"Why are you here? Who told you to follow me, Blair? I neglected you as my daughter!" My father roared while I was brewing my coffee in the kitchen of my grandparents' house, where they stay in the meantime. "Who the hell allowed her to enter this household?!" He yelled to the people around him. I wanted to calm him down but how he glared at me made me stop.
I was dumbfounded. We were fine last night when I slept next to him while I was talking to Hiro in the bathroom and asking about my kids. He just informed my kids that I wouldn't be around for a few days because I had to attend to something. Luckily, my sons are very understanding, so it is the least of my worries.
"Leon!" Aunt Laura called him; father was silent, but his eyes remained glaring at me. "Take him upstairs," she ordered the maids, and they did.
"W-what was that?" I let out what I wanted to ask earlier when Daddy attacked me. I thought we were fine, so why did everything suddenly turn out like that? "What happened?"
Aunt Laura let out a deep sigh before responding to my inquiry, "He also has dementia. Last time it was an attack and now. it's getting worse than we expected. We thought it would be just fine, but we were wrong because he came back again."
"That's also the reason why we found out that he has stage 2 brain cancer, nasopharyngeal cancer. So the pace is getting faster because his two diseases inherited from our parents are acting up," Aunt Lucia added. My knees quivered, and I wanted to give up, but I remained strong.
"B-but..."
"We couldn't do anything, Blair; we did our best to be early because we love our brother. Unfortunately, even the doctor in Germany or the United States refuses because your father's condition is rare." I closed my lips. How come I just arrived this time?
"Aunt," I fell on the floor and kept squalling because my heart could not accept the truth.
"We know how you feel, Blair; we've been there. But we have to accept the truth." I shook my head. I can't accept it because we just met again, and this is what I will know.
"W-why? Why did you just tell me now?!" I yelled at their faces. "Why did he push me away? I didn't take care of him; he abandoned me and I left him, then came back. The reason is he is sick! How cruel of a daughter am I?" I punched my own chest, blaming every incident on me because if I hadn't been stubborn, none of this would have happened.
"Let's just pray and hope, Blair." They comforted me with their tranquil voice, and upon hearing it, I saw his eyes, keen to sympathize with where I am now but I refused to accept it. Not on him.
***
"Hiro," my throat was dry, the reason I couldn't recognize my voice; my nose was also pinched; and my face was sticky, but I managed to get an update on my children. "Where's the kid?"
"They're playing." He pointed to where Rayden and Red were playing with Red's toy while we were doing a video call. "Rayden volunteers to play with Red because his brother has been crying for a while."
"Thank you,"
"Never mention it, Blair; you helped me from the beginning until the end, so I'm just returning your kindness." I turn my head up and down even if he doesn't see me since he is looking at the kids. "Red is going to talk to you; Rayden is busy." I hadn't even answered when I heard Red's voice.
"Mommy," he greeted me enthusiastically. A lot of disasters happen in my life, yet here they are, still giving me a reason to live. They are my strength, and I will never allow them to disappear from my heart.
"Hello, baby," I answered softly. I miss them so much. "How is my baby? Are you scolding Aunt Hera?"
"Uncle Hiro, Mommy," he corrected me. I heard Hiro whispering something on the other line. "I'm fine, Mom; you can take your time with Grandpa." His voice was soft as he said those words as if he knew everything.
Oh gosh, my heart.
"I'll be back, baby," I whispered. I was about to say something when I heard a footstep towards me, so I hung up the call hasten. When I turned to see who it was, Raven's sharp gaze opened to me.
"Who is that?" Pertaining to the one whom I'm calling, I gulp, looking at him straight. "I'm asking Blair,"
"Who do you think you are to ask who are the people I talk to? You have no right to me, so stop your madness." I yelled at his face and marched away from him.
My chest tightens every time the two of us are together. It seems like I want to scold him, but I choose to keep quiet. My step was heavy when I got away from him. How could his raging eyes make me quiver?
Why is he still here? And why is he showing up here? Wasn't his wife worried, and maybe what else would he accuse me of never doing? Or, maybe I don't know that Lethia has changed, which I wish for.
My family, do they not wonder why there is a Smith here? Now that they are treating him differently, I am altering given that my father loathed every Smith. Apart from that, how did Raven find out my family's location? What gave him the audacity to come here? I doubt that he came here to say hello. I shrugged my head and decided not to give a damn, to simply remain very sure of myself; everything made sense, so I'm free of concern.
I was tapping the table. I'm here in the kitchen waiting for my baked cake to be cooked, thinking about my father's condition. It's true that some grandparents from his side had a bad death from that illness. But why does everything have to go to him? I don't believe it, and I smell something off of my aunts and uncles. But do I really have to judge them? I mean, there's nothing wrong with them; they're just doing their job as siblings.
My father came from a wealthy family here in Manhattan; unfortunately, for love, he chose to be with my mom with nothing. He fought for Mom, but I don't understand why he scolded her so many times when, in fact, my mom pushed him to be with his family. But in the end, Dad blames Mom for everything.
"Hey," Aunt Laura tapped my shoulder. "What were you thinking about?"
"About Mom and Dad," I admitted. I wanted further information about it.
"About?" We can ask her at least a little. I bit my lower lip and gulped hard. Should I ask her?
"The way they end up together, I feel like dad doesn't love mom enough." I'm just saying what I see inside the house, fighting about nonsense; sometimes I think of mommy as the man.
"Is that so? What I remember is that your dad loves your mom so much that he can leave mom and dad just for his wife." Aunt Laura started, but I interfered with it.
"I know that's why I'm wondering. Or maybe Dad was regretting choosing Mom over his wealth." I grin. It doesn't sound impossible because I know Daddy can choose something quickly, but he will regret it in the end. That is also one of the reasons why they always argue.
"I beg to disagree about that," Aunt Lucia interrupted. She smiled at me and sat next to me. "Your father was mature enough to think about what was right and wrong; that's why your mother chose him over Mr. Smith." I was shocked at what I found out about Mr. Smith.
"W-what?"
Aunt Lucia grinned the entire time she told the story, "Yes, Mr. Smith and your dad are two of your mother's sweetest courter before.. Given that she had a stunning beauty that no one can exceed, just like you are in this generation, men fall in love with her swiftly given that she is accommodating towards individuals. She is capable of captivating any man or even woman with just a snap of a finger." They continued to seem like enemies to me. since Mr. Smith dislikes those who are impoverished.
That's why I wonder how he favors other farmers except my dad; he hates seeing our faces, especially my dad. But did he still carry all that until they got married? How immature Mr. Smith is! My brows furrowed upon recalling everything from the past. I mean, I wanted to set everything aside, but I was also fascinated about everything.
My curiosity about my family's history persisted, but the details they provided were insufficient. Something is missing, and I have to find it. Though I'm not sure how, I ought to. I can't just sit there and listen to it. Well, I am aware that there is something I can do to comprehend their love story.