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How could she be Catherine's daughter? How did I end up falling in love with her daughter?
Eri would never forgive me If she found out.
I should've not been such a stupid child always wanting things to go my way.
Always causing an unnecessary tantrum if that didn't happen.
Now things had come back to taunt me.
Catherine's daughter was Eri.
Oh gosh, what would she do if she found out?
Chances of her leaving me was far too high, I feared the outcome.
My life would never be complete without her.
Life would be equivalent to miserable without her.
Catherine was obviously someone special in her life. Eri's obviously hated me since I caused her mom's death.
What do I do?
One thing was for sure though… I had to let her know.
No, she needed to know, because I can't live the rest of my life with the guilt of knowing what a grave thing I did.
And never confessed.
Nope, that would also be equivalent to misery.
The sound of the door opening caused me to jerk my eyes open.
And when Eri sauntered in, I sat straight on the bed, my heart hurting with each step she took closer.
“I'm sorry, did I wake you up?” She invited herself to the seat beside me.
“No, I wasn't sleeping.”
I had no idea if that was true.
Was I just thinking with my eyes closed?
Or was I dreaming and thinking about it all in my dream?
Either way, I know I was thinking about Catherine and Eri.
Staring at her, more guilt clawed at me.
It was all because of me that this beauty became motherless.
All because of wanting things to work in my favor.
“Well, good morning.” She planted a peck on my lips.
“Good morning.” I managed to feign a smile.
But from her raised brow, she obviously wasn't buying it. “Is everything alright?”
This is your chance Don.
Let her know you are the Kelvin she's hated for years.
Reveal all the truth to her, and say it in a way she'd not get angry with you for too long.
“Is something wrong?” My silence seemed to have worried her because her brows were pulled together in concern.
Tell her Don.
“Actually,” come on, what are you waiting for? Talk you dummy.
The words were in my throat, but hard to spill out.
“Do you want something?” She placed her hand to cup my cheek, only making talking seem more of a problem.
It made the possible chance of losing her seem like death itself.
“Can you tell me about your mom?” I asked instead.
Well, way to go CEO of a soon-to-be trillion dollar company.
But then again, how was I expected to say something that was far from easy to spill?
“Huh?” It was obvious from her expression that she hadn't expected that.
I wrapped her left hand in my huge own, covering it completely. “I know she's not alive anymore but I just want to know how much she meant to you.” If that made sense.
She stared at me, a hint of uncertainty in her expression before she smiled. “My mom, she meant the world to me. I loved her so much.”
Her gaze travelled everywhere but me now, probably not too comfortable with the conversation.
Why was I even asking?
“She was a woman of hope. Always letting us know the future would be better. Always looking for ways to feed us.
“She was the best person on earth. She loved us with everything in her. She sacrificed a lot for us. It's a pity we couldn't repay her.” A drop of tear rolled down her cheek, only making me feel more guilty.
“I'm sure she'd have been happy about the woman you've become now.” I released her hand from my grip, cupping her cheeks, to wipe the tear off her face.
“You shouldn't cry, okay?”
She nodded, chuckling. “I don't even understand myself, I haven't even said much.”
My hands dropped, while I raised a brow in askance. “Do you still want to tell me more about her?
“Why don't you ask questions while I answer them.”
I nodded, unsure if what I was doing made sense.
But then again, what if June was wrong? What if she'd gotten the wrong information? What if Eri wasn't really Catherine's daughter.
With a tiny bit of hope lit in me, I asked, “what was her name?”
At this point, my entire body hoped to hear what it wanted to.
That her mom's name would be anything. Literally anything in the world that didn't have to do with Catherine.
I mean, there were millions of other names, right?
But all hope was lost when she spoke. “Catherine. Her name was Catherine Sunville.”
My heart dropped at that name.
“Oh, what a beautiful name.” That was all I managed to say.
“Yes, she was also very beautiful. It's such a pity she died so young. All because of a dumbass child.” Her fingers curled in a fist, face reddening slightly in obvious anger.
No. This was not something I wanted to hear.
That dumbass child was me, and the one person who did this to her.
I couldn't possibly sit and wait for her to actually tell that to me.
How would I even break the news to her? She'd hate me for the rest of her life.
No, even till eternity.
Shit.
Still, the dumbass person I was, asked. “D-Dumbass child?”
But of course, I immediately regretted that action only after it was done.
What was I doing? I was only inviting more problems to my life.
“Yes, some dude named Kelvin was this
woman we called ‘Mrs Nice Woman’ son.” She sighed. “It's a long story that needs to be explained for a long time.”
I was glad she didn't continue, because there was no way I could just sit and listen to it all.
It was torture.
Something needed to be done, and soon.
She needed to know the truth. She had every right to, but I had to make sure it was said in the right way.
In a way she was bound to not get mad.
“But then again, why are you asking?” The curiosity in her tone made me almost break into a sweat, but I was able to hide any hint of seriousness or nervousness.
“As I said before, I just want to know how she felt to you.” That was partially true.
I wanted to know how special Catherine was to her and how much of her I ripped out of her.
“Yeah I understand but that doesn't mean it's not weird and so out of the blue.” She leaned closer to plant a kiss on my lips.
The fact I didn't return the kiss obviously made her more suspicious.
“Don, is everything alright?” This was my chance to let her know the truth.
It was like the universe was giving me a chance to let her know the truth.
Just start talking.
Open that damn mouth of yours. “Yes, yes it is.”
Lies.
Of all the things the mouth could spill. It had to be a lie.
Yep, I was equally disappointed in myself.
“Okay then, let's go have breakfast.” She stood up. “Go have your shower and change into something less sexy, okay?”
I managed a believable chortle. “Okay princess.”
Gosh this was a disaster. I needed to let her know what a stupid man she ended up with and I needed to do that as soon as possible.
I must.
I will.