Lords Series #2: Deceitful Warm (COMPLETED)

CHAPTER 32

IT'S EARLY IN THE MORNING, about 6 AM, Henri asked for Anica. 

“What do you want?” Anica asked as soon as she entered Henri's room.

“Sit down, sweetheart.” Henri fixed his robe and sat down in his couch. Nakade-kwatro rin itong nakaupo at sininyasan s'yang umupo. Umupo naman kaagad si Anica sa harap nito at matiim silang nagkatitigan.

Henri took something from the pocket of his robe and put it in the morning table,it's a flash drive.

“You don't need to work hard just to sue the Governor anymore.” Henri said, referring to the flash drive he placed in front of her.

“W-What's this?” Anica asked and picked up the flash drive.

“You'll know once you open that. I'm sure that's more than enough to make him pay. The only thing you could do now is to make sure that no higher ups will cover up for him.” Henri answered and called some maids to take his breakfast in. Parang napako si Anica sa kanyang kinauupuan dahil sa binigay nito. She's sure that this flash drive contains evidences they could use. Seeing how nonchalant this old man in front of her makes her form questions inside her head.

“That's all. You can go and have your breakfast.” Henri said as he sip on his coffee.

“Why?” Anica asked.

“I know I could ask anyone to give that thing to you but I want to see my daughter's gorgeous face—”

“Why do you act like that?” Anica cuts him off and suddenly, tears are forming from the edge of her eyes. Henri looked at her with a confused face.

“Why do you act so nonchalant and say nothing? Don't you think I deserve an explanation from you why you— why you abandoned me? But why are saying nothing and act like you saw me everyday? You didn't hug me. You didn't say sorry.  You didn't even smile genuinely when we first saw each other. How can a father act like that?” Anica burst into tears as she shout those questions she have been keeping to herself. Henri puts his cup down calmly and sighed.

“Does a bad father deserve to explain himself when he knows that's he's all at fault since the first day he lost his daughter?” Henri looked at Anica and sadly smile.

“I have no courage to lay a finger on my daughter whom I sinned to. I don't have the rights to hug the daughter I lost because of who I am and for my ego.” Henri hissed making Anica even tear up even more.

“My explanation shouldn't be heard. It won't change anything.”

Anica wiped off her tears and tried to look at Henri with those brave eyes, “But at least I-I would know why I was a-abandoned and left on t-that jeepney. At least hearing your explanation may change the present and the future.”

“Will you understand?” he asked and Anica took a deep breath.

“Maybe.” She answered immediately. She thought that Henri would say or explain himself yet they were filled with silence. That silence shattered her heart into millions of pieces.

“Or maybe I'm just worth the abandonment.”

Anica stood up and turned her back on Henri. She was ready to walk out the room but his voice broke the deafening silence.

“I didn't abandoned you, Chisana.” Anica faced him but he was looking at his cold coffee.

“You were taken by one of our Filipino maid. She took you. It was 1996, you were one year old and everything was messed up. Some people tried to bring me down. Your mother's clan was all against our marriage because she's out of league, a daughter of the richest Duke of Spain and all I was is a Count who reached this place of petty. While they were attacking us, Rita took you out this place for she knows that the attackers were aiming to get you.”

“But because I don't want you to live with the family of your mother's side, I asked Rita to take you far away from Spain. It will hurt my pride if you'll grow up with them and it makes me question myself and my worth. I don't want them to make petty of me because they are higher than me, so, Rita took you to Philippines but when you turned 2 years old, they were haunting you again and Rita has no other choice but to leave you where they won't find you.” He continued to narrate what happened. He looked at Anica and a tear dropped off from his eyes.

“She died right after.”

Anica wasn't able talk because of what she discovered.

“When she died, I had no one in that country to count on. So, your mother and I did our best to make my name rise up. She took down the name of her family by locking them in jail. The wealth they had made our family rise and that's when hope starts to form. We asked many people to find you for years but we weren't able to find you sooner.”

“W-What happened to my m-mother?” Anica asked as she never saw her in this mansion and no one even dared to talk about her.

“She died out of sadness. She lost hope and she died with a depressed heart.” Henri took a deep breath trying to stop himself from bursting in tears.

“Your mother is too kind that she didn't even resent me for losing you because of my greed and ego.”

Napako si Anica sa kanyang kinakatayoan at hindi makapagsalita. Hindi n'ya alam ngunit kahit gaano ka sakit ang kwentong narinig n'ya ay para s'yang nabunutan ng napakamaraming tinik na nagpapahirap sa kanya sa buong buhay n'ya. Knowing the truth set the growing range inside her but there was also pain— there's still pain in her heart. Her mother died and so as the woman who risk her life just to keep her away from the villains.

“It was your ego that brought the disasters.” Anica hissed and wiped off her tears.

“But I would never want to live and grow in the hands of those people who looks down on you. Your ego made me grow up like this — I grew as a fine woman because of your ego, f-father.”

Despite of her stiff knees, she walked towards Henri and hugged him.

“Father!”

FAITH
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