Riley let out a nervous breath and glanced at her father who sat next to her, only to find him already glancing at her. They quickly look forward. The silence in the room is deafening and Riley feels very uncomfortable.
The clang of metal brought the members of the Browns family out of their thinking. They both stood up in a haste, glancing at each other once more before focusing back on the door. Riley rubbed her sweaty hands on her pants. Even Peterson looked nervous.
The door opened. The first person to walk in was a nice looking woman dressed in a blue uniform. She looked at the two without a word then turned her back on them. Mariposa got in next, stopping infront of the officer to get her handcuffs removed. Once she was uncuffed, the officer looked at them all.
"You have 45 minutes," after those words, she left the room, locking it behind her. Mariposa looked at them both and Peterson was quick to get to her, trapping her in a tight hug that she reciprocated with closed eyes.
Riley watched them while awkwardly standing by the table. The two embraced each other like two love birds who haven't seen each other in years. Slowly, they pulled apart, and Peterson led his wife to the table, still holding her hands. Riley sat down as well while her father settled back on the seat next to her, Mariposa opposite them.
The older woman looked at her daughter and smiled.
"Thank you for coming," she thanked her gently, but Riley didn't say anything. She glanced at her father then looked down at her hands which rested on the table. She didn't exactly come here willingly. Infact, she hadn't known about the visit until their car drove into the place. Her father called her yesterday, telling her that she ought to accompany him somewhere. So instead of meeting her friends to help them in setting up for the party, she woke up early this Thursday morning and drove to the mansion where her father was waiting for her .
Once she was in the safety of her room, she sought out for a formal outfit to wear. Since her father didn't tell her where he was taking her, she just assumed that they were going on a business meeting or something. It wouldn't be the first time that her father dragged her into his businesses without telling her.
To say she was shocked when she finally saw where she was being taken, would be an understatement. She didn't know how to feel. Of course she couldn't go against her father but she didn't exactly want to be here. Not like this anyways.
Mariposa looked at her husband and held both of his hands in hers, making him smile at her. Oh how they have missed each other. Sure, Peterson had his regular visits to his wife but with everything that had been going on, they barely ever saw each other. It also doesn't help that their time is limited here. However, Peterson has been making means to get his wife out of jail, without her knowledge.
"I think it's time for us to tell her the truth," Mariposa said gently, the words making Peterson stiffen. He was always a different men when with his wife. Soft. Kind. Gentle. Caring. Loving. The love he had for her was always evident in his eyes. The pain of losing her brought a great change to him. He became a shadow of himself. Sure, Peterson was never one to be soft. He was never vocal when it came to his feelings. His ways were as a result of how he was raised, and they were the reason behind the drift between him and his daughter. Mariposa was always the one to bring them together, but after she got arrested, the two drifted further apart.
"We shouldn't-" Peterson tried to protest but Mariposa shook her head, silencing him. Panic was visible in his eyes as he gave her a pleading look. But Mariposa was tired of hiding the truth for so long. Riley looked at her mother in confusion. What truth? She wondered, but didn't say anything. Her mother turned to her and sighed, Peterson looking down in shame.
"It was a sunny day. If you remember correctly, you went out to see your friends. A bunch of kids from the neighborhood. We were supposed to have lunch together as a family before your father left for his usual business trips.
His name was Miles. Gosh I still remember how he looked like," Murrieta spoke dreamily as her eyes drifted up to the dull ceiling. That's when Riley knew exactly what she was talking about. The man who died. The man her father killed. The reason why her mother was stolen from her by the cold walls of this jail, for so many years.
"Short dirty blonde hair. Sea green eyes. A sense of humour for hours. He had just transferred to my workplace for reasons none of us knew. But he was so nonchalant and carefree. It didn't take long for him and I, along with a lot of our other colleagues, to become friends. Everything was fine, his work was commendable and everyone at work liked him.
The problem started about two weeks after he came. He started showing interest in me. At first, he was sweet with his gestures of courtship. Buying me roses. Noticing the most silly things about me. He used to tell me that I have beautiful smile," she let's out a small sigh and smiles, looking at her daughter.
"He could sweep any woman off off of her feet with his sweet words. Any woman, but not me. That's where the problem was," she continued, her expression changing into a darker one as she seemed to be taken back to same incident she was narrating. "For some weird reason, he seemed to be attracted to me. Of course I told him that I am married, but that didn't seem to bother him. As time went by, he got a bit aggressive with his displays of affection. He would grab my wrists whenever I told him that I didn't wish to talk to him. Sometimes I'd see his car following mine whenever I left work. I tried to talk to him about how scary his actions were. I even went as far as threatening to get a restraining order against him, and for a short while he seemed to back off.
I thought that he'd leave me alone after the talk we had, but clearly, I was wrong. He continued to follow me without my knowledge. Your father had suggested that I call the police on him but I didn't think he was that much of a threat.
On the day of the accident, he barged into our home, demanding to see me. Your father here tried to get him to leave in a calm manner, but he simply got angry. It's like he turned into this crazy possessive person and it frightened me. He had a gun with him. One that he used to threaten me into leaving with him. I tried to talk to him, see if I could reason with him you know? But it didn't work. Your father, being more of a physical guy, managed to get close enough to him to grab the gun. But Miles was also strong. They wrestled for the gun while I panicked, and then, that's when the gun went off, killing Miles. It was my fault. I brought him into our live," Mariposa said, but Riley was quick to cut her.
"It wasn't your fault," she said stubbornly, her eyes darkened. Her heart was beating too fast and the air felt too heavy on her lungs, her eyes glassed by salty liquids.
"Nor is it your father's fault," Mariposa added gently as she reached out one of her hands to hold Riley's hands, while the other stayed glued to Peterson's hands. Her eyes were soft and her voice was gentle, but her eyes were now slightly blurred by tears. Peterson kept his head down as he felt his own tears push at the lids of his black eyes.
"I couldn't let him take the fall for an incident that I could've stopped, if only I had listened to him and reported the man. Baby, your father had a very bad upbringing. His father used to beat him and his mother. He didn't know how a soft and peaceful life was like until he met me. Then you were born, and I could see it in his eyes that he loved you more than life itself. I couldn't deny him the chance of raising you," she tried to explain, but Riley roughly pulled back her hands, the anger usually bubbling inside her chest now swimming up her throat.
"Raise me? You denied me the chance of having a mother! Don't you get it? He was never there for me! He is never around. He doesn't show me any love or care. Not even a bit of kindness yet he can do that to other people. I get that he had a hard upbringing but is it fair to make me suffer for it? He controlled my life and refused me the opportunity to live. You left me mom, and you left me all alone because your sweet husband here was too busy grieving his own loss to care about mine!" She yelled, the tears now streaming down her cheeks.
Peterson looked up then, his eyes red with tears as he tried to reach out to hold his daughter's hands.
"Riley," he called her, but the latter pulled her hands away and glared at him.
"Don't.fucken.touch.me!" She scowled, pushing herself away from him. Her chest burned and her breathing was laboured.
"I had to take a course I didn't want because of you. I lost friends because of you! You took away my chance of being a happy kid," the words were directed to her father, but they cut Mariposa deeper than any knife ever could. Riley wiped her tears with the back of her hands and gave her father a dark look.
"All I ever wanted was to be enough for you. For you to see my efforts, my tries. For you to show me love and care. For you to help me up whenever I fell instead of rubbing it in my damn face! For you to help me with my weaknesses instead of calling me weak! You've never even asked me if I was okay. I just wanted you to be a father to me but you ruined my fucken life!" Her fists banged on the table and it made a loud sound. Her parents flinched. The officer outside banged the door, telling them to keep it down. She turned to look at her mother and gave her a sarcastic smile.
"You were protecting him, huh? But what about me? Who protected me mom?!" She asked. Her eyes were red and she couldn't stop the tears flowing out of her eyes. Mariposa buried her face in her hands and let out a body shaking sob. Peterson rushed to her, engulfing her in his arms, too afraid to look at his daughter. The guilt was eating him up.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry Riley. I'm so sorry. We thought we were doing the right thing," Mariposa tried to speak through her tears, her words breaking due to her sobs. Riley scoffed then and stood up.
Just then, the door opened, the officer from earlier on walking in.
"Your time is up," she said, a look of sympathy on her face. Riley looked at her parents and wiped her tears. Without any more words, she walked out of the room, leaving them in each other's arms.
.......
Friday morning, and Riley felt like crap. She spent the night at Max's place but had to return to the mansion. She had a client to deal with before the party. Layla also came to see her. She and Max helped comfort her. As she drove into the large compound of her home, she felt her heart beat quicken pace. Switching off the engine, she stepped out of the car and locked it. As she walked inside, she looked around and saw some guards and maids moving around with their usual duties. Once she was inside, the first person she saw was Mary.
"Hey mama," she greeted her with a small smile. The woman didn't say much, she simply pulled her into her arms and gave her a tight hug. Riley blinked back her tears as she hugged her back. When they pulled away, Mary gave her concerned look.
"Are you okay? You haven't been home in days," she asked her. Such a simple question, yet the answer was not easy. Before Riley could reply, her father came downstairs. Their eyes shot up and saw him, his eyes also moving to look at them and his steps slowed. Riley looked at Mary and smiled at her. She gave the older woman's hands a tight squeeze and kissed her cheek.
"I'm alright mama, don't worry." Mary looked at her for a second then sighed.
"Okay. Let me know if you need anything," she said before walking away, out of the house. Probably to supervise the work of her junior maids. Riley looked down and tried to walk away from her father, not wanting to talk to him.
"Riley," he called for her. But his voice was not harsh or cold like it usually is. It was soft, sad. Riley clenched her jaws and fisted her hands, turning to face him.
"Yes, father?" There was annoyance in her words and her features were darkened. Peterson walked closer to her and stood a few inches away, looking at her with a soft expression.
"I'm sorry." Riley blinked then, her hands unclenched and so did her jaws. Her expression softened. Just two words. Two words her father has never said to her. Two words that seemed to wipe away her anger, her hatred, her pain. Two simple words. She never knew how powerful they were until this moment, where her father is standing infront of her looking broken.
"I'm really sorry," Peterson repeated as he took more steps towards his daughter. He reached down and gently took her hands into his, holding them with a small squeeze as he looked down into her eyes. Tears returned to Riley again, streaming down like a small river down a hill.
"And I love you so, so much," he concluded, his voice breaking as his own tears flowed down his cheeks. I love you. The words sounded foreign to Riley's ears. For years she craved to hear them from her father, and for years he dared not say them to her. Her walls came crumbling down and suddenly, she was a little girl again.
"I love you with all my heart." After those words, he pulled her into a bone crashing hug, holding her frozen body tightly against his. Riley took in a long breath before she let her body relax. Slowly, she snaked her arms around his waist and hugged him back, burying her face in his chest as her eyes closed. Never had she felt so much warmth and comfort before. Peterson let out a small relieved laugh and smiled, not letting her go.
"My tiger," he called her, and she felt like her heart was whole again. Suddenly, she could breath. Suddenly, she felt loved. Suddenly... She was alive again.
.......
Whew! That was a lot. Personally, this was an emotional chapter for me but let me know what you think. Yay! Riley and her father finally fixed things. More secrets are to be revealed so please, keep reading. Stay safe and happy. Love and peace mates;)