First, I want to thank every one of you who has been showing so much love and support to this book ! You really do make my day !
For that, here is a surprise update for you (I usually post on weekdays) !
I hope you enjoy ♡
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BECKY POV:
< FRIDAY >
Anderew sighs. " I'll just have to make what is yours mine "
I was not imagining things, the bastard dared to say just that. With my hands already curled into a tight fist, I apologize to my dad in case he was watching this from above, and I charge into his face.
< SATURDAY >
Aside from the fact that his dad was not speaking to me for bruising his handsome's son face, Mr Paterson and I met in the hospital, where I have been staying to check for the damage I have caused.
Today, he looked older than usual. He sits besides me making the plastic hospital chair make that slight squeaky sound that only added to my ravaging nerves.
-" I cannot believe you just did that"
I tlit my head, my tone firm and solid.
-" He has crossed the line "
Mr Paterson, the family's lawyer, an old man with several strands of white hair , was looking remorseful in my stead. He engulfs his head between his hands before he ruffles his hair.
Right now, his posture, the familiarity of the air surrounding him. It reminded of when a parent apologizes for his child's mistake.
I wanted to feel it, that affection.
When he lifts up his head, I look away.
- " Think of your mother ! Do you want to lose rights over your dad's fortune for good ?!"
I scoff. " What do you mean ?"
His shoulders drop, and my heart sinks when he speaks.
- " You can lose your seat in the company if Mister Peter doesn't forgive you"
My " fight or fight " mode was on.
As he spoke, my head began to spin. If sharing the mansion with Andrew was not enough, my dad went as far as giving Peter 5% of the company's shares !
He continues. " You can get all the votes you want, but the last say will be.."
Peter's.
I felt so angry with myself, even used !
How did I not see this coming !
My voice was so low that it sounded like a whisper.
-" Peter must be aware of this "
Mr Paterson sighs, again. " I'm sorry Becky "
No way.
There was no way I was losing any of this !!
< SUNDAY : THE PRESENT MOMENT >
I dreaded the idea of waking up.
Ironically, I've had dreamless nights, but I think that was probably because my reality was already a nightmare.
I mean, how worse can things get ?
After the bomb that Mr Paterson has dropped on me, I barely found sleep, and whether or not Andrew wakes up from his semi coma after the fight has suddenly become one of my concerns.
Also, in all of this mess, I just wanted to know one thing :
Forget about me , has my dad thought of my mom for a second while writing this cursed will?
Of course not. Otherwise, he wouldn't leave us in the hands of his lover.
As for my mom, I will be sending her to spend some time at our vacation house for a while while I fix things up here. Fortunately, her state has stabilized, but I was really missing her. Even if it was just for a day, I wanted her back.
My mom has, just like that, become the only family I have.
It was as early as 7 am, I head towards the kitchen, and not to my surprise, I find Peter sitting, alone, in the dining table.
I go to fetch myself a cup of water when I stop. I glance at him, and our eyes meet. Frustrated, I break the contact.
He sips from his cup. " You're up early on a Sunday "
This morning, I didn't have the energy to be sarcastic. All this tension, all of this pain, have drained me out. So I try to do the opposite, for change; I take a seat across from him, and I watch him.
He smiles. Then, he takes few more sips of his drink. His breathing was too steady, too serene, too quiet; for a father whose son was in the hospital, for a malicious lover, and for a vengeful man.
Again, it showed what a great judge of character my dad was.
-" I couldn't sleep well " My voice was a bit hoarse, unsteady, but he didn't flinch.
Call it epiphany, but maybe, just maybe, I ve been wrong about Peter all along ?
Don't get me wrong, he was still my dad's lover, the person with whom my dad cheated with on my mom, the only person who truly cares about me now, but maybe , I was wrong about.. him; Somehow, it wasn't as repulsive to sit with him this morning as it was to share the same air with his son in the car.
Or maybe I was just tired ..
In fact, so tired. " I am sorry for what happened "
He holds his cup. " Don't be. My son can be a bit, difficult "
Andrew as the problem child ? That sounds oddly familiar.
I'd rather bite my lip than say that out loud.
Then, I get that strange feeling again; The one I got the first time I met Peter, the one that screamed that this man was not bad. His son was, but whenever it was just Peter in the picture, I couldn't shake off the feeling that there was so much I was in the dark about.
But what ?
Just when I think this is how far we could go in this conversation, he shocks me with the next words that come out of his mouth.
-" I know how hard it is for you to have us here "
His complexion finally changes, and he continues, with the same depth, if not more, with a bit of saddness,
- " Prior to leaving this world, your dad told me the truth of his condition . He wanted me to look after you"
Regret,
-" .. after your mom."
Guilt,
-" He wanted me to make up for the pain she has endured with him"
Longing,
-" Your dad loved you both. He was just never good at expressing it"
A dead man's love.
His tone was calm, so much that it was frightening. Meanwhile, I couldn't say anything , not yet, my tongue was twisted into words I could barely formulate in my mind.
In my heart, it was alive. The words that touched the finest strings that have been barely holding on.
Every word was like a dagger.
These were truth daggers; the ones that sting because they have touched the deepest part of ourselves, mercilessly, reflecting it in the mirror of our minds.
We all have them. Those strings that we keep untouched , unapproachable.
At some point, someone says or does something that sounds like us. It resonates so much with who we are, the part of us that we may not even be aware of, yet. When those parts come alive, we start crying, rather uglily, and every fiber of our body cries with us.
Truth daggers are genderless, trescending sexuality and speak every language there is in the world.
Because the undeniable truth is not just that life is full of suffering, but it is also the raw vulnerable parts of ourselves, the ones that we deem broken.
The same ones that need love.
Peter had a sad smile, as if he was missing him, as if he was recalling the face of my dad speaking to him.
In the midst of that plethora of emotions, he shamelessly adds, proclaming his love for my dad, a dead man.
His eyes were sparkling, with young love.
He breathes out, unmasking his smile.
-" And, I loved your dad too "
***
Peter and I went hiking. I knew he was a kind hearted fella, but doing something together made me realize just how much of a good soul he really was.
It has been a long time since I have smiled and laughed so freely. It was absolutely liberating. To add to it, we both screamed our lungs out at the top of the hill at sunrise, and I could barely describe the euphoria that melted my heart right then.
It was as if all of my pain, all of the accumulated suffering dessipated all at once, into the horizon, into the void. That is, until a foreign, loud voice starts knocking relentlessly in my brain ..
-" My wish ? For this moment to never end"
-" My wish ? For this moment to never end "
-" My wish ?-"
I nearly fall on my back when a warm hand touches me.
-" Are you okay ?"
-" F-Fine " My face, livid.
It was such a long way walk back that it was around noon by the time we get back to the mansion. Surprisingly, my mom, with her personal helper, was just having her meal outside in the well trimmed garden ..
I give her a " Good morning " peek on her cheek.
He beams as he walks past her. " How have you been ?"
My mom nods in response before he makes his way back inside. As for me, I focus on giving her a hug, and I invigorate her motherly scent.
After a moment, I feel her warm hands tap gently on my back. I drown in her warmth.
I hum, rocking us right and left. " The weather is so good today, How about we go spend it by the beach ? "
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Guess what has also been trimmed ? This chapter ! 1729 words ish🙂
So, it is nearly 1 am here but you guys were giving so much support that I just had to make 15 the lucky number ! I will see you on another update next week !
Until then, please vote 🌟 comment or maybe (just drop an emoji?) and share your thoughts on this chapter !
Also, please feel free to check out my other (completed) books ! " DARK CIRCLES " and " The Deal, love in a cabin " ! I'm thinking of thoroughly re-editing them once I'm done publishing this book ! ( also I have so many other prompts I can't wait to write)
Anyways! I'm done rambling now , so thank you so much for reading this chapter too and I wish you an amazing Weekend !
Much love,
Madlez
❤