Lilith
My heart pounded against my chest as he led me downstairs, squeezing my hand.
“You are scaring me, Casper,” I whispered, shooting him a nervous glance.
He halted, placing his hands over my shoulders before rubbing them gently.
“I’m sorry, Lilith, that was the only thing he asked for.”
“Now I’m confused. Who is this person-” The rest of the words flew back into my mouth as I came face to face with the monster that I called my father.
“What the hell, Casper! Tell him to get out of my sight before I do something nasty to him!” I screamed, flaring up in anger as memories of how he turned a blind eye to his daughter and his wife bullying me crashed against me, making me tremble in rage.
“I don’t want to ever see him again. Do you know what this man made us go through?”
“I hate him!” I spat, turning to leave before Casper’s strong hands pulled me back.
Tears blinded my vision, spilling over my cheeks as I broke down against Alpha Casper’s chest, sobbing hard.
“This man deserves no mercy. He threw me, my mother, and Rose out without a penny. We lived on the street before Daphne’s parents offered us a place to stay. He told me that we were dead to him.”
“You know the day you noticed that my cheeks were red and swollen, he did it. He, his wife, and his stupid daughter took turns to slap me repeatedly. I was always humiliated whenever I went to ask him for money about my mum’s surgery. He turns deaf ears to me while showering his wife and daughter thousands of dollars on the spot simply because they feel sad.”
“I was subjected to dehumanizing work like scrubbing toilets, and one time, his daughter pushed me inside the pool, knowing I couldn’t swim, but no one rescued me. He told me that he didn’t want anything to do with any of us because my mother trapped him with pregnancy. Meanwhile, he raped her. Now, tell me, if it were you, would you forgive him?” I asked, looking him deep into his eyes.
“I made him pay, too. I dealt with him in my way for treating you badly. After you left, he didn’t take long before his companies went bankrupt because his daughter and wife wouldn’t stop spending extravagantly. Long story short, they abandoned him now that he is broke, but he said he doesn’t want your money. He only wants your forgiveness.”
“Lily, what is he doing here?” Rose’s voice jolted me as she shot daggers at him.
“Casper brought him here,” I hissed loudly, eyeing him.
“Get out before I call the cops,” she threatened, breathing harshly.
“He warned me never to call him ‘father’ again. He even called the police on me for coming into his house. He said I was invading his privacy.”
Craning my head, looking at him with so much hatred. “Mr Parker, you have overstayed your welcome. Get out!”
Tears dropped down his eyes as he fell to his knees, clasping his hands as regret consumed him.
“I know I have wronged you, and I deserve to die. I abandoned you, and this cost your mother’s life. I’m sorry. I can’t apologize enough for the ill-treatment. I don’t need your money. I just need your forgiveness,” he halted, staring at Liam, who was confused about the situation.
“Is that my grandson?”
A burst of laughter erupted from my throat. “He is not your grandson because you said we are not related to you, remember? He is my son,” I corrected, holding Liam from going to meet him.
“Please, forgive me. I didn’t know what I was doing then. I’m sorry for everything.”
I released a breath, walking to meet him with Liam and Rose in my arms. We embraced him one last time. It was a difficult decision but we were left with no choice.
“That’s your grandfather, Liam.”
“Thank you,” he said in a shaky voice, wiping his tears with the back of his hand as we helped him rise to his feet.
“This is the last time you will see me, but even if I die, I will die a happy man.”
“On behalf of all of us, you are forgiven, Dad, but we don’t want to have anything to do with you. Goodbye,” I said with an air of finality.
“That is enough for me. Thank you. I love you, Lily. Goodbye, Rose and my little boy-”
“His name is Liam,” I chimed in.
“Goodbye, Liam,” he said, hugging all of us one last time.
“Goodbye, Grandpa.”
*****
I went to Daphne’s house to cool my head after my father left.
I felt a rollercoaster of emotions.
My father’s presence brought back the pain buried in my heart.
I wasn’t myself all day, so I decided to clear my head by wasting time chatting and playing with Daphne alongside Liam and Rose.
We were so engrossed, we didn’t know when night fell.
Remembering the promise I made with Alpha Casper earlier, I had no choice but to get back to the estate while promising Daphne to be back the next day.
After we bade our goodbyes, Daphne shut the door while we got into the car.
I had barely driven for 30 minutes when I sensed something strange.
I couldn’t help but notice 2 black cars following the path we took.
Fear gripped me as it was already late at night. The streets were deserted, and there was a slim chance of being rescued if something bad happened to us.
Thinking fast, I couldn’t afford any danger befall Liam and Rose.
It didn’t take long before I came up with a solution, merry-go-rounding to distract the cars that followed behind me slowly.
“Mummy, I’m scared. Those cars keep following us. Are we safe?” Liam asked, whimpering as he looked behind him.
“Don’t be scared, honey.” I smiled confidently, pressing the button on the smartwatch Alpha Casper gave me to alert him.
My heart pounded as they were ganging up on us.
Screams tore from our throats when the sound of gunshots filled the air.
With trembling hands, I grabbed my phone while the other navigated our way on the empty road.
“Casper, we are in trouble. Some men are after us. I think they are from Calix. Please, come quick!”