The Dating proposal

47| Son

Minutes and hours pass over and over again. The darkness of the room engulfed me. They're taunting me, the people in the room with me. I can see them, I can hear them. Their low whispers and laughter, cursing me, stabbing me, peeling my skin off. I felt the sweat run down from the side of my face down to my chin. I swallowed and tried to block out their voices. The voices telling me I was a mess, telling me my life was ruined, telling me I don't deserve to be happy.  The people that died because of my family, were all around me.

The piercing sound of the metal door creaking awoken me from my trance and I flinched as I turned back to monitor the new person in the room. I expected it to be the inspector from before but the person before me had such a solemn look in his eyes that I don't know who looked worse between him and me.

"Mr- Mr. Manchester," I managed to let out as I was still feeling light-headed and weak. I didn't do anything in particular that made me tired, it was my mind. I was exhausted from the inside and lost the will to fight anymore. I decided to take the burden and end it all, and it was eating me from the inside. Just like I was withering the life in me away.

He pursed his chapped lips together and scanned me with his icy blue eyes, I bet his son had blue eyes just like him. His son who my family killed. His family which my family ruined. His son who my Quinn loved and cherished. I took my eyes away from his as these thoughts crammed my head, and I felt myself twitching.

My breaths became harsh and staggered. He was there to kill me, just like how his son was killed. He was there to ruin me. My hands began to tremble and I shut my eyes so tightly like I was hoping to open it and for it to all be a dream.

Then his touch came and the sensation of icy water ran down my spine. His touch on my shoulder covered my body as he wrapped his hands around me and I sat there, perplexed and frightened. I forgot to breathe as he held me and I heard a soft sigh from him.

"It's not your fault... You've already been through so much." His voice was so gentle and calming that I suddenly felt the suffocating air around us disperse and I could suddenly breathe again. He spoke so gently, I could see why Quinn cherished him so much.

"You are still so young. You don't deserve any of this," he said as he finally released me but still stayed in his crouched position and stared at me. "And most importantly, you love my daughter."

That did it. The tears strolled down my face without me blinking and my lips quivered.

"Why did you tell them you did it?"

"Be- because... I did it. I- I - I poisoned him," I drew a breath slowly.

"No, you didn't. You know she did it, don't you? Is that why you're taking the blame?" He stood up and moved the chair across the table to sit beside me.

I looked around warily. "You can't say that here," I pointed at the glass wall beside him and he waved my worries away.

"I told them to excuse us. Nothing is working right now. Not the camera or speakers and no one is watching us. It's just us. So you can feel free," he assured me but it only made me more tense.

He could kill me if he wanted to right there.

He must have read my mind and body language as I lowered my shoulder and slightly moved away from him because he said, "I understand that you might not trust me because of my wife. But please, I've been in pure distress since I found out about her plan and what she did to you. I- I know there's nothing I can say to make you feel comfortable but please give me the benefit of the doubt. After all, we both want the best for the same person, Quinn."

Hearing her name brought me back to earth and I finally relaxed and released my finger from the tight fist they were locked in.

"Why did you say it was you?" he asked again.