Chapter 02— Truth about my father.

~MERRY POV~

Justin, a competent police officer, and I had been spending hours together. I told him about a dream I had, where a man was driving a car under the influence of alcohol and ended up crashing into a petrol pump, causing a fatal accident.

Justin took my statement and closed the case. 

He is an excellent detective who often handles investigations independently, and he's willing to risk his safety to apprehend suspects.

It may sound peculiar, but my ability to dream has helped Justin solve many cases in the past. Together, we've caught many criminals, thanks to my dream ability.

My mother left for work; she's a scientist working in a laboratory. As for me, I majored in journalism, but I developed an interest in the business industry. I'm not sure how it happened, but I'm passionate about it.

While on the phone with my mother, she asked me to retrieve a forgotten lab file from her room.

     "I sent Joseph to the house; please give him!" Joseph is my mother's junior and her assistant.

    "Give me a second!" I jumped off the bed while making my way towards my mother's room.

   "It's in my cupboard!" She revealed the information as soon as I stepped inside the room.

I opened the cupboard and picked up the file while shaking it in my fist.

   "I got it!" I hung up the call, and my eyes captured some envelopes under the dress when I was about to close the cupboard.

Curiosity got the better of me, making me check the envelope.

    "TO MERRY!" I was surprised to see my name on the envelope.

I wondered who could have sent me the letter. Furthermore, I was puzzled as to why it was in my mother's cupboard. So, I opened the envelope and read the letter.

The first sentence read "Hello, my daughter!" I was stunned and continued reading the letter.

   "I know it's too late to introduce myself—I'm yours, Dad!" 

"Dad?" A word escaped with a sigh.

~LETTER~

Dear Merry,

Happy 18th birthday, my daughter! I hope this letter finds you well after all these years. 

I'm sorry for not being in touch with you for so long, but I want you to know that I've been searching for you for 15 years, and now I've finally found you. 

I can't express my happiness to you in words.

I don't know what you look like, but I'm sure you're beautiful after all, you are my daughter. 

Your mother took you away from me when you were a toddler, and I've been searching for you ever since.

I've forgiven your mother for cheating on me, but I can never forgive her for separating YOU from me for all these years. 

Maybe your mother didn't let you know about our family but you have grandpa, uncle, aunt, sister, and cousin brothers who would love to meet you.

I want you to know that now you are free to make any decision. 

It's your 18th birthday, and I'm coming to pick you up soon. You can decide whether to stay with me or not.

I hope we can make up for all the lost time together, and I promise to always be there for you.

Love you so much, daughter.

From your father,

Harry Gilbert.

____________...__________

I stumbled backward, losing my balance and falling onto the bed, my limbs shaking with disbelief. 

I was speechless, unable to comprehend the weight of the words I had just read. 

My eyes flickered back and forth between the letter and the empty space in front of me.

      "WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST READ?" I muttered, rolling my eyes and running my fingers through my hair before looking back at the letter. The words on the paper seemed to blur before my eyes, and I had to take a deep breath to steady myself.

     "IS MY FATHER ALIVE?" I questioned myself and then I let out a sigh, my mind reeling at the implications. My mother had always told me that my father passed away when I was a young child. But what I had just discovered was enormous - a secret that had been kept from me for all these years.

"WHY WOULD MY MOTHER KEEP SUCH A HUGE SECRET FROM ME?" I groaned at the information in the letter, my stomach churning with a mix of confusion and anger.

    "AND WHAT, MY MOTHER CHEATED ON MY FATHER?" I looked back into the information— I was completely bewildered, my thoughts spinning out of control as I tried to make sense of the situation.

     "WHAT ON EARTH IS HAPPENING AROUND ME?" I gasped, taking rapid breaths and feeling my heart pounding in my ears. 

The ground seemed to tilt beneath my feet, and I had to grip the edges of the bed to keep from falling.

The rest of the time passed by in a blur. 

I called Justin and asked him to meet me at the cafeteria, my voice shaking with emotion. 

When he arrived, I handed him the letter, my hands still trembling with shock. 

He was just as shocked as I was after reading it, his eyes widening in disbelief as he took in the words on the page.

   "What the heck?" He exclaimed, staring at me in disbelief.

     "Do you think this is real?" He asked, his police instincts kicking in.

     "Do you think it's a forgery?" I replied, equally unsure.

    "There is the chance of writing this letter pretending to be your father?" He wondered aloud.

     "Okay, let's assume it's true for a moment. If my father really did die like my mother said, then why would she hide this letter in her closet?" I asked, presenting a logical question that made Justin stop and think.

I always confided my secrets to him and never hid anything.

     "If not me, my mother would have told you and filed a complaint about this fake letter!" I reasoned.

    "But she hasn't!"  I shrugged my shoulders.

    "She hid this letter in her closet!" I let a groan out while snatching the letter from his hand.

     "This letter is from my 18th birthday, and Justin, I'm now 23 years old!"

      "Look, it says, 'Daughter, I'm coming to pick you up!" I read out loud.

     "It seems like a warning to my mother!" I turned to Justin.

       "Do you remember how my mother suddenly moved us to another city after my 18th birthday?" I asked him.

   "Yes, I do!" He nodded.

   "Well, if I consider this letter as evidence when my father said he was going to pick me up—my mother moved us to another country at the same time."

  "WE CAME TO LONDON FROM AUSTRALIA!" I exclaimed.

     "I asked my mother about the sudden move, but she told me she had transferred to London! Was it all a lie?" I questioned, feeling confused and betrayed.

I wondered if my mother was lying to me about my father all these years.

I used to cry myself to sleep, longing for my father's love. 

All my friends had both parents, and I envied them. 

They go on picnics with their parents, and their fathers used to give them gifts and support them. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about my mother. 

She has always supported and protected me, and I'm proud to be her daughter.

She was the duo of mother and father.

She was the strongest woman I've seen in my life and I am proud to be her daughter, but somewhere, I missed my father very much.

A girl has some desires for her father, and I missed him so much.

I couldn't control it anymore; the tears started rolling down my cheek.

As tears streamed down my face, Justin's voice broke through the silence, calling out to me with a tone of concern. 

His arms wrapped around me, pulling me close as he cradled my head with one hand and ran his fingers through my hair with the other. 

It was a moment of pure comfort as I allowed myself to cry and let out my emotions.

I felt safe and supported in Justin's arms—my mother knew about my needs and desires but Justin knew me in a different way.

He knew the things that I kept hidden from everyone, and he always seemed to know exactly what to say to make me feel better.

    "Don't you dare roll one more tear down, understood?" Justin said firmly, lifting my chin up to look into my eyes while wiping away my tears— a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

    "You know I can't stand seeing you cry!" He said, breaking the hug and wiping my tears away with his thumb.

    "You know, after my mother, you're the one I love the most!" he added, pausing for a moment before clarifying, "As a friend!"

I laughed and he winked at me while taking my hand and placing his hand on my palm while promising me something.

      "Give me 24 hours; I promise I will inquire about this letter and bring the truth out!" He said this while taking my cheeks in his large hands.

Justin's confidence in his ability to uncover the truth filled me with a sense of determination that I had never felt before.

I trust him more than anything!

   "For now, this is an anonymous letter!" He said this while taking the letter in his hand.

    "If your father is really alive, I will tell you about him within 24 hours!” He moved his finger while saying. 

    "But first, let me ask you something—do you think your mother has cheated on your father like the letter claims?"

Without hesitation and wasting time, I replied to him, 

   "No, I trust my mother more than anything in this world."

   "As the letter claims, if she had the affair with the other man, she would have married him by now but she is single!"  I said everything in one breath before losing in my thoughts.

I am going to prove my mother's innocence.

If my father is alive, I will question him about pointing out my mother's character.

But the big question in my mind is—why has my mother hidden from me about my father?

Oh my goodness, I have a bad feeling about it.

•

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•

•

I was sound asleep in my bed when a bright light made me blink my eyes.

I tried to shake off the new dream that was taking over my thoughts, I couldn't help but feel anxious. 

I didn't want to experience another death in my dream.

To snap out of it, I tried to open my eyes when I saw myself in the dream. 

Wait a second, is the dream about me? 

There was someone with me but I can't recognize

    "Julian!" I whispered while looking at him and biting my lips in my dream 

So, the boy's name is Julian.

    "What did you think about my proposal?" His voice was so husky, it was definitely a dream, but my body shivered.

Which proposal is he talking about—my unconscious mind yelled inside me!

I tried to scan his face, and my eyes widened as soon as it captured his beauty.

He was so handsome, with broad shoulders and green, piercing eyes.

This man is more handsome than Justin!

There was tension between me and the man, Julian!

    "I'm ready to marry you!" I said when a devilish smile appeared on his lips.

What the hell?

How am I ready to marry him when I don't even know him? 

     "Great!" Julian hugged me for a second.

   "Now, you're with me, and I can take revenge on them!" he said, touching my cheek before opening the car door.

     "Now let's get into the car, and we are going straight to church for marriage!" Then a strong sound echoed around the place.

The truck bumped against me and the boy, Julian while making us fall to the ground.

     "Aaaaaaaaah!" I yelled at the top of my lungs—it was definitely a dream!

I wanted to open my eyes, but I couldn't! 

My heart was pounding in my ears.

The visuals of my dream—

The blood was bleeding from my bed to the cheek and I was taking rapid breaths while coughing.

I closed my eyes, leaving my last breath out in my dream with blood on my body!

     "Aaaahhhh!" I opened my eyes and jumped from my bed while taking rapid breaths.

My body was shivering, and my heart was aching in pain.

I grabbed my heart with my hand—there was a mirror in front of me and I looked at myself through the reflection.

My dreams always come true.

    "Am I going to die?" The words escaped from my mouth, making me scared to death.

To Be Continued.