Hey guys this is the updated chapter. Here you can read a little into Elle's father's background and a little into who she is. The writing is more mature and I am hoping to fill up some of the holes in this story. Thank you for your support and enjoy! :)
<3
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"You're not some helpless maid are you?" he asked eyeing my overly huge spectacles that covered half my face.
I was dressed in a black shirt with a brown cardigan that reach till my knees and my favourite pair of jeans. The soft material shaped my legs and gave me comfort and warmth, a luxury when all my other clothes were thin and worn. I stiffened at the question, my hand instinctively curling into a fist, my nails biting into my palm.Forcing myself to relax, I allowed my senses to flair out, scanning the man before me. The background behind him blurred out and the life energy that all humans had simmered around him. And what I saw made my eyes widened a fraction in surprise.
Slowly,I allowed a small smile to grace my features and shook my head. I took a banana off the counter and handed it to him.
"I'm afraid not," I said softly, my gaze locking with his."I'm Fiona's step-daughter. Would you like some coffee?"
He looked slightly taken aback by my response, his eyes filling with a strange sort of light. He tilted his head to the side, openly studying me, and started to peel the banana's skin.
"Sure,"he said and sat himself back down.
I nodded and proceed to cook some pancakes, all of the different flavours, as specifically requested by the "masters" of the house. Tossing the pancakes, I considered what I should do with the man behind me. Never had I met somebody like him. To be able to deceive me to such an extent, I had never thought to have met someone of his caliber.
As I sat the plate of pancakes at the centre of the table, I poured Mike a glass of coffee and sat opposite him. Rolling up the sleeves of my cardigan to my elbows, I rested my head on my hands and studied him as he took a sip from his coffee and ate a bite from his banana.Neither of us spoke a word and a comfortable silence fell upon us.
"Mike,"I spoke his name softly, breaking the silence. He glanced up at me,his grey eyes seemingly brighter than before. Once again, I flared out my senses and found that his aura had diminished to be even subtle than before. My eyes widening slightly and I sat up straighter, my senses on high alert, ready to react to any sign of danger. I had never met anyone who could control his aura like he did, and that me wary of his presence in the house.
"Why are you in this house?" I asked, my voice cool and controlled.
It was an impossible coincidence to find someone who could master the use of his aura so subtly, to the point where I, a master at controlling and sensing auras and a manipulator of energy, could not sense his familiar presence. To deceive me into thinking that he was merely a simple bartender, to hide the fact the he was a seasoned fighter with the honed ability to disguise his aura, was simply an astounding feat, one I was sure only a handful in the world could pull off.
He looked back at me silently, his gaze unflinching. I could not read what his thoughts were, his eyes a cool grey and I started to feel a slight tension in the air. The hairs at the back of my neck rose in response and my body tightened, readying for action. Suddenly he sighed, the sharp sound breaking the taut tension between us, making me jump slightly. I blinked as he leaned forward, close enough that I could see the white flecks that surrounded his iris and the freckles that dotted the tip of his nose.
"I was afraid it would come to this," he mumbled under his breath.
That had me raising an eyebrow in question. He sighed heavily when he saw my expression. Taking a deep breath, he leaned back against the chair, crossing his arms across his chest, a slight frown on his face. I frowned back, confused with his reaction.
"I was a friend of your father's," he finally said, the words forced,his voice thick.
My eyes widened with shock at the unexpected answer. I blinked once, my brain repeating what he said and processing it. A friend of Daddy's. A friend... Mike smiled slightly at the expression on my face.
"He and I used to work with each other. In fact, we were best friends. I was best man at his wedding," he said a small smile on his face.
An unexpected feeling of jealousy coursed through my veins and I instantly tempered it down. Of course I would feel jealous that there was someone who could spend more time with my Daddy than me. Yet, I was still unconvinced that he was Daddy's friend. There was just no hard evidence and the timing of his appearance was random enough to tell me that he could just be like any one of those conman that usually tried to swindle us of out money. Mike could tell that I didn't believe him because he sighed heavily and ran a hand through his messy hair.
"Well of course you won't believe me. Hard to believe a random man who just walked into your life proclaiming he was your father's best friend,"he said, echoing my thoughts. I stiffened, my expression going blank,afraid that this man was able to read me. Noticing my response, Mike sent me what seemed like a reassuring smile before taking another sip of his coffee.
"Your father was twenty-one and I was twenty-three," he suddenly said."We were both interns at the Solaris Mecca, a large company at that time that specialised in robotics and engineering. We were both scholars that were specifically scouted to work at Solaris Mecca because of our skills and knowledge.
"Your father and I, we hit it off the moment we met. Since the others in our department could barely keep up with us, we were mostly isolated.Yet we were happy, inventing new things, coming up with never before electronics. Most were off the record because we knew the merits of what we were doing as well as the risks."
I watched as Mike's eyes took on a far away look, his finger tracing the rim of the mug.
"It was the summer of our youth, everything was going great. It was that one day that I decided to ask your father to go along with me to a garden party. You see, my parents were rich merchants that held social gatherings every once in a while. I absolutely abhorred going to those parties but with my best friend with me, it seemed bearable."
My hands started to sweat as I listened to his tale. I knew of the name Solaris Mecca. I remembered it as the company that my father had toppled because of their greed and corruption. The company that had once threatened my father because they wanted his inventions.
"Of course, he didn't agree to it right away. Knowing him, he would rather sit in his office with his books or tinker away in his laboratory. But he somehow agreed and we went. Little did I know that it was fate's hand at work.
At the party, we were all dressed formally. Your father, as usual,caught the eye of every woman, young and old with his charm and graceful good looks. I had never known him to respond to any of the attention, always stuck in his own world. Yet that day, when it was time to dance, your father offered a hand to a stunning young lady."
At this Mike turned his head to look at me, a soft look in his eyes. He reached out slowly to cup my cheek and I froze under his touch but didn't back away. He smiled at me, his eyes lighting up.
"She had beautiful pale skin, as white as snow. Her hair was golden brown with ringlets that hung to her waist. Her lips were perfectly carved,red as the blood red rose and her figure was like that of a dancer's,graceful and lithe. I could tell, as they gazed into each other's eyes that it was love at first sight for both of them. Now that when I look at you, I can see the striking resemblance. You have you mother's eyes and features."
I smiled at that, and I felt my uneasiness seep away. This person,whoever he was, knew more about my father than anyone did. It explained to me the familiarity of his aura, and the origins of his abilities. If he knew my father personally, he was no doubt of the similar if not same caliber. After all, my father had a tight circle of select few he allowed close to him. I gently tugged Mike's hand away from my face but patted it gently, the smile still on my face.He smiled back, and at once, I could feel the flair of his aura.
The surge of energy surprised me. It was not only powerful, but soothing.His aura flowed in rhythm with the surroundings and I instinctively knew that this man had been through a lot, to gain this level of intensity, this level of control.
"Not long after, they got married. I had never seen my friend look as happy as he had on the day he claimed the lips of the woman who became his wife. Never had I felt so happy for him. Yet the happiness was short lived. The heads of the Solaris Mecca started to become greedy as they learnt of your father's and my inventions. They wanted it all for their own," he continued, a small frown marring his forehead.
"When we caught wind of their plans to steal our work, we burnt all the hard copy and deleted all the soft copy. We had no qualms about destroying the evidence of out work because both me and your father had exceptional memory, we could remember every single detail of the work.
"When the company found out what we had done, they came down hard on us. Almost every second of our life, we had to look over our shoulder. It was then that my parents stepped in. They whisked me away, protecting me from the onslaught. And your mother, she brought your father to England, to set up a fortress of their own so that they could fight against the company.
"It was that point in time that I lost contact with them. I didn't know what happened to the company nor your parents, not when my own family kept me busy with their affairs. When I caught wind of the destruction of Solaris Mecca,I knew it was the work of your father. I wanted to find him, to contact him, meet up with him to ask how he had been. But when I was finally released from my family duties, I found out that he had passed away. Leaving his beautiful daughter behind."
Mike looked at me, a sad look on his face.
"When I found out who you were living with, I knew I had to get close to you somehow. To get you back," he said, his voice fierce, fire in his eyes. "But it seems that I am a little late."
I swallowed a lump in my throat, taking a moment to process all he had told me.
"I appreciate your effort, but the damage is already done," I told him softly, my eyes downcast. My fingers curled at the table tops as a wave of bitterness and anger swept through me. I breath in, closing my eyes for a moment as I allowed the bits of information to assimilate. When I opened them,I saw the regretful look in Mike's eye, and my heart instantly softened.
"I do appreciate your effort and I am overjoyed to know that I have someone who is willing to risk himself in a relationship with that woman for me," I said as I patted his hand reassuringly. "But as it is now,I don't think you can do much for me."
He sighed heavily.
"But don't worry too much,I have Sister Suzanne if I need anything. She's always there for me with Dani and Tyler," I said quickly, trying to reassure him.
"Really?You're going to be alright?" He asked, scanning my face. He looked like Daddy at that moment, his grey eye filled with piercing intelligence and warmth that had me feeling a strange feeling of euphoria. I swallowed a sudden lump in my throat.
"Yes."
He nodded and smiled, relief evident on his face. I smiled back. Though he could not do much now, I was sure there would come a time when I needed him and no doubt he would come for me. I saw him get up and pulled me to his side, crushing me to his chest.
"I'm glad I found you, Elizabeth, so glad."
Just then, my ears picked up the creaking of wood. We both stilled,knowing that Fiona had woken up and was making her way downstairs.The wood always creaked under her weight as if it was warning me of her approach.
I jerked out of Mike's embrace and gave silent thanks to the creaky floor upstairs. I went on my toes to give Mike a kiss on the cheek before grabbing my school bag and ran for the back door.
I looked back to see his eyes widen with surprise and I smiled.
"I'll see you around and don't tell Fiona you saw me," I whispered, and waved at him before running full speed across the yard.
A huge smile spread across my face in sheer happiness that I had yet another person who would be able to connect me to my parents. Maybe I could ask Mike to tell me about my parents one day, like what they were when they were my age.
I felt so blessed at that moment. I didn't know what to make of his sudden confession to being my father's long lost best friend. Yet I knew that he was telling the truth.
I could smell lies. It was like rotten eggs, the stench tending to fill the air. But Mike had spoken only truth and for that I was grateful. People lied to me all the time, I had grown accustomed to it. For the air to smell so clean in the morning was only a sign that today was a day full of surprises.