Chapter 4

Artemis Thaleia's Perspective

"Do you know what time it is, Thaleia? You're not answering your phone. I thought something bad happened to you." Isaiah's anger welcomed me upon walking into our living room.

I took a deep breath and heaved a sigh before I gazed at him with an apologetic smile pasted on my lips.

"I'm sorry, Pa. I'm low batt. I needed to go back to the hospital for surgery. Saffron needed my assistance, which is why I wasn't able to tell you about it beforehand."  I uttered in a monotone. 

Papa's muscles flexed as he folded his arms and placed them against his chest.

"Make sure next time that you tell me about your whereabouts. I'm worried —"

"Worried that the mafia groups you kept chasing might get back on you through me. You're afraid that they'll kill me too. If that's the case, then why don't you retire from your job, Pa?" I said, cutting him off.

Papa remained silent. 

"I'm a surgeon at the best hospital in the country. I can support us, Papa." I licked my lower lip.

"It's been ten years since Mama died. Do you still blame yourself for her death?"  I asked, gazing at him intently.  I am too determined this time to get him to answer my questions that he has kept on avoiding ever since.

"It's late, Thaleia. Get some rest," he said, changing our topic.

"If you're still feeling guilty about it, why don't you just quit your job?! Why don't you  let go of Sin and his mafia's cases?"  I shouted, earning a death glare, and even when I knew that it was time to shut up, I couldn't.

"Because to track and chase him down, to make him pay for his sins are my sworn duty. It's my responsibility to our people and our country," he muttered, earning a taunting laugh from me.

Isaiah took a deep breath.

"Your mother's death will be pointless if I can't make Sin pay for the crimes he committed. I want Sin to pay for his sins —"

"Mama wouldn't die if not for you. When you accepted his case, you knew that you were putting our family in absolute danger. When you started receiving death threats, you should have dropped his case, but you didn't. You continued as if you were invincible because you badly wanted to be a hero. It shouldn't have been Mama but you that died from that bombing, and if I can choose, I'd rather lose you than Mama—" Papa's palm landed on my cheeks.

I stared angrily at him.

"You know nothing of the pain that I'm going through, Thaleia. You have no right to speak to me that way!" Isaiah's voice trembled.

A tear slipped from my eyes,  "And what about me? The pain that I went through? I was grieving. I needed you at her funeral, but you were busy chasing the Miscreant, and then after, we buried her. We stopped talking about Mama. When Mama died, it felt like you died too. I lost you, too, Pa."

I paused for a moment and harshly wiped my tears off my cheeks.

"Sin is right. You wanted to become the nation's hero; well, guess what? You'll never be one." I turned my back on him and walked straight to my bedroom.

I have been blaming my father for my mother's death, but I couldn't voice it, now I finally exploded.

The following day came with its gloomy atmosphere. 

I compose myself and walk coolly towards the refrigerator to pour water into my glass.

I put the glass in the sink and glanced at it for a moment before I looked away.

"I'm leaving," I said.  I don't really want to have a conversation with him.  I just said those as a form of respect...somehow

"Be safe," Isaiah said in a low voice.

"I don't know what happened, but come on Thaleia. Does it really need to reach the point where you'll abruptly move out of his house? You are his only family," Saffron said. 

I put my phone on speaker mode as I placed it on the dashboard. I fixed the rearview mirror and finally started the car. 

"Saff, I didn't say that I'm cutting him off from my life. What I'm saying is it's better if I move out for now, or this might escalate to something that would be harder to fix." 

"At the end of the day. The ball is in your court, Thaleia. I don't have any duty right now. Do you want to meet up once you're done with your patient," Saffron said.

"I'll hang up; call you later,"  I murmured and ended our call.

Just like yesterday, I still wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone, so I went straight to Sin's room.

Like any other day, I found Sin sleeping on a bed that was wide enough for him.  I cautiously walk towards his bed. He's not wearing his mask, and that gives me a proper view of his. To my shock, I saw tears coming from his eyes.

My forehead furrowed even more after he sobs.

His hand with handcuffs was tightly clenched.  

"Are you having a nightmare?"

"Sin,"  I whispered and patted his shoulder to wake him up gently

Bead of sweat formed on his forehead. 

"Don't...That's enough...Daddy, stop..." Sin whispered with an eyes closed.

I froze as he gently tossed himself to his sides.

"Daddy, please!"

I tried to wake him up a few times, but it just didn't work.  I leaned closer to him and got to see a clearer view of him being scared of something.

"D-dad, please! I-I can't kill Mommy, Daddy, please... I-I don't want to. I don't want to!

I frowned. 

"What? His father made him kill his mom?" I wondered to myself.

"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! I-I didn't mean it, mommy, I didn't mean it."  When I could no longer bear to listen to what I was hearing from his nightmare, I shook him more robustly than before.

Sin opened his eyes and closed them again.  Something tingled in my chest when I saw that he was trying to calm himself down.

"You had a nightmare,"  I murmured.  He opened his eyes and gazed at me.

"That's a reality turned nightmare," he said. There's a hint of sadness in his voice and eyes.

"The day I killed my mother to spare my life from my father's rage was the day I became me, a sinner."  He murmured.  Even I was surprised when I found myself hugging him.

"It's not your fault," I whispered to comfort him.