Arielyn
I drove towards my family house a week after I moved out of Kendrix's house, my dad told me my brothers would be home so I decided to join, I already made up with my dad and it was time to amend my relationship with my brothers, I don't think we will ever be able to get along like other siblings because we never had such a relationship growing up but I was willing to at least get to know them, I wasn't just meeting them, I was meeting their wives and kids too, for the first time, I didn't know what to expect yet but I gave my dad my words already.
Dad talked me into agreeing to volunteer at the hospital that he had built for me, since I hadn't heard from the general hospital yet, I agreed. I only needed to work for three days each week, which wasn't bad at all. Finding out I had various investments courtesy of my dad was an eye-opener, I didn't even know I was rich until I went to see my dad because he kept asking me to come see him, he asked about Kendrix and I told him we were done, he didn't push for me to tell him what happened just told me to tell him if I want anything done to him. I did think of getting his ass beaten for what he did to me but I still love him. I collected everything Dad gave me wholeheartedly, I was done trying to make it on my own, I had privileges and decided to take them and also use them to do good for my community which is why I planned out a lot to help the people of O-when. Maybe I was using it as an excuse to keep myself busy all the time. Over the past week, I made sure not to be isolated, I did some shopping and a lot of research concerning the various organizations that help the less privileged in O-when, I got a couple of them that I would like to work with and sent emails to them, some responded already while others were still pending, my days were spent doing any and everything not to think or cry but at night, I couldn't escape it, I go to bed feeling lost each night, I couldn't stop myself from thinking about Ken, he dominated my night, dad told me he came to the house but he told him that I wasn't there and that he didn't know where I was.
Kendrix, I couldn't escape him even if I wanted to, he was the talk of the town after the alpha king announced that he would take over from him, according to the announcement, Kendrix would undergo a two-year training after which the king would step down and he would take over, at least he was able to achieve his dream, good for him. Even though he hurt me, I still felt happy for him. I even told Raul to take his calls, he asked him where we were but Raul refused to tell him. Raul has been an angel, even though he was so young, he acted so mature, and he made sure I wasn't alone. If he saw me sitting alone and sad, he would come to sit with me and talk to me and that also helped me a lot.
I parked my car and got out. One of the things I got from my dad, I had to get a driver's license in O-when, which took just two days. I looked around, this mansion used to be repulsive to me but not anymore, this was my third time here this week. I went to the back of my car and got out what I had brought. I asked Dad and got all the information I needed to get them presents.
"Welcome ma'am,"
One of the help said, coming to me.
"Hi, Helen, I told you to call me Arielyn or Barrie, ma'am makes me feel old,"
I cautioned her, and she smiled.
"Help me with this, are they all around?"
I asked.
"Yes, your brothers and their families are around already, the house is very loud right now,"
She informed. I couldn't hide the fact that I was nervous.
"Just get it over with,"
Ae whispered, Ae, she was stronger than I thought, we weren't over Kendrix, I doubt we will ever be but we were doing okay. I rolled my eyes at her.
"Shut up, missy,"
I whispered back.
"Are you talking to me?"
Helen asked, I shook my head. I walked ahead of her into the house after giving her instructions to bring everything else in. As I pushed the big door open, I took a deep breath. I already told myself that I wasn't going to be mad at my brothers or anything like that, I was here to make amends and not bring up the past.
"Barrie, she is here, my princess is here,"
My dad cheered when I walked, a couple of eyes turned in my direction and I chuckled nervously as I wasn't really a big fan of being the center of attention. I walked in, keeping my eyes on my dad as he was the only one that I was used to now.
"Hi, dad,"
I said and hugged him before turning to my brothers. It was the youngest of them, Arlo, who came to hug me first. I felt teary when I got into his arms.
"I am so sorry baby sis, we failed you, we have no excuse,"
He whispered, okay, I got even more emotional, I couldn't stop the tears.
"You guys broke me, I should hate all of you,"
I cried and got out of Arlo's arms, I turned to Atlas and Aiden, they both looked remorseful too.
"You guys are horrible,"
I cried.
"We failed you, Barrie, we have no excuse, we are sorry,"
My oldest brother, Aiden, voiced; I glared at him.
"You bet you did! I am twenty-six years old and this is the first time I've seen all of you together since I was younger, you guys messed up,"
I pointed at them all, sniffing back tears, they all looked sad and remorseful.
"Barrie,"
"No, I know, it is all Dad's fault, I already scolded him and forgave him so I should do the same but don't you dare think I will let you all off the hook, I spent most of my life alone, if you plan on making up for what you guys did, you have to work hard, including you dad,"
I pointed at them all.
"We will,"
They chorused, looking at them now, they all didn't look so bad, maybe they wanted to get to know me but didn't know how to reach out to me because I was already grown and out of reach for them, I wasn't making excuses for them just trying to understand them. I went ahead and hugged my older brother and then the others too, I cried a little more but that was it. After the reconciliation, I was introduced to their wives and kids, I gave the gift I had to the kids and their mom and we had dinner. In all, it went better than I had thought it would, my dad was the happiest, he couldn't stop smiling and talking happily, he hadn't been the best dad to me growing up but I sensed that we would get along pretty well from now on and I felt proud of myself for not letting what they did in the past stop me from making up with them. I like my brothers' wives because even though we just met, they treated me nicely, we exchanged contacts and they even added me to their Women of Embry family-only group chat, it was fun talking to them but I had to leave because I didn't bring Raul with me, and I didn't want to leave him on his own all through the night. I said my goodbyes to everyone with hugs and got into my car.
It took about thirty minutes to get back to my house, I saw the car before I even got to my gate, I frowned because I knew that car, I wondered how he knew where to find me and why he was at my house in the first place, as I drove closer to the gate, my heartbeat increased and it got even worse when I saw him leaning on the car, he looked up and I almost jumped, Ae too suddenly became very active.
"Fuck,"
I whispered, I couldn't ignore him even though I so wanted to do that. I came to a stop near my gate and got out of my car without thinking, a bad idea. He was standing next to my car when I got out and our eyes met.
"What are you doing here?"
I let out even though all I wanted to do was run into his arms, I missed him so much and just seeing him like this made me want to forget what he did and get into his arms but that would be such a disgraceful thing to do especially since I know he doesn't really care about me.
"Arielyn, I have been looking for you,"
"I bet you have,"
I scoffed.