Chill Out, Sir

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

''I think you have a rough idea what it means,'' Mr Brooks - or Daniel - told me.

''I really don't know,'' I feigned ignorance. I just wanted to hear it from him.

He sighed, and leaned back on the sofa. ''Let me start from the starting.''

I groaned inwardly. How long was this going to take? Matt saw the expression on my face and smirked. He leaned in next to my ear and whispered, ''Don't worry, this story should be interesting.''

I nodded reluctantly and listened to what the man in front of me had to say.

He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. ''Okay...so you saw the woman in the photo right?'' I nodded. ''Well, 20 years ago I met her during a wrestling competition. It was like love at first sight. She was so beautiful. I thought she was with her boyfriend at that time because I doubted a girl would like fighting,'' he chuckled at the memory. ''But then I found out she was by herself. She loved fighting. I got to know that when she was cheering wildly. I decided to get to know her, and soon we became good friends. As months pass my love for her grew stronger, and one day she confessed she was in love with me. We got married a month later.'' His eyes had a faraway look, most definitely playing the moment in his head.

''Then a year later,'' he continued, ''she got pregnant with a baby girl. Other than her hair, she would look just like her mom.'' His eyes became glassy as he said the next part. ''But after she gave birth to her and we got to take a picture together,'' he paused, letting out a shaky breath. ''she realised she hadn't stopped bleeding. It was unusual. She lost a lot of blood. The doctors tried everything to stop it,but...but it was too late...'' A tear rolled down his cheeks, and I found myself wanting to cry too. ''A year passed after her death, and I was a miserable man. I couldn't face my own daughter because everytime I looked into her eyes, I saw her mother. I felt bad for her, so I decided to do what I thought was best for her...little did I know I did the wrong thing,'' he looked at me. ''I was once good friends with a guy named Carter.'' My breathing hitched, and I clutched Matt's hand for dear life.

''He had told me his wife had problems concieving anymore babies after their first child. I decided it was best to give my daughter to him. She had cried saying she didn't want to go, but I couldn't look at her. I felt bad and guilty since then.'' Tears were now rolling down my cheeks as I finally knew what he was saying. ''Danielle, you're my daughter.''

Finally, I really broke down. I sobbed into Matt's chest as he hugged me. I was literally shaking. Why hadn't he knew Carter was an evil person?

''Danielle, please, forgive me. At the time, I didn't know he was a bad person. We were friends since college, and I really pitied him when he said he couldn't get a daughter. I didn't what I was thinking then, I was stupid. The death of my beloved wife blinded my decisions. I once visited him to get you back, but I found out he moved without me knowing, and I didn't know his address. I tried searching for you, Danielle, believe me, I did.''

He approached me and knelt down in front of me so we were in eye level. I turned to look at him and saw pure sadness and guilt in his eyes. Sadness he had been keeping for years. Guilt he had to live with knowing he had made a mistake of giving me away.

''Please...just please accept me back as your father,'' he begged.

He was looking at me hopefully, and I thought about it. If I had lost someone important to me, I would have surely gone mad. I looked towards Matt whose face was scrunched up in deep thought. If I lost him, I would definitely feel devastated too and won't think properly.

I turned back towards him and hugged him. I nodded as he hugged me back. ''Okay...Dad.'' He cried into my hair as I called him that. I knew it wasn't tears of sadness anymore, it was tears of joy, knowing that his daughter had forgiven him.