5. the truth #2
There aren’t that many customers in the coffee shop, and Aaron busies himself cleaning the tables, his hands trembling anxiously while he waits.
"Aaron," a voice says from behind him, and he turns around to see Riko coming towards him. She is here.
He smiles, trying to push the bad thoughts away. "Hey, um, sit here, come on, I’ll bring you something to drink," he says, pointing at a table close by, and Riko nods and follows his lead. "What would you like?"
"Coffee, black, no sugar," she says instantly, and Aaron hurries to the kitchen to prepare it. He takes a deep breath and steadies himself.
This isn’t going to be too bad, he can control the flow of the conversation. Yeah, he tells himself, he can do this, he just needs to make a good impression on her, and then maybe she won’t be upset with him anymore for dating Rion.
He brings her her coffee and a latte for himself, sitting down next to her. "Thanks," she says.
There is a beat of awkward silence after that; even though she’s the one who wants to meet him, Riko is not saying anything. Well, he’s not surprised; she was never good with words.
"So, what have you been up to? It’s been what, eleven years since we saw each other?" he asks, trying to break the ice.
She holds her coffee cup in her hands and says, "Not much. I’m in my third year of Business Studies at SafironUniversity. It’s been exhausting, but I like it, and if I do well this semester, Father promised me that I could intern under him at ASHI."
"That’s a really good school." It shouldn’t be a problem for Rion to have her enrolled there since he is rich. Her course, though, surprises Aaron, as he did not expect her to be doing Business Studies. "I thought that you wanted to be a detective? That’s what you always said when we were kids."
She gives him a small smile. "I did, but I don’t know; after living with Father for so long and watching how hard he works, I developed an interest in business. I’ve changed my mind. I want to work with him and help him out. What about you? What have you been up to, and what about James?"
Aaron brings his cup to his lips and drinks a bit of his latte. "Oh, James is studying Law, like he wanted. He’s in the library right now, but he’ll be back soon; he wants to see you too," he tells her.
"I see," she says, still with that small smile. "It’ll be nice to see him. But what about you, then?"
If it had been a couple of months ago, Aaron would have been tongue-tied, not knowing what to say since his life had not been going the way he wanted. But now he also has a direction, something to look forward to.
"I haven’t had much time to myself since my mum’s been sick, but now that she’s better, I’ve enrolled in Engelbatch University, and I’ll be studying Criminal Justice so that I can become an Intelligence Analyst in the future."
"That’s great, you'll be living your dream. I’m glad that you two are doing well," Riko says pleasantly. "I did hear that Laura was unwell; how is she doing now?"
"Good," Aaron smiles, "Xander and I went to visit her yesterday, and she was doing much better."
"That’s a relief."
It’s not so bad, Aaron realises, meeting with Riko. Whatever else happens, they were very good friends when they were kids. "You look great; it’s been so long, and you look amazing. Sorry, I didn’t say that when I first saw you, I was in a hurry," Aaron tells her.
"Thank you, and so do you. I’m also sorry about yesterday; you left because of me, didn’t you? I just dropped by unannounced. Me being there made things weird, right?" she asks, taking a sip of her coffee.
"Not at all." Aaron tries to come up with an excuse, but he can’t think straight right now.
"It’s fine, Aaron," she says softly, looking down. "I also didn’t expect that Father’s new boyfriend was you."
Aaron cringes. It sounds worse when it’s coming from her, and he wants to give her some kind of excuse, but still cannot think of a good one.
"You’re probably wondering how that came to be, right?
As far as everyone knew, my dad passed away when I was just a baby," she says, still looking down, hands on her cup.
Aaron is curious, but it is up to her to tell him.
"Father was friends with Mum's older brother.
They met when they were young, with The Crystal Brothers' Syndicate .
They got together but it wasn't anything serious. When she found out she was pregnant, Mum ran away from the gang and changed her name. Father didn’t even know when she died that she left me behind. "
Oh, this is news to Aaron, Rion had been in a gang when he was young? "Oh, I see. Then, you met him after your mum died?"
She finally looks up and nods. "Yeah, after my mum’s death, Child Services took me.
I know your mother offered to look after me, and I’m grateful for it, but she already had a full plate with you and Xander.
Anyway, they searched to see if I had any family left, and all I knew about my father was his name, but they managed to find Rion, and they told him about me. "
There is a faraway look in her eyes as she says all this, and Aaron does not interrupt, instead, listening attentively to her.
"He was just finding his footing in life, his company, ASHI, with Alvin, was just starting to really take off, and he was about to get married... but when he found out about me, he didn’t hesitate to take me in.
He didn’t have to, but he brought me to live with him," she says, and Aaron hands her a serviette to wipe the tears that are falling from her eyes. Talking about this makes her emotional, it seems. "Father took really good care of me. Unfortunately, Alvin didn’t want kids, and Rion didn’t want to let me go, so they broke up.
He lost Alvin because of me, and I know he doesn’t blame me, but I feel guilty about it, and I’ve always hoped that he finds someone he loves just as much or even more. "
She wipes her tears and takes another sip of her coffee before fixing her eyes on Aaron.
For the first time, he can see the resemblance between her and Rion; it’s the eyes.
Now, Aaron understands why Rion said that his daughter was very protective of him.
She loves him, and she wants him to be happy.
He grips his coffee cup tightly, "I guess I’m not really what you want for him, huh?" he asks quietly.
"No!" she says quickly. "That’s not it. He has terrible taste in men, and most of the people he’s been with after Alvin have been... well, let’s just say that most of them were attracted to his money more than anything else, and even though he says he doesn’t have a problem with it, I know that he wants more from his relationships.
Father's very nurturing, he likes taking care of people, and they take advantage of that. "
This is too much, and Aaron wants the ground to swallow him because he is one of those people, taking advantage of Rion’s kindness and compassion. "Riko, I’m sorry."
She raises her eyebrows, "Why are you apologising? If anything, I should be saying I’m sorry.
He told me that he was seeing someone a few days ago, and I asked his assistant to find out what kind of person it was.
When I heard how young you were, I got worried it was the same thing again, some young man taking advantage of him, so I rushed back home.
" She looks at him apologetically. "But when I saw that it was you, I was relieved. "
Oh, so she had someone spying on him, then? But why is she relieved? She must know about his financial situation. "What do you mean?"
She scratches her head and then smiles, a sweet smile reminiscent of Rion’s own.
"I was relieved because I know you, and I know you’re not using my father.
You’re a good person, Aaron, and I’m sorry for doubting you.
You’re kind, and you’re my old friend, so I know you don’t take advantage of people.
You have a good heart, and it doesn’t hurt that you’re his type, like you're just the kind of person that he likes.
Plus, I saw the way you looked at him, so I know that you really like him.
" She looks him in the eyes once more. "Aaron, please take good care of my father. "
In that moment, the trust that she puts in him shakes Aaron to the core.
Riko loves Rion dearly and wants what’s best for him.
She’s asking Aaron to look after him, not knowing the true nature of their relationship, not knowing that Aaron is just as bad as all those who used Rion previously.
She is sitting there, giving her childhood friend her blessing to date her father because she trusts him, and it makes Aaron’s heart hurt. How long can he keep this up?
All this does is affirm for Aaron that he needs to tell Rion the truth.
He needs to tell Rion how he feels and accept whatever Rion decides.
He takes Riko’s hand and holds her gaze.
"Rion is good to me. He treats me better than anyone ever has, and my heart can’t help but keep falling for him.
I don’t know how he truly feels about me, but I love Rion.
I haven’t told him yet, but I do. I would never hurt him. That much I can promise you."
Admitting his feelings to her and to himself is a step in the right direction, because she smiles at him once more and says,"Thank you. That means a lot to me. I’ll go back to school later today, so you can come see him anytime."
"I appreciate that," he smiles back at her.
James arrives at the coffee shop a few minutes later, with Elena, who eyes Riko suspiciously when James hugs her enthusiastically. However, she relaxes when it becomes clear that they are just childhood friends who have not seen each other in years.