MEGAN
I COULDN’T hear this anymore without feeling the surge of jealousy inside my chest. I looked away and blinked when I got all weepy.
“At fifteen, Meadow became my girlfriend, and I thought we would get married. When I turned sixteen, I found out someone was looking for us. And the man that was once my father came back from the dead. He faked his death. That was why I fled to this country to protect my mother and myself.”
“I left my Mama. I knew she was safe because no one would recognize her anymore, but I was not. That’s how I ended up here. Alan is not my uncle by blood.”
“Why did you have to leave?” My head tipped to mom.
“Because of Oliver. My real father. Now Francois Xavier. He figured that I didn’t die, and perhaps, wanted to cut some loose ends.”
“By killing his son?” I asked, confused, terrified.
“Maybe. He’s a monster after all.”
“Why are you telling us about this? Why now?”
Suddenly, he faced me. “Because you thought I am dangerous when you found a gun under my pillow.”
I looked away, feeling my throat thickened. I was still horrified as I raised the gun I found. I’d never held a real gun in my entire life, and I couldn’t believe my first experience would be in his bed.
“It wasn’t mine. I don’t own a gun. I know to hold and shoot as precautions because I have to protect myself. I asked someone to run a fingerprint, and to whom it is registered.”
“And who is that someone? Davis? Morgan, the security guard? One of your underlings?”
“No. Alan knows someone in NYPD.”
“Of course. You probably get them on your payroll. And who’s Alan, really? Your errand boy?” My reply came out with sarcasm.
“Alan is our butler, but he had sworn an oath to my mother to protect me before he came with me to U. S. Father trusted him with our lives.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, yeah. I get it. What I don’t get is why are you telling us now? And who owns the gun?”
“Unregistered. Meadow admitted that she placed it there. For what purpose? I don’t know. Since she and Mama were back in England, I didn’t talk to her anymore.”
“So, before that, you had contact with her, huh?”
He groaned and shut his eyes closed. “No. Even if I—”
“You what?”
“She works for me.”
My brow quickly raised. “Wow. Why am I not so surprised?”
“Megan, trust me. We were over before you and I become a thing.”
“A thing? That’s how you call it? A freaking thing!”
“My apology for my poor choice of words.” Wow! Who is this man?
“That’s not my issue. She planted a gun under your pillow for what? To frame me if something will happen to you? Or to get me arrested for possession of an unregistered firearm? Because I told her to say away from you, and that I would do everything to have you.”
“She’ll pay for this, trust me. I don’t want people disrespecting me and putting the people I care about in danger. Especially if she’s my employer.”
“What exactly is her job with you? A fuck buddy?”
“Megan,” Mom warned me. “Your sarcasm doesn’t go anywhere, young lady.”
I raised my hand. “You know what? Don’t answer my question. You already answered it.”
“That was before you. I already cleared that I don’t have a plan on sleeping with her again. After the stunt she pulled out, she will be fired. Right now, my company is hiring Mom’s new assistant, and I won’t be sorry for her arse.”
“Wow! A company, huh? Great speech! And you sound like a complete stranger to me right now.”
“Megan, can you stop being sarcastic! Arguing doesn’t gonna reboot the past.” Mom looked angry, and I had to clamp my mouth shut.
“I’m here because you didn’t give me a chance to explain. And your friends made a point that they won’t let me get near you because I hurt their best friend. I don’t have the intention of doing that to you. You should know me by now, but I promised you that I will come back, and that’s why I am here. I will always do my promise even if takes years in the process.”
“What happened to your knuckles, Forrest?” Mom asked.
His hands were bruised. I had not noticed it until Mom did.
“I punched someone.” He absentmindedly rubbed his knuckles as the guilt plastered all over his face.
Great! “And then you just told me you’re not dangerous, yet you just punched someone.” I scoffed.
“I told you I am a patient man, Megan. I only did that because he hurt you. That—” He pursed his lips and blinked. His face turned red in anger. “He deserved more than just a broken nose.”
“If you think punching someone is badassery, then you’re out of your mind. I know what he did is wrong, but it’s been weeks, Forrest.”
“Okay, I’m tired of you two whining and arguing, but Megan is right, Forrest. Why can’t you just forget about it? Instead of dwelling on what went wrong, why can’t you just focus on the positive side.”
I was already standing, crossing my arms over my chest as I stared at him in shock. “You can’t just leave it behind, can you?”
“No.”
“Then you are wasting your time, sitting here explaining yourself because I can’t be with you if you can’t even control your anger. I was nearly raped and slapped by a stranger.” Mom gasped in front of us. “And then, what will you do if you lost control? You have this strong resentment inside you that keeps you on holding grudges, Forrest. You are like a radioactive, a short fuse, a walking freaking ticking time bomb!”
“I don’t have an anger issue, Megan. Trust me.” He looked frustrated, trying to convince me. Unfortunately, I wasn’t convinced at all. “You can ask your mom.”
“Keep telling yourself that.”
The silence stretched between us. Even Mom was speechless. I realized I was too ahead of myself. What if he was just trying to explain and not to get back where we left? The fact that hurt me more was that I couldn’t be with him if I ended up hurting myself in the end. We were complete opposites, and most relationships like this didn’t last long.
“Sometimes people have to do the wrong things for the right reason, even if it places their lives at risk. I did that because I was the one who put your life in danger in the first place. I provoked him. And seeing you so hurt, I could not bear the pain. It took more than my strength that night. Facing my father isn’t easy as well, but love forces us to choose, and I choose to risk my life because I can’t live a life with the fear of losing someone I love. I don’t regret making those tough decisions. I have to end it or at least I die trying.”
I was immensely astonished, but I was still mad at him. “Don’t play that card on me!”
“I know I am not good enough for you, but I will try my best to be honest to the best of my ability, and to do my best to prove to you that I am sincere.”
“I can’t—” I didn’t know exactly what I was trying to say. My head had trouble wrapping around it until I remembered something.
I don’t want the time will come and you will tell me you can’t do it anymore. I just did.
“Very well then. Then, it’s best that I go.”