Miserable apart
“Sandra? Sandra, where is Devon? Where is my daughter?” A desperate voice took over the dismissing tone of her father.
That’s her mother’s voice, Melena. She recognized her soft voice during the party when she first met her.
“She’s outside, ma’am.”
“Really?! Come on, Gestoni. Hurry! Our daughter has come back.”
Devon stood there outside the gate waiting for her mother to emerge from the humongous door, ran to her to hug her. On the way, she'd imagined it would be. Her mother’s reaction is normal. What she didn’t expect is Gestoni’s reaction.
Surely, no matter how big the rift between them, he’ll not dismiss the possibility of his daughter being alive. Won’t you get even just a bit hopeful? Won’t you go out like your wife to verify?
“Devon!” Melena yelled in a mixture of hope and desperation.
“Devon…” she covered her mouth in a mix of shock and happiness while slowly walking towards her, her voice trembling, her tears began to fall.
“Devon, my daughter.”
She pulled her into her arms, crushing her into a tight embrace.
“My poor child. I know you’re alive. Never for once since your accident did I believe them when they said you perished.”
She kissed her head and withdrew to cup her face and stare at her.
“Thank you for coming back into our life, Devon. Don’t worry, child. We’ll never be away from each other again. I’ll always have your back this time.”
She hugged her back while forcing herself to feel as much joy as when she’s imagining their family reunion. But if she has to be true to her feelings, she doesn’t really know what to feel at the moment.
There’s joy of course but other than that, there’s nothing more. She’s emptily happy in a not good way.
“Come, come. Sandra, take Devon’s bag to her room. Let’s go inside the house. I’m sure your father is excited to see you too.” Putting an arm across her shoulder, she guided her towards the door where she can see the silhouette of Gestoni smoking a cigar while
“Gestoni, I’m right! Devon is really alive! Our daughter is alive!” Melena announced, overjoyed, but her husband just sat there on the couch, sharply studying Devon, not even a hint of happiness in his expression.
Devon looked directly straight into her father’s eagle eyes, hopeful to read just a glint of compassion or even relief in them but there’s none.
And so she came to the conclusion, she didn’t have a good relationship with him because just like him, she can’t also feel any excitement or any positive feeling towards him.
“Where did you come from? How did you survive the accident?” he finally said something rousing a familiar emotion deep inside her. Fear.
“Someone saved me.” Her voice came out to be too defensive so she cleared her throat and repeated her answer.
“Someone saved me during the car crash.”
“And who is that someone? Tell me the name.”
“I don’t know their names. When I woke up after the accident, the doctor told me that some good Samaritans helped me,” she answered truthfully.
“And why didn’t you come back earlier to us?”
“I’m afraid.”
That summed up her feelings right now. She’s afraid of being in his presence. Gestoni Farrows felt like a domineering boss more than her father. Unlike Daemon who is considerate and kind but tries to conceal it from her, her father there’s no trace of any of that on her own father.
“Of who? Afraid of who?”
Of you, she would’ve answered but chose not to.
“Gestoni, why are you interrogating Devon?” Melena came to her side. “That doesn’t matter now. She’s here with us now. You’re back with us. That’s what counts.”
“We don’t know if she’s really Devon. Sandra, call the doctor. We need to confirm first if she’s telling the truth.”
“Gestoni! Look at her! Can’t you tell that she is Devon, our daughter?”
He threw the cigarette on the floor and stood up when Devon felt that familiar chill in her bones. “I don’t have a daughter! The second she married that bastard Daemon, she’s as good as dead to me!”
“Gestoni! How could you say that in front of her?! She is Devon I’m telling you!” Melena fired back with tears in her eyes threatening to fall again.
Gestoni mellowed upon seeing his wife upset. “And I’m telling you that she could be working with that fucking Druft to sabotage us!”
“I don’t care! What’s more important to me now is that she’s alive.” She gathered her in her arms towards the staircase. “Come on, Devon. Let’s go upstairs. Don’t mind your father.”
Devon could only follow her mother. They ascended the stairs leaving Gestoni still fuming in anger.
“MAN, you’re making it too hard for yourself. Look at yourself now! Geez, you’re sulking. You have a twisted way of showing your love, huh.”
Daemon didn’t flinch and just continued drinking in his bar after dropping his wife back into her real home. Love. Damn word. He forgot about that emotion ages ago.
The dark light in the private lounge on the balcony of the club casts a shadow on his face while he’s drowning himself with all kinds of alcohol. He wanted to get drunk so as to forget about the fear on her face the moment he drove away from the Farrows territory.
“You know I can’t love her. I can’t let an enemy matter to me, Henry.”
Henry shook his head and joined him on the sofa.
“Then would it be okay for you if I pursue Devon? You know I like her way before you marry her. Your trash could be another man’s treasure, Daemon.”
He threw the glass on the wall and picked out the gun beside him in an instance and aimed it at Henry after cocking it.
“Daemon, Daemon! Hey, man! Relax! I was just joking!” Henry raised both of his hands in the air for surrender.
Slowly, he lowered the gun back into the table. “Get out,” he snarled and went back to drinking.
“Don’t fault the woman for what her father did, Daemon. Just friendly advice from a man who has gone through the same thing.” He patted his back. “I’ll be out now.”
He heard the door thud behind him and then silence followed suit. That’s when he leaned on the backrest, massaging his temples trying to erase Devon’s face in his head but she stayed in his system for the rest of the night until he fell asleep in his seat.
