Silence creeps into the atmosphere as Alicia stares back at him, shocked at his confession. Is he trying to pull a fast one on her or what?
“There’s nothing bad in wanting to spend time with my daughter, right?” He breaks the awkward silence, but she only stares back at him with many thoughts running through her mind.
As her eyes roam the entire restaurant, the realization dawns on her that they are the only ones in the restaurant.
“Oh, sorry if that came as a shock to you. I booked the restaurant for the time we will spend here. I didn’t want someone to disturb us,” He breaks into her thoughts as if he was reading her mind, and she sighs briefly before she turns her gaze to look at him with a blank expression on.
Memories of years ago flood his mind as he stares at his daughter that is all grown now. How they would go to bed without food, how they suffered, and how he watched her grow with another man, calling him ‘dad’ when he was supposed to be the one she calls that. The thought of everything hurts his heart. Tears brim in his eyes as he continues to stare at her, but he quickly fights them back.
“Why did you never come to look for me? Why did you not come for me even though you saw on the news that there was a found missing child?” Alicia asks, even if she didn’t want to. She just wants to know why he did that. Did he hate her so much then? Was she a burden he has been trying to get rid of, before that incident happened?
“Why should I come for you? I had nothing to take care of you… I was just a poor man that was struggling to feed myself and my only child… A poor man that was torn between pushing harder, and giving up which was never an option… A man that did his best but nothing ever came out of it. I’m sure you got so tired of everything that you decided to run away… Why should I bring you back to the pain I was going through when I couldn’t even take care of you?” He utters calmly as his eye bore invisible holes in her body.
“Did you hate me?” She finds herself asking, even if she wanted to hold back.
“Hate you? No… I never did. Watching you grow up with another man was really hard for me to take… It was the pain I couldn’t deal with, no matter how much I tried to… I only hated myself for not being able to give you the best life you deserved,” He shrugs with sadness resounding in his voice.
Silence creeps into the atmosphere as they stare at each other again.
“I’m sorry, Jessica,” He says after a long silence, and she pulls a puzzled look, wondering why he was suddenly saying sorry to her.
“Why?” She asks him, and he shrugs.
“For everything… For not being a good father to you… For not living up to your expectation… For everything, including taking your mom’s life,” He utters as if the last words that came from his mouth weren’t a big deal.
“You did what? You… you killed Mom?” Her eyes widen in shock as his last words strike her like a thunderstorm, and he shrugs.
“Yes… I killed her. She didn’t deserve to live after all the pain she caused us. Who knows, maybe this wouldn’t have happened if she was with us… Maybe all of this would’ve been avoided if she had just stayed with us…”
“That wasn’t enough to kill her,” She shakes her head as tears brim in her eyes. How monstrous has this man becomes, that killing someone doesn’t even seem like a big deal to him? This wasn’t the man she used to know as her dad… Her dad was someone so calm that could never harm a fly. What has come over this man sitting in front of her now?
“Yes, it wasn’t enough to you… But to me, she was the reason why my life turned out like this… The reason I turned a monster… The reason I…” He pauses and takes a deep breath.
“I couldn’t just help it, seeing her happy with another man, while I was here, wallowing in pain… I couldn’t stand her having a family with another man, when she already ruined the one we built together. You will do the same if you were in my shoes, Alicia. Don’t blame me for this,” He further utters, and she scoffs as she wipes the tears that just dropped from her eyes.
“Did killing her take your pain away? Did it change anything?” She asks as she scoffs, and he nods his head.
“Yes, I felt relieved when I saw her breathe her last. It makes me feel at peace, knowing that the woman that ruined my life was finally gone. I felt suffocated all those years, but it was a different case after she passed away,” He replies to her, and she smiles as she nods her head. Her blood was boiling in rage, her heart was pounding hard against her chest, and her heart aches at the thought of everything that has happened, but she tries not to break down in front of him.
“It was really hard for me, Jessica. I didn’t choose this path, but life left me with no choice. I had to do something to survive, and here I am today…”
“What do you want from me, Dennis?” She cuts him off, and he smirks at her as he leans forward.
“Let’s work together, Jessica. Let’s work together as a team… We can get what we want. Come to think of it, don’t you want us to make up for the time we’ve lost in the past?” He utters, trying to be as convincing as he can.
“I can finally give you the best life you want… You will live that luxurious life you have always wanted, and… Nobody will ever look down on you. You will be able to be with your dad, have my protection,” He further utters, but she only stares at him wordlessly.
“Kill Mr. Daniel and his family… Kill Max to avenge what he has done to you… And I will take care of the rest,” He says as he leans forward, his eyes piercing at her, grinning from ear to ear.
“Are you happy with the life you are living? Do you know what is going to happen to you in the end?” She inquires as she stares back at him, and he scoffs as he reclines on the chair again.
“End? That doesn’t matter to me, Jessica. My life ended the day your mom walked out of our marriage…”
“What about me? You want to ruin me?” She cuts him off, and he scoffs.
“No, I don’t want to. Even though my life is going to ruin completely, I want to at least use it to secure something for you before it all ends,” He replies to her, and she scoffs.
“What if I tell you that I don’t need all that?” He creases his eyebrows.
“I am not interested in living like a monster… I don’t want to live in bondage. I don’t want to live hiding for the rest of my life,” She utters before she stands up and made to leave.
“You need to make your decision here and now… If you walk out of that door, I will consider you my enemy, and I won’t hesitate to fight you if you stand in my way. Have you made your decision now?” He asks as he stands up too, and she scoffs.
“No matter what happens, I won’t ever be a part of your dirty life…”
“Then let’s cut the ties here, Jessica. Today, I, Dennis Xander denounce you as my child. I cut every tie connecting us, and you are officially my sworn enemy,” Those words hurt her heart, and she feels like bursting into tears, but this is the right thing she needed to do.
With one last glance, she picks up her handbag and strides out of the restaurant.
“Ugh!” He grunts angrily as he slams his hands on the table, glaring hard into space as his blood boils in rage. He thought this was going to turn out well, but it seem to him now that he was mistaken.
“You will regret this, Jessica,” He utters between gritted teeth as his eyes bore invisible holes into space…