Aileen.
I was at a loss for words. I didn’t know how to make it up to him. If apologizing isn’t enough, what else am I supposed to do? Stupid Aileen.
Why do you keep messing up everything every single time? Dave and you are finally together.
What’s the point if I keep making him angry all the time for small reasons?
“Maybe if you apologize sincerely then maybe I don’t mind forgiving you,” he added, with a playful smirk.
I was puzzled. What did he mean by that? Apologizing sincerely? He doesn’t seem serious also. Then, is he just teasing me? It seems so.
Then…. I leaned forward and placed my hand on top of his giving a soft peck on the cheeks, I whispered, “I’m sorry, Daddy. Will you please forgive me?” He smiled, turning around to look at me. “Were you sincere?”
“Yeah, 100 percent! Do you doubt me?”
“No way, How can I doubt you?” he replied, tucking away the strands of hair behind my ears. “Go and put on the seatbelt. We need to get going.” I nodded and retired to my seat.
But, his words kept ringing in my ears. He doesn’t think of me as a burden and wants to support me. Not because he’s my dad, but because he cares about me. These are more than enough reasons for me to believe in him.
We arrived at the college half an hour later. When we got out of the car together, I noticed the gaze of the people around us. Everyone was just looking at us attentively. Is it because I’m with him? It’s obvious everyone knows him. He’s the Alpha after all.
Guess I’m going to garner some attention by admitting here as his daughter. “Aileen, come,” Dave called, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as we made our way inside.
He brought me over to the principal’s office. Seeing us, the principal dropped all the work to attend to us. He looked quite young for his position and could be a few years older than Dave but not too old.
How did he become one at this age? He gave us something cold to drink then Dave and I started chatting nonstop. I was just listening to them talk like old friends. Dave looked more cheerful than he was at home.
And it was very much pleasant to see. After 2 hours of talking, I reminded them that my admission was pending. Dave changed the topic, and we got started on the process right away.
I filled out the form by myself while Dave and the principal talked alone. After turning that we had to wait one hour more. And finally, I was admitted into the college. He told me to send the copies of my legal papers tomorrow and I’ll be ready to go.
As it was almost lunchtime, the principal invited us to eat together but Dave refused saying he was in a hurry. We left the office right after that. “You two seem quite close,” I inquired, staring at him. “How long do you know each other?”
“Hm…well…. over 10 years. We are childhood friends. Went to the same high school and university together. I dropped out midway but he ended up having more degrees and became the principal.”
“Woah….. that’s great. But, why did you drop out?” He didn’t answer right away and seemed a bit uncomfortable to answer it. “Did I ask something personal?” I asked, latching onto his arm.
He glanced in my direction, looking away. “No, it’s just….. you know about my dad right?”
“Yeah.”
“It was about that time when he was very ill. During that time, his business was suffering because of his poor health. he didn’t want to let go of the wealth he had accumulated over the years and I couldn’t see him suffer. That’s why, I gave up on my studies and dropped out of college to handle his business. Afterward, your mom nursed him back to health, but the damage was already done.” He added in a sad tone.
Did he quit his studies because of his dad? But, then what about his wishes?
It’s not like he wanted to be a businessman only. He must have had his fair share of dreams and aspirations he wanted to achieve right?
What about them? Do they have no value to his dad?
“I don’t like to talk about it that much because the incident happened long in the past. And there’s no way to fix it,” he replied, staring at me. “That’s why I was hesitating earlier. Sorry about it.”
stopped in my tracks, clenching my fists tightly. When he noticed that he stopped walking and came over to my side looking puzzled. “Aileen? Anything wrong?”
“Do you hate your dad for it?” I asked, looking him straight in the eyes. “Because he sacrificed your wishes for his? For him being selfish?” He was taken by surprise.
His brows raised and his eyes widened. Instead of replying right away he processed my words in his head and gave a response after a moment of pause. “Will you be assured if I say no? Or should I say yes?”
“Huh? “It’s not about me being assured. I want to know how you feel. Tell me!” I insisted. “Don’t you feel injustice being done to you? Don’t you think your parents are selfish for dumping their wishes on you without caring about your feelings?” His expression turned serious as he narrowed his eyes on me.
“No, I don’t think my dad was selfish nor do I hate him. Do you know why? Cause he never forced me to decide for him. I quit my studies willingly, not because he forced me to. He never had any expectations for me to begin with. But still, I wanted to help him out. I wanted to bring him out of his misery that’s why I took such a drastic measure. Not under anyone’s pressure.”
“I…see…. good for you then.”
He patted my head and asked, “You became quite angry for me a second ago. Thank you. I appreciate it. Sometimes we become immune to anger and just stop reacting to everything around us. It’s helpful if someone gets angry with us. Makes us feel welcomed.”
“You’re welcome,” I replied, forcing a smile.
He smiled and removed his hand. “You didn’t have a tour around the college yet, right? Come, I’ll show you around,” he suggested, grabbing me by the hand.
“Right now? Do you even know the directions?”
“Obviously yes, the principal is my friend, remember?” he replied, making our way towards the campus ground. He was quite excited about it, even more than me.
“You are so chaotic! Slow down a bit, will you?” I yelled trying to match his pace. Dave, you might be not angry at your parents for ruining your future. But, I’m not the same as you. My heart is ugly.
And that’s why I’ll keep hating my parents from the bottom of my heart for as long as I live, for ruining the perfect little family we had and not caring about the effect it might have on me.
And that is the difference between you and me. I can’t seem to forgive and forget easily. Sorry about that.