CHAPTER 49

PIERRE’S POINT OF VIEW

“This is your new room, Pierre; do you like it?” Mrs. Lopez asked as I gazed around the room. I nodded and smiled sparingly.

My new home, huh?

After my mom died, my father vanished without a trace. Even though it happened three years ago, I still had vivid memories of that day. I suffered nightmares night after night because of my father’s immorality.

Whenever I was remembering those days, the anguish in my chest never subsided. My last good memory of that day was my mother’s pretty smile before she died.

*flashback*

“Mom, it’s been two months and dad hasn’t returned; tomorrow is my birthday,” I murmured softly to mom as I sat in the kitchen, watching her make our dinner. She came to a halt and smiled as she turned to me.

“Your father is coming home, Pierre. He has a lot going on at work, so he’s doing he’s very best just to make time for us. We should wait a little longer, son.” She removed the apron and hung it on the sink’s side. She approached me and kissed the bridge of my nose.

“Dinner is ready; proceed to the dining room and refrain from assisting me; I’ll carry it because it’s too heavy,” she muttered as she moved away from me once more. I could only sigh. Since dad hadn’t returned, this had been our daily scene. I was a daddy’s boy. I was close to my mother, but my father and I had a different bond; he shared all of his knowledge with me, even the most intimate details.

I walked into the dining room and left her there without speaking a word. As she stated, I made no attempt to assist her. I frequently volunteered to help with house chores, but when I did, she would scold me. Even though our house

Was quite large, we had never had a maid. My mom wanted us to be the only people in the house because she said she could do the maid’s work. My father made no objections because that was also what he desired. A peaceful life. Just the three of us.

Mom and I ate in silence. I was aware that she was going through a difficult time as well; I frequently heard her crying at night because my father was no longer coming home. I knew that I shouldn’t constantly ask about my father’s whereabouts due to my mother. I was sure she had no idea either, but all I did was ask her daily. I frequently restrained myself, but I couldn’t relax. Why? This was the first time in my entire life that it had happened to our family. Our family was, in my opinion, one of the most ideal families on the planet.

Mom told me to go to sleep immediately after eating. I was already ten, so I could take care of myself. I didn’t need her assistance in getting ready for bed.

I didn’t feel like getting up when the sun rose. Today was my birthday, and daddy was still not home. Before going to the first floor, I mentally prepared for that day. I hoped to smell mom’s cooking, but was disappointed when I smelled nothing. I saw her seated on the sofa, fully clothed and appeared to be waiting for someone.

“Where are you going?” I asked, kissing her cheek.

“I know where your father is; do you want me to drive you there or should we wait for him to return home tonight and celebrate your birthday?” I was taken aback by what she said; I couldn’t talk for a few seconds but eventually recovered.

“Really, mom? Let’s go see dad!” I couldn’t contain my excitement; it had been weeks since I’d seen him. Mom stood up and took my hand in hers, laughing.

For the following few hours, I felt as if I were floating due to the sheer enjoyment. I didn’t even realized that we had arrived at the mall. When we exited the car, we strolled silently to a location I was unfamiliar with. This was my first visit to the city, as we didn’t get out very much back then.

We sat in an unoccupied bench near the seaside; the sun was setting at the time of our arrival.

I watched as mom took her phone and dialed a number. I remained silent and just listened to what she was about to say.

“Hello? Where is Juli-Pierre!” I nearly fell off my chair when a booming gunshot rang out. Mama dropped the phone and swiftly held me to keep me safe from people.

“What’s going on?” I was not sure where those gunshots came from. All I knew was that my mother and I were in grave danger as long as we remained here.

“Where’s dad? Maybe he is already here, mom!” I couldn’t control my nervousness. My father, I was sure, was also here, waiting for us. It was not impossible for him to be affected by the current turmoil.

I leaped to my feet and ran out of anxiety. I looked around for my father; I knew that he was just here. I heard my mother’s yell from a distance, but I paid no attention. There were numerous armed men nearby, yet I felt no fear. I needed to look for my father. I ran but was also immediately stopped. I almost narrowed my eyes to confirm my suspicion.

No My hands trembled. I followed his every action, which was swift and appeared to be shivering. He was holding a massive, long gun and shouted something incomprehensible.

“Where has she gone?!” That was the only thing I understood from him. I began walking towards him, despite the danger.

I could feel the chill of my sweat as he pointed the gun at a pretty woman who looked to be about the same age as my mother.

“Pierre!” mom nearly pleaded as she pursued me. I feigned not to hear anything and allowed myself to approach dad.

“Daddy!” I shouted and grabbed his hand firmly. One shot was fired, but immediately followed by many. The shiver never left my chest, even more so when I caught a glimpse of my mother’s fallen figure in the corner of my eyes.

My determination to stop my father was quickly shattered. I dashed to my mother’s side and sat on the floor. Her body was covered in blood that I could barely recognize her.

“Wake up, Mom!” I softly slapped her face repeatedly, but she didn’t even move an inch.

“Help!” My tears began to flow gradually. Nobody came near us out of fear of being confronted by one of the armed men. Crying as I examined dad’s location, I had a glimmer of optimism when he turned to us, but it quickly vanished when he walked away.

I wanted to chase him but chose not to. I couldn’t afford to leave my mother here. I couldn’t also chase someone who already abandoned us.

In the hours that followed, I was drifting out. Things happened so quickly that my brain was unable to process them.

What happened to my family?

When the hospital nurse handed me something, I raised my eyes. She also left quickly after giving it to me.

These were my mother’s clothes.

I wanted to shout but I seemed to have run out of energy. I couldn’t help but hug mama’s clean clothing that had previously been stained with blood.

My mother was dead on arrival, and the doctors had no chance to save her.

#

“My name is Alister!”

I greeted the lone kid of aunt Ara and uncle Andrew with a modest smile. This was my first time seeing and meeting him; he just came back from the states.

Ali was extremely talkative, in contrast to his parents, who were very serious about life. However, I appreciated his conversational nature. It was as if uncle’s quiet mansion had been given life.

Ali became a good buddy of mine; he never returned to the states and remained here. We treated one other as brothers, with the exception of his brat cousin, who also lived in the house in which we dwell.

“You can join us, Iris! We are not bad guys!” We had been standing in front of Iris for a long time, Ali was convincing her to join us. We were going to take a bike ride in the subdivision. If we left without her, she would be left alone with the house maids.

“I don’t care if you’re not bad guys; I hate men, so leave me alone,” she said, rolling her eyes and turned away from us. We had no choice but to watch her go away.

“Your cousin is quite the brat, huh?” I couldn’t stop myself from rolling my eyes. I was not sure why that woman was so impolite. Occasionally, I felt terrible for Alister because he was frequently humiliated whenever he was talking to Iris.

“She is, but I know she cares about me. Of all the people in this world, she is my very best friend. Besides her father, I am the closest male she has in her life. She frequently takes the responsibility for my faults whenever daddy reprimands me. It’s not obvious, but I know she loves me as her genuine brother.”

I remained silent. I was curious as to why she was like that. I’d never seen her being lovely to Ali, so I was really doubting Alister’s words.

#

“Oh, so Iris is really moving out, huh? Do you think she’ll be all right, mommy?” I listened silently to the three of them converse. This was my third visit since I moved out.

He was really asking that? Iris had already purchased the property.

This man.

“Iris is mature enough to care for herself, Alister; she would not be moving out if she couldn’t.” Rather than aunty responding, it was uncle who did it. Alister remained silent and continued eating.

I spent the entire day at Uncle Andrew’s place, but I returned home when darkness fell. Tomorrow would be our first day of school, so I couldn’t stay there. Their house was too far from the university.

I was exhausted when I laid on my bed. Although classes had not yet begun, the student council’s group chat was already rather active.

Jaden : I heard our sexytary made a new friend. Is that true? I don’t wanna believe a rumor that easy.

Alyssa :

Yes! I saw her on the final day of enrolling! She’s as white as a sheet of paper!

Kyla :

I saw her too. She seemed to be quiet and friendly.

Kai :

Are you sure? Knowing Iris Lopez, she won’t make friends with basic people.

Those were just some of the messages I read in the group chat. They had the courage to speak behind Iris’ back because she was not a member of the group chat. She never wanted to be part of our group chat, I was not sure why. However, that didn’t affect her job as secretary. She was still part of the announcement page so she was not missing a thing.

Alyssa:

I’ve memorized her face, despite the fact that she didn’t even look at me that day. She’s the first girl I’ve seen with that skintone. She makes me think of Snow White.

I couldn’t bring myself to quit frowning. Iris had been believed to have made a new friend for a long time, but I ignored it.

It was common to make new friends; why were they making it a big deal?

I wasted no time and turned off my phone. The following day, it was still dark when I arrived at school. This was the first day; there were a lot of things to take care of.

Following the flag ceremony, I went around the whole school to monitor the surroundings. When I reached our classroom, there were only a few minutes remaining till class began.

The noisy space transformed into a quiet place. The students remained same, but a very pale woman captured my eye.

New student?

I walked by her and took a seat at the back. She did not look at me, but I knew her gaze was locked on me the moment I entered the room.

“Hello, my name is Aurora Jenkins. I’m 18 years old, and...that’s all?”

Aurora Jenkins, huh? Sleeping beauty’s name but possessed Snow White’s skin, Belle’s beauty, and Cinderella’s sweet voice.

She was completely innocent, untainted by the world’s boldness. She didn’t have any experience that a normal teenager do. She was similar to the innocent Eve, but more intelligent and not easy to fool.

“I’m not sure what to say, Pierre, but I want you to celebrate your birthday and stop blaming yourself. I’m sure your mother is crying in heaven right now because you keep being miserable. Don’t let the day come that you’ll regret that you didn’t celebrate your birthday. Celebrate your birthday, Pierre. The last time I celebrated my birthday was almost 11 years ago and promise, I regret that I didn’t enjoy my last.

That was what struck me in everything she said. My head was swimming with questions because of her words. Her last? What did she mean?

I was dying of curiosity; I wanted to ask her everything, but I didn’t have the courage.

“You’re going to lose me forever,” she said the last time we talked about her.

And she was right, I wasn’t expecting her to leave me this early after I knew everything about her.

“Seven, c’mon!” I prevented myself from shouting again, my hands trembling. Seven did not respond and continued with what he’s doing.

I took several deep breaths as I stared at her. I was so relieved when I was able to regain my composure.

“Baby, can you hear me? Aurie? Listen, you need to wake up, all right? Aurie?” I felt foolish speaking to the unconscious Aurora in front of me, but I didn’t care. I repeated saying those over and over, but she remained unmoving.

“One, two, three, clear.”

No response.

“One, two, three, clear.”

Still no response.

“It’s one, two, three.”

“Wake up, love. Even if it isn’t for me, wake up for yourself. Aurie, please...” I took her hands and kissed them repeatedly.

This couldn’t happen.

“Aurora Elyse Jenkins, time of death, 9:15 p.m.”

When I heard what Seven said, my world appeared to come to a halt. I could hear the loud monitor beeping in a straight line, but I had become numb to the sound. My palms trembled as I let go of Aurie’s hand as her mother approached the bed.

No “What happened?” Iris asked upon entering the room, but no one responded. Although her eyes were clearly nervous, she didn’t think twice to approach me.

“What happened, Pierre?”

I was at loss for words. My gaze stayed fixed on the bed on which the lifeless Aurora laid. Her mother, as well as her auntie, were crying beside her. Seven stood on the side, staring at Aurie as well; he appeared to have run out of energy because of what happened tonight.

“Pierre!” All I could do was look down when Iris grabbed the collar of my shirt.

“T-Tell me what happened!” Her tears were already streaming, despite that I had not yet spoken. She began slamming her fists into my chest.

“What’s happening here, Pierre?” Along with her weak voice, she also beat me page after page. I felt no discomfort in her punch, despite that she was wearing a few rings on her fingers.

I suddenly felt numb.

*After a month*

“Do you want me to keep that a secret from him, Andrew?”

“Yes! Because that is the right thing to do! Do you believe telling Pierre that would help?”

“He has a right to know, Andrew! Do you believe we can keep from him for the rest of our lives that his father is the reason he lost his beloved woman, huh? Do you believe he won’t know that instead of Aurora’s mother, his immoral father accidentally shoot Aurora because Pierre pushed him?!”

I pressed my eyes shut and refrained from entering the kitchen. My feet felt heavy as I ascended to the second floor and made my way directly to the bedroom.

Today was the 40th day of my baby’s death; why did I need to hear all of those?

My tears started dripping. Even my weak sobs became uncontrollable.

I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.

I’d been conducting an investigation into Aurie’s case, but the police had refused to provide me with all of the information I requested. Therefore, my findings were right. I searched for evidence for several days and only my aunt could confirm it.

I tightened my fist and stifled my own rising rage. I needed to calm down; this wasn’t the right time to be mad.

My palms trembled as I opened the envelope in my hands. This was given to me earlier by Mama Aliana.

To: My love, Pierre.

Hey, baby! It’s been a month, hasn’t it? How are you doing, love? I hope you’re doing well, because if you’re not, I’m going to cry forever in paradise. While I’m composing this letter, I’m at a loss for what to say. The grief and exhilaration are mingling since I’ll finally meet my father in paradise, but I’ll have to leave you behind. Alone. Don’t you dare remain grieving forever, Pierre Cardinal. You may grieve, but refrain from doing so until your final breath. I told my mother to give this letter to you on my 40th day, as I’m sure you’re already aware of what happened nearly eleven years ago. I just want you to know that I’m not furious at you or anything; I still love you in the same way I did while I was still alive. Destiny really did us so bad, eh? How could he have been so cruel to us? I don’t care, I’m not interested in looking on the negative side. I’m grateful that I met you throughout this lifetime. I’m grateful that I’ve had the opportunity to be loved, touched, and cared for by you. Thank you for loving me, Pierre. I never intended to meet a man like you, but I’m grateful that I did. Please don’t blame yourself for what happened; if you didn’t do it, I will lose the most important woman in my life. I never blamed you so you don’t need to say or feel sorry because at the end of the day, it’s not your fault.

Loving you truly, Aurora Elyse I bit my lip and stifled another sob. I had no idea she would leave me so quickly. While I was loving and keep asking stuffs about her, she was battling a condition for which I was also responsible. She didn’t even give me the opportunity to care for her.

You’re right, love. I should’ve celebrated my birthday. If I only knew that it was my last birthday with you, I would have made the most of it.

END