If I Could

{42} - Plans

Freddie Mercury was tired as Hell.

His room was dark and warm, the perfect atmosphere to finally fall asleep after a busy day, but he couldn't go to bed now. He had decided to sit down and sign one hundred copies of his new album that were destined to be shipped to different music shops around the city. He took a marker and began signing his autograph on the albums, wondering why his daughter had lied to him. Footage of her arriving to Taylor Enterprises was being shown on tabloid television and well, she certainly wasn't visiting Mary. But a problem bigger than Belle lying to her father was that Rami most likely already knew where his wife had been this afternoon, which was exactly what Belle did not want.

"Dad!". Belle lurched into the room as she struggled to find her balance, immediately closing the door behind her as she entered the room.

"Belle, what's going on?", Freddie asked as he tossed his marker to get lost somewhere between the dozens of albums scattered over a table, rushing towards his daughter to see if something was wrong.

"Delilah chewed the hemline of my dress!", she complained about his cat, hiking her dress up so Freddie could see. "And when I pulled it away, she started chasing me as if she wanted to kill me, that's why I closed the door! But that doesn't matter anymore, this dress might be cursed anyways", she scoffed, proceeding to sit on the sofa.

"Why?", Freddie questioned as he furrowed his eyebrows, following Belle and sitting next to her.

"Well, as you might have already guessed, I didn't visit my mom today", she confessed, falling back against the soft cotton sofa. "I went to Taylor Enterprises to ask about Roger's whereabouts and well, I happened to get caught, and.. oh God", she heaved a sigh only at the thought of what was awaiting for her once she arrived home. "Long story made short, they told me where he was. He was at the Taylor International Hotel and, well, I literally only just went there to have my heart broken".

"What? Why?", Freddie asked as he quickly blinked the sleepy tears away from his eyes.

"Roger told me he doesn't want to see me anymore, because he thinks our relationship is going nowhere. I cried and cried, but I have no other choice than accept his decision and move on, finally, after seven freaking years". The truth somehow still hurt Belle, who couldn't help but wish for Roger's redemption, but she knew that wasn't going to happen. She was still in pain, she still could feel how her heart, skin and body withered away to everything she wished she wasn't.

"It's been seven years of him leaving you and then coming back to you. He has never succesfully stayed away from you. What makes you think he will succeed this time?".

"Probably the fact that I have a daughter now and that I'm obviously not the same sixteen-year-old girl who had all the time in the world. Now that I think it through, maybe this is the way it should be. I need to put all of my attention on Alice and I need to focus on making sure that Alice grows up with her parents together".

"You also need to make sure Alice doesn't wake up once Rami starts yelling at you and lose his mind over your visit to Taylor Enterprises, darling", Freddie advised as he tilted his head back and yawned widely.

"That's something that I wanted to talk about too", Belle stated, trying to ease her words but without success. "I think Joe might be selling our information to the press".

The abrupt and heavy wave of shock that Freddie felt as soon as he heard her words showed on his face, and all of his fatigue suddenly went away. What the hell had his daughter just said?

"What?".

"Yes, just think about it. Everytime Joe is around, the paparazzi always seem to magically find us. Who was with you when my mother called you to tell you I was in labour? Who was with you when the news about your new album were leaked, when you were trying to keep it as a surprise for your fans? Who was with us today, when the photographers caught me arriving to Taylor Enterprises? The answer to all those questions is Joe, Dad". Belle took a deep breath, because this was Joe Newton they were talking about, the man her father loved deeply, but she couldn't ignore the swirl of ire itching beneath her skin when she thought about the evident possibility of Freddie being betrayed. "Look, Dad, I know that you always told me that my problems with Daisy wouldn't affect your relationship with him because Joe and Daisy are different people, but I still always felt as if we should have stayed away from that duo. They're both as problematic as each other and you don't deserve that".