Ocean Storm (Queen of Piracy Duology #1)

Chapter 8: When my life changed forever

Twenty minutes had gone by and no sign of my uncle. With both hands on my head, I wouldn't stop walking from one side to another. Uncle Ruben was a pirate, so I wondered if he hadn't gone sailing around to search for help. The only thing I was sure about was that dad got worse at each second that went by. While uncle was out, my father threw up on the floor twice... guess who had to clean it? Besides, dad had shortness of breath three times, was sweating even more and wouldn't stop wincing. He appeared to be feeling pain everywhere. Although I had no idea what had made him so sick, I was eager to find out. My knowledge of medicine was none, so I had no way of finding out the truth without any help. Seeing my father like that made me sad, but I wondered if it wasn't a punishment from God because of everything he had done. If Calvinism was right and only some people were predestinated to go to heaven, old Govert definitely wasn't one of them. Of course, I felt terrible for dad and never wished to see him agonizing like that, but he wasn't a good man. If uncle Ruben's words were true, my father could only end up in one place after his death: hell.

"Eva... before I die... there's something you must know... it's about your mom," dad stammered, with his eyes barely open. "Hendrika is not your real mother..."

I rolled my eyes and shook my head in denial, unable to believe my father was talking about that subject. From all the matters to discuss, did he have to choose the worst? God, I wanted to vanish at that moment...

"Save it. Uncle Ruben told me everything," I downturned my head, unable to look dad in the eye. "He said you treated my real mother violently, took me from her, eloped with Hendrika... all of it."

Dad raised his brows and sighed. Biting his lower lip, he looked away. I wasn't sure if his sorrow was due to regret, embarrassment, or simply because my uncle had been faster to tell the truth.

"I won't lie, I've done everything that you mentioned... maybe more," my father coughed and gently caressed my face. "But I regret it... that's why I can't stop drinking when Hendrika beats you... it's all my fault... I'm sorry..."

My father started choking again and I moved his head forward so that he could find air more quickly. I'm a skeptical person, so I wasn't sure if I should believe him. How could I trust a man who lied to me for years and had complicity in my suffering? It would be nearly impossible.

I bared my teeth, "If you were truly sorry, you'd have stopped her from destroying every damn piece of my back!"

Breathing quickly, I crossed my arms and shot him an icy glare. Dad knit his brows and gawked. I didn't know if my attitude or his condition was the main cause of his apparent desperation.

"Please, Eva, forgive me. I don't know if I'll be alive in the next few minutes... I'm begging you!" dad clasped his hands. "Have mercy on this stupid old man."

Controlling myself not to lash out at him again, I rubbed my forehead. Although I wanted to forgive dad because he could die, the last thing I wanted was saying I was okay with the horrible things he'd done. Even though I told myself to leave him on that couch and never go back, guess what? My damn heart is soft, and I'm not made of stone, so I couldn't deny forgiveness for my own father.

"I forgive you," I said, feeling like a sword cut my throat as I spoke those words.

My father's lips curled into a weak smile. At that exact instant, uncle Ruben arrived. After that, Maartje, Hendrika, Johannes and a man entered the house. The stranger was tall, had long blond hair tied on a ponytail, blue eyes and light skin. My stepmother sobbed desperately. She hugged Johannes and covered his eyes. Why didn't she hug me as well? Oh, almost forgot! She wasn't my mother.

Why is Maartje here? I thought she was angry at my uncle... Well, maybe she wanted to help.

Hendrika glared at me, "What have you done to your father, brat?"