Chapter 53 Truth About Her Father
(Past)
A month ago...
“Quisito.... thank you for coming to meet me on such a short notice” Winston said from behind his table, when he saw the Don entering his office room.
“No need to thank me sir; I’m always happy to be at your service” Quisito said with a polite smile, before taking a seat across from Winston.
“Marcus... I... I called you today to ask for a very important favor...” Winston said, as he shifted uneasily in his office chair and gripped the armrest. His voice was strained a bit, like he never wanted to ask for the favor that was in his mind.
“Of course, Winston, anything for you!” Quisito said as he leaned forward and placed his joined hands on the table. Even Quisito could see the palpable tension on the old man’s face.
“Here is the thing” Winston said after taking a shaky breath “I miss my old Kate. I miss her smile, I miss her playfulness, I miss her enthusiasm and her little pouting face full of stubbornness. After her memory treatment, I tried to forge back that smile on her face, but I failed miserably. Other than throwing little tantrums, she did nothing that resembled her old behavior.
S...so the favor I wanted to ask is that I... I want you to bring back her old happy self”
Quisito’s face instantly paled at Winston’s words because he already knew what he had to do to bring her back and the only way was to hurt her and make her feel trapped. For the life in him, he couldn’t even imagine hurting her.
“Sir... I understand you. I too miss her, but... I..I.. can’t do it I’m sorry” Quisito refused with an apologetic expression.
Winston was expecting this reply. For a few minutes he remained silent, his gaze fixated on the table top. Slowly, he reached forward and grabbed Quisito’s hands that were placed on the table. Quisito was suddenly startled, as he didn’t know what was going on. He also sensed an unusual shiver in Winston’s arms.
Winston gulped before speaking.
“I beg you Marcus.... please bring her back. This is not the plea of a leader, it is the last wish of a dying father..” his voice wavered at the end and Quisito’s eyes widened on hearing it.
“I...I’m sorry, who’s dying?” the Don asked and immediately Winston took a shaky breath and leaned back in his chair, one of his hands coming up to cover his face.
“It’s my heart.... The doctors said that I only have two.. maybe three months to live. I want to see her mother’s ‘little Katey’ once more before I die”
“Don’t worry Winston. Send me the medical reports, I’ll set you up with the best medical professionals in the world” Quisito assured as he reached for his phone.
“No son, it’s too painful” Winston breathed out, making Quisito pause.
“All these years... I have endured too much pain, even with the help of medicines. The only reason I didn’t give up was my worry about her future. I want peace Marcus.... I...I’m tired... I want to rest...” Winston explained and a tear departed from his flooded eyes.
Quisito gave a slight nod as he watched the great leader with helplessness.
“Did you tell her?” the Don asked quietly.
“No. I couldn’t muster up enough courage to tell her that she was going to be all alone in this world after a few weeks” Winston said as he dried his eyes with a hand kerchief.
“Kate won’t be alone. She’ll have me” Quisito affirmed, but Winston shook his head.
“I know that you will be there to protect her, but eventually you will have a family and she will be all alone once –”
“I want to marry her” Quisito cut him off with a timid statement. Winston’s face lit up when he digested the new information. The Capo wanted to marry his daughter. What more could a father want? But he didn’t want Quisito to marry his daughter to help him.
“You don’t have to do it because I am dying” the old man said and Quisito shook his head with a slight smile.
“I like her Winston. I really want to marry her” Quisito declared again and Winston’s heart thumped with happiness.
After the meeting, Quisito began thinking of different ways in which he could put her in a helpless situation and came up with the idea for blackmail. On her 16th birthday, he had worn a spy cam inside a button, made with the help of nanotechnology, just to test the efficiency of the device. He unexpectedly captured the murder of Richard and decided to use it against her, to blackmail her to sleep with him. It was a very painful thing for him to do, but he did it anyway because he wanted to bring her back, for her father.
Present
Kate’s eyes welled up with tears when she heard about her father’s life expectancy and Quisito observed her with a sad expression. He hated to be the one to break the news to her, but one way or the other she had to know.
“No... not my father.... my dad... he can’t...” Kate began sobbing. He pulled her back to his chest and hugged her tiny frame with his arms and tried to sush her with soothing words and a lot of kisses on her head.
It took some time for her to come into terms with the reality. She had seen her father struggle with heart problems and maybe, his choice was for the best.
They stayed like that for a while, until her cries and hiccups stopped to a good measure. But there was something else she wanted to have clarified.
She pulled back from his chest, sniffing.
“So, you still love me?” Kate asked while wiping the tears with the back of her hands and looking into his eyes.
Something shifted in his orbs as he cupped her angelic face.
“I love you Kate... I have always loved you. I know that I have hurt you, but I’ll make it all up to you till the moment I close my eyes forever. I cannot live without you princess..."
He gulped before voicing the next words.
" Will you..... will you marry me?”
A tear left his eye when he finished his proposal, earning a shocked expression from her. She never thought that she would get to see him cry and knew it with every cell of her being, that he was telling her the truth.
For a few moments, she just watched him without saying anything. Then she leaned forward, braced her hands on his shoulders and kissed him. Hard.
The kiss of hers said everything. It was a confession of her soul, because she was already lost to everything that he was. He returned the kiss with equal fervor, giving himself entirely to her.
“I will marry you...” Kate said shyly, after letting go of his lips and placing a peck on his jaw.
That night, a surprise snow storm hit Moscow and most of the people slept with a wary heart, but not her. Because she slept with the person who would join heaven and hell for her. And not just a snowstorm, but even an earthquake would fail to scare her while she was in his embrace.
After so many nights of restlessness, she was finally able to sleep peacefully, in the arms of the man who held her little heart.