Damian parked his car in front of his newly acquired mansion. He was dressed in a black suit. He stepped out of the car, pulling his sunglass on as he stood by the Bentley admiring the duplex he now owned. This was his first day back in Los Angeles. After successfully pulling out of the organization by signing a compromise, he had made quick actions on he relocation. He contacted a real estate agency in search of a house and few hours later he was the official owner of a house, a beautiful duplex mansion.
“It feels good to be home” he stated, wiffing the fresh air around him. His house was a big duplex With a big lawn and a swimming pool and had cost him quite a fortune. To him, it was just one of the sacrifices he had to make to be with Karen again.
Karen sat at her favourite corner in the coffee shop, sipping a cup of hot coffee and skimming through a fashion magazine. Her focus was solely on the magazine in front of her that she didn’t notice a figure take the seat in front of her. She raised her head slightly to take another sip from her cup when she caught the hovering male figure across the table. She raised her head fully and looked at him, her words stucked in her throat. She stared at him in shock and he stared back, his eyes holding remorse. Like he was sorry for everything he had done wrong.
Her face slowly distorted into a frown “What are you doing here.” she questioned, her anger was rising quickly. She was already annoyed by his presence.
“I want to apologize.” He responded. He was her father. She scoffed loudly at his sentence, her eyes bearing pains and hurt.
“Apologize for what? For leaving me to suffer for nineteen fucking years while you were somewhere living the best of life? Or apologize for the fact you are better off dead?” She screamed at his face, causing a scene in the coffee shop.
“I can explain everything that happened.”
“Shut the fuck up. You can explain nothing. You were never there for me, you never treated me like you child. You left me while I was Five. Five for crying out loud. Do you know all that I went through?” She questioned, her voice breaking with emotions. “Ofcourse, you don’t know anything of what I went through, because while I spent years of my growing up suffering, you were somewhere in a part of the country living large. Look at you, you’re even wearing an expensive designers suit.” She laughed humourlessly while she stared daggers at her supposed father. A stray tear slipped down her cheeks and she quickly wiped it off.
“It wasn’t entirely my fault.” he tried to pacify her, but she wouldn’t have it. She had a lot to let out.
“No. It was my fault that Josh died.” At this point, her tears were gushing down uncontrollably, and she let it flow. She was too broken to care about it.
“You know, everyday, I waited. I waited for you to come back. I waited by the window every fucking day for one year and you never showed up. I gave up. I wasn’t worth loving.” She cried.
“No, I loved you, and I -”
“No. Don’t you dare lie to me again.” She raised her hand, interrupting his speech. “It’s been over nineteen years now, and guess what, I wish you were already dead.” She stated in anger.
She picked her bag and the magazine before turning to him. “Stay away from me. I don’t ever want to see you in the same city as me.” She warned before turning away to the door and disappearing out into the street. The little crowd that gathered to watch the little drama slowly disappeared, leaving a distraughted man seated on one of the seats. He watched Karen’s retreating figure as she walked out of the cafe and got mixed with the crowd untill he could see her no more. Her words really pierced him, and he knew he deserved it, and even more. He had done a grave mistake by leaving her, but there was nothing he could do to change that now. He wished he could go back in time to right his wrongs, but that was only wishes.
How could he tell her that he really wanted to come back for her, but he was forced to stay back in New York. How could he tell her that he thought of her everyday, but his hands were tied, how could he tell that that his absence was for her safety?
After leaving his family back in Los Angeles, he had traveled to New York, and in the night when he arrived, something happened. Something that changed his entire life. On that night he had ran into a gang of bad men who he later realized were drugs peddlers. Somehow, he had found himself being their runaway driver to escape from the cops. Ever since that night, he had stucked with them. He had no money or anywhere to go to in New York and they offered him shelter and a way to make money and he had to agree. He wasn’t going to die stranded on the streets when help had beckoned.
The help had come with a tag. He was going to forget about his family and focus on the business. The thoughts of his daughter came to his mind at that point. Her beautiful smiling face, and he almost had a rethink, but then, the words of his nagging wife came up. He knew he needed money to take care of his family, so he took the offer. He would make a lot of money and then return back to his family. That was the deal he made with himself before everything changed. Before he changed.
Karen walked into her hotel room in tears. She slammed the door before falling to the ground and crying out loudly. Her day was ruined totally, She buried her face in her palm as she continued weeping. The image of her father was clear in her head. Funny how just yesterday, she was thinking about him and today, he decided to show up. After nineteen years, he thought that just showing up could make up for all the pains she felt, but no, she was no longer the five year old Karina who loved her father very much. She was now Karen, and to her, her father was dead.
She remembered how she had waited and had even thought that her father was dead, only for him to show up with an apology. wow!
She couldn’t lie, she was a bit happy to see her father again, but her anger overshadowed her thoughts. The thought that her father was still alive and never for one day came to look for her pierced her heart more than she could ever think.
She quickly got up from the floor and walked to the wardrobe, taking out her box and clothes from the wardrobe. She quickly packed them into her bag while continually crying. She was going to leave New York. She was returning to Los Angeles. She’ll rather face Jack than face her father.
Roy Smith, Karen’s dad sat by the bar alone, a glass of whiskey in his hand as he looked to be in deep thoughts. After many years, he was finally able to see his daughter, but now, she despised him. He took a big swig of his drink, letting the hotness of the drink burn down his throat. His face held a grimace as he looked at the almost empty glass in his hand. He had been in the bar for over an hour and had taken five glasses of the hard liquor.
“I’m a fool” he muttered, his eyes burning with unshed tears that threatened to drop due to his display of emotions.
“Family issues?” the tender at the bar questioned with concern. He had been watching him for over thirty minutes before he decided to speak.
“I wish it was. I really do.” Roy answered, offering the bartender a little smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
The bartender nodded, “Another drink?”
“Ya. Sure.” he replied, pushing his glass forward for a refill. His mind drifted to Damian. The young lad had left because of a promise he made, but he couldn’t. He was too greedy for money and it cost him his family. Cost him his precious daughter too.