Chapter Forty-Six- Father Issues and Father Sides
I felt like my entire chest was going to explode any minute now. To say that I was nervous would be the understatement of the year.
I was looking straight at dark brown eyes that sadly reminded me of mine. The man, the man as Kyla and I called him was that man claiming to be my father. I have done everything I could to avoid him. I ignored all his calls and messages. The man possessed damn good stalking skills. Hence, his visit to my home. One would think I should have learned by now that running is never the answer. Unfortunately, I was still that Madi who just run away. I guess not today because here I am, trying my best to be brave as I face this man.
He has introduced himself in one of his messages to me. Peter Thomas was a forty-something married with two kids businessman. I have no idea what kind of business he was running but I guessed it's either a big ass company or illegal as he could afford a fancy car.
Mr. Thomas here was a few inches shorter than Michael. His hair has started to turn gray and wrinkles were visible on his forehead. He wore thick-rimmed spectacles which made me without a doubt a carbon copy of him.
"Did I get it from you?" I broke the silence between us pointing to my own eyeglasses.
"I'm myopic." he said.
"Yup. Definitely from you." I gestured him to sit and we both settled on the couch. "That night, I was in a bad place. I wasn't ready to handle the situation. There was a lot going on with me."
"I understand, Madeleine."
"Please call me Madi."
"I just need you to hear me out, Madi. Juliet never got the chance to explain to you what happened. And I'm sure your grandfather was trying to protect you from a heartbreak."
I squinted my eyes and wanted to throw a sarcastic comment but I let him continue instead.
"I went to San Fernando for one summer and that's when I met her. She was a teacher at the public school near the resort I was staying. She almost ran me over with her bicycle. As an apology, she invited me to dinner at her house. Her father was a nice, gentle man. They were both much alike. I spent a lot of that summer vacation with Juliet. We fell in love. I asked her to come with me and she did. My parents disapproved of her. Things happened."
"What happened?"
"They told Juliet she was holding me back from being the man I was meant to be. They even bribed her to leave me. One day, I woke up and she was gone. They told me she left with the money but I never believed it. I was about to follow her and get her back when my father had a heart attack. He died and I took over his company. My family depended on me I had no choice but to prioritize them. I tried to forget Juliet but I couldn't. When I was finally able to go back to San Fernando, everybody told me Neil and Juliet were gone. At first, I thought they just moved but one of their neighbours led me to the cemetery. I was too late. They were both gone."
My heart ached at what he said. I was holding back the tears but the man in front of me has started the waterworks.
"I can't remember how long I sat in front of your mother's grave." he sniffed. "Then I saw she died five years before her father."
"She died giving birth to me. Papang had a heart failure. He died in his sleep."
"I found out about you after I hired a private investigator. The people there didn't exactly wanted to speak to me so I had to find another way to know what happened. Then, I found out about you. I searched everywhere. Nobody knew where you where. Nobody had a photo of you."
"I was passed from one relative to another. When I graduated high school, I started living on my own."
"I'm so sorry, Madi."
"It wasn't your fault." I cried. We were both surprised with what just came out of my mouth. Truth be told, I wanted to blame him but after hearing his side of the story, I realized blaming him was no use. There was nothing we can do to change the events of the past. What we can do is to learn from it and move on. The present was more important. "My life was far from perfect but I was still lucky. Whatever happened happened for a reason. I've moved on."
"I wanna be part of your life, Madi. I want to be the father I never was to you."
"I dunno how to be a daughter." I chuckled wiping my tears.
"I waited years to finally meet you and I can wait a little longer."
"Nice to meet you, Peter Thomas." I offered a hand to him. He gladly took it but instead of a shake, he pulled me into a hug.
"Oh Madeleine."
*****
"Hey, Mr. Sexy Back." I wrapped my hands around Michael as he stood in kitchen. I rest my face on his gloriously sexy back and tightened my arms around him. "How is it possible to miss you so much already?"
"I guess everything went fine."
"It was more than fine, Mr. Madrid. Thank you for giving me the time and space I needed. I'm sorry you had to skip the dinner. Yup, David told me you didn't go. We'll have to make it up to Michaela. I'm sure you wanna know everything."
Instead of answering, he turned around without releasing himself from my embrace. I looked up at him and his expression was serene. It was heartwarming to see him like this. Not worried or frustrated. Just peaceful. "I wanna know everything."
I told Michael about my father over some strawberries and Nutella. We were both sitting on a lounge chair by the swimming pool, my back leaning on his hard chest. I held the bowl of strawberries and Nutella jar. He let me talk while I fed him.
From meeting my father during the engagement until our reconciliation this afternoon, I told Michael everything about Peter Thomas.
"Are you sure he's really your father?"
"I am. I was staring at my own eyes, Michael."
Peter, (he said it was alright to address him that way for now) mentioned how much I resembled my mother except for my eyes. We both had dark brown eyes that were too big for our faces. We both agreed on that. "All my life, I thought I don't need to know him. Now, I felt like completed puzzle. I want you to meet him, Michael."
"I will." he whispered. "When my business issues are all over."
"Lemme know if there's anything I can do to help."
"Just stay with me and I'll be fine. No need to worry, Angel."
As soon as he told me not to worry, I felt worried. There was always something in his voice that reassured me but this was different. He was a having a difficulty in handling the Ogre Cassandra issue. What can I do to help him?
*****
I would be meeting Peter's family today. He said it was the perfect day to meet them because it was his mother's birthday. "Everyone would be there." Imagine how my nerves went wild when he said that. I wasn't that anti-social anymore but I wasn't that pro-social too. I was anxious excited. I want to meet them of course but a part of me was scared that they'd disapprove of me like my mother.
Michael drove me to the address given by Peter. I wanted to ask him to come with me as I needed some support but I didn't. I completely understood where he was coming from. I would have Kyla but she went back to Ilocos for the semestral break.
"I'm nervous, Michael. What if they don't like me?"
"Baby, you are the most amazing person I have ever met. My family loves you more than me. I'm sure your own family will adore you."
Last week, we had brunch with his family and I had never wished to be part of one until that Sunday. Everyone in his family was funny, caring and sweet. For the first time, I felt how being part of a family was like. That's how they made me feel. A part of something special and wonderful. I had loving parents, crazy but amazing sisters, funny and spontaneous brother and an adorable niece.
Marco even joked about his parents adopting me. The sore loser Michael was, he hated the idea. He took it too seriously and scowled at his brother. Marco ignored it and even added, "If she was our sister, you'd never be able to date her."
"I can think of another way to make her your sister and be with her at the same time, idiot." Michael rebutted.
The older Madrid's laughed while Michaela and Audrey giggled. I don't know what expression was etched on my face. Of course, I knew what he meant but that's just not happening with all the complications behind us.
Nevertheless, I had the best moment in my life.
Now I'm worried that that Peter's family wasn't as welcoming and warm as Michael's but I'm hoping I'm wrong.
Before I rang the doorbell, I sent Peter a message telling him I was outside his mansion. A security guard opened the gate for me.
"Hello, miss. How can I help you?"
"Hi, I'm looking for Peter Thomas."
Before he could even say anything, Peter was rushing towards us. "Madi! I'm glad you made it!"
He hugged me and I stood there awkwardly not sure if I wanted to hug him back. I ended up patting him on the back.
"Sorry. I'm just so happy you're here. Donny, this is my daughter, Madeleine."
"Hi again, Donny. Call me, Madi."
Peter led me inside the mansion and as we headed to the huge garden, my heart pounded inside my chest faster than a minute ago.
There were about twenty-five to thirty people in that garden. And those people started to stare at me one by one. Some gave me polite smiles and nods while others just blankly stared at me.
"I didn't want to overwhelm you so I already told them you're coming. They're expecting you. You'll meet everyone when you're ready." he said.
Peter looked more nervous that I was. I knew he was being careful with me for some reason.
After couple of hours, I have met almost everyone. More guests came as time passed but out of the 50+ people at the party, I only remember a few names. There's Lorna, my grandmother, Grail, Peter's wife and their children, Phoebe and Perry. Lorna and Grail were surprisingly pleasant to me. It was easy to talk to my half-siblings because they knew who I was. They both go to MIU Academy and they see me around. Phoebe was a senior while Perry was a freshman.
I excused myself to the go to the toilet when Phoebe insisted to show me the way. "I can't believe we're sisters!" she squealed as we walked. "I've always wanted a big sister."
Overall, Peter's family have been very nice to me. It was unexpected but I guess one addition to their family doesn't hurt. Except for a couple of cousins who were off when I was introduced to them. Phoebe and I were chatting with them and I tried my best to listen to how obsessed they are with the new shades of a lipstick or lipgloss. Jenny who was same age was mine was blabbering about it suddenly stopped. Her jaw dropped as she looked at something behind me. Curious, I turned my head while sipping some iced tea and boy, did I regret it. I coughed out the drink in surprise.
What the hell was he doing here?