah…no. Its not normal…" He trailed off. Damn. Her dad really fucked up her sense of normal, didn't he? He shook his head slightly.
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She tilted her head and blinked again. “What is normal then?” The girl was clueless. She had never seen a normal family, not even on the television or through any other media. She had been closed off to the modern world. “Is normal how you were raised?”
Asher shook his head. "No! Normal is…public schooling and a house in the suburbs. A minivan to fit all the kids. It's having three kids, maybe more, maybe less, that you support no matter what they do."
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Arabella looked confused and drew her knees into her chest. “Oh? Is that really normal?” She asked quietly. “I didn’t know I wasn’t normal.”
Asher sighed softly. "No, you aren't. Sorry." He replied quietly. He kissed her cheek.
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Arabella didn’t react. She sat in a stunned silence for a moment, her brain whirring as she tried to think over what was wrong in her life. She couldn’t tell anymore.
He powered on his computer quietly to let her think without interruption. When and if she wanted to talk, he would listen. But he also had emails and such to answer still.
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“What else about me is different?” She asked him after a moment. “I can’t tell what my father conditioned me to think and what is reality…”
He sighed softly. "Uhm…the fact that you think the freedom of choice is a privilege, not a right. It shouldn't have to be me giving you permission to do things everyone else does. You shouldn't have to thank me for not monitoring your phone." He shook is head slightly.
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She nodded gently, suddenly slipping off the desk and moving to lean against him. “I’m confused Asher.” She admitted, pressing her cheek against his hair. “I’m very confused…”
Asher reached up and put an arm around her. "It's alright." He soothed gently. "It'll be okay." He closed his eyes for a moment.
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She sighed deeply, once again opening her eyes to stare at their wedding photo. That must have not been normal either. “Would you show me what it’s like someday?”
"What what's like?" He asked, looking at her carefully. He kissed her cheek gently, looking at her.
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“Being normal.” She replied, smiling a little at the kiss. He was being affectionate even when no one was around. She liked that.
He nodded. "Alright. I'll try." He replied with a small smile. He sighed softly, and logged into his computer.
