MasukMELISSAI was shocked when he finished telling me his story. I didn't think that someone like him could be capable of that and it only made me think about myself. Though knowing who my father was and a little of how he thought, I was pretty much sure that I wasn't heir apparent to any of his assets. Had to start making a name and livelihood for myself and forget about the Neto name before it was too late. "But I didn't kill her. I mean, I tried to. It didn't work," Don explained, as if that justified his actions. "In as much as you tried to kill her, it meant that you really wanted what she had. Isn't that callous?" I asked him. "We are all guilty of things that we have done in the past, Melissa. That is the message that I am trying to pass. And some of the sins that we have committed are even worse then others. If you have been wondering how the hell I got this house that I currently live in, then you have your answer."He got up from the chaise lounge and returned some moments l
DAHLIA 4 YEARS AGOWe lay there in each other's arms. A smile formed on my lips, and it was unable to clear away for the next five minutes. Then Don raised his head and looked into my face. His eyes always seemed to get to me. They were a dark shade but also carried a tint of gold in them. His hair was long and grey, and he was the only one in his family to have that color. I always wondered why he chose that very hue. "Always happy when I come home to this," he said to me."Come home to me, you mean?" I asked, hoping he had misspoken."Sex, babe," Don said. "And you are part of that too.""Nah, I thought it was the other way round. Me first, then the sex comes after?"He shook his head as if he was exasperated by what I was saying. "Whatever. So, what's the occasion?" The smile on my face spread wider. I had been thinking about it for some days, and the decision I had made was one I would not regret.I loved Don with all my heart and I wanted him to see that, too.So I sat up in
MELISSA Don scoffed. Then it graduated into a chuckle. "Wait, what did you just say?""You heard me," I bit out. I didn't want to repeat myself because I was afraid that he would actually mock my demand. It was better for me to escape that instead of walking right into that obvious trap. "You want me to give you a second chance?" He asked. Why was he even asking? I had just said it. Or was he trying to make sure that I actually knew that I had said earlier? Did he want me to rethink my words, just to be sure that I had said what I really wanted to say?I nodded my head in the affirmative. Why the hell did he even need me to repeat myself? Did he also see me as someone who need validation? As someone who was prone to saying things without actually thinking about them before hand?Well, maybe I had become that kind of person. But whoever I had turned out to become was all his fault. He had changed me. From the inside out. And he wanted to leave me that way? No, I could not let him.
MELISSA I drove the Escalade over to Don's house. And this time I didn't bother even knocking but let myself into the house. I didn't call his name at first because I was hoping to catch the man with another girl in his bedroom. Yeah, that was how petty I thought. But could you blame me? That was how humans behaved. When you started noticing that your partner was keeping his or her distance, or the communication was getting strained, well, that was the moment when you should be concerned and worried. He or she had found someone else or they had fallen out of love with you. That was the most simple explanation. And it was glaring to me. For the first time in my life, I was going after man who had slept with me. In the past, I was always let them leave. And that was whenever they wanted to or felt like. I wasn't one who had the time or the luxury to run after a man demanding why the hell he was suddenly ignoring me. In fact, I made sure that such behavior was completely beneath my
MELISSA My dad had made his point. And a man like him didn't care what others thought about him. In fact, he didn't listen to other people's version of the man that he was. That was their problem not his. So he only believed in the version that he thought was right. And that was the one he thought of himself. My dad had a lot of pride. You could call him proud and haughty like a corsair in a romance novel. And if there was anything that I wanted more from my father, it was his absence. Since he didn't want to bend down to what other people thought of him, which included me at times, he could get the fuck out of my life. "Dad, you don't get to tell me what to do with my life going forward. That's my decision to make.""I know. And I am not about to make that decision for you. But can't I guide you? Point you in that direction?I smiled at that. "I've gotten too used to pointing myself in the wrong direction, Dad. Knowing that you're about to do that, I don't think I can cope with i
CALLIX So I said to her, "Well, your father has always had a conscience, and that is whether you believe it is true or not, but it has always been there. Just that, I don't like showing it." "And why is that, dad? Why don't you like showing people that you really do have a conscience?" She asked. Well, it was a good question. And I noticed that her tone was a firm one. She was really confident of herself. Asking me the right questions. It was as if she knew very much about the topic that I had broached, even better than me. And she knew that she was going to eat me for breakfast. But I still had words of my own. And even if she wanted to put me in the dock, then that was none of my fucking business. Maybe I really deserved it. To her, she was where she wanted me to be. But to me, I was still in the dining room just trying to make her see how special she was. And the life that she deserved to live, the one which I denied her, she could enjoy it again. Well, not in entirely. But
CALLIX Don was going to rein a blow in but I held up a hand to stop him before the damage was done. "No, let him talk," I granted. Yeah, he could say whatever shit he wanted to say, hoping that it was going to hurt me to make me feel less of myself. Or less of a father that I could ever be. I've
CALLIX"Truthfully, sir, I didn't hurt your daughter. It was just a misunderstanding. Nothing more.""A misunderstanding? Do you think that was how she saw it?" I asked him. "I think so, sir," he said. "And what makes you think so? Because you don't sound so sure of yourself.""The Melissa I know
MICHELLE Callix didn't stay. In fact, he got a call and told me that he had family issues to go deal with."You have family?" I had to ask because I didn't even believe that a man like him would have a family. I mean, he was dangerous yeah, so why would he even think of loving people and keeping t
CAINE The board members meeting room had practically changed. It wasn't how I used to know it before. A couple of gadgets had been added. And there was a forest decor. I wondered who the hell added pictures of vegetative forest to a meeting room. Kade? Did he like the view of nature or what







