Chapter 4
David (Annie’s dad)
I’m furious about what happened. That imbecile deserved to be killed for what he did to my baby, but I can’t do that. His parents aren’t to blame. I never thought he’d dare to go that far. My little fairy always defended him. Even when she went with him that day he was feeling so bad they drank like fish and I found them after they spent the night together. She didn’t want to blame him and she’s partly right. She was of legal age and I know she was more than willing to spend the night with that, I thought trying to intimidate him would work, but strangely, he voluntarily decided to take
responsibility for what happened between them.
Many times I asked Annie if she was sure she wanted to be with someone who didn’t love her, but she always had a lot of faith that with that opportunity, she would try by all means to make him fall in love with her. But it didn’t work at all. Now she has suffered a great shame in front of acquaintances and friends, which may create some kind of trauma for her.
I drive in a hurry. My wife is heartbroken over the anguish of knowing how our daughter is. I know I can’t have favorites, but she’s definitely my favorite. The others know it but they don’t care. Annie is everyone’s favorite.
I park the car and get out immediately to go get Sam. She wipes away the tears that haven’t stopped falling, to get out of the vehicle quickly. I think she needs to go hug her little girl, maybe more than Annie herself. She feels a great responsibility on her for not stopping the madness of this hasty wedding.
Please honey, let’s go with Annie.” She doesn’t even have to tell me. As we go upstairs, our other children appear in front of us. Something in their faces tells me something is wrong.
“Kids, have you seen Annie?” They all shake their heads. Suddenly, Rocio and Davidcito start crying, while Robert hugs his sister. None of them say anything to me, so we run to the room, but when we open it, it’s empty. We leave the room and find the kids again. Rocío hands me an envelope. My hand trembles as I take it to open it
Dear Mom and Dad:
By the time you read this letter, I will be long gone. I knew something would happen, because several things happened that I don’t need to tell you about right now. During the last few days, Liam tried by all means to break up with me, but I refused. I knew that in the end he wouldn’t marry me. He warned me and I didn’t listen. Now it’s all over, and while I don’t deny that I’m heartbroken, I accept the consequences. I also had a part in this, by risking trying to conquer by force the heart of someone who doesn’t love me. It doesn’t work that way. If it had, maybe in the future, he would have cheated on me and maybe we would even have gotten divorced. So I take my share of the blame. But you will understand that I can’t stay here, so I’m leaving. I’ll be joining a medical brigade in a faraway country. Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of myself and I’ll be in touch as soon as I can, I want you to remember that I love you with all my soul and my heart will be with you every day, I will be back, I promise you that. But I can’t be there now. One last favor. Aunt Susan and Uncle Trevor have nothing to do with this. Please don’t be upset with them. They are almost like siblings to you and it would hurt me to know that because of me, you would become distant. Don’t hate Liam either. It’s not worth holding grudges. Now, I say goodbye. I love you infinitely. Take good care of yourselves until I return. By the way, Mir and Martha are going with me. Their parents must be very sad too, so call them from time to time. They let two daughters go following yours.
e you very much
I love
My wife drops onto the bed with tears in her eyes. I’m rooted to the spot. I cant believe she had it all planned. Until today she looked completely happy and excited. My heart aches to think that I didn’t see through her. Maybe there was sadness in her eyes and 1 wasn’t paying attention. I feel like a negligent father. I feel like I’m falling apart inside. I want my daughter back, to hug her and comfort her and tell her that everything will be okay. But she had already prepared herself. She didn’t want us to see her suffer and she went where we didnt realize how much what happened to her affected her. She didn’t want us by her side so we wouldn’t suffer with her. But I feel powerless, because what I want most right now is to comfort her, Tears stream from my eyes. My arms feel empty without her. My beautiful baby, I wish I could have put her in a glass box so that nothing could hurt her. Ha. My wife has always scolded me for that thought, but I’m sure that right now, she’s thinking the same thing I am.
When I finally regain my movement, I go to my wife and pull her into my arms. She’s not a fragile woman, but her children hurt her and make her vulnerable. She starts to cry while I hold her to my chest. I let her get all her pain out. I take her with me to our bedroom. I close my daughter’s room. We’ll leave everything the same way she left it, waiting for her return. Because she’s going to come back and I’m sure she’ll be different. Because I know her indomitable character.
“Come on, honey. Don’t cry anymore, our little girl wouldn’t want to see us like this. She’s coming back. And when she does, it will be because it doesn’t hurt so much to be here anymore. Come on.” She nods and lets me lead her away.
What a great pain it is for a father to let his children gol
1/2
Chapter 4
The kids are nowhere to be seen, so they must be in their rooms. Starting tomorrow we have to reinvent our lives, without my little fairy. Until the day
she returns.
Liam
I leave my parents‘ house, anxious about leaving Maria there with them. I’m afraid they’ll make her feel bad. I should have been honest with my parents a long time ago, but she always asked me not to say anything. When she agreed to be sent to that boarding school, I should have made things clear. The image of Annie comes to me every moment. The sadness in her eyes hurts me a lot, without understanding why. She knew we weren’t getting marned. I warned her and she didn’t want to believe it. But it wasn’t right. Damn it! What I did wasn’t right. I change the route of the car and head to her house. I have to see with my own eyes that she’s safe and sound. I arrive at her house, but the guard at the gate won’t let me in. I call her phone and she doesn’t answer. I don’t want to call her aunt and uncle, so it’s better if I come back tomorrow or look for her at the hospital. I let out a big sigh and leave. I hope she at least doesn’t hate me that much. But her last look at me tells me that the love she had for me is finally gone.
They’ll probably ask me why I looked happy these last few months, and that maybe I was faking it all. But no. I also did my part to make this work. But it was enough for her to arrive, for me to realize that she was cheating on me. I don’t know what will happen from today, but I’m going to make sure everything is put right.
