Meredith's eyes blazed with pent-up fury as she glared at him. "No, Richard! She is not! She is your niece," she hissed with vehemence.
"Meredith…" Richard pleaded, a soft note of desperation in his voice.
"No!" Meredith was incensed, pacing around the room, circumventing the bed that was a physical barrier between them. "You don't get to decide when she is your daughter and when she isn't. You don't get to determine when you are a husband or a father. You don't get that privilege anymore!" Her voice was choked with anger, simmering resentment spilling over.
He was blindsided. She was right. He had been making decisions at his convenience without considering their impact on those around him.
"You can't just make my husband disappear one day and expect me to welcome him back the next! Who do you think you are?!" Her voice was a whip, her fury palpable. "I can't keep up with your whims anymore."
