Maximilian and Lillian stand near the half-closed door for two seconds, come to Anna with wide smiles on their faces, and hug her by one touchingly. The woman kisses her daughter on the cheek a couple of times, and the man caresses her head.
“Anna, daughter…” Lillian pronounces in a shaking voice with wet eyes, fixing Anna’s hair. “We were so worried about you…”
“We couldn’t calm down when you were unconscious,” Maximilian adds with pity in his eyes, caressing Anna’s cheek.
“Sorry…” Anna apologizes. “I’m so sorry…”
“It’s okay, my sweetheart,” Lillian says softly and caresses Anna’s cheek. “The important thing is that you’re alive.”
“Remember, we will be by your side, despite nothing,” Maximilian promises confidently.
“I believe you,” Anna smiles shyly. “I do…”
Lillian and Maximilian hug Anna again by one touchingly with sadness in their wet eyes, and whisper something nice in her ear, while she has the pleasure of accepting the love that she needs so much. And when the former spouses step away from their daughter, they look at Cassidy, who is silently watching what’s happening with a slight smile.
“Hi, Cassidy,” Maximilian and Lillian pronounce amicably.
“Hello, Mr. Seymour,” Cassidy greets correctly. “Mrs. Seymour…”
“How are you doing?” Lillian asks with a slight smile.
“Fine. And you?”
“Fine.”
“When will you leave the hospital?” Maximilian asks.
“Soon, I think,” Cassidy shrugs. “And honestly, I’m nervous. I’m afraid to leave this place.”
“It’s gonna be okay, honey, don’t worry. The amazing brother will be by your side and do his best to help you.”
“I know,” Cassidy smiles shyly. “By the way, I thought Daniel was with you. You went to the cafeteria together to drink coffee.”
“Daniel went to your doctor,” Lillian explains.
“What?” Anna rounds her eyes. “That man is here?”
“Yes, my sunshine.” Lillian caresses Anna’s cheek softly, while the girl’s eyes start running from one side to another. “He will talk to Cassidy’s doctor and come here.”
“By the way, Daniel was worried about you so much,” Maximilian confesses confidently. “If only you knew how much he fretted and fumed.”
“And my friends?” Anna ignores her father’s words. “Haven’t they come here? Men? Girls?”
“All your friends were also worried about you very much.”
“But nobody has come here today,” Maximilian adds. “They’re waiting for the news from Daniel.”
“So, did you meet the guys?” Anna asks with a slight smile.
“Yes, we got a chance to the men and the girls.”
“And we liked them: the men are very gentle and kind, and the girls are shy and sweet,” Lilian smiles shyly. “Good guys.”
“Well…” Anna shrugs. “I did say you’d love my friends…”
“Is someone gonna come?” Cassidy asks.
“Anyway, your brother will tell them that Anna woke up. Now he has something to make his friends happy with. Especially, the girls. They worried and cried a lot.”
“I wanna see them so badly…” Anna confesses with sadness in her eyes. “And talk to them.”
“They will, my sunshine, they will,” Maximilian caresses Anna’s head. “Today or tomorrow.”
“They all came here every day,” Lilian confesses. “For a few hours.”
“Great,” Anna smiles shyly. “I’ll wait for them to visit me.”
“Not just you, Anna,” Cassidy says softly. “I can’t also wait to see them.”
Anna says nothing and just smiles slightly, while Cassidy looks at Lilian and Maximilian.
“Oh, you probably want to talk to Anna…” Cassidy assumes thoughtfully.
“We have something to talk about,” Lillian nods, caressing Anna’s shoulder softly. “But you won’t bother us.”
“No, I will leave you alone. I need to go to the doctor, who should examine me and say something about my release.”
“Well, okay…” Maximilian shrugs. “If you need, go.”
“Don’t be bored. I will be back soon!”
“Will you tell Daniel that Anna woke up?” Lilian asks.
“Sure!” Cassidy gets up from the bed and pulls down her pajamas. “If I meet Daniel, I’ll tell him about Anna.”
“Thanks a lot, Cassidy.”
“Alright, I’m leaving! Discuss anything you want!”
Cassidy leaves the spacious room, closing the door, while Lilian, Maximilian, and Anna watch her.
“Gosh, what a good girl,” Lillian says with a slight smile. “So sweet and kind.”
“I liked her immediately,” Maximilian confesses.
“God shall help her forget all those terrible things and start to live a good life.”
“She will get help in a clinic. And when she is cured, Daniel will probably find a college for her.”
“She’s really sweet,” Anna smiles shyly. “We talked a little, and she seemed good to me. Moreover, Cassidy completely understands me… Because we… Experienced horrible things…”
“No, no, sunshine, don’t think about it,” Lilian says softly, sits on Anna’s bed, and takes her hand. “You will no longer get through that.”
“Yes, daughter, that was the last time when you were next to Julian,” Maximilian assures, caressing Anna’s head tenderly, as he is standing near her bed.
“Gosh, I can’t believe we almost lost you because of that stinker,” Lillian sniffs quietly. “I nearly got gray hair when your father and I found out what happened to you. We left our work and went to the hospital shortly.”
“Thank God, the men found you and saved you from that monster. Otherwise, we would’ve never seen you again.”
“I was scared, too…” Anna confesses quietly. “I was afraid that it would be the last day of my life.”
“Honey, why didn’t you tell your father about your meeting with Julian?” Lilian wonders. “Not to let him do anything to you?”
“No, I didn’t agree to meet him,” Anna replies thoughtfully, looking at her hands. “I didn’t know I’d meet Julian… And I didn’t know he was in the city. That man said he’d leave New York.”
“And where did you end up?”
“I don’t know,” Anna shrugs. “I was just going where my eyes looked… There were not so many people… I wanted to spend time in silence. Stay alone… And at some moment, Julian came to me from behind, closed my mouth with his hand, and said he said nothing about his return on purpose. He kind of returned to the city two days later.”
“He beat you?”
“Yup…” Anna looks at her hands, on which there are many bruises. “There’s no need to deny it… You saw everything…”
“It wasn’t the first time that stinker beat you?” Maximilian asks.
Anna nods silently.
“By the way, Julian said his familiar and Mr. Potter’s familiar told him that they saw me in the hospital with my friends,” Anna confesses hesitantly. “He knows I went to the hospital to visit Terrence. I mean… Julian knows I was in the room of a certain man.”
“We suspected he could find it out,” Maximilian confesses with sadness in his eyes.
“Didn’t he lie when he said you two went to the police?” Anna frowns slightly.
“No, daughter,” Lilian says confidently. “But we were turned around at first. As we understand, that was a friend of the Potters, who told them everything.”
“Gosh, why did you do it?” Anna wonders, setting her widely open eyes on Maximilian and Lilian. “You do know that Julian and his father are gonna kill us if the police meddle in this business!”
“You thought we’d leave it unnoticed? The sick bastard beat our children to half-death and thinks that he will get off it!”
“No, Mom, for God’s sake…”
“We are not going to pretend that nothing happened, Anna,” Maximilian says confidently. “Your mother and I have gone to the police and reported about the act of beating and threats from Julian and his father.”
“What?” Anna gets up sharply on her elbows, not caring about a strong weakness, and looks at Maximilian and Lillian with a dumbfounded look. “Reported?”
“Potter and his father must pay for what they did to you. They had us wrapped around a finger for a too long time! We’re done! It’s our time to make a twist!”
“No!” Anna gets horrified loudly. “My gosh… You went crazy! What did you do?”
“What we should’ve done a long time ago.”
“Please, take your report back immediately!” Anna begs with despair. “For God’s sake, go to the police now and give up on the charges before the Potters know it.”
“No, Anna!” Lilian says confidently. “We will not take the report back and will put Julian and Norman in prison.”
“Please, Mom, Dad, don’t let the police open the case!” Anna sniffs quietly, shaking her head. “Take the report back… It would be better…”
“It will not be better, Anna! If we sit and do nothing, those scumbags will put you in a grave.”
“But they’ll kill you!” Anna exclaims in a shaking voice full of despair. “Julian and his father will get wild and kill all of us!”
“They can do it as much as they want! And get ready to go to where they belong.”
“Julian was madly angry when he said you two to the police.”
“Lilian is right, they can go wild as much as they want,” Maximilian replies confidently. “It will not scare us! By bringing you to this condition, they crossed all the lines and made our patience gone.”
“He swore that he’d kill you if we got help! Julian wanted me to be silent! You to be as quiet as mice and do nothing!”
“We will get help! Lilian and I agreed on everything. The trustworthy man, who the men recommended us, is working on this case.”
“Why, Dad, why?” Anna shakes her head with horror in her eyes. “They’re gonna kill us!”
“We will no longer be afraid of those poisoned snakes and will make them pay for everything. And the men are going to help us get those stinkers caught and protect you.”
“What? Did you get the men involved in this case?”
“They offered their help, and we accepted it with pleasure,” Lilian replies confidently. “We aren’t able to protect you from Julian on our own, but the men are tough enough to fight with that man.”
“Oh, God!” Anna closes her face with both hands for two seconds and makes a couple of sobs. “What did you do? Gosh…”
“Honey, why do you resist getting help so hard? Did you like the fact that Julian beat you on everything?”
“You’re madly lucky that the doctors didn’t find any trauma,” Maximilian adds confidently. “Because of that bastard, you were supposed to be in intensive care with lots of injuries. But thank God, you’re alive and healthy! That’s a real miracle! A great luck that only one to be born in a shirt!”
“Julian’s gonna kill all of you!” Anna exclaims with despair. “That man got literally green when the men came to protect me!”
“Don’t worry, honey, nobody’s gonna kill anyone,” Lilian replies quietly, softly, putting her hand on Anna’s hand.
“Are the men okay? Julian did nothing to them?”
“No, daughter, the men are fine. They only got skinned elbows and knees and a couple of bruises.”
“So, they will suffer the next time. Julian won’t forget how the men literally knocked him out. He’s gonna be much wilder if he meets them again. That man will kill the lads! He will!”
“No, Anna, the men won’t let Julian do anything to them,” Maximilian replies confidently. “They’re strong and enduring and act like a team. One fights – others help.”
“It won’t help them! If Julian has a knife or a pistol, he will kill them by one!”
“They know what to do,” Lilian says softly. “You shouldn’t think about it. Think only about getting well soon. The men, Maximilian, and I will take care of other things.”
“You can do nothing! Nothing!”
“We can do this. Thanks to the men, we’ve got excellent proof that would not let those people stay unpunished.”
“Gosh, what kind of proof?” Anna throws her hands up. “The Potters will pretend that they have nothing to do with that!”
“We’ve got the proof that will not let Julian find excuses. He will not deny that he beat you in the video that the men showed us.”
“The video?” Anna rounds her eyes.
“Yes, sweetie,” Maximilian nods. “Peter recorded it. In the parking lot of the shopping center where you were with Julian.”
“The parking?” Anna thinks for a second. “Wait… So, did Peter really see everything? Terrence and Raquelle didn’t lie? And he recorded everything on a video?”
“He did a bad thing by not standing for you. But thanks to him, we can move off the dead point. The police have the reasons to open a case against Julian. And they did it. Mr. Johnson keeps this case under his personal control.”
“Oh, gosh…” Anna runs her hands over her face with a quiet moan. “What did you do? I’m shocked!”
“You have nothing to worry about, darling,” Lilian replies with a slight smile. “You should do nothing. Except being close to us or the men. Until Julian gets arrested, you will go everywhere only with us.”
“It doesn’t make sense…” Anna sniffs quietly. “The Potters are gonna kill us! They will do it this time! Kill you, Dad, and the men by one, and then they’ll destroy me. And I will die! Nobody will help me! Nobody will save me!”
“Calm down, daughter, it’s gonna be okay,” Lilian caresses Anna’s hand softly with both hands and runs the back of her hand over her cheek. “Your mother and father will no longer let anyone hurt you and will do their best to protect you.”
“You messed up everything…” Anna shakes her head with the wet eyes. “By telling the police everything and getting the men involved in this story! We’re gonna be dead now!”
“We would’ve done it if we’d kept being silent and hiding in a bush. That bastard would’ve kept beating you, knowing that nothing threatened him.”
“Please, stop all of that before it’s too late. We will solve it on our own somehow.”
“Enough, Anna!” Maximilian pronounces harshly. “We will bring the case to an end! And it’s not a discussion! We aren’t going to watch that sick bastard mock you silently. Watch you cover him and hide your bruises under clothes and cosmetics.”
“I had to do that! If someone had known that, you would’ve been dead! But I didn’t want it!”
“Jesus Christ, I can’t believe it…” Lilian shakes her head. “That bastard almost sent you to another world? Do you understand you could’ve died?”
“I did all of that for you!” Anna says with despair. “For your salvation! Julian and his father threatened to kill you if I said just one word about it, asked someone for help, or talked to someone except them and you!”
“You can stop being silent now,” Maximilian replies confidently. “The report is in the police, and Mr. Johnson is working on the plan and waiting for our sign.”
“I was ready to sacrifice myself to save you from Julian and his father.” Anna sniffs quietly, looking at Lilian and Maximilian with pity in her eyes. “Because I don’t wanna lose you… I don’t want you to die. You’re the only relatives I have…”
“Do you think we’d feel better if we lost our only daughter? If she kept being silent about the Potter’s tricks!”
“I can’t let them do something to you…”
“Stop doing stupid things, Anna! You will do what we will say!”
“Didn’t you think they could’ve killed us anyway?” Lillian wonders. “That even if you had kept your mouth shut, the Potters would have not stopped!”
“But Julian…” Anna opens her eyes widely.
“Gosh, Anna, how naive you are! Don’t you understand you are letting that bastard do anything he wants and stay unpunished? He would’ve killed you, and we would’ve never known it. I mean, we would’ve suspected it, but we wouldn’t have been able to prove it!”
“For you and Dad, I’m ready for anything.”
“No, Anna, we will not let you bring yourself to death,” Maximilian says determinedly. “Your luck can’t be unlimited! If you’re lucky now, you’ll not be later!”
“Exactly!” Lilian exclaims. “Your father and I don’t want to lose our daughter. And we will protect her in any way!”
“But I don’t want to lose you, either!” Anna says with despair. “I don’t wanna stay alone!”
“You won’t lose us, daughter. We are all under great protection.”
“I don’t want any victims, I don’t want! I don’t want!”
“If we did everything we should do, nobody would suffer. If you hid nothing from us and hid somewhere.”
“For God’s sake, take the report back and tell the men that we will do it without them before it’s too late,” Anna begs with pity in her wet eyes.
“Our decision is out of discussion, Anna!” Maximilian says confidently and harshly. “We will not take the report from the police back, all your bruises are recorded, Mr. Johnson has the video proof, and the men will be protecting you and us. We are stronger together. We will end this story and save you from those snakes.”
“But, Father…”
“Stop being capricious, Anna!” Lillian says harshly. “We will not let our child suffer! Your father and I didn’t want you to live this life!”
“But you did want me to be with Julian!”
“Yeah, but we didn’t think he was such a snake! And now we know everything about his family and will not let you have anything in common with them.”
“Nobody can stop us now,” Maximilian adds confidently. “Even if your grandparents were alive and didn’t believe that the Potters were really so terrible, we would’ve gone against them.”
“No…” Anna shakes her head. “If my grandparents were alive, you’d do anything they’d say. Because you were taught to obey older people.”
“When the case is about our daughter’s life and health, we give a damn about our own parents!”
“We were deeply wrong when we wanted you to live with that man,” Lilian confesses with pity in her eyes. “But I promise we’ll no longer be so blind. And we will listen to you if you say a person is terrible and makes you feel scared and horrified.”
“You never believed me…” Anna says in a low, quiet voice, moving her wet eyes to her hands folded in front of her. “You always told me to close my mouth… I was a kid and understood nothing! Older people kind of knew what was better for me. Nobody heard me when I literally screamed I didn’t wanna get married to Julian. I didn’t want to get married to someone I didn’t love. Who always made me shake from afar. I wanted to choose who to live with and how.”
“Yes, daughter, we know,” Maximilian replies with sadness in her eyes, caressing Anna’s cheek. “Your mother and I are very sorry for not listening to you and for giving a damn about your feelings and wishes.”
“But we promise it’s going to be otherwise,” Lilian promises confidently, taking Anna’s hand, while she keeps her head inclined. “Now we understand you’ve got the right of the voice. The right to your opinion.”
“Now everything your mother and I will do will be done for you and your quiet,” Maximilian promises confidently. “And we will do our best to protect you from those monsters.”
“What can you do?” Anna sighs quietly with sadness in her eyes. “I see no way to solve this problem! We’re doomed to death!”
“It’s gonna be okay, daughter,” Lillian says with a slight smile and caresses Anna’s cheeks with both hands. “We got the help of excellent helpers, whom we already owe for saving you from Julian.”
“I’ll say nothing about Peter, Terrence, and Edward…” Anna pronounces thoughtfully and crosses her arms over her chest. “But I don’t like the fact that another one meddled in this case… The betrayer, who’s trying to be good after he did a bad thing.”
“Daniel is very sorry about what he did,” Maximilian confesses with sadness in his eyes. “You know how depressed he is because you don’t give him a chance!”
“Here we go again…” Anna exhales sharply, rolling her eyes.
“Now that man is the only one to be able to save you from Julian. And be sure, he will do it.”
“Gosh, why did you actually start to ask him for help? It’s okay that his friends are helping! But I don’t want Perkins to be a part of it.”
“He will be a part,” Lillian says confidently. “Even if we hadn’t asked him for help, Daniel would’ve offered it.”
“Gosh, Mom, Dad, do you really believe that man? That insolent and shameless betrayal, who I don’t want to see and hear!”
“We believe him! Because we see how much he regrets doing what he never wanted to do.”
“He’s just afraid of your anger! He’s afraid that you’ll strangle him for meddling in our life, ruining the plans for my wedding, and cheating me.”
“He couldn’t remember you when that girl accosted him,” Maximilian explains quietly.
“Oh… Do you believe the lie like naive children again?”
“This time, we are not wrong. When I talked to Daniel, he confessed everything honestly. He denied nothing and told me why he did that.”
“Gosh, Dad, you don’t know who you believe! That chatterbox would tell you anything to make you and Mom shed a tear and get sympathy for him!”
“No, daughter, Daniel doesn’t lie,” Lilian replies softly and confidently. “That guy is very good and true. He cares about providing you with quiet and safety. And he will do it. No matter if you want it.”
“I need nothing from that man,” Anna throws gloomily. “He can go on all four sides!”
“But, Anna…”
“Why? Why do you and Dad believe him? What did he promise that you believed his lie and let him meddle in the case, which that betrayer didn’t have to do with?”
“We believe him because he’s telling the truth.”
“What the heck truth! Perkins is lying to you insolently and pretending to be a freaking hero again with the hope that his bad tricks will be forgotten!”
“Honey, that guy didn’t want to do it to you,” Maximilian says with pity in his eyes. “Daniel confesses his fault and is ready for anything to make amends.”
“He can go to the fat cow that he kissed before my eyes,” Anna replies in a low voice.
“She made him believe that he dated her, not you,” Lilian exclaims quietly.
“He told you that?” Anna smirks contemptuously. “Very true! I’ve never heard a much stupider excuse for cheating!”
“It’s not an excuse but the reason.”
“Stop, Mother, please! I want to hear nothing!”
“Even if you don’t forgive him, Daniel will go to the end to save you from Julian. He told me and Maximilian he’d help you anyway.”
“For nothing,” Anna grumbles and crosses over her chest, frowning strongly. “I don’t forgive betrayers! And he does know it! And if he made a mistake, he can go to hell! I am letting him go with pleasure and giving him freedom!”
“Alright, daughter, it will happen,” Lillian replies quietly. “Daniel promised to respect your decision and never make you be with him against your wish. But he confidently said he’d leave your life after Julian and Norman got what they deserved.”
“I will do it on my own, without that half-hero.”
“No, you will do nothing on your own!”
“Alright! If the men wanna help me, I won’t reject their help. Though, I wouldn’t like to put them in danger. But their pal may go to hell. He has no right to get closer to us after he betrayed me.”
“Yes, Daniel did a bad thing!” Maximilian agrees. “But don’t forget about the events that happened then.”
“I would not be surprised if Perkins had an affair with her when we dated. If that thankless scumbag lied to me for a long time.”
“Daniel has nobody and never had. That man always loved you.”
“I will not come back with him, whatever he does!”
“I’m gonna tell you more, darling: your mother and I would like you to have such a wonderful husband like Daniel.”
“What?” Anna sneers loudly. “Perkins? Husband? Don’t make me laugh, Dad! I would prefer being single than living with that betrayer!”
“It’s true, daughter,” Lilian smiles slightly. “If you wanna marry, you should marry someone like Daniel. Or Daniel himself.”
“If Perkins were my husband, he would not stop having affairs, but he’d go home and pretend that nothing happened! And if he was caught lying, he’d say he allegedly loved me with puppy eyes!”
“Listen, my sunshine…” Lillian pronounces softly, fixing Anna’s hair. “We understand you’re jealous, mad, and hurt because you love that guy. But your father and I are asking you not to reject him without understanding the motives for his act.”
“I see no meaning in understanding something!”
“Talk to him, daughter. Ask Daniel to explain everything to you.”
“Talk?” Anna wonders loudly. “I do not want to see him! I am sick of his voice! And I madly want to slap him in the face! So, his insolent face gets red and burns!”
“Gosh, Anna, would you leave a beloved man after every scandal?” Maximilian wonders. “That’s wrong, daughter! You should solve any problem instead of running away from it. By doing this, you will keep changing men like gloves.”
“What should I find out? I saw everything with my eyes! I don’t need any explanations because I saw enough! Enough, Dad.”
“Any little thing has an explanation. A man wouldn’t cheat without a reason. When he truly loves someone and feels it’s mutual, he won’t even look at another girl.”
“Perkins never loved me! He used me! And I cooked the best dishes, washed his clothes, and cleaned the big house of that piggy, who threw his things in all the corners… And how he cooks! He can’t even cook the easiest dish, and he burns everything down! And what kind of trash he leaves! He is not used to eating in the same place and dirties any place where he is!”
“You know, I can’t cook at all and eat only prepared food,” Maximilian confesses confidently. “And I don’t always clean everything. I don’t care about cleanliness.”
“Do you know that freaking horndog almost had much more than kisses with that cow? That Perkins almost slept with her! I mean, he says he almost did it! What if that stinker has already slept her hundreds of times!”
“We know, sweetie,” Lilian confesses quietly. “Daniel told us everything and is very glad that girl didn’t take him to bed because her sister called her.”
“Gosh, how naive you all are…” Anna shakes her head. “He does play on pity, but you succumb to him… And his sister, who kind of fell off the heavens, defends that stinker and tries to make me sure that her bro is an innocent angel.”
“Yes, Daniel is not an angel, we know it. But we can excuse him.”
“My gosh, wake up!” Anna begs loudly. “Stop believing the lie of that man! Be smarter!”
“No, Anna, we were naive when we trusted that bastard, Julian,” Maximilian says confidently. “I mean, I believed him. But now it’s otherwise. We’ve found rotten fruits in the basket.”
“You don’t know people… You don’t…”
“In the case of Daniel, we’re absolutely sure that he’s true toward us and wishes us the best.”
“Yeah, best…” Anna throws gloomily. “At first, he did a bad thing, but now he wants to whitewash himself quickly!”
“I really liked that guy when I saw him for the first time,” Lillian confesses confidently. “It’s very easy and nice to talk to him. He’s not as false and artificial as Julian. Shy, decent, with a brain… Trust me, I know people very well. I think he’s a little similar to Ryan.”
“I’d rather be with Ryan than that betrayer Perkins,” Anna replies coldly. “I’ve never hidden that I don’t love Julian’s brother and consider him just a friend or brother. But I know he wouldn’t betray me, promise empty things, and have me wrapped around his fingers.”
“Sweetie, you always say you can’t live without love,” Maximilian recalls.
“If I knew Perkins would’ve done it to me, I would’ve preferred living with someone I didn’t love,” Anna replies in a low voice.
“Daughter, if you decide to break up with Daniel, you may regret it someday.”
“You can’t walk away from your destiny, Dad. Let’s think that the betrayer was sent to make me realize that I was an idiot when I went against what should’ve happened. If I’m destined to be with one of Mr. Potter’s sons, I shall be. That’s my fate.”
“Gosh, Anna, do you understand what you say?” Lillian rounds her eyes. “Any connection with the Potters family is the path to hell! If you’re married to Julian, your life will be an endless hell. You’ll forget what happiness is and will never be yourself. You will be afraid to take the wrong step. And if you’re married to Ryan, his brother and father will put you in the grave.”
“It should’ve happened from the beginning,” Anna replies without emotions. “I tried to resist, but, as Julian said, I eventually came back to what I was running away from.”
“No, Anna, no wedding with Potter’s sons!” Lillian says harshly. “Don’t even dare to think about it!”
“This is my destiny.”
“Alright, stop!” Lilian waves her hand sharply. “Get these things out of your mind! You will not become Julian's wife, even under a gun! Your father and I will not let it happen!”
“But, Mother…”
“Gosh, you just look at yourself!” Lilian looks at Anna with horror in her eyes. “Look what’s happened to you! You shake at any noise and look around as if you’re waiting for Julian to show up from somewhere… I forgot when I saw a smile on your face and your glossy eyes the last time! You were always such an active and positive girl! But now you look like you left concentration camps!”
“I still remember who you were when you were with Daniel,” Maximilian adds with a slight smile. “You lighted next to him. Just like he did next to you. You were truly happy. You were literally ready to shout about your happiness everywhere.”
“It’s in the past,” Anna throws coldly in a low voice. “May that betrayer admire and take care of the cow that he kissed.”
“Do you hope you’ll forget him so easily?”
“I can! And someday, I’ll meet the one to be much better than Perkins and be very happy.”
“You love him, daughter,” Lillian replies confidently with sadness in her eyes. “Very much.”
“I did say I don’t love!”
“Maybe, your father and I barely know what love is, but it’s easy for us to find out if you’re lying or telling the truth.”
“I shall strangle that stinker with my own hands if I see him one mile away from me! I swear, Mother!”
“Gosh, Anna, stop pretending that you don’t care about that guy,” Maximilian sighs quietly. “Because of him, you fell into depression and cried in your room all day long.”
“What would change if I said I loved him?” Anna wonders.
“We’d just know what you feel.”
“You know everything! But it changes nothing.”
“Listen, honey, we complexly understand your feelings and – I repeat – are not happy with what Daniel did. But his honesty and regret are way stronger. We respect him for telling us all the truth.”
“Someday, he’ll betray you and all of his friends will come. I’m praying that everybody pisses Perkins off. So, he is alone and needed to nobody. So, everybody turns their back on him forever.”
“No, Anna, don’t say it,” Lillian says softly, caressing Anna’s cheek. “If Daniel heard it, he’d be very upset.”
“I wish he heard that! He will hear it! When that bastard stands in my way, I shall curse him and wish to suffer ‘till the end of his life! And never be happy with that fatty!”
“For God’s sake, don’t say that! You will regret saying such bad things about him!”
“Never!”
“Daniel is very good and kind.” Lilian takes Anna’s hands. “Trust your mother. She knows people and sees them through. I’d never advise you anything bad.”
“Stop, Mother, stop. Please!”
“You know, I think you should calm down a little, and then you, will make a conscious decision,” Maximilian replies confidently. “Saying something to you doesn’t make sense now.”
“Yes, sweetie, if you react to everything about Daniel so excitedly, you’re not indifferent to him,” Lillian adds with a slight smile. “People don’t react like this when they don’t care about someone.”
Anna says nothing and just sighs quietly, looking at her hands with sadness in her eyes, understanding that it’s very hard for her to struggle with her emotions and hide them deep inside. At some moment, tears show up in her eyes and roll slowly down her cheeks, and she shakes her head, while Maximilian and Lillian caress her hand or head.
“Why is this happening to me?” Anna asks with anguish and sniffs. “Why? What did I do?”
“You’re guilty of nothing, daughter,” Lilian replies softly. “This story has never ended. By running away from home with Daniel, you just delayed the tragedy. The Potters would reach us anyway.”
“I still don’t wanna believe it’s all real…” Anna moves her wet eyes full of pity to Maximilian and Lillian. “Please, tell me it’s not true! Wake me up! Let me know that everything’s okay. That I’m stuck in my sleep and can’t wake up!”
“Anna, sunshine, we completely understand your feelings,” Maximilian says with pity in his eyes, caressing Anna’s head and hugging her around her shoulders. “We know you feel very hard now. But remember that there are many good people, who are dreaming of helping you. You’re not alone. You will never be alone. I swear we’ll do our best to help you.”
“And if it’s not enough, we’ll find the best psychologist for you,” Lilian promises confidently.
“No!” Anna cuts off sharply. “I want no psychologists! I only need you, Mommy, and my friends. You’re the only people, who help me. I don’t know how long I can hold on because I feel I’m on edge. But if my close people are near me, it will be much better for me.”
“We’ll always be by your side, my sweetheart,” Lillian promises confidently with a slight smile, hugging Anna when Maximilian lets her go and caresses her cheek. “Always.”
“I wanna believe you’ll help me…” Anna sniffs quietly. “Will you… Really do it?”
“Obviously, my sunshine! Your father and I will do anything for you and your quiet.”
“I… I’d get a little better if… If Julian didn’t get close to me anymore… I’ve always been afraid of him… But now I am, especially. Because I didn’t think… He’d be so terrible… Yes, I knew he was cold, but… I didn’t think he was a tyrant…”
“You know, although I never liked Julian, I didn’t expect he’d behave like this toward you.”
“I thought I’d die when he was beating me…” Anna confesses in a little shaking voice. “I literally said goodbye to everyone… But… God brought salvation to me, deciding that… I should’ve lived.”
“God sees everything, darling,” Lilian cracks a smile. “You’ve always been a strong girl. Since birth. You were born prematurely and were very weak, but you survived.”
“Really?” Anna rounds her eyes.
“My pregnancy was very hard and became a real hell for me. And when I was in my thirty-two pregnancy week, I went into premature labor. You were born weak and premature with poor organs. The doctors took you away immediately. They said you didn’t have any chance to survive. They were getting Maximilian and me ready for the death of our child. We started to accept it because the situation was too hard. But when everybody literally stopped coming to you, you started to get well fast.”
“I remember you telling Dad about it when you went to his home to tell him about Julian.”
“When a baby wants to live, they will fight until the end,” Maximilian replies with a slight smile. “And you’re very strong and amazingly lucky. You always barely suffered when something happened to you. You could’ve died after you had been born, could’ve lost your hand after getting attacked by the dog, and could’ve died after being beaten by Julian. But you are here.”
“You’re like a warrior: you don’t give up and fight until the end,” Lilian encourages. “Maybe, you’re a little, fragile, and unprotected girl, but you’ve got the power. A power of will. A wish to live. That’s what makes you aim to live.”
“I didn’t think of the wish to live when I was beaten cruelly,” Anna sighs heavily. “Vice versa, I wanted to die… Not to experience that hell…”
“You must say, ‘thank you’ to Daniel and his friends for saving you,” Maximilian notices confidently. “If not for them, your mother and I would’ve seen you for the last time. It would have been our worst nightmare. Without you, we don’t see the meaning of living.”
“I will surely thank Peter, Terrence, and Edward when they come,” Anna promises with a slight smile.
“Daniel also deserves just a simple ‘thank you.’”
“He only deserves to suffer.”
“He saved your life, don’t forget it,” Lilian replies confidently. “You must be grateful to him for that.”
“Perkins would’ve done it alone. He was lucky that the men were with him. That pathetic hero didn’t die just because of their help and Sammy's help. Without them, he’s nothing. Nobody. The scumbag, who can do nothing but betray.”
“Don’t make him think you’re thankless. It’s easy for you to thank him, and it’s gonna be nice for him.”
“Nobody actually asked him to do something!” Anna cuts off coldly. “At least, I didn’t!”
“Thank him, daughter, thank,” Maximilian advises softly. “Even if he says nothing, Daniel doesn’t like to think that his efforts mean nothing to you.”
Anna says nothing and, sighing quietly, throws a gloomy look aside with both arms crossed over her chest. Lillian smiles slightly and tucks a strand of her daughter’s hair behind an ear, saying softly:
“It’s gonna be fine, sunshine. Just trust your dad and me and do what we say.”
“I don’t know…” Anna replies without emotions, shaking her head with wet eyes. “I can’t be so sure…”
“It can’t last forever,” Maximilian promises confidently, hugging Anna around the shoulders and kissing her on the temple. “Your mom and I will do our best to see you happy and know you’re fine.”
“I won’t be happy…” Anna shakes her head and sniffs quietly, while Lilian takes her hand. “I won’t…”
“Don’t say it, daughter,” Maximilian protests quietly. “You will forget this story like a nightmare soon.”
“I won’t be happy without him…” Anna sniffs quietly. “Because I love him… I love that betrayer and can’t imagine my life without him.”
“We know, honey. That’s why we tell you that you shouldn’t rush to make a decision.”
“I wanna be with him so badly, but I can’t… We can’t be together…”
“Why? You love each other!”
“I won’t forgive him, Dad!” Anna confesses with despair. “I can’t do this! Even if I really want!”
“Daughter, any person deserves a second chance if they know they made a mistake, regret it, and ask for forgiveness,” Lilian replies confidently. “No matter how bad Daniel’s act is, he deserves to be understood.”
“Nobody betrayed me like that…” Anna sniffs quietly. “Never! Neither my friends nor the men I dated before!”
“Listen, Anna, let’s not talk about it now,” Maximilian advises quietly. “Now it’s not time to sort out any relationships.”
“But let me give you one piece of advice,” Lillian says softly. “Don’t reject his help. Let Daniel save you from the Potters. That man is your chance to get out of this hell. As you’ve said, God sent you help. If it’s so, you must accept it.”
“And what then?”
“Then you will decide it. Maximilian and I will not insist upon anything and will accept any twist. As well, as Daniel, who will let you if you can’t forgive him.”
“But now try not to think about it,” Maximilian advises softly. “Think only about how to punish Julian and forget the nightmare. Now any relationships must be put in second place. We have to unite and be together.”
Anna says nothing and just nods, being happy that Daniel wants to help her and recognizing that her parents and those, who say the same things, are right.
“It’s gonna be okay, sweetheart,” Maximilian promises, caressing Anna’s cheek. “We won’t let anyone hurt you.”
“Calm down, sunshine, calm down,” Lillian says softly, hugging Anna, pressing her to herself, and kissing her on the cheek. “Mom and Dad are with you…”
Anna presses herself as close to Lilian as possible with tears in her eyes, while the woman caresses her head tenderly and whispers something nicely, and Maximilian feels how his heart squeezes painfully when watching his daughter’s suffering. And a few seconds later, the door of the room opens, and Daniel shows up on the doorstep, looking at the family with scared, widely open eyes, and a pale face, as if he is going to be shot down or fight for life.
“Mr. Seymour…” Daniel pronounces. “Mrs. Seymour…”
“Oh, Daniel…” Lillian pronounces. “You’re in time!”
“I guess you know about Anna,” Maximilian assumes thoughtfully.
“Cassidy just told me that,” Daniel confesses without emotions on his face. “I met her in the hall when she was going to her doctor.”
“She is with him now?” Lilian asks.
“Yes, he will examine her and talk about the release.”
Daniel throws a hesitant, scared look at Anna, who does not look at him, and moves her dead eyes to the window on the right with both arms crossed over her chest, forgetting everything she told Cassidy, Maximilian, and Lilian some time ago.
“Don’t be shy, Daniel,” Lillian smiles amicably and makes a calling gesture. “Come in, don’t stand on the doorstep.”
“No!” Anna meddles sharply. “He will not dare to come in!”
“Daughter, please…”
“Tell him to get out of here! I do not wish to see this betrayer in this room. Neither see, nor hear!”
“For God’s sake, Anna…” Maximilian pronounces quietly.
“What is he doing here? Who gave him the right to come here?”
“But he was worried about you…”
“I do give a damn about his feelings!” Anna cuts off coldly and loudly. “May Perkins get out of here and never come back here.”
“But his sister is also here,” Lilian notices confidently. “He will come here anyway.”
“Then he should agree to moving that girl into another room! Far from mine! So, I do not see his insolent, shameless face!”
“Honey, show some respect to him,” Maximilian says softly in a whisper.
“Respect?” Anna smirks loudly. “Gosh, Dad, what kind of respect do you mean when the case is about cheaters, who can wash people’s brains too well? And make them dance attendance upon them!”
“Daughter, don’t say it. Hearing all of this doesn’t give him pleasure.”
“I want him to hear! May he hear that he is a betrayer again and go to all four sides. Live with that fat cow, who almost lied over him with her fat belly!”
“Your father is right, Anna,” Lillian whispers, putting a hand on Anna’s hand. “Be gentle to Daniel. Don’t forget that he saved you from Julian.”
“Nobody asked him to save me! Nobody asked him to come there and pretend to be a pathetic hero!”
“Without him, you would’ve been dead.”
“C’mon, Mom, don’t say it like he did it alone. He had the help of Peter, Edward, and Terrence! Without those people, Perkins would’ve lied half-dead.”
“Please, Anna,” Maximilian begs with pity in his eyes.
“He is nothing without them! What could this man do without the lads? Nothing! But fuck some fat bitches, who lick him from head to foot!”
“Anna, stop it now!”
“It’s alright, Mr. Seymour,” Daniel barely pronounces. “Let her say what she wants.”
“Sorry, Daniel, we’re really embarrassed for you,” Lilian apologizes hesitantly.
“Yes, Daniel, don’t be mad, please,” Maximilian says quietly.
“Serious?” Anna resents. “Are you apologizing to this man? This cad betrayed me, but you ask him for forgiveness for that!”
“Daughter, please, be gentle.”
“I behave the way this snake deserves it!”
“No, Mr. Seymour, Mrs. Seymour…” Daniel pronounces hesitantly, understanding that he should not count on thankfulness, but not being able to hear these words. “Please…”
“Leave this room immediately, Daniel,” Anna demands coldly in a low, rude voice, pointing at the door. “And never come back!”
“I came to know how your health is…” Daniel says hesitantly, locking his fingers tightly. “And…”
“Did you hear what I said? Get out of my room! Now! I do not wish to see you here or anywhere else!”
“But, I…”
“I want to hear nothing!” Anna raises her voice.
“Quiet, quiet, Anna, quiet,” Lilian says softly, caressing Anna’s shoulder. “Don’t be so nervous…”
“Until this cheater leaves the room, I shall not calm down!”
“Daughter, don’t be so heartless,” Maximilian says quietly. “You just look how exhausted he got!”
“Yeah, I see…” Anna nods energetically. “I see he is a very good actor! He did a bad thing and is now pretending to be an innocent lamb!”
“Don’t forget what your dad and I told you,” Lillian says softly.
“Gosh, Mother, Father, kick this snake out of here!” Anna demands coldly. “Why do you tolerate his pretense quietly and literally kiss his hands?”
“Jesus, why are you full of evil?” Maximilian wonders. “You never showed this kind of aggression, but now you are mean to the man. Who literally saved your life!”
“Don’t pretend you don’t understand why I want to strangle this fucking horndog!”
“Anna!” Lilian cuts off loudly and harshly.
“I do not care how this man is worried, what he is thinking about, how he is living, and something like this! I let him go a long time ago and said everything was over between us. But if he is so stupid, alright, I am ready to repeat it a hundred more times!”
“Oh, God, give me the strength to take this torture…” Daniel exhales slowly with closed eyes, turning aside and putting his hand on his forehead. “It’s unbearable… Though, I can’t mind ‘cause she’s absolutely right. I am a cheater…”
“Listen to me, my darling daughter!” Maximilian starts to speak confidently. “Lilian and I will not tolerate this sort of disrespect for the man, who saved your life. And until the story of Julian is over, we want you to treat Daniel honorably.”
“Honorably?” Anna wonders loudly. “You’re serious? After he kissed the other girl before my eyes and almost slept with her?”
“You heard what I said? No insults to this man!”
“I will never respect this motherfucker after what he did to me!”
“Watch your mouth, Anna!” Lillian cuts off sharply. “Your father and I understand everything, but you have no right to insult and humiliate someone. Act the way a well-educated girl from an intelligent family must do it!”
“I behave the way this man deserves!” Anna says coldly. “Perkins does not deserve respect! He will not deserve it, no matter how many good things he does!”
“When Julian and Norman go to prison, Daniel will leave you alone. Now he will do this!”
“Either you and Father kick this scumbag out of the room, or I do this! And I do not care that I have no strength to get up. To do this, I shall surely find it! Because I am sick of his insolent face!”
“Anna, stop it now!” Maximilian pronounces coldly.
Daniel raises his head with closed eyes, comes to the window, and leans on the windowsill with both hands, holding all his emotions down.
“Fuck, how much I wanna get out, leave her alone, sit at home, and talk to nobody,” Daniel thinks. “Every word of hers gives me pain… I’m afraid I can’t hold on for too long… Oh, fuck… And the problem is that I can’t leave her. My duty is to be here and protect her from that bastard. I have to take it all and be ready to be a motherfucker that will not hear that my efforts are highly appreciated.”
While Maximilian talks to Anna quietly about something , Lillian gets up from the bed and comes to Daniel to support and comfort him.
“Don’t listen to her, Daniel,” Lillian says softly, putting her hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “She’s obsessed with anger, pride, and offense.”
“It’s alright, Mrs. Seymour,” Daniel replies quietly. “She is right. I can’t mind it.”
“I'm going to open a secret: when you weren’t here, Anna said different things.” Lilian smiles mysteriously. “She said she loved you and suffered from not being able to forgive you.”
“Really?” Daniel wonders with a gloss in his eyes.
“My daughter is fighting with opposite feelings. She loves you, but she can’t forgive you.”
“It’s madly unpleasant to hear everything she says about me,” Daniel confesses with sadness in his eyes. “It’s too hard.”
“It’s okay, Daniel, she will understand that you didn’t want it early or late.”
“By the way, did she say something about how my friends and I saved her from Potter?”
“She promised to thank your friends.”
“I got it.”
“But please, don’t be mad at my daughter. I’m sure that she didn’t leave it unnoticed and will say ‘thank you’ someday.”
“If she doesn’t, it’s okay,” Daniel shrugs.
“Anyway, you’re on the right track, dear.” Lilian caresses Daniel’s shoulder softly. “Keep doing this and don’t go back.”
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Seymour. I shall be near her and you until the story of the Potters ends.”
“That’s right! Later, everything might change. And my daughter may come to herself and start to hear what she is told.”
“Yeah, sure…” Daniel cracks a smile. “Thanks for the support.”
Lillian says nothing and just smiles slightly. Then she moves her eyes to Maximilian and Anna, comes to them, and sits on the bed. The man says something to his daughter quickly, gets up, and decides to come to Daniel still standing near the window.
“Don’t be so upset because of what she says,” Maximilian says with an encouraging smile, clapping Daniel on the shoulder. “It’s just her emotions.”
“I know I deserve it and expected something like this,” Daniel replies quietly. “But it’s super hard anyway.”
“Now, nobody should take what Anna says seriously. She can say anything but think of different things.”
“Anyway, she’s absolutely right. You shouldn’t swear at her for having her own opinion.”
“We just want her to show some respect for you. Lilian and I completely understand that Anna is mad, but insulting the person in this way is too much.”
“Now I care about it much less. She can do anything she wants, but I will reach my main goal.”
“That’s right. Just keep doing what you should do, and don’t listen to Anna’s pleas to leave her alone. She does want you to help her, even if she refuses to confess it.”
“I promise, Mr. Seymour, we will bring this case to an end, despite her wish.”
“I believe you, Daniel,” Maximilian nods with a slight smile. “And remember, my daughter loves you. She wants to forgive you, but she can’t do this yet. The problem is her offense.”
“Do you think she’ll really appreciate my efforts?”
“Of course, she will. Anna sees everything, even if she doesn’t say it. And someday, she will thank your friends as well as you.”
“I’m doing this not for thankfulness. If your daughter wants to insult and beat me, it’s okay. I shall survive it somehow.”
At this moment, Lillian comes to Daniel and Maximilian with a slight smile on her face.
“It’s gonna be okay, Daniel,” Maximilian encourages amicably, clapping Daniel on the shoulder. “Keep your chin up and don’t be sad. Just do what you should and wait.”
“We believe in you, sweetie,” Lillian adds. “Yes, it’s gonna be very hard, but you can do this.”
“Thank you so much,” Daniel thanks gently with a slight smile. “I will not give up and will help you and your daughter, no matter what the cost. Even if… Even if I have to give my life. Or sacrifice something…”
“I wish you had the strength to accept it all,” Lilian expresses hope.
Daniel says nothing and just nods, while Lillian and Maximilian shyly smile at him to encourage him a little. And two seconds later, Anna’s father's phone rings, and he takes it from his pocket.
“Oh, excuse me, it’s for my job,” Maximilian says thoughtfully. “I will leave for two minutes.”
Maximilian runs his finger over the screen of the phone that he puts to his ear and starts to speak on the move, coming to the door that he opens and closes after leaving the room.
“I think you need to tell the men and the girls that Anna woke up,” Lillian advises thoughtfully.
“Yeah, I will talk to them,” Daniel nods. “But almost everybody turned their phones off or did not answer.”
Lilian nods with a slight smile on her face, while Daniel throws a sad look aside.
“Oh, listen, don’t you mind if I leave for a couple of minutes, as well?” Lillian asks hesitantly. “I forgot I needed to call someone…”
“Sure, go if you need it,” Daniel shrugs.
“While Maximilian and I are not here, you can talk to Anna.”
“I’m not sure if she would like to talk to me…”
“At least, just stay with her until her father and I are back. Maybe, your sister will come back soon and join you.”
“Oh, alright… I will stay with her…”
Lillian nods with a shy smile, comes to Anna frowning strongly, and caresses her head softly when saying:
“Sweetie, your father and I need to go out for a while. But we will be back soon.”
“Okay,” Anna pronounces quietly. “Take this betrayer with you.”
“He will stay with you until Maximilian and I are back.”
“What?” Anna rounds her eyes. “You will let this horndog stay here?”
“Talk to him, daughter. Thank him for saving you from Julian and say you’re ready to accept his help.”
“But, Mother!”
“We’ll be back soon, my sunshine. Don’t be bored here.”
Lilian cutely kisses Anna on the top of her head, caresses her cheek, and turns around when the girl calls her loudly:
“Mom, please! Mother! Take this betrayer with you! Don’t leave me with him! Please! Mom!”
But Lilian ignores Anna’s words, coming to the exit and leaving the room, closing the door after her. The girl and Daniel start to feel too nervous and uncomfortable after they stay alone. This tense silence lasts for a few seconds before the man barely braces himself, exhaling slowly and turning to his ex-girlfriend, whom he looks at with true sadness in his eyes. While she turns her head to another side and crosses her arms over her chest, being in a half-lying position and leaning on the pillow with her back.
“How are you?” Daniel asks hesitantly.
“Wonderful,” Anna throws coldly.
“The pain is strong?”
“Normal.”
“Are you sure? Maybe, you…”
“Leave my room, Daniel,” Anna demands coldly in a low voice. “I do not want to see and hear you.”
“I get it, but…”
“I did not invite you here! And I do not care about my parents! They can say whatever they want!”
“Anna, please…” Daniel comes closer to Anna.
“I do not repeat twice. Do what I have asked you about.”
“But…”
“Do not make me wild and get out of here,” Anna barely holds her irritation down. “Go to the fuck! And never dare to stand in my way.”
“I worry about you,” Daniel replies with sadness in his eyes. “And I want to know you’re okay.”
“I believe I clearly said I feel wonderful.”
“And I would like to talk to you… Talk about the current situation.”
“We have nothing to talk about, Daniel,” Anna cuts off coldly. “Please, leave my room.”
“Anna, please, listen to me,” Daniel begs with pity in his eyes, comes confidently closer to Anna, and sits on her bed.
“Did you not hear what I said?” Anna asks coldly and rudely, half turning the top of her body upon and sharply moving her eyes aside with both arms crossed over her chest. “Are you brainless and stupid?”
“I got it, but…”
“Get out of here! I do not want to see you! I am sick of just seeing your insolent face! Your fucking voice! I am sick of everything about you!”
“Listen, I understand you’re angry,” Daniel replies quietly. “That’s your right that nobody will take away from you. But I’ve confessed everything honestly and am madly regretting it. I’m really ashamed of what happened because of my fault but against my wish.”
“Huh!” Anna hums with rolled eyes, sharply moves her eyes to Daniel, and looks at him contemptuously. “What did you expect, buddy? You thought you would be forgiven after you played a hero a little? Just like in a movie! You believed I was a naive idiot, who loved men doing heroic things for her?”
“No, that’s not the truth…”
“Do not even dream, Perkins!” Anna throws coldly. “Your efforts will lead to nothing. And I will never thank you for what you did.”
“Did you think I should’ve gone by, seeing that stinker beating you?” Daniel wonders truly.
“I did not ask you to help! You could not come there and pretend to be a fucking hero, screaming at the top of your lungs and waving your hands like a sick hysterical lady.”
“Is that okay you could’ve died if the lads and I hadn’t been there?”
“I would’ve gotten through it!” Anna glances aside. “You do not have to do with my business! You have no right to meddle in it!”
“Oh, no, I am not going to sit and do nothing! Knowing that one scumbag almost sent you to another world!”
“I repeat, I did not ask you for help! I did not make you take Peter, Edward, and Terrence with you!”
“They wouldn’t have let me deal with Potter alone!”
“Ah, excuse me, I forgot!” Anna rolls her eyes with a contemptuous sneer. “You can do nothing on your own! You can only be sassy when there is someone to help.”
“I would’ve done it anyway: without the lads or with,” Daniel says confidently.
“Nobody needs your heroic actions, Perkins. At least, me! Other folks can admire your alleged courage as much as they want. But I shall not bow at you.”
“You were madly lucky we were going by and saw you. That Peter saw you jumping out of Potter’s car! What would’ve happened if it had been otherwise? If that sick man and his father had gotten a chance to do anything to you! Without us, you would’ve been dead!”
“I said I would’ve done it without the help of the fucking hero,” Anna says rudely. “The hero, who did a dirty trick but later decided to become good and make everybody sure that he was holy. You washed my parents' brains well! Father and Mother are literally ready to bow at you and dance attendance upon you! Humiliate themselves for the horndog that can only work his tongue and use the thing between his legs.”
“I make nobody love me,” Daniel replies confidently. “When someone judges me, it’s okay.”
“It seems like nobody cares about your betrayal if nobody turned their backs on you. Vice versa, everybody loves you! Pity you! Try to make me sure that I must forgive you!”
“Yes, but it doesn’t mean anybody judges me. Vice versa, everybody dislikes my act. And I know it. I know the men don’t approve of my act. The girls were mad. Your parents were mad. Even my own sister judges me. Nobody has said I did a good thing!”
“Your tricks will not work on me, Perkins. No words or pathetic tears shed by force will change my mind. You can cry as much as you want, but it will not pity me!”
“I don’t deny I did a bad thing, and I do confess my fault,” Daniel replies with pity in his eyes. “And I agree that everybody’s supposed to turn their backs on me and hate me. But does true regret mean nothing to you? I did apologize to you, and I am trying to do my best to make amends.”
“Oh, yeah, as that little gal said, you are as loyal as a dog!” Anna sneers contemptuously. “Ha! You do not know what it means to be loyal!”
“Does the sick bastard, who beat you, know it? Do you think Potter is better than I? He will never regret the mockeries toward you and apologize even under a pistol!”
“Trying to make me believe you are an angel, comparing yourself with Julian?”
“I’m not a candidate for this title but am just trying to make amends and fix my mistakes somehow. Not to feel ashamed of you, your parents, and my friends.”
“I shall pray every day that you lose all your friends to the heck and stay all alone!” Anna says rudely. “I want you to have nobody’s support! Want you to never be happy!”
“No, Anna, please, don’t say it,” Daniel begs with pity in his eyes. “Your words hurt me…”
“And your betrayer hurts me! The pain you gave me is nothing, unlike the pain from hits. Bruises will be gone, but the heart and the soul will not be cured! At least, mine!”
“I completely understand it and regret what I did.”
“I wonder what you told my mother and father if they literally fell at your feet and kiss your hands? You’ve washed their brains so much that they praise you!”
“Truth,” Daniel pronounces quietly. “They asked to explain the situation – I told them everything honestly and showed regret.”
“Yeah, you are not so brainless to tell them how you fucked that fat ugly! Or did you dare to do that?”
“Everybody knows what that possessive foreigner came from. I explained everything and hid nothing. And I agreed to help when your parents asked me about it.”
“Ah, that’s how!” Anna hums loudly with rolled eyes. “So, did you move your ass just because of my parents? So, is this how you please them?”
“What?” Daniel rounds his eyes. “Do you think I’m helping you against my wish?”
“If it’s so, go to hell! I do not need anything from you! And I shall never ask you for help. Never!”
“No, no, you got it wrong!” Daniel jabs a little excitedly. “I’m helping you because I love you and want to know you’re okay and living a quiet life. I do care about you and always will.”
“Stop lying, Perkins! You never loved me and used me all this time!”
“I used?” Daniel points at himself with a finger.
“I did everything for you, but you, scumbag, did that to me! I served your lazy ass for a long time and always tried to please you! And what did I eventually get? Thankfulness! I saw you having a lot of pleasure from nuzzling another girl!”
“It’s a lie! I’ve always highly appreciated your efforts and done everything for you! Made any of your caprices come true!”
“If you need a servant, invite that fat cow, who is going to crush you with her weight someday,” Anna replies rudely, coldly. “She will serve you! In all fucking senses!”
“Listen, Anna…”
“You know what, get out of here! The door is there! Behind you! Open it and go to hell!”
“I understand that you don’t want to see me. But now…”
“You are very lucky that I have no strength to fight. Otherwise, I would beat you strongly. As well as your friends have never done it before.”
“No, Anna, please, don’t say it…” Daniel shakes his head with sadness in his eyes. “You’re hurting me…”
“The one to feel hurt is me!”
“I know…”
“Betrayer! How much time I wasted on you! Christ!” Anna claps herself on the forehead with a hand. “How could I believe you and listen to your beautiful but false words and promises? Why was I an idiot? Why?”
“I’ve never lied to you and always told you the truth, no matter what it is.”
“But you were hiding your affair!”
“There was no affair! That was…”
“I could forgive you for many things, Daniel,” Anna says coldly in a low voice. “Too much. Dirty clothes thrown in the house, dirty dishes, and the mess that you always left after you. I could pay no attention to your irresponsibility and carelessness. I could even close my eyes to your habit of smoking, even if you know how much I don’t like the smell of cigarettes. I could forgive you for the fact that you could’ve burned your house down a million times. Just like when you threw the cigarette on the mat. I would’ve tolerated anything.”
“I know I’ve never been perfect.”
“But I shall never forgive you for cheating. And you knew it because I told you about it a million times. I did warn you that if I heard or saw you nuzzling another woman, you could go to hell.”
“If I hadn’t had amnesia, I would’ve never done it at my wish. I swear I never cheated on the girls I dated.”
“It’s too late to regret it, betrayer. No matter how hard you prove that your regret is true, I will no longer believe you and will never come back to you. Yes, Perkins, you lost my trust. A truly loving person doesn’t have to look for excuses for cheating because they don’t do this, despite their condition.”
“But I really want to prove that I am sorry about what I did,” Daniel replies with pity in his eyes. “If you gave me another chance, I would prove I could be a loyal and trustworthy man.”
“I said everything, horndog. No forgiveness!”
“Just tell me what I should do for you to forgive me. For you to let me prove that I’ve never stopped loving you! I will do anything you ask me about.”
“I need nothing from you!” Anna throws coldly. “Get out of my life and leave me alone!”
“Serious, Anna. I’m ready for anything for you.”
“Stop showing off for me. It will not work for me. But the men will easily believe you if you puff your tail for them. You’ve always loved pretending to be sassy for each other. So, keep pretending to be a superhero.”
“I’ve never been sassy…” Daniel confesses, moving his eyes aside. “Everyone thinks so because of my appearance. Everybody confesses that they were afraid of me because I looked like I was ready to tear anyone to the heck.”
“I’m sorry that nobody guessed you could betray folks!”
“Everybody, who knows me, can confirm I’ve always been loyal to my friends and my girls.”
“You’re just afraid to confess all your betrayals! The guys found out the truth thanks to me. I told them what you did. Otherwise, they would’ve kept thinking you were a victim, but I was a bad girl, who left you at a hard time.”
“I would’ve told them the truth anyway.”
“No, Perkins, you wouldn’t have done it. Because you’re afraid to get worse for people and lose the status of the best dude! If you are worse than everyone, it will be a humiliation for you. Not just you. Any man tries to outstand another. The MacClifes and Rose constantly compete with you and each other.”
“Sometimes what people see outside doesn’t always fit what happens inside. I never told anyone about the real me and kept the image of an insolent and sassy guy. That was the mask that I wore for a long time to hide my feelings and emotions. Nobody knew who I really was. Even my closest people. And I stopped understanding it at some moment.”
“And why do you say it to me?” Anna smirks contemptuously. “Do I feel sorry for you? Cry over your unhappy life? The fact that you lost your parents, who are twisting in their graves, as they see what their sonny is doing!”
“You think I’m asking for pity?”
“And you got it! For example, my parents are trying too hard to make me nice to you and respect you! Respect the betrayal!”
“It’s your business. I just want to bring the case to an end. And I don’t care what you think about it.”
“But I don’t care about what’s happening inside you! I want to know nothing! No-thi-ng! You are nobody to me, and I am not related to you! Enough, Perkins, we are over!”
“Please, Anna, give me one chance!”
“Never!” Anna throws sharply. “Expect nothing from me! You have friends and that fat bitch you cheated on me with! May they comfort you and dry off your mouth!”
“You don’t want to hear me. You don’t want to believe I’ve always told you the truth.”
“I want to hear nothing! What I saw was enough! I saw you having great pleasure when nuzzling that freak! I finally watched your betrayal that you had been hiding for a long time.”
“No, Anna, I swear I didn’t have another girl when we lived together,” Daniel protests confidently. “I’ve always been loyal to you.”
“If you were loyal, you wouldn't have cheated on me with that gal!”
“I didn’t wanna cheat on you, I swear on my life. On the grave of my parents!”
“Betrayals do love solemnly swearing,” Anna smirks contemptuously. “It’s as easy for an insolent liar to lie as it is for a heartless killer to kill someone. In one case, someone dies from words and actions. In another case, they die from a bullet in a cold gun.”
“I became a victim!” Daniel exclaims with despair a little louder. “That liar used me shamelessly and pretended to be the one I loved!”
“Gosh, just the fuck confess you got sick of me and decided to exchange me with another girl!”
“I wasn’t gonna leave you! And I wouldn’t have done it if not for that fucking amnesia, which is the reason why I lost almost everything!”
“You are guilty of everything! I have no fault for you losing your mind because of the ‘spiritual beauty’ of that ugly gal!”
“That foreigner was never attractive to me! Vice versa, she made me feel disgust that I didn’t pay attention to, making me think it would be gone after remembering everything. It was actually terribly disgusting to be with her. And when she got out somewhere with her family, I exhaled with relief!”
“You could get out with her!” Anna throws loudly. “Nobody needs you here! You could be with your lover with big boobs and a big ass!”
“My place is here! With my close people! Not those I never knew!”
“Stop lying, Perkins! It’s disgusting to listen to your lie, which everybody believes like naive children. I’m sick of everybody trying to prove that you’re a good, innocent boy, who didn’t want to do anything bad.”
“But I didn’t really want to! And I’m suffering because you don’t wanna understand me!”
“How shameless you are…” Anna shakes her head. “Insolent and shameless scumbag… Why did I fall in love with you?”
“I’m saying all of this with a quiet heart. Because I have nothing to hide.”
“Ha, nothing!” Anna hums contemptuously. “If I had known you were such a disgusting bastard, I would’ve never agreed to date you and live in your fucking house. I wasted so much time on a motherfucker like you! Though, I could’ve made my life much better if I had listened to my family. They warned me that my communication with you would not give me happiness!”
“Better?” Daniel explodes. “So, you would’ve felt better with Julian Potter? Do you think you could be happy with that sick bastard, who doesn’t respect women and considers them servants that must serve his fucking ass, give birth to children from him, educate them, and never open their mouths until the lord’s order?”
“None of your business!”
“I will never believe that such a soft, romantic girl would like cruel relationships, strong acts of beating, hysterical shouts, and insults!”
“You don’t have to do with what I like!”
“I know you too well. You and I are similar because we both don’t wanna be under someone’s control. And Potter would never let you do what you wanted. You wouldn’t have the freedom that you had when you lived with me.”
“There is not only Julian! He’s got a younger brother! I would obviously be much happier with him!”
“Oh, come on!”
“If I had to become the wife of one of the Potters, I would live with him!”
“You’ve never loved Ryan! As well as he’s never loved you!”
“What’s your matter? Maybe, I can love Ryan later! He’s a wonderful guy, who would never betray me and would do anything he promised. Instead of working his tongue for nothing and swearing in forever love when there is not the one.”
“You would’ve divorced early or later.”
“None of your fucking business!” Anna throws rudely, moving her cold eyes to Daniel. “I am a single girl and have the right to be with any man!”
“No, you have no right!” Daniel says confidently. “I will not take another man beside you!
“Come on!”
“I swear, Anna, if I see how someone goes around you, he will have to regret it a lot!”
“You’re nobody to me, Perkins! I let you go a long time ago!”
“But I did not! And I will not! Because you’re still mine! And you will be mine, while I want it!”
“If I meet a decent man, I will be with him and get married to him with pleasure,” Anna says confidently.
“Over my dead body!” Daniel pronounces with a heavy breath. “I shall not give you to another man!”
“Turn off the jealous man mode, horndog! You should’ve used your empty mind earlier! Instead of jumping from one bed to another! Licking one bitch and trying to kiss me!”
“I have the right to fight for what belongs to me!”
“You better go to please your big-booty lover!” Anna breaks into a cry. “Feel her fat ass up! Take her to bed, ask her to suck you, and make a child with her… Do what you want! Just leave me alone!”
“That girl is not my lover! She is an insolent liar, who used my condition! I don’t know how she found out about me and what she wanted, but I swear if the foreigner shows up and keeps chasing me, I shall put her in a mental hospital or go to the police and report her.”
“So, did you get another lover?” Anna smirks contemptuously. “Did you get sick of that fatty and decide to find someone else?”
“I have nobody!” Daniel says confidently, a little louder. “And I never have! Why don’t you want to hear me and the truth?”
“After your betrayal, I do not want to see or hear you. And if you don’t get out in the nearest five minutes, I shall kick you got!”
“Okay, don’t listen! But I’ve got nothing to worry about and am confident. Because I’m telling the truth and recognizing my fault.”
“Bastard… Scumbag… Asshole… If only you knew how I hate you!” Anna sharply moves a strand of hair off her eyes, starting to breathe heavily, and says much louder with anguish: “I hate you, horndog! You’ve ruined my life! Because of you, I am suffering and living in hell! If you, scumbag, hadn’t come into my life, I would’ve been much happier. M-u-c-h!”
Anna sharply moves her eyes aside, still keeping her arms crossed over her chest. Daniel closes his face with both hands and exhales slowly and quietly, not knowing how to tolerate this ocean of hurtful but explainable charges and insults.
“I understand…” Daniel pronounces quietly in a low voice. “I know I deserved all of it. I know I lost your trust. I’m guilty of everything.”
“Don’t act like a victim,” Anna throws coldly.
“But I really became a victim.”
“Stop, Perkins, I am done with hearing this bullshit!”
“I honestly told you how everything happened.”
“You broke my heart. And if I never fix it, you’ll be guilty. I shall never forgive you if I don’t love a man, who will not cheat on me.”
“But I get mad at the thought that you may have another man,” Daniel sharply gets straight. “I am not going to share you with anyone.”
“If you fuck other gals in your bed, bye!”
“I fuck nobody!”
“Are you sick of fucking everybody? Did you decide to come to me? A naive girl, Anna, who could forgive you for everything and take care of the snake!”
“While I have a chance to fight for what belongs to me, I will fight,” Daniel says confidently.
“I loved you, Daniel…” Anna says in a much lower voice without emotions in her eyes. “Really loved… I was ready to do anything for you. I gave my everything for you to be happy. But you didn’t appreciate it. You killed this love.”
“Maybe, your love died, but mine is still alive.”
“If you’d turned on your brains when seeing the fat-ass whore, everything would be fine.”
“I know…” Daniel says without emotions, looking into the distance. “I’ve been making mistakes all my life… And I was always lucky. But this time, luck decided to turn upon me.”
“Just don’t play on pity and make me wish to cry.”
“I don’t try. And I hope for nothing, trying to save you and your parents from the Potters. I just tell myself I should do it. I should know you’re fine, and nothing threatens you.”
“I don’t need your help. My parents and I will do it on our own.”
“I promise, when everything is over, I will never bother you.”
Anna says nothing and just sighs tiredly, looking gloomily around the whole room with both arms crossed over her chest.
“I’m just asking you to let me bring this case to an end,” Daniel confesses in a low voice, doubling over. “Let me make amends somehow. For believing the lie and refusing to look deeper into my heart. It showed me the right way, but I didn’t listen to it. And I could’ve lost much more if I had gotten my memories back much later.”
Daniel falls into silence for a second and exhales quietly, looking at the lines on his hands with sadness in his eyes.
“I don’t wanna repeat anything… The people are done with my whining and know everything. Yes, sometimes I wanna whine. But I’m holding on. Because I don’t wanna be a whining guy. I don’t wanna be weak. I must do this.”
Daniel shakes his head and looks around the whole room with sad eyes.
“Anyway, you have the right to hate me, insult me, humiliate me, and even beat me… Do what you want… It won’t get worse… I will just keep silent and take it. And I will think about how to end this terrible story and let you live quietly. Once and forever…”
While Daniel doubles over with a quiet sigh, looks at his hands, and looks through the window of the room, Anna feels how her heart squeezes painfully when he says the last words in a low, shaking voice. Her eyes get wet from tears, and she starts to feel something like remorse. The girl feels embarrassed because she is so rude to the one, who is trying so hard to make amends. There is a strong wish to hug her beloved man tightly, caress him like a little child, and say she really wants to give their relationship a chance. But Anna understands she is not ready for something like this and does not want to be with Daniel from pity. But she decides to let him show himself and find out if this man loves her so much and is ready to do anything for her.
Anna looks at Daniel with pity in her eyes for a few seconds, barely holding down her wish just to touch him. And then the girl sighs quietly and looks around the whole room, saying without emotions in her eyes:
“Alright… If you want to deal with Julian, do it.”
“You’re letting?” Daniel specifies quietly.
“I can’t persuade my father and mother to give up on this plan and make you leave us alone.”
“They know it will be better for you. Together, we can make Julian and his father pay for what they’ve done to you and your family.”
“Do what you think is right.”
“I repeat, when everything ends, you will live a quiet life. Without me. I will ask you about nothing.”
“Don’t think I want it so badly,” Anna lies with both arms crossed over her chest. “I agreed to it for my parents.”
“I get it,” Daniel nods with a sad look.
“And don’t count on my thankfulness or something like that.”
“I don’t dare to ask you about it. Just remember that it’s gonna be okay. Julian will no longer come to you, and Norman will do nothing bad to your parents.”
“I hope…” Anna moves her empty gaze aside, folding her hands in front of herself.
“For me, it’s not just a wish to give you a quiet life, but also a chance to prove that you can trust me. That you can always count on me. And…”
“Stop, Daniel,” Anna stops, raising a hand. “Don’t continue.”
“I think you understood what I wanted to say.”
“Yup, I did. And if it happened that I’m in the same room with your sister, okay… You can come here and spend time with Cassidy.”
“She’s gonna leave the hospital soon, don’t worry.”
“And let’s not talk about anything about our future.” Anna moves her eyes to Daniel a little hesitantly. “I need time. Time to understand myself and what I want.”
“Alright, I got you,” Daniel nods. “Thanks a lot… At least for this…”
“I don’t change my mind about your act,” Anna replies without emotions, making a lot of effort not to say how thrilled she is to get help from Daniel. “I hated you for cheating and will do it. But I’m sorry about that slap. The one you got from me in the hospital… I shouldn’t have done that… To raise a hand on the man…”
“It’s okay,” Daniel nods, swallows up nervously with a feeling of discomfort and embarrassment, and glances aside for two seconds. “I… Get it… It’s fair. If you want to slap again, you can do it… I… Shall not react.”
Anna says nothing and, wiping tears under her eyes carefully, just looks at Daniel with sadness in her eyes, while he looks aside, doubling over and leaning on his laps with his elbows. They spend a few seconds in awkward silence, which gets the man much tenser, even if he is experiencing great stress.
“Oh…” Daniel moans quietly, squeezing the bridge of his nose for a second, and exhales sharply. “Okay… I… I will go… Not to bother you…”
“Stay if you want,” Anna replies quietly, looking at her hands. “I will not kick you out.”
“I think your parents will come back soon. And Cassidy won’t let you feel bored.”
“You could stay with her…”
“I spent a whole day here… With her and… You. So… I can go home and… Put me in order.”
Daniel glances at the window, swallows up nervously, and looks down or at Anna.
“I have a plea for you,” Daniel says hesitantly with sadness in his eyes. “I know I have no right to ask you something, but…”
“What?” Anna asks quietly.
“Please… Don’t hurt my sister. Cassidy is a very good girl, who lacks love and attention. Don’t take it out on her just because I’m her brother. She’s not guilty of my mistakes and shouldn’t pay for them.”
“Don’t worry, Daniel. I will not hurt her.”
“But… If her pretense gets you nervous, no problem. I shall talk to her doctor and ask to find another room for Cass.”
“No, don’t do… She can stay here. We wouldn’t feel bored.”
“Thanks a lot.”
“And you do something…”
“What?”
“Ask the guys to come here,” Anna says with sadness in her eyes. “I miss the men and the girls so badly.”
“Sure, Anna, don’t worry,” Daniel nods. “I’ll tell them that you woke up. The girls are gonna be especially happy. They’ve cried a lot of tears.”
After sitting on the bed for a second, Daniel gets up slowly and goes to the door as slowly as a snail, while Anna watches him with sad eyes full of pain. But when he almost comes to the exit, the man turns on the girl.
“Someday, this hell will end,” Daniel promises confidently. “I will not give up on saving you and your parents.”
“I believe you,” Anna nods.
“I’m doing all of this not only because I promised your parents, but also because I love you. I will always love. Time will not change my feelings.”
Anna says nothing and, swallowing up nervously, moves her eyes to her hands.
“Anyway, I’m ready to wait as long as I have to. Wait for you to try to understand and forgive me. And I will be waiting. That we could… Remain friends.”
Anna moves her eyes to Daniel again, barely holding down her tears and wish to stop pretending that she does not care about anything that this man says in such a shaking voice.
“Bye, Anna. Get well soon. Do everything your doctors say. I want to see you alive and healthy. Whatever happens to us.”
After hearing nothing from Anna, Daniel comes to the door and leaves the room, closing the door. After watching him with sad eyes, the girl sighs heavily with closed eyes and wipes tears off her face.
“This is your chance to prove that you’re not lying and giving empty promises, Daniel,” Anna says very quietly. “I’m ready to give it to you… Because I want to get out of this hell and know that nothing threatens my parents… And find out what you could do for me. Whether I can believe you.”
Anna sighs heavily with sadness in her eyes, swallows up nervously, and glances at the ceiling that she scans slowly, lying on her back with her hands folded on her stomach and hoping that her mind and heart will agree someday and let her live in peace with the one, without whom she cannot imagine her life anymore.
***
The time is getting closer to the evening. Two hours ago, Edward came back home after spending time with Christopher and Kevin and walking alone in the city. After putting on his home clothes, the man finds the guitar in his room, goes to the living room, sits comfortably on the sofa with his legs on it, and starts to play and sing something, falling into the music and thinking about something with a slight smile on his face. He does not notice how Rebecca goes downstairs, and then Jamie decides to leave his business for later. The spouses enjoy the singing of their younger son with true smiles on their faces for some time before the guy stops playing when he moves his eyes to his parents.
“Oh, I didn’t know you were here,” Edward smiles shyly, presses the guitar to himself, and bends his legs under himself. “Do I bother you?”
“No, no, honey,” Rebecca protests softly. “You don’t bother us.”
“Vice versa, your mother and I were in our room and listening to you,” Jamie adds amicably. “And then we decided to come here.”
“I’ll go to my room if I bother you.”
“It’s okay, sonny! You know that we love listening to you and your brother.”
“Yeah, I know,” Edward smiles shyly. “I just wanted to distract myself and warm up my fingers and voice.”
“You can keep playing,” Rebecca suggests with a slight smile. “We don’t often manage to listen to you and Terrence singing, even if it’s like a cure to us.”
“You know we’re always ready to play for you,” Edward replies amicably. “Just ask, and we’ll do it with pleasure.”
“Then play something for your mother and me right now,” Jamie suggests.
“Yes, Edward, play, please,” Rebecca says with a slight smile. “Make your father and me happy.”
“Okay, I’ll play with pleasure,” Edward smiles amicably. “What would you like to hear?”
“What you want,” Jamie shrugs. “Play what your heart loves.”
“What my heart loves…” Edward says thoughtfully, looking aside with a slight smile on his face. “So… No problem!”
Edward glances at the sofa, as if he invites Jamie and Rebecca to sit down. While they install themselves comfortably in front of him, the man plucks the strings slowly and very quietly for a few seconds. Then he relaxes his shoulders and starts to play a quiet and nice-to-hear song that fits the melodic timbre of his voice and his sentimental character. The guy gives his everything to every single word and every single note, not wishing to fail for his parents, who are watching him like charmed and listening to the clean singing of their son, who shares a cute smile with them.
While Edward is playing a song, Jamie and Rebecca spend two or three minutes shaking their heads, clapping their hands, and trying to sing along, despite not knowing the lyrics. But when the man plucks the strings the last time, he inclines his head and shyly smiles at his mother and father, who applaud with their heads proudly up.
“Bravo, sonny!” Rebecca exclaims with a slight smile. “You were incredible!”
“You’re incomparable, Edward!” Jamie adds with his head proudly raised. “You’re doing this better every single day.”
“Thanks a lot,” Edward thanks with a shy smile.
“Play often for us, honey,” Rebecca says. “Your singing calms us down.”
“I just picked up a relaxing song. What I need right now.”
“Very beautiful song. And it sounds incredible with your voice.”
“Everybody says my voice fits this type of music. But I think I could sing not only lyrical ballads, but also something heavier.”
“Your voice is really very melodic, quiet, and relaxing,” Jamie notices confidently. “If I didn’t hear the way you sing different types of songs, I would be sure you should only sing slow and quiet tunes.”
“But as you see, my voice fits any type of song.”
“And you can easily calm people down.”
“That’s true,” Rebecca agrees. “If you talk to someone to be nervous, they will calm down.”
“And I must confess that I use it sometimes…” Edward confesses thoughtfully, scratching the back of his head. “It’s been necessary lately. For example, I try to calm Natalia down. Talk to her in a relaxing and calm voice and try to make her believe that it’s gonna be okay.”
“She doesn’t believe it?” Jamie frowns slightly.
“I wouldn’t say so.” Edward puts his guitar aside. “But my words help her get a little better.”
“Because of Anna?” Rebecca asks with sadness in her eyes.
“Yup… She’s too worried about her. Not only her, but also the other girls. They are all afraid of the worst, even if the doctor says there’s no threat to Anna’s life.”
“Hasn’t the poor girl woken up?” Jamie asks.
“Not yet. But Daniel would contact us if something changed.”
“Does he spend all day in the hospital with her?”
“Well, not all day, but he stays there for a few hours. And her parents come at any free time.”
“I can imagine what kind of pain her father and mother feel…” Rebecca sighs heavily.
“The Seymours really do,” Edward confesses with sadness in his eyes. “And they regret not hearing their daughter before.”
“Are they actually what? Good?”
“Yeah, very good. And we were wrong when we believed that Anna’s parents were terrible. Mr. and Mrs. Seymour were very nice to all of us.”
“By the way, does Anna speak to her mother now?” Jamie frowns slightly. “She kind of got on well with her father!”
“Their relationship was tense because they didn’t understand each other, but now it’s otherwise.”
“A misunderstanding between children and parents is a very frequent problem. It’s especially hard when your children are teens. Children rebel and run from one side to another, and parents are mad and don’t know what to do…”
“I think everyone gets through it…” Edward shrugs. “I was the same.”
“That’s right,” Rebecca agrees with a slight smile. “I suffered a lot when Terrence was a teenager. He became a terrible bully, gave me lots of problems, and rebelled against me.”
“Maybe, Edward and he are adults now, but they’re still rebellious and do crazy things,” Jamie notices confidently.
“But I don’t wanna stay in the same place and do nothing,” Edward throws his hands up. “I will feel bored if my life is too quiet.”
“That’s good you want to make your life brighter,” Rebecca says. “But never forget about the limits.”
“Imma trying.”
Silence settles in the air for a few seconds, during which Edward glances at a big window in the living room, putting his arm behind the back of the sofa.
“Hey, Edward, will you go to the hospital?” Rebecca asks.
“I don’t know, Mom,” Edward replies thoughtfully, running his hand through his hair. “Hardly… Nothing has changed for three days.”
“Will someone else go there?” Jamie asks.
“I tried to call Terrence and Raquelle when I walked into the city, but they didn’t answer.”
“They aren’t home?”
“I dunno. But while Raquelle didn’t just answer, Terrence declined all of my calls.”
“Hm, interesting…” Jamie frowns slightly.
“I guess he’s busy and can’t speak.”
“But he could at least send a message and say he’ll call later.”
“Yeah, but he sent nothing to me.”
“Listen, is everything alright between him and Raquelle?” Rebecca gets suspicious.
“I think, yes,” Edward shrugs. “When we were in the hospital yesterday, they acted like nothing happened.”
“Don’t you know if Raquelle has told him about her miscarriage?”
“Oh, yeah!” Jamie exclaims. “As long as I remember, she promised us to do it after Terrence leaves the hospital.”
“I don’t know it,” Edward assumes. “But I have a feeling that they haven’t talked about it yet.”
“But if she doesn’t tell your brother everything, we’ll have to meddle,” Rebecca replies confidently. “We can’t let Terrence torture himself with guesses.”
“She’ll have to do it early or late. I think Terrence is gonna be much more determined to find out what’s happening to Raquelle. He’s sick of all of this and wanna end it in the nearest time.”
“The important thing is that he doesn’t do stupid things,” Rebecca says with anxiety in her soul. “You know your brother: it’s super easy to make him angry. But if he finds out this piece of news, something terrible may happen.”
“I’m a little nervous, too…” Edward sighs quietly. “If Terrence gets wild, nothing will stop him. So, he shouldn’t be surprised that Raquelle has been silent all this time. She was terribly afraid of my brother’s reaction. She knows that this man could do anything in anger.”
“But I hope that Terrence will try to understand and forgive her,” Jamie expresses hope.
“And let’s be honest: not every girl can tolerate Terrence’s character. It goes without saying, he’s a wonderful and caring man, but his inability to hold himself down doesn’t make him better.”
“I agree with you,” Rebecca agrees. “There were a few girls, who left Terrence because of his attacks of aggression.”
“I ain’t surprised. But I’ve gotta admit that Raquelle is not also holy. That girl is kinda guilty of the fact that Terrence behaves like this.”
“None of us approves of what she did,” Jamie replies confidently. “But we feel truly sorry for her. Raquelle didn’t do that on purpose. She didn’t wanna push Terrence off her. She didn’t wanna make him upset or mad. She was just afraid to make him wild.”
“But I think Raquelle won’t do anything like that again.”
“Still, I’m afraid of the moment when he finds out everything,” Rebecca confesses, putting her hand on her heart. “We can expect anything from Terrence… He’s too impulsive and unpredictable. He believes he can control his emotions. But that’s not the truth.”
“Yeah, but he’s quiet when there is no reason for anger and aggression,” Edward replies confidently. “That man understands everything when he’s quiet.”
“But I wouldn’t be surprised if he went to our home and started a scandal after talking with Raquelle,” Jamie says confidently.
“God shall help Terrence calm down quickly and do nothing stupid,” Rebecca expresses hope.
“I wonder if they are home now?” Jamie frowns slightly.
“Who knows, Father…” Edward shrugs. “But they didn’t talk about a wish to go to the hospital.”
“Honestly, I don’t like the fact that Terrence declines your calls.”
“So, do you think he knows about the child?”
“Unless you didn’t fight with him,” Rebecca shrugs. “You didn’t fight, huh?”
“Of course, no! But Terrence declines my calls too hard.”
“It causes suspicions…” Jamie notices.
“But if Raquelle told him about the child and confessed that we found it out first, I could explain it.”
“Maybe, we should talk to Raquelle?” Rebecca suggests. “I don’t feel quiet.”
“Yeah, we need to talk to Raquelle,” Jamie agrees thoughtfully. “If Terrence knows everything, we must not stand in his way. But Raquelle is gonna need our support.”
“Leave it to me,” Edward replies confidently. “I’ll try to talk to Raquelle tomorrow when I go to the hospital. I’ll ask her when she’s gonna tell everything.”
“It would be great to push her,” Rebecca replies thoughtfully. “This story must end as soon as possible.”
“Yeah, but I’m afraid that Raquelle will have great problems because of this confession.”
“Excuse me, son, but she’s guilty of bringing everything to this.”
“But she understands she can’t keep silent forever,” Jamie says confidently. “And she is definitely sick of being silent and…”
Jamie does not speak his mind because everybody hears the sudden call on the door, after the members of the MacClife look at each other.
“Are you waiting for someone?” Rebecca frowns slightly.
“No, I didn’t invite anyone,” Jamie shakes his head.
“I’m waiting for nobody, neither…” Edward says quietly. “I’ll see who’s there.”
Edward, frowning slightly, gets up from the sofa and goes to the hall door, while someone rings the door a few more times too hard. He opens the door and gets frozen for a moment when he sees the gloomy Terrence.
“Terrence?” Edward pronounces surprisingly. “We talked about you and…”
“You knew everything,” Terrence stops coldly and rudely with both arms crossed over his chest. “You knew it, but you decided to keep silent.”
“Erm…” Edward rolls his eyes. “What?”
“Don’t pretend to be an innocent lamb. I know what you did!”
“Excuse me, but I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“You know everything, idiot!”
Terrence rudely pushes Edward aside and enters the house confidently and sharply. Two moments later, he comes to the living room, where he sees Rebecca and Jamie, who get up and turn on the man with slight smiles on their faces.
“Oh, Terrence!” Rebecca exclaims amicably. “That’s so good you’ve come!”
“You knew everything, too,” Terrence says coldly, looking at Rebecca and Jamie with contempt. “But you also hid the truth from me!”
Rebecca and Jamie being discouraged look at each other hesitantly, daring to assume that Terrence is so mad for the reason.
“Gosh, Terrence, what are you talking about?” Jamie wonders.
“Stop pretending that you know nothing!” Terrence throws rudely. “I will not believe any single word that you will tell me.”
“Calm down, sonny, why are you so nervous?”
“Why am I nervous? Because you all betrayed me!”
“Us?” Rebecca points at herself with widely open eyes. Betrayed you?”
At this moment, Edward returns to the living room, while the furious Terrence clenches his hands into fists and looks at Rebecca and Jamie being shocked.
“What’s going on, Terrence?” Edward throws his hands up. “Why are you the hell breaking into the house with no invitation?”
“I have a right to!” Terrence says rudely.
“How do we get it all? What bit you?”
“How do you get it?” Terrence wonders loudly. “HOW DO YOU GET IT?”
“Quiet, sonny, don’t scream,” Jamie says quietly.
“You all did what I didn’t expect from you! I thought you were by my side, but you were not!”
“We don’t know what you’re talking about,” Edward says confidently.
“Terrence, dear…” Rebecca pronounces quietly, coming closer to Terrence. “Calm down, please. Sit down… It’s okay…”
Rebecca tries to touch Terrence’s shoulder, but he steps back sharply and twists his arm around his back, throwing coldly:
“Don’t touch me, mother!”
“Please, sonny…” Rebecca pronounces with pity in her eyes.
“I said, DO NOT TOUCH! DON’T COME TO ME!”
“Don’t scream at Mom!” Edward exclaims.
“Maybe, you will be pleased to call the reason why you broke into our house and became so aggressive?” Jamie asks harshly.
“Reason?” Terrence asks loudly and coldly. “You want a REASON? You all the fuck decided to take the side of the person, who betrayed me!”
“Bro, are you out of your mind?” Edward knocks at his temple. “Today is not quite sunny, and you can’t overheat yourself.”
“No, he dares to mock me!”
“Stop proving that people are right when they’ve talked about your mental health issues so many times.”
“Maybe, you will confess everything if Mother and Father don’t want to speak?”
“Terrence, calm down now!” Jamie yells. “You are acting like a little, capricious boy!”
“Ah, yeah, you all agreed!” Terrence crosses his arms over his chest and rolls his eyes up. “Agreed against me! The parents against their son, and the brother against his brother!”
“Do you understand what you’re talking about?”
“Bravo, family, bravo!” Terrence claps his hands loudly. “Bravo! Keep doing this! Excellent!”
“What’s the heck going on?” Edward raises his voice. “Stop blaming us for nothing! Speak now or get out of here! Calm down at first, and then come back here!”
“For nothing?” Terrence smirks evilly and looks at all the members of his family with a contemptuous look, breathing like a furious bull and tightly clenching his hands into fists. “Are you going to deny that you all covered Raquelle? You hid her secret! The secret about killing my child during the trial of Uncle Michael!”
Edward, Rebecca, and Jamie look at each other tensely, understanding that their worst assumptions have been confirmed.
“Wait, wait, Terrence, you got it wrong,” Rebecca breaks the silence in a quiet, shaking voice. “That’s… That’s not what…”
“I got it RIGHT!” Terrence throws loudly. “And don’t find any excuses. I know that you three hide what you MUST HAVE told me!”
“Terrence, sonny, let us explain everything,” Jamie says quietly.
“Why, Father? Why? I do know how Raquelle killed my child because of her irresponsibility and reluctance to tell me about her pregnancy and miscarriage. How she played on my nerves for nobody the fuck knows how many months!”
“She’s not guilty of anything,” Rebecca replies confidently. “Raquelle didn’t think it would happen at such a bad time.”
“She didn’t think?” Terrence wonders loudly. “She did give a fuck about the child and me! She visited all the court proceedings, being pregnant. That hysterical lady was constantly nervous, cried, and did not sleep at nights! Though, she must’ve stayed home and taken care of her and my child, who died because of HER!”
“Not truth!” Edward protests. “Raquelle did care about the child! She is still terribly sorry about having the miscarriage.”
“She DID NOT CARE!” Terrence starts to wave his hands sharply. “ME! THE CHILD! Cameron did know how much I wanted to become a father, but she deprived me of that dream!”
“But the miscarriage didn’t make her barren!” Rebecca notices with sadness in her eyes. “That girl is still able to give birth to a baby.”
“I’m kind of nobody to her! A husband but a stranger! The ring on her finger means nothing to her!”
“Raquelle wanted to tell you the truth, but she was afraid,” Jamie confesses with sadness in his eyes. “The poor girl was afraid of your reaction and thought you’d leave her.”
“No, that bitch was cowardly because she did not get pregnant from me,” Terrence says rudely.
“Shame on you, Terrence!” Rebecca exclaims with horror in her eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if she had had a child with another man. Lots of men have always surrounded her and drooled over her, looking at her like a desired treasure. So, that bitch slept with one of them.”
“Gosh, sometimes even someone with a brain may say some nonsense…” Edward exhales sharply.
“Yes, Terrence, you’re really out of your mind,” Jamie shakes his head. “How much did you think before saying it?”
“Keep defending Cameron, keep doing this!” Terrence sneers evilly. “You’ve become more important to her! Because my brother, father, and mother heard about the child first.”
“What should we have done when Raquelle told us about it?” Edward wonders. “Pronounced her a betrayal and started to shower with mud?”
“You must have told me the truth!”
“You better talk about these things face-to-face,” Rebecca says confidently. “That secret had to do with you and Raquelle. So, you should’ve solved that problem.”
“I can’t believe it…” Terrence shakes his head. “My family… My own family gave a fuck about me…”
“We did what we thought was right,” Jamie replies quietly. “What Raquelle asked us about.”
“Oh, yeah, you agreed with her against me!”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Do you know the fuck what I’m feeling?” Terrence asks loudly, in a heartbreaking way. “YOU KNOW? How do I feel now, knowing that I lost a chance to take my child into my arms? Because of one bitch!”
“We completely understand your feelings, Terrence,” Rebecca replies with pity in her eyes. “The fact you wished for a baby has never been a secret to us.”
“And I will never have the one! Because Raquelle ruined this dream! RUINED!”
“She didn’t become sterile after the miscarriage,” Edward notices confidently. “Raquelle can give birth to many children. That girl is absolutely healthy!”
“I don’t need that betrayer! I DO NOT NEED! I am disappointed in that girl as much as I’m disappointed in my family!”
“Gosh, Terrence, what are you talking about?” Rebecca wonders with horror in her eyes.
“Yes, you heard it right! I am disappointed! Di-ssa-poin-ted!”
“Please, honey, calm down. Don’t be so nervous.”
“I’m quiet, mother,” Terrence replies coldly, breathing heavily enough. “ABSOLUTELY quiet!”
“Do you think you did a good thing? By deciding to be silent about what Raquelle told you! Is it okay to cover that fucking betrayal and go AGAINST ME!”
“We just gave Raquelle and you a chance to solve it all!”
“Raquelle asked me to keep silent about it,” Edward confesses confidently. “She wanted you to hear it from her. I said I could tell you everything, but that girl begged me to say nothing. As well as Mother and Father. We promised to be silent because we thought it would be better.”
“How it’s nasty… How disgusting you acted toward me…” Terrence moves his contemptuous look to Edward. “Especially you, brother. You found it out first and decided to become a pillow for Cameron, who HAS THE FUCK CRIED AS MANY TEARS AS FOR THE SEA!”
“If someone decided to trust me, I must’ve supported and calmed them down,” Edward replies quietly.
“Wow… You are defending betrayals now.”
“So, should I have pissed Raquelle off and showered her with dirt?”
“You must have told me the truth!”
“It’s none of my business!” Edward raises his voice. “You should’ve solved that!”
“That’s what you’re doing…” Terrence claps his hands quietly. “Fine, Edward! Good boy! You gave a fuck about me and preferred the betrayal over your brother!”
“Serious?” Edward points at himself with a finger with widely open eyes. “I am actually worried about you!”
“Yeah, I see! Everybody gives a fuck about me! Everybody believes that false bitch, whom you started to take care of too hard!”
“Minute, Terrence!” Edward raises his index finger up. “First, we kept silent for the good things. And second, you would do the same if someone told you an important secret and asked you to tell nobody about it.”
“You can change the topic very well!” Terrence sneers contemptuously. “You are a master of that! And you are not able to think better before doing something!”
“Huh, come on!” Edward puts his hands on his hips. “You’ve been playing on people’s nerves since childhood. It’s professional now!”
“Because everyone PLAYS ON MY NERVES!”
“We are not guilty of the fact that you’ve always fought with everyone, who is ready to beat your face!”
“Everything would have been FINE if you had told me the truth. I would have dealt with that bitch IMMEDIATELY!”
“Dealt?” Edward sneers contemptuously. “You would have killed her! Then you would’ve woken up and started to grieve. And I wouldn’t be surprised if you’d done something to her before coming here.”
“She was lucky. She got off me IN TIME! And she also irritated me with her whining! I CANNOT TAKE IT ANYMORE! CAMERON IS CRYING EVERY FUCKING DAY!”
“And you’re surprised why she was silent? You’re mentally sick! If you weren’t so aggressive, Raquelle would’ve told you the truth much earlier. And you start fucking hysterics for any reason!”
“So, AM I the one to blame?” Terrence wonders loudly, pointing at himself with a finger.
“You’re a psycho! A brainless and hysterical man, who can’t control himself.”
“Come on! Is Raquelle our innocent angel? Who I hate! HATE! I’m CURSING EVERYTHING FOR MESSING UP WITH HER!”
“Yeah…” Edward exhales sharply, shaking his head. “If you’re screaming and waving your hands now, I’m afraid to imagine what poor Raquelle had to tolerate.”
“I give a fuck about her!” Terrence shouts irritably. “I GIVE A FUCK! IF SHE STILL GIVES A FUCK ABOUT ME, I ALSO WANT TO KNOW NOTHING ABOUT HER! My family is more important to her! AND HER OWN PERSONA!”
“Maybe, you will stop screaming? Pity Father and Mother!” Edward glances at the white and scared Rebecca and Jamie. “Look how you scared them! Of course, they know about your mental health issues, but don’t bring these people to a heart attack!”
“Do not dare to shut me up, kid!” Terrence demands loudly, threatening Edward with his finger. “I SHALL SPEAK! EVERYTHING I WANT! WHEN I WANT! AND WHERE I WANT!”
“Enough, Terrence!” Jamie shouts. “Come to yourself and stop acting like a hysterical girl!”
“I’m starting to understand why you all encouraged me to talk with Raquelle so hard. You tried to hold me down and gave pieces of advice… Now it’s clear! IT’S CLEAR WHY YOU DID ALL OF THAT!”
“We warned you not to let you do stupid things. But I see that was worthless.”
“Fuck, I was such an idiot…” Terrence claps himself on the forehead. “Stupid idiot… How couldn’t I see that you did that for a reason? Why didn’t I guess anything? WHY?”
“Stop acting like a child!”
“And I was stuck in the hospital because of my younger brother. Who AGREED AGAINST ME!”
“Let me remind you that you did that at your wish,” Edward recalls confidently.
“I WISH YOU HAD BEEN IN THE HOSPITAL AND DIED!”
“Ah, that’s how you speak now! Some time ago, I heard different things from you!”
“If I had known you’d do that to me, I WOULDN’T HAVE MOVED A FINGER FOR YOU!”
“And what did I do to you?”
“YOU PREFERRED COVERING THAT BITCH!”
“And I see we did the right thing,” Rebecca says confidently. “If you, heaven forbid, killed her in anger, it would be too much! If you’re so aggressive now, I’m afraid to imagine what we would’ve expected if one of us had told you about the miscarriage of your fiancée.”
“I would’ve rather found that fucking truth from someone else!” Terrence shouts irritably, waving his hands sharply. “AND BROUGHT THAT BITCH TO CLEAN WATER!”
“Aren’t you ashamed of insulting your fiancée?” Jamie resents.
“HOW DO I CALL HER? BEAUTIFUL SUNSHINE? THE LIGHT OF MY LIFE? THE LOVE OF MY LIFE?”
“I thought you became smarter and learned to hold yourself down,” Rebecca shakes her head. “But nothing changes. You screamed and waved your hands in childhood, and you keep doing this now. At first, you fought with boys, but now you put your fiancée under violence. Not for the first time, just saying!”
“Yeah, you’ve slapped her once!” Edward exclaims. “And Mr. Cameron still doesn’t know it! But if he does, he will immediately make Raquelle leave you and ban you from getting closer to her! Though, I’m sure he will do it if he knows how you reacted to the news about the dead child.”
“WONDERFUL!” Terrence screams at the top of his lungs. “I DO NOT NEED THAT IDIOT! I HATE HER!”
“She isn’t also gonna need you after that. She’ll be afraid to live with a psycho, who might kill her at any time.”
“Fuck, I’m sick of everything!” Terrence grabs his hair with a loud, heavy breath. “SICK OF ALL THESE PROBLEMS! Related to my family and my friends! I DON’T HAVE TO DO WITH THEM! WHY SHOULD I THE FUCK SOLVE THEM?”
“Stop the fuck screaming!” Edward raises his voice. “Stop screaming at me, at Mother, at Father! Is the entire world guilty of the fact that Raquelle lost your child and was afraid to say it?”
“I’m not guilty of being surrounded by BETRAYALS!”
“Yeah? Those, who don’t have to do with this story, are also guilty? Natalia? Helene? Anna? Daniel? Peter? Or maybe, Sammy is guilty, too?”
“If they knew the truth, they will regret it!”
“Damn, Terrence, stop acting like a sick, hysterical girl! Nothing would be changed if you screamed! You could even ruin your voice! It would not help you! Not h-e-l-p!”
“Shut up, shabby puppy!” Terrence throws loudly and rudely. “CLOSE YOUR FUCKING MOUTH!”
“How do you talk to your brother?” Jamie resents.
“I talk to this kid the way I want!”
“You’re not my son…” Rebecca shakes her head with wet eyes. “You’re obsessed with evil spirits. That’s not the boy, Terrence, whom I raised and educated with all my love.”
“You are not my family!” Terrence shouts. “MY FAMILY WOULD NEVER BETRAY ME! AND DEFEND BETRAYERS, WHO HURT ME!”
“Close your mouth,” Jamie hisses through his teeth, barely keeping his emotions inside. “If you don’t calm down now, I’ll have to educate you! Educate the one, who is almost thirty-years-old and learns nothing from life!”
“Better educate Raquelle, who was taught nothing by her grandfather and aunt,” Terrence throws coldly.
“Shut up, mollycoddle! I shall take a belt and kick you on your ass! You crossed the lines! Forgot who is standing in front of you!”
“I know it’s your only method of education. Hitting, insulting, and slapping…”
“How do you talk to your father?” Rebecca gets wild. “Are you crazy? Do you want us to take a belt?”
“Don’t threaten me! You must be silent after you betrayed me and stood by the side of Cameron!”
“Maybe, you will stop being rude to Father and Mother?” Edward asks rudely.
“You have to do with that, too, kid!”
“Don’t say you’re gonna visit Mr. Cameron and Alicia to show yourself as a sick, hysterical girl! To make Raquelle’s grandfather have a heart attack!”
“Better keep silent, kid!” Terrence throws rudely. “Think of your sins, which are the reason why ALMOST EVERYBODY hated you!”
“Now we’re talking about you, psycho, not me!”
“So, are you ashamed to remember how you went to Natalia’s home and showed yourself as a hysterical asshole?”
“Does it have to do with the situation between Raquelle and you?”
“You don’t want to say it…” Terrence sneers contemptuously. “You are ashamed…”
“Don’t you think you’re crossing all the lines?” Edward puts his hands on his hips. “You use any moment to start a scandal!”
“Don’t I have the reason? I was made an idiot! MY FAMILY LIED TO ME! HID ALL THE TRUTH!”
“We got it! WE GOT IT! We see you decided to turn on the sick bastard mood and prove that everybody is right when talking about your mental health issues again!”
“Don’t ask for trouble, Edward,” Terrence hisses through his teeth, clenching his hands into fists tightly. “I AM NOT KIDDING! YOU WILL REGRET GETTING IN TOUCH WITH ME!”
“What will you do to me?” Edward wonders loudly. “Slap me? Or remind me of all my sins? Make me think I am not better than you?”
“You are not better! You are WORSE!”
“Why am I worse? My mental health is okay!”
“YOU think so! If you get a reason, you WILL GO TO KILL!”
“Did you come here to kill us?”
“DON’T GET ME WILD, ASSHOLE!”
“Terrence, honey, calm down, for God’s sake,” Rebecca begs with pity in her wet eyes. “Stop hurting us.”
“Do you think I am not hurt?” Terrence wonders loudly. “DO I FEEL GOOD? My fiancée acts like she still gives a fuck about me! My brother preferred to be by the side of that hysterical bitch! And my parents cover both of them! And the relatives of my fiancée joined you! YOU GOT A WHOLE TEAM THAT WIPES THE TEARS OF THAT IDIOT!”
“ENOUGH, TERRENCE!” Jamie shouts. “STOP SCREAMING AT OUR HOUSE”!
“You know what, brother!” Edward pronounces and comes to Terrence confidently. “Go home and take some valerian! When you’re sober, we will talk!”
With these words, Edward tries to kick Terrence out of the house, taking him tightly under the arm and pulling him to the hall door. But the man sharply pushes his brother off himself, grabs him by the collar, and looks at him with widely open, bloodshot eyes.
“Jesus Christ, Terrence!” Rebecca makes a sob with horror in her eyes.
“Terrence, let your brother go!” Jamie demands harshly, coming to Terrence confidently.
“No, Father!” Edward exclaims. “Don’t mess up with the psycho.”
“So, don’t you like to hear the truth about yourself, huh?” Terrence hisses through his teeth. “I have not reminded you about how you almost went to prison and got the title of killer. If there had been no proof of your fault, you would’ve been put in prison IMMEDIATELY! And nobody would have cared who killed that man!”
“Terrence, sonny, wake up!” Rebecca begs loudly.
“So, did you decide to recall all our sins because you can’t blame us for anything else?” Edward simpers evilly. “Do you wanna give us strong pain? But you can’t!”
“No, YOU did give me pain!” Terrence throws rudely. “YOU BETRAYED ME!”
“Do you think supporting the one to suffer is a betrayal? Should I have judged Raquelle? Let her solve her problems?”
“YOU MUST HAVE SUPPORTED ME! I AM A VICTIM! NOT THAT GIRL!”
“I hope you did not dare to slap Raquelle in the face for the second time?”
“DON’T READ ME LECTURES, KID!”
“Stop screaming here, psycho!” Edward demands rudely. “And excusing your rabies, from which you weren’t vaccinated in time!”
“Ha, said by the one, who wasn’t vaccinated in time!” Terrence scoffs evilly. “You almost killed Natalia when you thought she fucked Wainwright! You called Rochester a whore and threatened to publish her nude photos on all the possible porno sites!”
“Hey, hysterical girl, watch your mouth!” Edward throws rudely, pushes Terrence sharply off himself, and tightly clenches his hands into fists. “Don’t make me wild!”
“Don’t care to say you are better than me! You are not better, brother. Even a little.”
“At least, I learn from my mistakes, but you always step on the same path!”
“You should’ve said it to yourself when you were a shameless and egoistic bastard to everyone! When you pretended to be a hero with a wish to prove to Uncle that you did not cover your cowardice and insecurity!”
“Oh, my gosh!” Edward laughs contemptuously, putting his hands on his hips. “We started with saying we’re all betrayals because we supported Raquelle and ended with a talk about the situation of Uncle Michael.”
“Do you really think you’ve become so confident and fearless? That you’re really so sassy and tough? No, brother! You are wrong! This is just an autosuggestion! And admiration of Natalia being deeply in love with you!”
“Terrence!” Rebecca yells.
“You were a little, cowardly puppy, and you will always be the one,” Terrence says rudely. “No matter how many years are gone, people will always say they aren’t afraid of you. They see you pee your pants from fear, even if you will never confess it from fear of killing the myth of your awesomeness.”
“Alright, Terrence, enough!” Jamie screams harshly.
“Nobody has called you a worthy competitor. Everybody, who stood in our way, said you were a worthless, cowardly puppy, whose paws were shaking fear, and whose heart was beating fast.”
“Watch your mouth, Terrence!” Jamie takes Terrence tightly under his arm and turns him sharply on himself. “DON’T DARE TO SCREAM HERE!”
“DO NOT TOUCH ME!” Terrence sharply gets his arm out of Jamie’s grip.
“For God’s sake, sonny, stop,” Rebecca begs in a shaking voice with pity in her wet eyes. “You’re going to regret what you’re doing now.”
“I have nothing to regret, Mother!” Terrence shouts rudely. “NOTHING! I regret only one thing: letting the betrayals, who can’t keep their promises, surround me!”
“How many times are you gonna repeat the same thing?” Edward resents loudly, rolling his eyes up. “Alright, Terrence, stop! Thank you! We see that you’re out of your mind! Maybe, you will say something new?”
“SHUT UP! I DO NOT WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! YOU ARE NOBODY! WITHOUT ME, YOU ARE NOBODY!”
“You should be ashamed of acting like this with your parents’ pretense.”
“DO NOT SAY MORE, KID!”
“You better go to walk a little and freshen your mind,” Edward points at the hall door sharply. “C’mon, brother, get out of here! And don’t return until you calm down!”
“Do not be bold with me, brainless mollycoddle,” Terrence clenches his hands into fists tightly. “OR YOU WILL REGRET BEING BORN!”
“Do I go to the kitchen, get some cold water, and splash it in your face?”
“Want me to slap you in the face? YOUR INSOLENT, PRETTY FACE!”
“Wow!” Edward sneers evilly. “Mom, Dad, you hear it? Someone’s threatening to beat me!”
“This idiot dares to laugh! He thinks I’m playing with him! THAT I AM JOKING!”
“Well, if you want to wave your hands and get sick of screaming, come on!” Edward puts his hands aside. “Attack, Terrence! Come on!”
“Stop, Edward,” Jamie advises quietly, clapping Edward on the shoulder. “You see he’s out of his mind.”
“I AM FINE!” Terrence screams.
“ENOUGH, TERRENCE!” Jamie explodes. “ENOUGH! Stop this hysteria!”
“Don’t shut me up!”
“Alright, I’m sick of this!” Jamie sharply points at the hall door with his finger. “Leave our home now! Come back only when you come to yourself and are ready to apologize to us!”
“I shall decide I WANT to leave!”
“If you don’t want to make me furious, get out of home! OR YOU, MOLLYCODDLE, WILL REGRET IT!”
“Don’t give orders!” Terrence throws insolently with his head proudly raised. “Don’t forget that I WAS the one to buy this house! NOT YOU! And I have the right to come here when I want!”
“SHUT THE HECK UP! If you keep behaving in this way, I shall kick your ass! AND TAKE OFF THE CROWN THAT IS TOO BIG!”
“You all are living here just because I DID let you do it. I could easily kick any one of you out! Thanks to ME, you live in luxury and are not hungry!”
“Terrence!” Rebecca exclaims with tears in her eyes. “How do you dare to talk to your father like this?”
“Know where you belong!” Terrence replies coldly. “Or you will end up outside immediately! I will stop providing for you three! SO, YOU LIVE AS YOU WANT!”
“I think I have to start to educate this insolent mollycoddle seriously,” Jamie says irritably, clenching his hands into fists tightly and looking at Terrence with an icy look. “He got too insolent, I see! He still has milk on his lip, but he thinks he can be tough! You will talk to your friends in this way, but you must RESPECT us!”
“Respect?” Terrence sneers loudly. “You? Why? For making me nothing?”
“God, give me patience not to strangle this sick, hysterical guy!” Jamie exhales sharply.
“I’ve done so much for you, but I got NO thankfulness,” Terrence says rudely. “And I gave my love and care to my fiancée! I did everything for her! I sacrificed the time that I could spend on something better. That thankless bitch KILLED MY CHILD!”
“Damn, Terrence, wake the fuck up!” Edward groans tiredly and loudly. “Stop blaming Raquelle and us for the betrayal and treating us like we’re strangers to you.”
“I shall never forgive you for that! NEVER! HEAR ME! N-E-V-E-R!”
“Listen, did you decide to take after Daniel? Who also had hysterics because of Blanca!”
“Don’t mention those, who don’t have to do with it!” Terrence throws rudely. “Or have you told them about the child that Raquelle killed?”
“When Raquelle thinks it’s time, she will confess everything. And I don’t doubt that the others will also support her. They will not have the hysteria that you started for me and our parents.”
“I GIVE A FUCK! But if they stand by her side, I shall add them to my blacklist. I SWEAR!”
“No, Terrence, WE will add you to OUR blacklist!” Edward points at Terrence with a finger.
“COME ON! DO IT AS MUCH AS YOU WANT!”
“Please, guys, stop fighting!” Rebecca begs with pity in her wet eyes.
“Listen, stop making us nervous and get out of here!” Edward demands irritably. “If you destroyed everything to the fuck here or hurt someone, it would be too much!”
“Ha, my younger brother tells me what to do?” Terrence sneers evilly and comes to Edward sharply. “Who do you think you are? WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU TO COMMAND ME?”
“LEAVE THE HOUSE NOW!” Edward points sharply at the hall door. “BEFORE I STRANGLE YOU!”
“YOU WILL COMMAND YOUR CHILDREN!”
“I’m not kidding, Terrence!” Edward clenches his hands into fists tightly, breathing heavily enough. “If you don’t leave at your wish, I will kick you out of here! LIKE A PUPPY THAT NOBODY NEEDS!”
“Stop screaming, milksop!” Terrence throws rudely.
“I am LIVING here!”
“WITH MY PERMISSION! IF I COULD, YOU WOULD END UP OUTSIDE!”
“You have the right to command here! Go to your home and act like a general!”
“DON’T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!”
“STOP THE FUCK SCREAMING! My head hurts! Because of shouts of the capricious psycho, who CANNOT control himself!”
“One more word before you go to take your stuff and live outside!”
“To your information, I HAVE a house!”
“If not for me, you didn’t have it! You are nobody without me! Hear me, NOBODY! A FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT! I can take EVERYTHING you have earned with MY permission!”
“What I’ve earned doesn’t belong to you!”
“IT’S ALL MINE!”
“YOU HAVE ONLY YOUR HOUSE WHERE YOU LIVE!”
“Terrence, Edward, calm down now!” Jamie demands loudly.
“For God’s sake, boys…” Rebecca begs with pity in her eyes.
“Sorry, but I’m done with it,” Edward says in a low voice. “I am sick of taking the actions of my brother, who must be put in a mental hospital!”
“YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN BORN!” Terrence screams. “NOBODY WANTED YOU! YOU’VE BEEN A BURDEN FOR EVERYONE ALL YOUR LIFE!”
“But everyone has tons of problems because of YOU!” Edward points at Terrence with his finger. “Because of your hysterics and mental issues!”
“Gosh, Edward, don’t go insane!” Jamie demands loudly.
“Even the quietest person will explode because of this psycho.”
“Oh, here’s a quiet guy!” Terrence scoffs loudly, rolling his eyes. “If you have a reason, you will run, scream, and wave your hands like a hysterical girl!”
“I’m asking you for the last time: leave the house,” Edward hides through his teeth. “NOW! AND DO NOT DARE TO GET CLOSE TO US UNTIL YOU WAKE UP!”
“Close your fucking mouth!”
“I shall call a mental hospital and ask them to send doctors here. So, they take you away! AND KEEP YOU THERE FOR TWO MONTHS TO GIVE YOU FORCED THERAPY!”
“I said, SHUT UP!” Terrence sharply grabs Edward by the collar and shakes him with a heavy breath and widely open eyes. “CLOSE YOUR FUCKING MOUTH!”
“Terrence, please!” Rebecca begs loudly with despair and tears in her eyes, understanding that she is shaking slightly, and her heart is beating much faster.
“Aren’t you sick of screaming?” Edward sneers evilly. “Maybe, you will stop it?”
“DO NOT TELL ME WHAT TO DO!” Terrence screams at the top of his lungs. “Remember, your life is in my hands, and I decide how you live! One word of mine before you, little parasite, beg outside and live with the woman, who let you in somehow.”
“One word of mine before you, selfish psycho, lose the trust of everybody you know.” Edward rudely pushes Terrence off himself. “I shall tell them what you’re doing now, and they will be afraid of speaking to you! The one, who will obviously kill someone one day.”
“Come on, puppy, do it! Tell them what you did to me! But if you open your mouth, I will deprive you of everything. And cut your long tongue.”
“Don’t threaten me!”
“You’re so lucky just because you’re my brother! You’d have nothing if I hadn’t done anything for you! Without me, you would’ve been wearing tattered clothes and thinking about how not to die from starvation!”
“As if I asked you about something! I have NEVER asked anything from you. Even if I could live on your account.”
“I M NOT GOING TO DO ANYTHING FOR YOU!”
“Terrence, for God’s sake, stop!” Rebecca begs heartbreakingly with tears.
“Get out, Terrence,” Edward demands coldly, clenching his hands into fists tightly. “Get out of my way! Or I shall slap you! BECAUSE YOU MAKE ME ENRAGED!”
“I would slap you in your insolent face with great pleasure!” Terrence sneers evilly.
“DO THIS, THEN!” Edward throws his hands aside. “C’mon, slap me! What are you waiting for? You can even attack me with fists!”
“Edward!” Jamie exclaims. “Shut up now!”
“Oh, how much you liked to show off,” Terrence smirks evilly. “How much you don’t want to seem a coward to your fiancée! You’re afraid that she will leave you if you don’t keep playing a hero and beating the faces of all her enemies.”
“Don’t dare to get Natalia involved in this conflict,” Edward threatens with a finger. “If you say just one bad word about her, I swear I shall bury you in the ground!”
“I don’t need the friend of Cameron! I don’t doubt that Rochester will be by her side if she knows that bitch killed my child!”
“Huh, did you think she’d be by the side of the sick bastard with great mental issues?”
Meanwhile, Rebecca and Jamie are standing near and watching Terrence and Edward sorting their relationship out with horror in their eyes, not knowing how to stop this conflict before something bad happens.
“I’m afraid, Jamie,” Rebecca whispers with tears in her eyes and sniffs quietly. “They’re gonna fight now.”
“Don’t worry, Rebecca, it’s gonna be okay,” Jamie calms down softly, caressing Rebecca’s shoulders.
“Terrence is out of his mind! He doesn’t know what he does and says.”
“It’s okay, if Terrence doesn’t calm down, I will teach him good manners.”
“Gosh, why does Edward react like this? He is provoking him more and more!”
“Believe me, darling, I would also kick Terrence a little. Since he has not learned anything in the years of his life, I have to kick his ass.”
“Don’t do it, sweetie, for God’s sake,” Rebecca begs with pity in her eyes. “Terrence won’t feel pity for you and me. Look how he treats his brother!”
“Yeah, but we can’t be silent! We shouldn’t let Terrence destroy everything here to hell! And hurt us!”
“Oh, gosh…” Rebecca shakes her head and sighs quietly. “Poor Raquelle… If Terrence decided to take it out on us, what did he do to her?”
“He’ll probably take it out on Edward but pity us a little.”
“Edward might provoke him so that we will suffer, as well!”
“Don’t worry about it,” Jamie replies confidently. “I will deal with him. With me, he will quickly learn to respect his parents and brother.”
Rebecca says nothing, sighs heavily, and keeps watching what’s happening with horror in her eyes.
“So, got coward?” Edward sneers evilly, watching Terrence breathing like an angry bull. “Are you ashamed of waving your hands in front of our parents?”
“You wanted to slap me first!” Terrence says rudely with both arms crossed over his chest. “So, c’mon, boy!”
“I’d better give you a chance to get out of here!”
“You put your tail between your legs? You can only show off? Or are you afraid to lose everything because of me?”
“I don’t want to talk to the psycho. Get out of here to the fuck!”
“THIS IS MY HOUSE! AND I WILL LEAVE WHEN I WANT!”
“Yeah, is there your name in the documents for this house? As far as I remember, there is only Mom’s name!”
“I BOUGHT IT FOR MY MONEY!”
“Oh, yeah, you earned money by running naked in front of cameras and imitating the passion with actresses!”
“You will NEVER earn the money that I EARNED!”
“Exactly! EARNED! Now you are earning NOTHING and living on the money that you got during the best years of your career!”
“I will start to earn much more soon!”
“Alright, I’m done with you!” Edward throws rudely, raising his hand sharply. “Either you leave, or I grab you by the collar and kick you out of here like a cat or dog that nobody needs.”
“COME ON! Try to kick me out of my own house! GO, PUPPY! STOP BEING A COWARD! START TO DO SOMETHING, NOT WORK YOUR TONGUE!”
After losing his patience, Edward rudely takes Terrence under his arm and pulls him to the hall door. But after taking a few steps, his brother sets free sharply and fights hand-in-hand with him for two seconds. However, MacClife, Jr., sets his hands free quickly and tries to kick his brother out of the house again. However, he meets failure again when MacClife, Sr., pushes his brother off himself sharply and twists his arm around the back so that the guy starts to wince from the strong pain.
“Ugh, you’re gonna break my arm, idiot!” Edward throws rudely. “Hear me! Let me go!”
“I’d be happy to break BOTH!” Terrence screams.
The next second, Terrence almost slaps Edward in the face, but the guy grabs his older brother’s hand and moves it aside sharply. However, he also meets failure when he tries to slap him back because his hand is also grabbed. And when everything goes so far, Jamie runs to Edward and Terrence fighting hand-to-hand to break them up.
“Hey, stop it now!” Jamie demands rudely. “Guys! Calm down, you two!”
Edward and Terrence give each other a couple of slaps in the face and pull each other strongly by the hair before Jamie barely pushes the latter off, holding him tightly. Meanwhile, Rebecca crying quietly comes to them and hugs her younger son around the shoulders, while he fixes his hair and rolls up the sleeves of his hoodie.
“My God, Terrence, Edward, what are you doing?” Rebecca gets horrified. “You’re brothers!”
“He started it first!” Terrence throws rudely, unsuccessfully trying to get out of Jamie’s grip.
“You made me wild, psycho!” Edward shouts.
“DON’T DARE TO INSULT ME!”
“I hope someone will beat you strongly someday! So that you can’t get up!”
“YOU SPEAK TOO MUCH, KID!” Terrence tries to get out of Jamie’s grip again.
“Fuck, stop all of this now!” Jamie demands loudly.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Raquelle was afraid to be with you and ran away from you to her grandfather and aunt,” Edward says confidently. “Far from the psycho, who can even stab someone in anger.”
“Say it to yourself!” Terrence throws rudely. “Otherwise, you will be crying and suffering again! Because of acting like a brainless bastard, who lost everyone and everything!”
“Yeah, weren’t you crying when Raquelle almost left you? Didn’t you drink to hell at bars and walk in the city when being drunk?”
“SHUT UP, IDIOT!” Terrence screams, being furious. “YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DO WITH IT! YOU BETTER TAKE CARE OF YOUR FIANCÉE!”
“You don’t have to do with my relationship with Natalia! Your care is your relationship with Raquelle, which you will destroy!”
“Don’t pretend you’re better than me!”
“Don’t pretend to be an innocent angel! Everybody knows you’re a sick psycho, who must be in a mental hospital!”
“Hear, puppy, come here!”
Terrence manages to grab and pull Edward by the hair painfully before Jamie pulls him aside again.
“Enough!” Jamie screams loudly. “I said, enough!”
“Let me go, Father!” Terrence throws rudely. “I shall kill this kid!”
“Come on, try!” Edward provokes with evil in his eyes. “GO!”
“I SAID CALM DOWN, YOU TWO!” Jamie shouts.
Edward and Terrence sharply fall into silence and move their eyes to Jamie, who is standing between his furious sons, who got literally red from anger, are breathing like furious bulls, and sometimes looking at each other with a cold glance full of hate.
“Shame on you! Two adult, almost thirty-year-old men, but you scream like hysterical girls!”
“Sorry, but he provoked me,” Edward replies quietly.
“Edward, I’ll talk to you later. But you, Terrence.” Jamie moves his eyes to Terrence. “What did you the hell do?
“Should I have caressed Edward’s head for hiding Raquelle’s miscarriage?” Terrence resents, waving his hands nervously. “Must I have pretended that nothing happened? Be like, ‘Okay! One child died, another child will be born!’”
“The best thing you could do is to CALM DOWN! Not to come here, start hysteria, and attack your brother!”
“Calm down?” Terrence smirks evilly. “Daddy, are you serious? How could I the fuck calm down after I found out I was betrayed?”
“Nobody betrayed you! NOBODY!”
“Yeah, nobody!”
“You don’t make me happy, Terrence. I didn’t think you’d be such a disappointment.”
“So, do you approve that Raquelle…” Terrence wants to ask.
“SHUT UP!” Jamie sharply raises his hand with the palm turned on Terrence. “You must be silent while I speak!”
“I want to hear nothing!” Terrence grabs his hair tightly. “NOTHING!”
“See what you brought your mother to!” Jamie points at Rebecca who is crying quietly, shaking, looking white, and being hugged by Edward. “Do you want to put her in the grave? Me? Do you want to drive your brother insane?”
“You all LIKE making me wild!” Terrence says rudely. “You LIKE playing on my nerves and watching me suffer.”
“Your mother didn’t teach you to attack people.”
“I have nothing to regret! And I shall NEVER do it!”
“Why are you so aggressive? You’re an adult, smart, and wise guy! All the same happens again and again! You’re like a woodpecker that knocks at the same place!”
“I’ve never been guilty of getting wild,” Terrence says coldly. “Someone has always gotten me furious!”
“So, are we guilty of the fact that you can’t control yourself?”
“Yes, people do love making me wild!”
“You know, Edward was right when he said you’d ruin our relationship if you didn’t learn to behave well. Someday, Raquelle will leave you and go to live with Mr. Cameron.”
“I don’t need that bitch!” Terrence throws rudely. “She can go wherever she wants! I don’t want to see her! And I hope that she will leave my house today!”
“I don’t know what to say…” Jamie exhales sharply and shakes his head. “Gosh… I could also get excited for any reason. But I never behaved the way you do.”
“M-m-m, are you trying to make me sure that there’s nobody worse than me?” Terrence crosses his arms over his chest.
“Now I can’t call you my pride.”
“I hear it from the one, who left his family, wandered around for a few years, and came to Mother to ask her for forgiveness,” Terrence sneers evilly. “Who got married for the second time and made two more children!”
“Shut up, Terrence!” Rebecca demands loudly.
“Bite your tongue, mollycoddle!” Jamie hisses through his teeth. “Joking with me is bad! If you are sassy toward me, I will kick your ass, so that you aren’t able to sit for one week!”
“So, don’t you like to remember that?” Terrence asks with his head proudly raised and smirks evilly. “Do you want to forget how you ran away from your family and decided to create another? But we all know it well and will never forget it. Hear me, Daddy, never.”
“What did you say?” Jamie grabs Terrence by the collar and shakes him, looking at him with a cold look. “WHAT DID YOU SAY, I ASKED?”
“What you heard!” Terrence sneers evilly. “Remember all your sins that you committed when you were young. For which you’re as ashamed as my brother is for the conflict with his fiancée, the charge for the murder of the man, and the attempt to kill his family for money.”
“Terrence!” Rebecca shouts.
Jamie sharply pushes Terrence off himself and looks at him with eyes full of hate for a few seconds, clenching his hands tightly into fists and breathing heavily enough. And when the man sees how the oldest of the MacClife brothers laughs evilly, he slaps him strongly in the face. That’s why the man grabs his cheek sharply, and Rebecca and Edward open their mouths and eyes widely.
“The milksop is too insolent!” Jamie hisses through his teeth. “I AM YOUR FATHER! NONE OF YOUR FRIENDS! WHO DO YOU THE FUCK THINK YOU ARE?”
“Huh, the whole world knows me!” Terrence says loudly. “Everyone knows who Terrence MacClife is! Everyone knows me as one of the most powerful people in the show business!”
“It gives you no right to be sassy and mean! You are the same as everyone, and DO NOT DIFFER!”
“One word of mine is like gold!”
“Don’t confuse confidence and egoism!”
“I am a celebrity! Millions of people around the world praise me and call me their role model!”
“You are a selfish, hysterical folk, whom I will teach to respect his family. Who will behave like this toward his friends.”
“That’s good to insult someone when you’ve got sins,” Terrence smirks evilly.
“SHUT UP!”
“Alright, Terrence, stop it!” Rebecca demands loudly. “You are going overboard by talking to your father like you talk to your friends!”
“This insolent guy crossed all the lines!” Jamie resents.
“Listen, we’ve gotta kick him out before he destroys the whole house,” Edward replies confidently.
“Shut up there, little boy!” Terrence throws loudly, rudely. “I haven’t dealt with you!”
“You will do it when you calm down!”
“You want me to slap you again?”
“Go to a doctor and get your head straight, bastard!”
“You’re gonna be killed, fucking puppy! I SWEAR I SHALL BEAT YOU! YOU WILL ASK FOR TROUBLE!”
“C’mon, let’s go! Or better get out of here to the fuck!”
“I WILL DO WHEN I WANT!”
“GET OUT, PSYCHO!”
Terrence runs to Edward sharply, gives him a strong slap in the face, and pulls him by the hair for two seconds before Jamie takes his older son aside.
“Quiet, honey, quiet,” Rebecca pronounces quietly, caressing Edward’s shoulder softly. “Do nothing.”
“Alright, Terrence, stop!” Jamie shouts irritably, takes Terrence tightly by the wrists, and shakes him strongly. “Calm down! Calm down, I said!”
“Let me go, Father, LET ME GO NOW!” Terrence tries to get out of Jamie’s grip. “I WILL KICK THIS LITTLE IDIOT!”
“You will not hurt Edward! I WILL NOT LET YOU!”
“Yeah? What will you do? Threaten to kick my ass? Or slap me again?”
“Let’s better see what you will do to me.” Jamie sharply turns Terrence to himself and takes him under his arms after the man glances aside with a sly smile. “Slap me if you have no shame to do it!”
“What?” Terrence frowns strongly.
“Can you raise your hand to your father?” Jamie challenges, steps back from Terrence, and puts his hands aside. “Come on, show how tough you are! COME ON, MOLLYCODDLE, SLAP ME, PULL ME BY THE HAIR… HEY!”
Even if he is excited, Terrence understands that these actions may give him tons of problems. That’s why he barely holds himself down, not moving and clenching his hands tightly into fists with a heavy breath. Jamie waits for a few seconds and smirks evilly, while Edward and Rebecca look at each other tensely.
“So, when you raise your hand on your younger sibling, you are brave and sassy,” Jamie says in a low voice. “But when I dared you to raise your hand on your father, you put your tail between your legs. Are you scared? Are you afraid that I will kick you? If your mother did not hit you enough!”
“I’m not a coward,” Terrence says in a rude voice. “Hear me, NOT A COWARD!”
“Why is Edward worse? Why do you treat him like this? Your brother did nothing bad to make you so wild!”
“Yeah, but it’s okay that…” Terrence wants to say loudly.
“Shut up!” Jamie sharply stops. “Close your mouth when I talk to you!”
“Fuck!” Terrence sneers contemptuously. “I was betrayed, and I am guilty!”
“Wasn’t the fact that Raquelle almost left you enough for you? You got no lessons from what happened between your uncle Michael and me and what the case of you and Edward?”
“What would you do if Mother said what I heard from Raquelle?” Terrence crosses his arms over his chest. “If she said your child died because of their mother’s irresponsibility?”
“Raquelle did not get an abortion and kill the baby on purpose! She just experienced a miscarriage!”
“Who the fuck cares?” Terrence resents loudly. “She killed my child!”
“Your fiancée is guilty of nothing! Yes, she didn’t care about her, knowing about her pregnancy. But that girl would’ve been worried anyway. I’m going to say more, even if you’d locked her at home and banned her from going to trials, she wouldn’t have been worried less.”
“Oh, come on!”
“Look at yourself! Look at your behavior! I am not surprised that the girl was afraid to confess everything! Raquelle knows your hard character and is afraid to provoke you.”
“So, am I the one to blame for everything? Did that bitch kill my child because of ME?”
“Oh, God…” Jamie moans tiredly, running his hands over his face. “You’re an adult man! Almost a twenty-eight-year-old freaking man! But you act like a five-year-old capricious baby, who didn’t get a toy or sweetness!”
“Should I have come here and kissed all of you?” Terrence resents irritably.
“STOP! STOP THIS HYSTERIA! TURN YOUR FUCKING BRAINS ON! Think of your mother and me! Someday, you will kill us with your tricks!”
“You’d probably put ME in the grave!” Terrence says rudely.
“Enough, Terrence!” Rebecca says coldly, asks Edward to stay in the same place with one look, and comes to Terrence and Jamie. “You got everybody here excited with your hysteria!”
“I am done with all of this! DONE!”
“What kind of disrespect to your father, brother, wife, and me? I never taught you this!”
“But you all were taught to lie and hide the truth.”
“We just did what Raquelle asked us about because you should solve problems with your fiancée by yourself.”
“Many women have miscarriages,” Edward notices. “But nobody calls them killers and blames them for that.”
“Keep defending her, brother,” Terrence smirks evilly. “I will watch you when Natalia says she deprived you of the chance to become a father!”
“I wouldn’t be as crazy as you are,” Edward replies confidently.
“But I doubt it! You and Father are the same as me: aggressive, nervous, and impulsive!”
“But we aren’t psychos!”
“Do you want to get slapped again?”
“Terrence, enough!” Rebecca yells. “Pity your father and me! Do you want us to have a heart attack?”
“I wish someone pitied ME!”
“Alright, I see no point in trying to explain something, while you’re so excited.”
“Don’t need to explain anything!”
“Get out of here, then!” Edward demands loudly, pointing at the hall door. “There is the door! Go to hell! AT YOUR WISH!”
“DO NOT TELL ME WHAT TO DO, KID!”
“Why did you come here? To start hysteria and get our parents excited? Fighting with Raquelle wasn’t enough for you?” Edward crosses his arms over his chest. “Where will you go next? Mr. Cameron and Alicia? Natalia and her parents, who know NOTHING about the child? Or our friends?”
“Stop working your tongue!” Terrence throws irritably. “And acting like the owner of this house! IT’S NOT YOURS! YOU LIVE HERE JUST BECAUSE I LET YOU!”
“Maybe, with the permission of Mother, who owns this house?”
“IT IS MY HOUSE!”
“Alright, stop screaming like a patient of the mental hospital!” Edward shouts with both hands raised. “Enough, Terrence, ENOUGH!”
Terrence tries to start another fight with Edward, who does not leave it unnoticed, slapping him in the face strongly and grabbing him tightly by the hair. They fight hand in hand for a few seconds before Jamie barely breaks them up and stands between them.
“Calm down, you two!” Jamie screams. “CALM DOWN, I SAID!”
“Get out of here before I call the mental hospital!” Edward demands loudly.
“You shut up before I kick you out with your stuff!” Terrence threatens rudely. “Do my best for you to be put in prison!”
“Try! I will see how you will do that!”
“Edward!” Jamie exclaims. “Edward, calm down! At least you don’t get loose! Edward! You hear what I say?”
“Sorry, Father, but this psycho annoyed me,” Edward says coldly. “Made me wish to strangle him!”
“SAME, BROTHER!” Terrence shouts.
“Stop it, for God’s sake!” Rebecca demands loudly. “Two adult men fought like buffaloes!”
“This man will understand something if you shout and use your fists,” Edward says. “I’m just trying to make him understand what he doesn’t want to understand.”
“Yeah, I’m guilty again!” Terrence sneers with an evil sneer. “I AM THE FUCK THE ONE BLAME FOR EVERYTHING!”
“STOP!” Rebecca shouts irritably. “Stop making me and your mother nervous! Of course, you were always a problem child, but you never had this type of hysteria! Even when you took it out on Raquelle for the first time!”
“Ah, poor Raquelle!”
“Do you think you would be better if you chose your younger brother as a victim? No, Terrence, you will not! Edward didn’t deserve it all, and you must respect him!”
“RESPECT?” Terrence wonders irritably. “Is that okay he…”
“Edward should have done just one thing – listened and supported Raquelle when she trusted him. And he did it. Though, you were supposed to support and calm her down first.”
“Ah, that’s what!”
“You’re an adult, smart, and decent man, but you sometimes do what makes me grab my head.”
Terrence says nothing and just rolls his eyes up with both arms crossed over his chest, chuckling quietly at some moment.
“You see, he is laughing!” Jamie resents.
“You disappointed us, Terrence,” Rebecca adds confidently. “The way you are behaving crosses all the lines!”
“You disappointed me, too!” Terrence throws rudely.
“Don’t dare to take it out on your brother. Don’t dare! I won’t let you touch Edward with a finger. Do anything you want to me, but you will not touch my youngest son!”
“Who would stop me from kicking this kid, who shouldn’t have been born?” Terrence sneers evilly.
“Deal with me at first!” Rebecca comes closer to Terrence. “If you did not dare to slap your father, would you do this to me?”
“What?” Edward and Jamie get horrified and glance at each other.
“Come on, Terrence, slap me! Hit your mother the way you hit your brother!”
“No, Rebecca, for God’s sake, don’t provoke him!” Jamie begs excitedly.
“Mom, please, stop!” Edward begs with pity in his eyes.
“Don’t meddle, Edward!” Rebecca exclaims with her head proudly raised.
“But…”
“I said, close your mouth!”
Edward looks at Rebecca surprisingly and shakes his head with rounded eyes, looking at Jamie at some moment.
“So, don’t you want?” Rebecca addresses Terrence. “Don’t want to slap your mother? You dare to hit your father and me, but you do this to your sibling? Don’t you feel sorry for Edward?”
“Why should I pity a certain worthless puppy?” Terrence rolls his eyes with both arms crossed over his chest.
“What about Mrs. Middleton or Mr. Cameron? Would you not raise a hand on them because they know everything?”
“They couldn’t make her a decent girl. That bitch only thinks about how to charm much more men and hear much more praises.”
“You know, I wouldn’t be surprised if we called Raquelle and found out that you insulted her and almost strangled her. There would be nothing amazing if that girl took her stuff and left your house.”
“She can go to hell!” Terrence throws rudely. “I don’t want to see and hear that false betrayal!”
“Oh, my gosh…” Rebecca puts a hand on her forehead with a quiet moan. “What kind of monster did I raise? My son behaves like he is ready to beat or even kill someone.”
“Ha, as far as I remember, you said the same about Edward when he could’ve become Uncle Michael’s partner. Huh, Mommy? Did you forget what he did? And trust me, it would’ve happened if Natalia hadn’t saved his cowardly ass!”
“By the way, I did tell you that Uncle wanted to make me kill you,” Edward recalls. “You knew it when we were going to his home to help Natalia out!”
“Rochester just washed your brain a little! If she hadn’t been next to you, you would’ve surely killed me.”
“I wouldn’t have done it even without her help!”
“You would’ve done it! You’re a coward! A cowardly puppy that puts his tail between his legs when he faces danger!”
“Do you want me to prove that’s not true?” Edward hisses through his teeth, clenching his hands tightly into fists. “I CAN DO IT!”
“You’re so cowardly and insecure that you couldn’t even shoot yourself down!”
“You didn’t let me do that!”
“You were happy! You’re afraid to kill and die! You are afraid of EVERYTHING! A fucking, worthless coward that should have NEVER BEEN BORN!”
Edward gives a start sharply and just slaps Terrence in the face strongly before Jamie takes him under an arm and takes him aside.
“No, Edward,” Jamie says quietly. “You’ll make it worse.”
“Come on, Father, let the boy kick me,” Terrence smirks evilly. “If he is not afraid that nobody will look at him, and Natalia will cancel the engagement because of her reluctance to live with the ugly folk.”
“If you don’t shut up, the same will wait for you,” Edward says rudely, while Jamie holds him tightly under his arm. “The handsome and imitable Terrence MacClife will remain just a memory for your little fans! And nobody will need you!”
“You want to get all the attention on you?”
“I have enough of the one! I’ve never suffered from a lack of girls’ attention!”
“Alright, stop!” Rebecca pronounces loudly and moves her eyes to Terrence with both arms crossed over her chest. “Terrence, leave! And don’t come back here until you come to yourself and wish to apologize for being a psycho.”
Rebecca points at the door for Terrence when he smirks evilly again and rolls his eyes.
“I repeat,” Rebecca pronounces coldly and clearly. “Get out of my house! NOW! You have done enough today!”
“COME ON!” Terrence screams at the top of his lungs. “WITH GREAT PLEASURE!”
“Thank you, God!” Edward exclaims loudly, raising his hands up. “We don’t need a straightjacket and a sedative!”
“Fuck yourself, motherfucker!”
Terrence goes to the door sharply and quickly, pushing Edward on the shoulder so that he shakes slightly on purpose. After taking a few steps, he turns to the members of his family, who are standing next to each other and watching him with a scare in their eyes.
“LIVE AS YOU WANT! If you want, you can take Raquelle with you if she is SO IMPORTANT to you! I AM DONE! I am no longer going to be her nanny, wipe her tears off, and fight with her unstoppable hysterics. I am sick! SICK!”
“Get out of here before I strangle you!” Edward shouts.
“Stay happy! I DO NOT NEED YOU ANYMORE!”
Terrence comes to the door and leaves the house as fast as a bullet, slamming the hall door with loud noises. Being white and upset, Rebecca, Jamie, and Edward say nothing for a few seconds, feeling how their hearts are beating faster than usual from excitement.
“Oh, damn…” Jamie moans tiredly, running his hands over his face. “I thought it would never end…”
“I’m shaking,” Rebecca shakes her head. “Terrence went absolutely nuts.”
“But I expected something like this,” Edward confesses thoughtfully, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Me too, but I didn’t think he’d be ready to destroy the entire house.”
“Yes, we all judged Raquelle and thought she did a bad thing,” Jamie notices. “But nobody started such a big scandal.”
“But we were right when reflecting on the reason why he declined my calls,” Edward says quietly.
“Gosh, if only he didn’t go to Mr. Cameron and Mrs. Middleton.”
“That’s right!” Rebecca exclaims. “After that, they’ll not let Raquelle come to Terrence.”
“And Mr. Cameron still doesn’t know that Terrence raised a hand on his granddaughter somehow.”
“In order to lose the trust of everybody, Terrence needs to behave like this toward his friends,” Edward replies thoughtfully.
“Oh, poor Raquelle…” Rebecca sighs heavily and puts her hand on her heart, which is beating fast. “What did the girl experience when Terrence found out everything?”
“He started a great hysteria…” Jamie replies tiredly and puts his hand on his forehead. “My head hurts…”
“Listen, maybe, I can give you some water?” Edward suggests quietly. “I wanna drink…”
“Yeah, honey, do it, please,” Rebecca nods.
“Me too,” Jamie says confidently.
“Gonna be back now,” Edward pronounces quietly.
After exhaling sharply, Edward quickly goes to the kitchen, while Rebecca and Jamie sit on the sofa, feeling that every single muscle is strongly tense.
“My sons will put me in the grave someday…” Jamie says quietly, putting a hand on his forehead.
“Terrence is going to be the one,” Rebecca assumes thoughtfully. “He’s never been able to control his emotions and just seems to be quiet.”
“Is what he did now worse than what he did before?”
“Definitely.”
“If he keeps starting this type of hysteria, Raquelle won’t bear it. Or she’ll just get sick of all of this and leave him.”
“I guess I missed something when Terrence was a kid. And that’s why he is so impulsive and turns off his brain when he’s aggressive.”
“No, no, Rebecca, don’t blame yourself,” Jamie says softly, putting his hand on Rebecca’s hand. “You’re guilty of nothing.”
“When was I wrong, Jamie? When did I lose control of Terrence? I’ve told him to hold his aggression down millions of times, but he never listened! How many times he’s been beaten after Terrence provoked someone! He understood nothing of what happened to him!”
“Terrence didn’t become the one because of you. He took after me. I could also easily get wild and turn off my brain.”
“Yeah, but you’ve never started anything like this!”
“I did, sweetie, I did! Now Terrence is acting in the same way I did at his age. I learned to control myself over the years. After I got a strong hit on the head.”
“You think he will learn, too?”
“Of course, he will! Despite his age, he is still a little boy without a brain or life experience.”
“Terrence always promises to get better, but he makes the same mistakes again and again.”
“I don’t exclude that the birth of his children might change him. Make him softer.”
“I must confess that he changes when playing with kids. Just like in the case of Mrs. Middleton’s daughter.”
“Yeah, I noticed it.”
“God shall help him realize that he should hold himself down in any situation. That nobody likes brawlers and lovers of fights.”
“There are fewer men, who have never fought with anyone. Any boy has gotten into a conflict at least once. At least, I don’t know any man, who has never started a fight or a conflict. Even such a collected and non-conflict man like Victor was a hooligan in childhood.”
Silence settles in the air for two or three seconds, which Edward breaks, returning to the living room with the plate of three glasses of water, two of which he gives to Rebecca and Jamie, takes the third one, and sits on the sofa in front of his parents.
“Thanks, Edward,” Jamie thanks quietly.
Everybody drinks some water, feeling that they feel much better.
“We’d rather not bother Terrence until he calms down,” Rebecca says confidently. “We’d make it worse if we were running after him and trying to explain something.”
“Erm, no, no, I’m out!” Edward exclaims with a glass in his hands. “I ain’t gonna come to him until he turns his brains on.”
“It’s okay, when he’s back to normal, he’ll stand on his knees and beg for forgiveness,” Jamie replies confidently.
“And if we meet him, we shouldn’t provoke him,” Rebecca adds.
“We should’ve kicked Terrence out and explained nothing to him,” Edward replies.
“But I must confess that you got him much madder,” Jamie notices and drinks some water. “You saw that your brother was out of his mind, but you kept provoking him.”
“Sorry, but he made me angry, and I couldn’t take it…” Edward confesses, moving his sad eyes to his glass of water. “I’m sorry you two had to see that…”
“Why did you actually provoke him?” Rebecca wonders. “If you had been silent, Terrence wouldn’t have taken it out on you!”
“I’d better let him take it out on me than do something to you. I don’t want you to suffer because of him.”
“Sonny, we understand you wanted to defend us,” Jamie replies quietly. “But that was wrong.”
“You know that I’m not a non-conflict person and have always been quite quiet. But if someone makes me mad, I won’t hold myself down. And Terrence did it…” Edward drinks some water. “Besides, he said many things that touched my nerves.”
“Sweetie, don’t think about what he told you,” Rebecca advises softly and drinks some water. “Your brother doesn’t know what he says and does.”
“I was nothing for Terrence! He acted like I lived on his account. Though I’ve never asked him for help with money, a job, or a home. I didn’t even beg him to let me play in the band. It was his wish.”
“We know, Edward. But for God’s sake, don’t pay attention to what he said. That’s anger. Terrence doesn’t actually think so. He loves you.”
“Yeah, loves…” Edward throws gloomily. “He loves Raquelle, too, but he sometimes treats her terribly.”
“She is not holy, though.”
“I know,” Edward pronounces with sadness in his eyes. “But she loves him. No matter how terrible my brother may sometimes be.”
“I hope they didn’t cancel their wedding,” Jamie replies confidently.
“While Terrence is so excited, he can do anything.”
“I must confess that I’m truly surprised he didn’t say he rejected his family.”
“No, for God’s sake!” Rebecca exclaims with horror in her eyes.
“Anyway, let’s not think about it.” Jamie drinks some water from his glass. “Let Terrence calm down and stay alone. And then something will get clear.”
“I said I wasn’t gonna come to him,” Edward replies confidently. “Because… I don’t wanna fight with him…”
“What about your friends?” Rebecca asks with sadness in her eyes. “Will you explain what happened if someone notices that something happened between you and Terrence?”
“I don’t know, Mom…” Edward sighs tiredly and drinks some water. “But if I talk about it, I’ll have to say about Raquelle’s miscarriage. I’ll have to explain why we fought, ‘cause the guys wouldn’t get off us.”
“Right…”
“Raquelle wanted to confess everything. So, it would be right to give her a chance to confess everything. Hurrying her up doesn’t make sense now. Terrence knows everything now.”
“Do you think Terrence won’t talk about it?” Jamie frowns.
“I doubt that he’ll actually talk to someone. Unless he decides to go to someone’s home. He could think of visiting the relatives of Raquelle, the Rochesters, and the others.”
“Alright, sonny,” Rebecca shrugs. “If you don’t want to say it, it’s your wish. In this case, your father and I won’t also say it to everybody, who doesn’t know it yet.”
“Hey, haven’t you talked to Mr. Cameron or Alicia about Raquelle’s miscarriage?”
“Not yet, but we’ll obviously meet and talk about it,” Jamie replies thoughtfully. “We’ll have to find a solution if the situation doesn’t get better.”
“But how long will it last? When will Terrence come back to normal?”
“Who knows, honey,” Rebecca shrugs. “But I wanna believe everything will end soon.”
“I want everybody to know the truth soon…”
“They will, Edward, don’t worry,” Jamie replies confidently. “All in time.”
Edward shakes his head with sadness in his eyes and glances at his hands, drinking the water from his glass and putting it on the coffee table.
“Hey, it would be great to talk to Raquelle,” Edward says thoughtfully. “The poor girl probably feels too bad.”
“Right, we’ve gotta find out how she’s doing,” Rebecca agrees confidently.
“I think we should invite her here,” Jamie suggests. “Going to Terrence’s home may be dangerous now.”
“Leave it to me,” Edward says quietly. “I shall talk to her.”
“Gonna call her now?” Rebecca asks.
“Nope…” Edward puts his hand on his forehead and takes the guitar that lies on the sofa next to him. “I’ll come to myself a little and call her. Or talk to their servants. Maybe, they’ll say something.”
“Yeah…” Jamie replies thoughtfully and runs his hand through his hair. “I will go to lie… And check my blood pressure. Moreover, I need to do something for my work… I can’t delay it until tomorrow…”
“Yeah, I also wanna lie a little,” Rebecca sighs heavily. “A little later, I’ll cook something for dinner…”
“I don’t have an appetite now,” Edward confesses.
“Me too,” Jamie adds.
“Go to have a rest, but I’ll do everything. If you need something, let me know.”
“Thanks, Edward,” Rebecca smiles tiredly. “You’re a gem.”
Edward says nothing and just cracks a slight smile. And then he, Rebecca, and Jamie get up quietly and go to their rooms to have some rest, feeling exhausted and not being able to do what they wanted to do some time ago.
***
Raquelle calmed down more or less after she told Terrence about her miscarriage. She has not left the room, and she locked it at some moment, so nobody could enter it and see her tear-stained face and red eyes. Nothing left of the careful lines made with black eyeliner, mascara still slowly rolls down her cheeks, and her hair is strongly disheveled. However, the girl, who is now sitting on the restroom table and looking at herself in the mirror, does not care about how she looks. Raquelle only thinks about the end of her relationship with Terrence because of what she did to him. About having to break up with the man, to whom she is much more attracted than ever. Raquelle does not feel better, knowing that Terrence knows everything. She thinks she made everything worse. Still, the girl is happy she opened the door that had been closed for a long time.
At some moment, Raquelle glances at everything on the restroom table that always makes her look attractive. And then she gets up very slowly and starts to walk around in the spacious room in circles, looks through every window closed with a light transparent curtain, runs her hand over some surfaces, and examines everything she sees on them. She pays attention to a small box, in which there are some rings, necklaces, and bracelets. Some jewelry is given to her by Terrence. She looks at them much more closely. She especially likes a handmade bracelet made from artificial red roses, her favorite flowers. Or the necklace made of rose gold with a pendant covered with brilliants in the form of a heart.
But a little later, Raquelle puts the box aside, closes it, and slowly starts walking around the room again and looking at everything she sees in this light room with high ceilings made of white and beige shades. Later, she looks at the bedside table, on which there is something from Terrence’s stuff. Looking at it and what he threw in anger, the girl thinks about their fight again. It makes her feel the tears in her eyes that roll slowly down her cheek, and her heart starts to squeeze painfully.
At some moment, Raquelle gets sick of walking in circles for nothing, understanding that nothing would be changed if she cried her eyes out. Not thinking a lot, she decides to call Edward with the hope that he will comfort her and give her some advice. The girl comes to the bedside table placed near her side of the bed, takes her mobile phone, types MacClife, Jr.’s number, and hears his low, hoarse voice a few seconds later:
“Hello.”
“Edward…” Raquelle says in a shaking voice. “Hi, it’s Raquelle…”
“Hi, Raquelle! I wanted to call you.”
“Sorry for bothering you, but I really need to talk to you.” Raquelle sniffs quietly. “Please… I feel very bad now… I need you…”
“Gosh, Raquelle, what’s going on?” Edward gets horrified. “Are you crying?”
“Something terrible happened! I don’t know what to do!”
“It’s about Terrence?”
“He knows everything, Edward…” Raquelle makes a quiet sob. “Terrence knows about the child. I told him everything.”
“Yeah, I got it…” Edward replies hesitantly, scratching the back of his head.
“He remembered that I promised to tell him the truth after his release from the hospital. We didn’t think of that because of Anna. But today, your brother talked about it and pressed me against the wall. I had to tell him everything.”
“He was at our home.”
“What?” Raquelle rounds her eyes. “He visited you and your parents?”
“Yup… Terrence started the hysteria! Mother and Father are shocked and now having a rest in their room. I can’t also calm down. I’m shaking…”
“Oh, my God…”
“We barely kicked Terrence out. Told him to come back after coming back to normal.”
“He went insane when I confessed everything,” Raquelle confesses in a shaking voice. “And Terrence got much more furious when I said you and your parents knew about the child earlier.”
“I know Terrence was non-adequate.”
“He did something to you?”
“Luckily, no. But I had a fight with him, and Father slapped him once because my brother went too far.”
“My gosh, I’m so sorry…” Raquelle shakes her head and sniffs quietly. “Forgive me, Edward… I didn’t want you and your parents to fight with Terrence.”
“It’s okay, darling, don’t worry. We blame you for nothing.”
“I’m so ashamed of getting all of you involved in it. I should’ve paid for everything.”
“Quiet, Raquelle, calm down, please,” Edward calms down softly. “We should’ve held ourselves down. But instead, we provoked him much more.”
“I knew it would happen! I kind of felt that my confession wouldn’t lead to anything good.”
“Anyway, you’re a good fellow.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t get better! Terrence blamed me for killing his child.” Raquelle makes a quiet sob. “And he said it wasn’t his child… It’s like I made them with another man and didn’t wanna tell him about my pregnancy and miscarriage because of that.”
“The important thing is that he knows the truth.”
“I lost him, Edward! Terrence will surely leave me! Even if I stand on my knees and beg him not to do this.”
“No, Raquelle, don’t dare to bother him while he’s so aggressive. You’ll make the situation worse, and Terrence will do something terrible. My parents and I agreed not to chase him.”
“I’m starting to be afraid of him.”
“Honestly, we are, too. Terrence behaved like a psycho, who ran away from a mental hospital. He screamed, insulted us, and blamed us for betraying… But that’s okay! Terrence was openly mean to our parents! Father was furious when my brother started to confront him.”
“And you?”
“Oh, Terrence definitely decided to take it out on me. Well, I let him do it…” Edward exhales sharply. “Not to let him do anything to our parents. Terrence would better do something to me than raise a hand to Mother or Father.”
“I’m so sorry… I swear I didn’t want your parents and you to fight with him.”
“We didn’t want it, either, but he got us mad. You know how much my brother said! He acted like we three lived on his account. Though, that’s not the truth: Father is working at his company and earning enough money, Mother no longer asks Terrence to help her with money, and I got my life better. Without asking him for help.”
“That’s unfair… I should’ve paid for the consequences… Me…”
“Hey, what did he do to you? Terrence raised a hand on you?”
“No, but he could’ve killed me. He was screaming, running in the room, hitting his fists against the table, shaking me… Strangling me… Pulling me by the hair… Throwing me on the bed…”
“Oh, damn…”
“I was so scared…” Raquelle pronounces in a shaking voice. “I thought I wouldn’t survive that fight… That wasn’t Terrence. That was a devil. Obsessed with a demon.”
“I know, Raquelle, I do.”
“I wanna talk to him, but I’m madly afraid he may gonna kill me. I am afraid to stand in his way… I’m afraid to think about what’s gonna happen when he’s back home.”
“If you want, you can move somewhere for a while. For example, you can live with me and my parents or ask your grandfather to let you live with him.”
“I don’t know, Edward…” Raquelle sighs heavily, shaking her head. “I haven’t thought about it… But I’m afraid of Terrence to death. He… He’s a wonderful man, but… He may kill me someday.”
“I love my brother with all my heart, but his aggression scares me sometimes.”
“And what do we do?”
“Wait. Then, we will think.”
“Oh, gosh…”
“However, Terrence is afraid of our parents. If they hadn’t been near, he and I would’ve killed each other. I was also wild when I heard everything that hurt me enough.”
“I’m sorry.”
“The hardest thing is done. Now we just need to give Terrence time to calm down and accept what he heard.”
“I know…” Raquelle sniffs quietly. “But I’ve lost him anyway… Lost… Soon, Terrence’s gonna come to me, tell me to leave home, and say he's leaving me.”
“No, Raquelle, don’t say it so confidently,” Edward says confidently.
“Even if he calms down, your brother can hardly forgive me.”
“Terrence won’t leave you. And if he dares to announce your breakup, he will regret it later.”
“Gosh, I made him fight with you and his parents…” Raquelle puts a hand on her forehead with a hard sigh. “Shame on me…”
“Don’t worry about my parents and me, sweetie. We’ll solve it somehow. I mean, I will take the hit to protect Mom and Dad. If Terrence wants to take it out on me, it’s okay.”
“No, Edward, you shouldn’t suffer because of my mistakes.”
“But I’m ready to help! And I will do everything I can.”
“What if you fight with him? Tell each other many bad things and start a fight!”
“I have no choice. I can’t defend Terrence and stand by him. Yes, he is hurt because you lied to him and lost your child. But that was wrong.”
“Are you mad at him?”
“No, I’m not, but I don’t wanna talk to him.”
“And Mr. and Mrs. MacClife?”
“Same. But I will do my best for them to suffer as little as possible. Yes, Father might take a belt, and Mother might shout, but I can’t let them suffer.”
“What if you can’t do this?”
“Don’t worry, Raquelle, I shall do it.”
“Oh, gosh, I’m so ashamed of involving you and your parents in this story,” Raquelle says with pity in her eyes and sobs quietly. “Maybe, Terrence would’ve been less angry if I hadn’t told you and Mr. and Mrs. MacClife about my miscarriage.”
“Terrence would’ve been mad anyway. You know that my brother is very impulsive and can’t hold himself down, no matter how hard he tries to make himself and others sure that he can do this.”
“Still, he’s right…” Raquelle slowly comes to one of the windows in the room. “I’m not sure if I’m good for the role of a wife and mother. Yes, I want it, but I doubt I can handle this.”
“And I must confess that Terrence is mad for a reason. Sorry, Raquelle, but I can’t say you’re not guilty and protect you too hard.”
“Don’t apologize, Edward, I get it.”
“And yeah, you’re gonna decide when you wanna tell the girls and the men everything.”
“I know…”
“I will say nothing to them until you do it. And now nobody’s gonna rush you.”
“Could he fight with the girls and the man and blame them for what you and your parents were blamed for?” Raquelle sniffs.
“My parents and I talked about it. We don’t exclude that Terrence may come to your grandfather and aunt and start the same scandal. They… Know everything, too…”
“No…” Raquelle stops sharply in the middle of the room. “No, I don’t want it to happen! Grandpa and Auntie will ban me from being with him! And if Grandpa knows that your brother raised a hand on me one day, he will make me cancel our engagement.”
“Let’s believe that Terrence won’t do it. That fighting with you, me, and his parents was enough for him.”
“I wonder if he’ll come back home? Or will he spend a night at another place?”
“Anything is possible.”
“Hey, how long ago did he leave after the fight with you, Mr. and Mrs. MacClife?”
“Well, ten or fifteen minutes ago.”
“Damn, I’m afraid to think about what’s gonna happen when he’s back home…” Raquelle confesses, putting her hand on her heart with a little heavy breath. “I dunno… Whether I should stay home… Maybe, I should really move to another place? For a while!”
“Of course, the girls will help you, but they’ll suspect that something is wrong.”
“I don’t know, Edward…” Raquelle sighs heavily. “I can’t also go to Grandpa, ‘cause I don’t want to bother him and make him nervous.”
“Then live with my parents and me,” Edward suggests. “We have a free room for guests. You could live as much as you want.”
“What if Natalia wanna visit you? Or Peter and Daniel?”
“Daniel won’t visit me in the nearest time, and Peter has some things to do. And Natalia… You could tell her all the truth.”
“No! If I confess everything, everybody should hear it!”
“If you ask Natalia to say nothing, she’ll understand it.”
“No, Edward, Natalia has always been a big talker. She may tell them about the miscarriage even without a wish.”
“If the case is very serious, Natalia’s gonna be silent.”
“No… I can’t risk like this.”
“But early or late, everybody’s gonna know about the child! You can’t hide it forever!”
“I know, Edward, but now I’m not ready to talk about it.” Raquelle runs her hand over her face with a quiet sigh. “I promise I shall say it a little later, when I come to myself…”
“Okay, do what you want. Anyway, my parents and I are ready to help you.”
“Oh, I dunno, Edward…” Raquelle sighs tiredly. “I understand nothing… I’m sick… sick!”
“It’s gonna be okay, Raquelle,” Edward says softly. “You’re not alone. There are those, who are ready to help you.”
“Only one thing will help me – Terrence’s forgiveness.”
“Wait, sweetie, it’s gonna get better. Just give him some time. Terrence can’t do without you and will regret it if he wants to break up with you. It will be one of the mistakes he won’t forgive himself for.”
“Honestly, I wanna laugh at those, who said we should’ve been together. I… I ain’t sure if my life won’t become hell if your brother and I get married.”
“You will be together, I’m sure,” Edward says confidently. “Yes, of course, our relationship is wild, but you can’t do without each other.”
“You’re right…” Raquelle sniffs quietly. “Terrence is my everything. I’m ready for anything for him… I can’t imagine anyone else instead of that man.”
“Sorry, Raquelle, but you can do nothing now. Anyway, I completely understand Terrence.”
“That’s why I delayed this confession.” Raquelle makes a quiet sob, wiping tears under her eyes. “It pressed on me strongly. I suffered from remorse. I hated myself for lying to your brother when I looked into his eyes and tortured him with my hysterics. Which I couldn’t control.”
“Better late than never.”
“No matter how much I didn’t want it, this day has come.”
“Don’t think about it, darling. You better try to have some rest. You’ve been too exhausted lately.”
“Oh, I can’t remember when I felt quiet the last time,” Raquelle confesses in a shaking voice with tears in her eyes. “And short moments of happiness didn’t help me exhale with relief.”
“Raquelle…”
“I can’t take this anymore. I have no strength.” Raquelle sniffs quietly. “Nothing has made me happy lately. I want to do nothing! I just want to withdraw myself from this world. Under a blanket.”
“Believe me, sometimes I also want to give a damn about everything. Sometimes I have no mood and strength to do something.”
“Help me, Edward,” Raquelle begs quietly, with pity in her voice. “Please, help me… Do something for me to get through it and literally stop thinking of the wish to die.”
“Quiet, quiet, darling, don’t cry. I will surely help you. You can always count on me.”
“You’re the only one to understand me now. Nobody else.”
“Listen…” Edward thinks about something, running his hand through his hair and looking around his room nervously. “Are you alone now? Are the servants at home?”
“Blair left for her business two hours ago, and Christiana and Violetta are in their rooms,” Raquelle replies in a shaking voice. “Although I ain’t gonna tell them what happened, I’m afraid they heard Terrence.”
“They said nothing to you?”
“No, nothing. I haven’t left my room since Terrence left home.”
“Listen, maybe, I should go to your home?”
“No, no, don’t do it,” Raquelle refuses, moving some strands of hair off her face and drying tears under her eyes. “If Terrence sees you, you’ll fight.”
“But I don’t want you to stay alone!”
“Let me go to the home of you and your parents. Since your brother was there, he won’t come back again.”
“Let me meet you! Let’s meet on neutral territory!”
“Thanks for asking, but I’ll come to you somehow. I’ll try to come somewhere in an hour or one and a half hours. I need to leave… I don’t wanna stay alone and think I’d better stay far from Terrence.”
“Anyway, you can even spend a night with us. Or I could drive you to my house, which will be empty until your friend and I get married. Although I’m still working on repair, you can live there.”
“What if someone comes there?”
“Don’t worry. Nobody but Natalia and my parents knows where I’m gonna live. They wouldn’t guess you’d be there. And I’ll give the address to nobody.”
“Thanks, Edward,” Raquelle thanks in a shaking voice. “Thank you so much. You’ve always been very nice to me.”
“We’re friends! Almost family! I must help you when you need it so much. Just like Terrence helped Natalia somehow.”
“Yeah, I know…”
“Okay, sweetie,” Edward pronounces softly. “Shake up, wipe your tears off, put yourself in order, and come to us. Father, Mother, and I are waiting for you.”
“I will come,” Raquelle nods. “Sure…”
“But I’m asking you to be careful on the road. We don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“I’m gonna be fine. Driving the car will distract me.”
“But if you can’t drive a car, let me know. I’ll get ready quickly and take you anywhere.”
“Okay…”
“Oh, Father and Mother came to my room. I’ll tell them you’re gonna come to us. And while you’re coming here, we’ll talk to your grandfather and aunt. They should know what happened.”
“Yeah, talk to them…”
“Okay… Come to us soon.”
“Okay. See ya later.”
“Yup… See.”
Raquelle sniffs and finishes the talk with Edward, turning off the phone and squeezing it tightly in her hand, while tears still roll down her cheek out of her eyes, and she is shaking from fear of losing the one, who means a lot to her. And some time later, she decides to put herself in order and go to the home of Edward, Rebecca, and Jamie with the hope of getting the support that she needs so badly.
***
The next day, Natalia, Helene, Edward, Daniel, and Peter came together at the hospital to visit Anna and Cassidy. The friends got truly surprised when they found out that Terrence and Raquelle did not join them, and Edward keeps silent, as he promised, and is happy that nobody suspects anything. While the girls install themselves comfortably on the bed of Anna, who is in a half-lying position and finds the strength to smile, even if her whole body hurts, and she feels a strong weakness. Peter and Edward are sitting on the small sofa in the room and leaning back. And Cassidy is bending her legs under herself and sitting on her bed next to Daniel, who is embracing her around the shoulders and feels a little embarrassed.
“Friend…” Natalia pronounces happily with a wide smile, holding Anna’s hands. “I’m so happy you’re alive! When I found out that you were fine, I literally jumped from happiness yesterday!”
“Do you know we were madly scared?” Helene asks, being excited enough. “We were afraid we’d lose you!”
“Ah, girls…” Anna sighs heavily with sadness in her eyes. “I thought I wouldn’t see you, either…”
“Now you don’t have to worry, honey,” Natalia says confidently. “Nobody will dare to hurt our little girl! No bad man!”
“Exactly!” Cassidy exclaims cheerfully. “Your parents and the men will kick the ass of that stinker, so that he runs away from you!”
“That’s right!” Edward exclaims. “He and his father will regret it and pay for everything they’ve done.”
“Are you sure everything’s gonna be fine?” Anna asks hesitantly, with a scare in her eyes. “I don’t want anyone to suffer because of Julian! This time, he’ll show no mercy.”
“Don’t be afraid, Anna, it’s gonna be fine,” Peter replies confidently and softly. “We won’t let anyone hurt you and let that man and his father come to you.”
“Trust us, friend,” Helene adds quietly, putting her hand on Anna’s hand. “We know what’s gonna be better for you and your parents.”
“I trust you, guys,” Anna nods. “Do what you think is right… I’m just worried that Julian might harm one of you.”
“He won’t, don’t worry,” Daniel says quietly but confidently. “We’ll be ready for any turn of events.”
Anna ignores Daniel’s words and just looks at her hands, while the awkward silence settles in the air, which makes the man uncomfortable as well as his friends.
“Hey, Anna!” Natalia exclaims with a slight smile. “We’ve noticed that you got along with Cassidy.”
“Yeah, girls, you’d been taking so nicely before we came,” Helene adds with a slight smile.
“Why can't I get along with a good person?” Anna shrugs with a shy smile. “Cassidy is very sweet and kind. I’m definitely lucky to have such a roommate like her.”
“Aha, I’ll spend the last days here with some good folk,” Cassidy says amicably. “You know how boring I felt! I can’t eat, sleep, draw in a notebook all day, and stare at the ceiling.”
“Hey, Mr. and Mrs. Seymour loved this girl, too,” Peter notices. “They’re charmed by Cassidy.”
“That’s true, Anna,” Natalia nods confidently.
“Hey, stop making me blush!” Cassidy gets blushed with a little blush on the face.
“But it’s true, Cassidy,” Edward shrugs with a slight smile. “Daniel is very lucky to have a sister like you.”
“You know, I’m lucky to have a bro like him.” Cassidy ruffles the hair of Daniel. “He’s now showing the best side of him. He used to be a bully.”
“Not at all!” Daniel protests. “I’ve always been a good boy! You’ve always been a hooligan!”
“Oh-h-h, here’s a good boy!”
“Ah, sis, I wish I told everybody how you mocked me in childhood,” Daniel replies with a sly smile. “How you did your best for me to be sworn by everyone!”
“Oh, c’mon!” Cassidy rolls her eyes up. “Though, the guys are gonna love my stories about how you mocked me!”
“I mocked?” Daniel rounds his eyes. “Do you actually know I fed you from a bottle and changed your diapers when I wanted to have fun with my friends?”
“Mom just made you or promised to give you some money! So, you agreed to work as a nanny! Though, I know you cursed everything in the world when you were asked to watch me again.”
“What child would love to watch another child, wipe their mouth off, change their diapers, feed them, and try to put them to sleep? I was lucky you didn’t shout and cry with me! But you got the whole house up when Mom or Dad watched you!”
“When I grew up, you always some bad things to me!”
“If you’d been a good girl, I wouldn’t have educated you.”
“If you’d slapped me on my ass, Mom and Dad would’ve killed you for raising a hand on the girl.”
“And you, hooligan, used it insolently!”
“Yeah, younger kids always get much more love!” Cassidy smiles innocently. “Because they’re little.”
“As if older kids don’t want it!”
“You didn’t need it so badly! You walked somewhere with your pals all day and went home just to eat and sleep! Change your clothes! And wash yourself!”
“Not truth! I always needed it!”
“Yeah, guys…” Natalia laughs shyly and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “You had a funny life…”
“Aha…” Peter chuckles quietly. “Maybe, you will tell us something funny from your life?”
“We’ll take a note if something is good,” Edward smiles slyly.
“Okay, guys, okay!” Cassidy exclaims, clapping Daniel on the shoulder. “I’ll tell you something about this pretty boy! You’re gonna love it, I promise!”
“Okay, speak,” Daniel smiles innocently.
“I will!”
“Hey, stop snapping me!”
“None of your business, idiot!”
“Hey, swearing is bad!”
“I’m just telling the truth!”
“Nobody needs it.”
Meanwhile, the others laugh shyly and shake their heads, as they look at each other.
“Ah, guys…” Peter pronounces cheerfully, putting his arm on the back of the sofa. “How much I love fights of brothers and sisters! The MacClifes amused us with their tricks then, but now it’s time for the Perkins.”
“You always find a reason to laugh and mock someone,” Helene laughs amicably, shaking her head.
“Not just him but also the other men,” Anna chuckles kindly. “When you give a hint, they turn off their brain.”
“What do you think we should do?” Peter throws his hands up with widely open eyes. “Is cheering our friends up bad?”
“Yeah!” Edward exclaims. “We are trying so hard, making you have fun and distracting you, but you… Well, if you don’t want it, we can sit here and keep silent. No prob!”
“Calm down, guys!” Cassidy exclaims cheerfully. “We joked! Keep doing this!”
“Yeah, it’s okay,” Anna smiles shyly and moves her eyes to her hands. “I wanna distract myself… Too much has lately happened…”
“That’s why we came here!” Natalia says confidently with a slight smile.
“I know…” Anna looks at everybody except Daniel, pretending that he is not here. “And I’m grateful to you for that.”
“It’s gonna get better soon!” Helene smiles shyly. “When you’re released, we will work on bringing peace back to you.”
“Oh…” Anna sighs heavily. “Honestly, I spent so much time at home that, speaking openly, I’m sick of that place… Although I don’t like hospitals, now I… I kind of like being here… Because… A new place… Not a very nice one, but it’s… Different…”
“Didn’t you go anywhere?” Natalia wonders.
“Almost nowhere,” Anna shakes her head and looks at her hands. “So… I walked in the city a little or… I went somewhere with Julian… When he took me everywhere against my wish…”
“Your parents said you didn’t plan the meeting with him on the day when you were beaten,” Peter recalls hesitantly. “Say… Is that true?”
“I didn’t actually know when he’d come back to New York with his father.”
“Did you meet him far from the place where the lads and I saw you?” Edward asks carefully.
“Actually, yes. Julian and I were on the way in his car for twenty or forty minutes. I was afraid that he wanted to kidnap me, and I tried to find a way to run away. But it was impossible ‘cause I was strongly beaten. I had no strength… But I made myself shake up… Do this to save my life.”
“And you decided to jump outta the car?”
“Yup. When Julian slowed down, I just opened the car, jumped out of it, and tried to leave. But due to weakness and pain, I couldn’t run too far… I saw the car parked far away and decided to run to it with the hope that there was someone inside.”
“Gosh, Anna, you could’ve crushed yourself!” Helene exclaims with horror in her eyes.
“We know you can do a lot to save yourself, but still…” Natalia adds hesitantly and swallows up nervously. “What if you’d really crushed yourself? Gotten some fractures or become disabled?”
“Fear made me take a risk,” Anna confesses in a quiet and low voice. “I knew I wouldn’t have gone too far, and that man was much stronger and healthier. But I wanted to fight. Fight for myself. For my life. For my parents’ quiet. I… I should’ve fought.”
“Poor girl…” Cassidy pronounces with sadness in her eyes.
“Hey, Edward, Peter… Dad and Mom said they got help from the person, who you recommended, but they didn’t say his name. Is that Mr. Johnson?”
“Yup, that’s him,” Peter confirms confidently. “We trust Mr. Johnson at one hundred percent. That man is gonna bring the case to an end.”
“Did you suggest asking him for help?”
“Yup,” Edward nods. “The guys and I gave your parents the number of that man. Mr. and Mrs. Seymour talked to him and explained the situation.”
“And he agreed to help,” Peter adds. “So, nobody’s gonna turn anyone around anymore.”
“Sadly, I couldn’t make my parents sure to take the report back,” Anna confesses with sadness in her eyes. “I had to agree with them with a heavy heart.”
“Because it would be better for you and your parents,” Natalia says softly, putting her hand on Anna’s hand. “If they hadn’t asked for help, the Potters would’ve defeated your family.”
“I didn’t want them to go to the police.”
“Do you want Julian to keep mocking you or actually kill you?”
“I don’t. But we should’ve been silent. I should’ve been silent. And I tolerated all those mockeries for my parents. Julian and his father threatened to kill them if Mother, Father, or I had gone to the police.”
“Did you really think it would save you?” Cassidy wonders.
“I thought they would’ve left my father and mother alone if I let them do what they wanted to me,” Anna sighs heavily. “I don’t care about myself. But I don’t want my parents to suffer because of the Potters.”
“It’s a lie, Anna,” Edward replies confidently. “Nobody’s gonna leave you alone! I’m sure that Julian and his father didn’t even think of pitying you. They were obsessed with a wish to take revenge on your parents. And the Potters used their weakness – you.”
“Yeah, I know… But I thought everything could’ve been otherwise if they’d gotten a chance to control me like a doll.”
“Forget it, friend,” Helene says softly but confidently. “Those people wanted to make you feel helpless and let them stay unpunished. If Mr. and Mrs. Seymour hadn’t called Mr. Johnson, they would’ve let the Potters avoid the punishment.”
“You think?”
“And if you thought that Julian would change, forget it! People like him will never be good. If that man made you feel the coldness when being next to you, it’s a bad sign.”
“I’ve always felt it. Julian has made me these feelings since the day we met. But…”
Anna sighs heavily and glances at Daniel, who looks at his hands with sadness in his eyes, and wants to say that she wanted to revenge on him for cheating. But one second later, the girl changes her mind.
“I just didn’t want to believe he was so terrible,” Anna adds hesitantly. “When I started to ask Father for help and protection, he didn’t believe me. Said I just didn’t wanna open myself to Julian and let him take care of me. Dad never listened to me and insisted that it was my fantasy. Julian knew it well and felt unpunished.”
“Your father is madly ashamed of you,” Peter confesses with sadness in his eyes. “Mr. Seymour feels guilty of you for not hearing you and blindly believing the terrible man.”
“It’s okay… I blame him for nothing. My parents aren’t guilty…” Anna tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “I wasn’t a good daughter for them.”
“No, sweetie, don’t say that,” Natalia says softly, caressing Anna’s hand. “Your dad and mother love you so much, whatever you are.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t meet their expectations.”
“That’s not true, friend,” Helene shakes her head, taking Anna’s hands. “Your parents are proud of you and say you did the right thing by deciding to choose your life.”
“Alas, I didn’t take the responsibility that my family gave me.”
“You just needed to be a good girl! And you’ve always been the one! You’re so educated, you know good manners, and you always behave very shyly.”
“That wasn’t enough…”
“C’mon, Anna, don’t say stupid things!” Cassidy exclaims. “Your parents have never said anything like that!”
“And how much they were worried about you!” Natalia adds confidently. “You must’ve seen how they cried when you were unconscious! Mr. and Mrs. Seymour arrived at the hospital every day and spent a few hours per day here.”
“You weren’t right when you said your parents were bad!” Helene meddles. “They are very good and decent!”
“Actually, I’ve never said my parents are bad,” Anna notices. “I just wanted one thing, but they didn’t understand my wishes. I mean, they didn’t wanna listen to me with the thought that I was a kid and couldn’t decide anything.”
“But now it’s otherwise! Now your parents think you’re an adult person, who has a right to a voice!”
“And I say nothing bad about my grandparents, even if they never listened to me and thought older people knew what I needed much better.”
“I think everybody runs into this thing,” Edward assumes confidently. “Somehow, nobody wanted to hear and understand me! I was an empty shell for everyone! And nobody cared about what I felt and wanted!”
“I dunno, everything was otherwise for Daniel and me…” Cassidy confesses. “Our parents always listened to us and let us express our opinions. Yes, we could sometimes not be understood or go against their word. But now I understand they were right to some extent.”
“It’s true,” Daniel nods.
“You won’t believe it, but sometimes Mom and Dad didn’t understand me, and I got terribly mad and could ignore them for a long time,” Natalia confesses shyly.
“And how many times I argued with Grandma and Grandpa!” Helene exclaims. “I can’t remember!”
“But I'm sorry that we understand the rightness of our parents or those, who raised us too late.”
“Right,” Anna agrees quietly, looking at her hands. “Now I’m regretting not listening to my parents… Doing what I wanted… What didn’t give me anything good…”
“But thanks to your rebellious character, you didn’t get married to the member of the family that would’ve turned your life into hell,” Natalia says thoughtfully.
“I just delayed this moment,” Anna replies without emotions. “But I didn’t avoid it.”
“You obviously avoided the wedding with that stinker,” Helene says confidently.
“But I didn’t avoid paying for my parents’ mistakes… Paying for Julian’s strong hatred for me…”
“It’s okay, friend, when that stinker gets caught, your life will get better,” Peter promises with a slight smile. “Your parents will do their business. And you’ll find something to do.”
“I’d like to believe, Peter…” Anna sighs heavily.
“Don’t worry, darling,” Natalia says with a slight smile, caressing Anna’s shoulder. “We’re with you. We always will. You can always trust us and be sure that none of us will refuse to help you.”
“I believe, guys,” Anna cracks a smile.
“So, Seymour, you’re gonna enjoy your life and smile again,” Helene promises cheerfully. “Become a positive girl, who you’ve always been.”
“And no Julian or another terrible man will dare to come to you,” Edward adds confidently. “Sammy and us won’t let anyone hurt you or say something bad about you.”
“Ah, yeah, Sammy…” Anna sighs with a slight smile. “I’d like to see that puffy creature… I miss that doggy so badly.”
“I think Sammy would also be happy to see you,” Peter assumes. “But sadly, dogs aren’t allowed to go to the hospital.”
“But when you leave the hospital, we’ll take Sammy with us,” Helene promises with a slight smile.
“I’ll be waiting with impatience,” Anna replies.
“Hey, guys, tell me more about that doggy,” Cassidy says. “Who’s the owner?”
“Me,” Helene pronounces.
“Can I meet the one?” Cassidy puts her hands together. “Please, Helene… I love doggies so much!”
“Don’t worry, Cassidy, we’ll introduce you to Sammy when you leave the hospital,” Natalia replies amicably. “You’re gonna love him as much as all of us.”
“That’s a boy, and his name is Sammy?”
“Well, actually, his name is Samuel,” Helene confesses. “But we call him Sammy ‘cause he doesn’t like his full name.”
“But why? Samuel is a cool name!”
“Alas, we don’t understand the dog language,” Peter shrugs. “But when that doggy behaves badly, Helene and I call him Samuel.”
“He's getting sweet and meek?” Cassidy laughs shyly.
“That’s right! And if you offer him his favorite dog treats, he’ll sell his soul to the devil and eat the smelly thing that he finds delicious and incredible.”
“Don’t forget to tell her how he’s jealous of you and Helene,” Daniel chuckles kindly.
“Helene?” Cassidy wonders.
“Aha, of course, Sammy loves Peter and finds him a second owner, but he doesn’t wanna share his owner with the blond.”
“That’s true,” Helene laughs shyly. “When Pete hugs me or kisses me, Sammy runs to us and starts to bite his ass, nuzzle his face in our faces, and just bark loudly.”
“And how he’s nervous when he can’t reach us,” Peter chuckles kindly. “Just like Terrence does when someone gets a crush on Edward, not him.”
“And Sammy is a great suck-up! If you show him something tasty, you quickly become close to him.”
“And when you show harshness and punish him, he sucks up or does a bad thing.”
“And he loves rolling in dirty pools and water, but he can’t take taking a bath.”
“That’s right! After washing the puffy, we always leave the bathroom, being wet from head to foot!”
“As far as I understand, that doggy is a hooligan,” Cassidy laughs shyly and ruffles Daniel’s hair. “Just like my bro.”
“I agree,” Edward replies with a sly smile.
“Hey, is Sammy a big dog? What kind of breed?”
“Big,” Natalia pronounces. “Golden retriever.”
“Aw, retrievers are so cute,” Cassidy smiles cutely. “I do adore these dogs. They’re the same as labradors.”
“Did you have a dog?” Anna asks.
“Aha, a girl, Chelsea, a chihuahua. With light hair… I loved her so much, but she died when I was six or seven. Chelsea had been at our home when I wasn’t born. I believe Dan wasn’t born, either.”
“Do you like small or big dogs?”
“I love small dogs more. But I like big dogs, too. I’ve actually always been a crazy fan of dogs and would get a few dogs if I had a chance. I persuaded Mom and Dad to get another doggy several times, but they said having Chelsea was enough for us.”
“I’ve always been afraid of dogs…” Anna confesses shyly. “Since a big dog attacked me when I was a kid.”
“Did you get the scar on your hand after that?”
“Yup…” Anna looks at the scar on the front of the wrist of her right hand. “That dog sank its teeth into my hand… My hand was bleeding… I got mild damage to my vein… But thank God, everything was fine.”
“My gosh…”
“Just because I don’t fear Sammy doesn’t mean my fear of dogs is gone. No, I still fear them. If another dog came to me, I would be scared.”
“Sammy is a very kind doggy,” Peter says confidently. “He allows everybody to pet him, accepts treats, and loves playing and having fun. But when he has to, he becomes heartless and would tear anyone apart.”
“Oh, yeah, Potter was afraid of him!” Edward laughs shyly. “He screamed so hard when Sammy sank his teeth into his arm!”
“And what’s the age of Sammy?” Cassidy asks.
“He’s gonna turn one soon,” Helene confesses with a slight smile. “I adopted him when he was a little puppy.”
“You wanted to get a dog?”
“Yeah, I always dreamed of having a dog and love them as much as Natalia loves cats. I would’ve gotten a dog much earlier, but my grandmother minded it. But I persuaded her. And she literally fell in love with Sammy when she saw him when I brought him home.”
“You bought him?”
“Nope, my workmate let me take one of the puppies that her dog gave birth to. She wanted to sell them, but she offered me one for free. And I couldn’t miss a chance.”
“Cool…” Cassidy smiles shyly. “I hope I’ll also get a doggy someday.”
“Dogs are very good friends and excellent protectors,” Edward notices confidently. “If you educate it, it won’t let bad people come close to you. It will love you and become your best friend.”
“Chelsea was the one! She always loved me and went after me when I was home.”
“Yeah, she wasn’t as attracted to me as she was to her,” Daniel replies thoughtfully. “Though, we got on well, too.”
“Dogs just love little children,” Helene smiles shyly. “Sammy always wanna come to a child when he sees someone far away. And he often gets his nose into strollers with babies.”
“Hey, guys, do you love dogs?” Cassidy asks. “Or are Dan, Helene, and I are the only fans of dogs?”
“Why?” Peter wonders. “I’ve loved dogs, too! And I got a stronger love when I met Sammy. I still remember how I saw him running in Helene’s apartment when he was a puppy for the first time.”
“I love doggies, but I can’t call myself a fan of them,” Edward confesses. “I just love pets and am sure that they feel the same as people.”
“Ugh, only dog lovers came here!” Natalia chuckles, crossing her arms over her chest. “Why are cats worse?”
“Although I’m not such a crazy cat fan like you, I really like kitties,” Anna smiles shyly. “Especially when they’re two or three months. They’re so cute!”
“Cats are cute when they don’t scream and wake you up at half past five,” Peter replies thoughtfully.
“What?” Cassidy frowns slightly.
“Don’t pay attention!” Daniel waves a hand. “Rose has been at war with the cats of his neighbor for two hundred years!”
“And I’ve been fighting with that neighbor for two hundred years,” Peter confesses confidently. “I’m unsuccessfully trying to make her do something to her cats. But she tells me how to live and says I should stop doing some shitty things and start to find a job.”
“Typical single old lady, who is unhappy with her life and decided to teach others!”
“Sort of!”
“Honestly, cats don’t love me. One friend of mine had a fat, evil cat that scratched my hand strongly. And the same idiot scratched my coat, so that nothing was left of it. And when I met a stray cat on the street, it ran away shortly. As if I was a monster. Though, I did nothing! I wasn’t even gonna pet it!”
“Oh, it’s the same with Terrence,” Daniel laughs shyly. “Cats ‘love’ him, too. I remember the story of MacClife, Sr., about the cat, the clutches of which his arms still remember…”
“Even pets know who Terrence MacClife is,” Natalia chuckles kindly. “They know they should sometimes kick that idiot’s ass.”
“Yeah, not only do his friends sometimes take the crown off his head,” Edward agrees with a chuckle.
“You won’t let your bro feel like a kind on the throne,” Peter laughs quietly, putting his arms on the back of the sofa and spreading his legs slightly. “Kicking Terry’s ass is your favorite thing to do.”
“You and Daniel don’t also mind sitting on his throne.”
“Hey, don’t start to find out who’s better!” Natalia jabs loudly.
“We don’t,” Edward smiles innocently. “It’s decided! There’s only one man, who could be more irresistible than my bro. That’s me!”
“Someone, give me a heavy skillet, please,” Daniel exhales sharply.
“The thing I’ve never doubted is my awesomeness.” Edward strokes his hair down with his head proudly raised. “No girl has been able to resist me! Resist such a handsome guy, who conquers with just one glance. Who makes them melt from my voice. All the girls I’ve dated said they had a crush on my voice at first. But the thing I love about me is my gorgeous hair.”
“You’re madly lucky that Terrence is not here,” Helene replies confidently.
“Right,” Anna adds. “If Terrence finds out what you say about him, he’ll be madly jealous and nervous.”
“A voice is a voice, but girls start whooping when they just hear my name,” Peter notices with his head proudly raised. “And when they meet me personally, they’re ready to die with happiness! Though… How couldn’t they get excited when looking at my sexy body?”
“I haven’t also left girls indifferent!” Daniel says confidently. “They’ve always had a crush on my eyes, in which anyone is ready to drown. I fall in love with me when I look into them through the mirror.”
“Yeah, the boys puffed their tails again,” Natalia laughs shyly.
“C’mon, all the men are the same!” Cassidy waves a hand. “All the boys I befriended loved showing off.”
“It’s okay, girls!” Helene exclaims. “When they meet Terrence, he’ll quickly kick their asses!”
“Be proud to meet men like us, beauties,” Edward replies confidently.
“Of course, our Terry is an asshole, but he’s good anyway,” Peter adds with a slight smile, leaning back with both arms put on the back of the sofa. “Daddy will always take care of us and cover us.”
“Daddy?” Cassidy laughs shyly. “You call Terrence a daddy?”
“Why not?” Daniel wonders. “He’s the oldest, most experienced, and wisest… Terrence is a leader that guides us, supports us, and helps us.”
Silence settles in the air for a few seconds, during which everybody looks at each other or whispers about something with slight smiles.
“Hey, guys…” Anna frowns slightly. “Why didn’t Terrence and Raquelle come?”
“Yeah, guys, where are these two?” Cassidy frowns slightly. “I thought they’d be here, too!”
“We don’t know, girls,” Natalia throws her hands up. “Raquelle hasn’t answered our calls. I wanted to take her from home, but she turned off her mobile phone.”
“She’s not home?” Anna frowns slightly.
“I’ve got a feeling that there’s nobody at their home. Nobody even answered the home number. Though, I don’t exclude that the servants might have a free day and are now home.”
“We’ve tried to call Cameron several times, but it’s worthless,” Helene adds. “She doesn’t also reply to messages. She hasn’t even read them.”
“Same about Terrence,” Peter confesses. “I couldn’t reach him. He doesn’t answer calls or actually declines them. And he ignores messages, as well.”
“And Terrence hasn’t answered calls since yesterday,” Daniel confesses. “As well as Raquelle… I called all of you to tell you about Anna. And later, I caught everybody except Cameron and MacClife.”
“Don’t you think it’s weird?” Natalia frowns slightly. “What if something happened to them?”
“Maybe, they’re just busy?” Anna assumes. “You don’t have to be here twenty-four hours per day.”
“Yeah, but they could warn us,” Peter replies confidently. “We get no answer, no greeting. We thought Raquelle and Terrence would come a little later. But as you see, they didn’t come.”
“At least, I know for sure that Raquelle isn’t supposed to have shootings and meetings,” Natalia says thoughtfully, running her hand over her hair.
“But why didn’t she come?”
“I dunno… But saying that she gives a damn about Anna is stupid ‘cause Cameron was worried. Very much.”
“And the case of Terrence is more mysterious,” Daniel notices. “He declines all of our calls, even if his phone is turned on. It seems like we’re guilty of something to him, and he doesn’t wanna talk to us.”
“Well, I didn’t fight with him,” Helene shrugs. “Maybe, something happened between you? Daniel? Peter? Edward?”
“No, I didn’t fight with him,” Peter shakes his head.
“Me too…” Daniel confirms.
“But what did come into his mind?” Natalia wonders. “And what happened to Raquelle?”
“C’mon, guys, don’t panic like this,” Anna replies quietly. “I’m sure that they’ll come here later.”
“Indeed, folks, relax!” Cassidy exclaims. “They’ll come here when they have free time.”
“But they could warn!” Natalia notices.
“What if they got in trouble?” Helene assumes.
“We don’t need it now…” Peter sighs tiredly.
Meanwhile, Edward frowns slightly and thinks about what happened yesterday, looking tense enough and breathing a little heavily.
“Oh, damn, I feel exhausted after yesterday…” Edward thinks with sadness in his eyes. “Raquelle looked so terrible when she went to my home. With tears… Shaking… I was a little afraid when she decided to go home after a few hours that she spent with me, my parents, Mr. Cameron, and Alicia.”
Edward leans his head back with closed eyes for a second and exhales very quietly.
“Oh, Terrence, Terrence… What did you do, brother? How are you gonna solve this problem? How are you gonna excuse yourself after what you told us yesterday? What’s gonna happen between you and Raquelle? If you don’t put yourself together and leave her, you’ll regret it. Oh… You’re a smart and wise man, whom I’d like to imitate, but sometimes you act like a real idiot… A sick psycho…”
Edward looks into the distance, forgetting that he is not alone.
“I knew Terrence wouldn’t have reacted quietly, but I hoped he would’ve kept his emotions inside. Yesterday, he crossed the line… Thank God, he didn’t visit Raquelle’s aunt and grandmother and his friends. I’m glad my brother turned on his brains in this case.”
“Edward knows,” Daniel frowns slightly, glancing at Edward.
“Erm, excuse me?” Natalia asks.
“Edward knows what’s going on. Look, he’s sitting as quietly as a mouse and pretending that he is not here.”
“Indeed…” Cassidy frowns slightly. “Why is he silent?”
“Because he knows something,” Peter glances at Edward. “I see it in his eyes!”
“Edward, say something to us,” Anna asks.
“Hey, Edward…” Helene pronounces softly. “Why are you silent?”
But since Edward does not react to this, Peter starts clicking his fingers in front of his friend’s face.
“Hey, MacClife, wake up!” Peter exclaims loudly. “Stop dreaming! Hear what I say?”
Two moments later, Edward shakes sharply and looks at everybody questioningly.
“Erm, huh?” Edward pronounces hesitantly, scratching the back of his head. “What? Whatcha talking about?”
“Where’s your brother?” Daniel asks. “You do know where Terrence is and why he hasn’t come here with Raquelle!”
Edward says nothing for two seconds and swallows up nervously, getting confused for a moment and looking at everybody, who stares at him, with rounded eyes full of scare.
“Terrence? Erm…” Edward shakes his head, breathing a little heavily. “I dunno… I haven’t seen him…”
“And Raquelle?” Helene specifies. “Haven’t you talked to her?”
“No, I haven’t talked to her…”
“Maybe, you know something?” Peter frowns slightly.
“It’s all too weird,” Natalia notices confidently. “Raquelle doesn’t answer calls, but Terrence actually declines them, as if we hurt him.”
“Erm, he declines mine…” Edward says thoughtfully. “He’s done it since yesterday…”
“You became too quiet when we started talking about Terrence and Raquelle,” Peter notices.
“Right,” Daniel agrees. “I don’t believe that you don’t know anything about your family.”
“Erm, guys, c’mon!” Edward pronounces hesitantly in a little shaking voice. “I don’t know where Raquelle and Terrence are! They don’t have to tell me what they do, where they walk, and who they talk to.”
“Yeah, but you’re really tense,” Cassidy notices thoughtfully.
“I don’t I live with them, guys. And I don’t know what Terrence and Raquelle are doing.”
“Okay, okay, we got it,” Natalia says quietly. “What about yesterday? Didn’t you talk to any of them yesterday?”
“No, yesterday, I spent almost the whole day with Chris and Kevin. I came back home in the evening and spent the rest of the day with Mother and Father.”
“So, don’t you know where these two are?” Daniel frowns slightly.
“If I knew, I would immediately tell you.”
Everybody frowns slightly and looks at each other, realizing that Edward does not say something, judging his running eyes and nervousness.
“Well, if you don’t know, it’s okay,” Anna shrugs. “I’m sure they’ll come here later.”
“Something really happened,” Natalia frowns slightly, stroking her chin. “They’ve always been responsible and warned if they couldn’t go somewhere or do something.”
“Of course, it’s not a secret that something weird has been happening to Raquelle for a long time,” Peter replies thoughtfully. “But what’s happening to Terrence is a dark mystery.
“He’s gonna get sick of guessing soon!” Daniel assumes confidently. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Terrence broke down soon and pissed Raquelle off.”
“If he hasn’t done already…” Edward says thoughtfully. “Terrence’s close to that…”
“Yeah, Raquelle’s gonna get in trouble,” Natalia sighs with sadness in her eyes.
“Erm, excuse me, but what’s happening to Raquelle?” Cassidy asks hesitantly.
“We don’t know, Cassidy,” Helene shrugs. “Raquelle has hidden something for a few months, but she says nothing to anyone about it. And we’re sure that it’s gonna be something shocking. At least for Terrence. She’s definitely afraid to tell him something.”
“But what could happen?” Cassidy throws her hands up.
“Terrence is not a very quiet man,” Natalia replies. “He… Can easily lose his temple and doesn’t control his emotions in anger. When that man is mad, you better keep yourself far from him. And, as we think, Raquelle is afraid of his anger or worried that he won’t understand her.”
“Is being afraid of your fiancé fine?”
“Of course, it’s not,” Daniel replies quietly. “But Terrence has great problems with it.”
“He tries to control himself somehow, but he can’t do it sometimes,” Peter adds.
“At least, I don’t remember Terrence being too aggressive lately,” Helene says thoughtfully.
“But he overshadowed Father,” Edward replies quietly, locking his fingers together. “The father of Terrence and me is also by far not the quietest man and made lots of mistakes because of his inability to control himself. But now he has learned to hold himself down. And my brother… He believes he can control himself. But that’s not the truth.”
“Erm, guys, excuse me for the immodest question…” Cassidy says hesitantly. “But Terrence… He is… Well… How could I say it softer? Not to hurt… He… Erm…”
“Can he be violent?” Anna assumes. “You wanted to ask it?”
“Well…” Cassidy bites her lip slightly. “Actually, yes… He… Is one of those, who… Beat girls for a reason and without?”
“No, Cassidy, no way,” Natalia replies confidently. “Terrence is not one of them! Not saying about his impertinence and bad ability to control his emotions, he’s a wonderful man. Kind, caring, careful…”
“Raquelle’s family wouldn’t let her be with Terrence if he was dangerous to her,” Helene adds. “However, her grandfather and aunt love him, as well as MacClife’s parents love Raquelle.”
“Yeah, they doubted him when they had a serious scandal somehow,” Anna confesses. “But Terrence got their forgiveness.”
“Has he ever…” Cassidy pronounces hesitantly. “Beaten Raquelle?”
“He raised his hand once,” Daniel confesses. “Terrence hid it too hard not to get worse for the people. But when they found it out, everybody turned their backs on him. Including Peter and me.”
“And the others?”
“We didn’t know the others. And we barely knew Terrence.”
“Anna and I were also shocked when we found out what Terrence did,” Natalia confesses. “But later, we felt kind of sorry for that guy. Raquelle was partly guilty of the fact that their relationship almost ended. Even when she was dating him, she kept thinking only of herself and her career.”
“She didn’t love him?” Cassidy wonders.
“Of course, she did,” Edward says softly. “They were just too obsessed with passion and originally started to date because of it. And after living together for some time, the passion was gone. Awakening happened. Terrence saw that Raquelle didn’t care about him, tolerated it for a long time, and he got eventually too mad.”
“Well, maybe, they shouldn’t be together?”
“They’d be unhappy, Cassidy. Later, Terrence and Raquelle realized that they loved each other and were ready to work on their relationship. Yes, they have misunderstandings and conflicts, but… They solve them. Just like any couple.”
“And did Raquelle change?”
“She realized a lot. And when Terrence felt beloved, he started to answer her back.”
“Wow…”
“Anyway, you shouldn’t be afraid of Terrence. He can’t rape and will do nothing bad to you.”
“Oh, okay, I got it…” Cassidy replies, looking down. “I’m sorry if I hurt one of you with this question. When I heard that Raquelle was afraid of Terrence, I thought she… Lived with a violator…”
“No, sweetie, that’s not the truth. Yes, Terrence is very explosive and, I’m not gonna lie, may act like a patient in the mental hospital. But when he’s quiet, there is a wonderful man in front of us. Kind, caring, and careful. He does recognize his problem and tries to solve it. But… He meets failures at times.”
“I got it…”
Cassidy inclines her head guiltily, but Daniel hugs her around the shoulders with a slight smile and sadness in his eyes, while the others think about something.
“Do you think these two will come?” Helene asks hesitantly.
“I’d be upset if they didn’t,” Anna confesses with sadness in her eyes. “I understand they have something to do. But I miss them…”
“Don’t worry, Anna,” Daniel smiles slightly. “They’ll come. Not today but tomorrow.”
“Okay, guys, let’s stop guessing!” Natalia suggests confidently. “Our lovebirds will come, I’m sure about it! Even if something happens, let them solve it. They will tell us if they want it. The important thing is they do not get into trouble or fight.”
“Let’s hope they won’t do it,” Peter expresses hope.
“Exactly!” Daniel exclaims. “Let’s not be obsessed with their problems.”
“Let’s just spend time together,” Cassidy suggests.
“Oh, I wish we played and sang something…” Peter replies thoughtfully, locking his fingers and crisping them. “I wanna play and sing something…”
“Yeah, lads, we haven’t played for ages!” Edward exclaims.
“Oh, yeah, our dear gentlemen,” Helene smiles mysteriously. “Are you actually gonna think of the band?”
“Obviously, my dear,” Daniel replies confidently. “If we had a couple of guitars, we’d be happy to have an unforgettable show.”
“Oh, that would be cool!” Cassidy exclaims cheerfully. “I’ve wanted to hear you live for a long time. Somehow, Daniel let me listen to the song of your band, and I was thrilled!”
“Glad you liked it,” Peter smiles shyly.
“The guys are gonna release the album soon,” Anna confesses confidently. “The girls and I don’t know how it’s gonna sound, but I’m sure that it’s gonna be amazing.”
“The men worked on it for a few months,” Helene adds. “They spent many days at the studio…”
“It was a cool time!” Daniel notices cheerfully.
“I hope you didn’t forget the promise about reserving seats near the scene,” Natalia recalls confidently.
“Invite me!” Cassidy exclaims funnily. “Invite me! I’ve never been to concerts, even if I’ve always wanted to dance along with cool music. And I got such a cool chance!”
“You’re gonna have a chance, sweetie,” Helene smiles shyly. “We won’t get off the men until we get what we want.”
“I shall remember!” Cassidy clicks the fingers of her hand.
“Hey, Cassidy, one birdie whispered in our ear that you could play guitar,” Peter says with a mysterious smile.
“It’s true,” Cassidy nods confidently. “I started to play it when I was seven or eight. But I forgot almost everything ‘cause I haven’t played for ages.”
“If you want, you’ll recall everything,” Anna replies.
“And yeah, guys… In case you didn’t know, I’m happy to tell you that I was the one to teach Danny to play guitar.”
“Really?” Helene wonders with a slight smile.
“No!” Daniel protests. “I learned to play on my own!”
“What the heck?” Cassidy resents.
“You don’t have to do with that.”
“Don’t listen to him! His skill in guitar play is my merit! So… You can rate my work.”
“So, now we know who to thank for the discovered star,” Natalia laughs shyly. “Daniel plays guitar and sings amazingly.”
“Thanks to me!” Cassidy exclaims with her head proudly raised. “I was teaching him to play guitar for hours! And he’s always been able to sing!”
“Oh, c’mon, Cass!” Daniel shakes his head. “You just showed me a couple of chords, but you’re bragging as if you were teaching me to play from start to end.”
“Yeah, who came to me for help?”
“It happened several times! I was learning to play by myself for a bigger part of the time.”
“Ha, without my help, you couldn’t even play something simple by using three chords,” Cassidy chuckles kindly. “And remember how many times you gave up on it when you couldn’t do it! How hard it was for you to learn to place your fingers on the frets! How many times you complained that they hurt and bleed!”
“You had played for a hundred years, but I just took a guitar!”
“Anyway, you couldn’t do it without me!”
“Don’t be a bragger, Cassidy.”
“Don’t make all my merits yours! And don’t pretend you’re not a slowpoke! Sometimes you’re so stupid that I wanna strangle you!”
“That’s right!” Peter chuckles kindly. “Sometimes your bro may be a real slowpoke.”
“Don’t say, ‘yes’ to my sis, blondie,” Daniel shakes his head.
“I’m just telling the truth!”
“I ain’t a slowpoke!”
“You’re a donkey!”
“Agree!” Cassidy exclaims.
“Hey, you’re gonna ask for trouble!” Daniel shows his fist to Cassidy with a sly smile.
“You can’t complain to Mom and Dad,” Cassidy smiles innocently. “And your friends will give you to me to kick your ass.”
“Yeah, Edward…” Peter laughs shyly. “The Perkins don’t leave you and Terrence behind…”
Peter moves his eyes to Edward, who thinks about something again, while the girls shake their heads, and the men growl quietly.
“Oh, look at him!” Peter exhales sharply. “He’s dreaming again!”
“Edward, why are you so thoughtful today?” Natalia wonders.
“Is he always like this?” Cassidy frowns slightly.
“Only when he’s worried about something,” Anna replies thoughtfully.
“MacClife, we’re here!” Daniel whoops loudly, jumping up from Cassidy’s bed, coming to Edward, and waving his hands in front of his face. “We’re here! The Earth is calling you!”
When Daniel wants to clap Edward on the cheek, the guy sharply moves the hand of his friend off his face, throwing gloomily:
“Perkins, I’m not deaf! Don’t shout in my ear!”
“Wonderful, then!” Daniel claps his hands with a wide smile. “Fall into nothing! Or I’ll sit down next to you and annoy you.”
“As you wish, Your Highness!” Edward rolls his eyes up.
“Oh, my gosh…” Helene sighs resignedly.
The satisfied Daniel sits down next to Cassidy again along with the quiet chuckles of his friends, and stops smiling when he glances at Anna, who keeps ignoring him.
“Erm, so…” Edward pronounces hesitantly. “Who taught someone to play guitar?”
“I taught this ass to play!” Cassidy replies amicably, clapping Daniel on the shoulder.
“Not truth!” Daniel whoops with a sly smile. “My excellent guitar play is the result of my hard work.”
“Ha! If he hadn’t had me, you wouldn’t have known the star named Daniel Perkins!”
“My darling, the way I play now I way better than what you played somehow. I learned much more and know the hardest techniques, which you didn’t check out.”
“Oh, come on!”
“Hey, Cassidy, did you teach him to play at your wish?” Edward asks. “Or did your bro offer you something?”
“How I could refuse to teach my beloved bro!” Cassidy cutely kisses on the cheek and grabs his arm with both hands. “I couldn’t do it when he went to my room after hearing me play guitar and asked to play and teach him to play.”
“I just asked her to show me how to play a simple song,” Daniel exclaims.
“Did your brother highly rate your talent?” Helene wonders.
“It’s weird, but he liked it! Well, or he just repeated after me.”
“But when I played a guitar for our parents, they were delighted,” Daniel confesses with his head proudly raised. “They said if I wanted, I could build a brilliant music career.”
“Huh, nobody could imagine you as a doctor,” Cassidy replies with a kind grin. “A math teacher or a teacher of other hard shit…”
“You know, hooligan, I can’t imagine you being someone! You never knew who you wanted to be and didn’t even think about it!”
“I was a child!”
“I knew I’d work with something about music since childhood! Even become a seller at a music store!”
“And you got it.”
“It was a hard way!”
“Oh, yeah!” Cassidy laughs shyly. “Friendship with Terrence MacClife didn’t help you! Not at all!”
“Listen, Cassidy, don’t ya think you’re talking too much?”
“Not at all!”
“Okay! But next time, I shall speak! I shall tell them about all your tricks.”
“I’m gonna tell how this idiot mocked me when we were kids,” Cassidy promises with a sly smile. “Now I barely remember everything, but I’ll obviously recall everything the next time.”
“I also have something to say!” Daniel says confidently. “Even our beloved MacClife brothers don’t mock each other the way this rebel mocked me.”
“You know, I think nobody has mocked me worse than Terrence,” Edward crosses his arms over his chest.
“Aha, you’re allegedly so innocent, sweet, and fluffy,” Peter chuckles kindly.
“I just bring my bro back to the earth, so Terry don’t forget that he is not so unique and imitable.”
“He does know that if he doesn’t pull you down, you’re gonna get in trouble.”
“And I am his so-called sedative. If Terry doesn’t take it, someone’s ass is gonna suffer.”
“We got it!” Peter laughs.
“Anyway, I still have a chance to overshadow that pretty boy in everything and steal the hearts of all his fans.”
“Oh, took after his brother…” Helene shakes her head with a slight smile.
“Aha, as self-confident as he is,” Daniel agrees.
“Where’s the shy, quiet guy we met for the first time?” Peter sighs quietly. “The one, who sat next to his bro on the table and was literally afraid to say a word!”
“That guy stayed in the past,” Edward says with pride. “Now I feel freaking confident and know all my strongest sides. Though, I don’t have them because I am perfect! Freaking sexy and irresistible man, who got all the best from nature.”
“It seems like Terrence is sitting in front of us,” Anna chuckles kindly.
“Yeah, Edward loves acting like his brother while he’s not near,” Peter notices confidently.
“C’mon, stop laughing!” Natalia smiles cutely. “You understand nothing!”
Natalia gets up from the bed and comes to Edward, who is sitting on the sofa confidently enough with his arms put on the back of the sofa and keeping his legs spread.
“My man is the most irresistible one,” Natalia says with her head proudly raised, while Edward moves her look full of interest on her and starts smiling widely.
“Yeah!” Edward pronounces with pride, while Natalia starts to stroke his hair and caress his head. “You heard what my girl said?”
Two moments later, Edward seats Natalia on his laps and gets a sweet kiss on the cheek from the girl.
“Oh, c’mon, guys, stop!” Peter exclaims loudly and claps Edward on the shoulder. “Can do this in a different place!”
“What are we doing?” Edward smiles innocently and places his hand on Natalia’s lap. “Just sitting!”
“Yeah, sitting,” Natalia purrs and, running her fingers through Edward’s hair, kisses him on the cheek again. “Nothing special.”
“Alright, lovebirds, stop this!” Peter exclaims.
“C’mon, Peter!” Cassidy smiles widely. “Don’t bother them! They’re so cute! I’d watch them forever.”
“It’s contagious, Cassidy,” Anna chuckles kindly. “If you look once, you can’t move your eyes off them.”
“Oh, watch if you want!” Natalia replies with an innocent smile, sitting on Edward’s laps and having her arms wrapped around his neck. “Who bans you?”
“You know everything about us,” Edward adds, runs his hand over Natalia’s thigh, and kisses her cutely on the temple. “Just like we know everything about you.”
“Your faces betray you, guys,” Helene says amicably. “You can say nothing, but we understand everything anyway.”
“We’re gonna watch them enough on their wedding day,” Peter replies confidently. “As well as Terrence and Raquelle.”
“Will you invite me?” Cassidy asks. “I’d love to hang out at the wedding!”
“Of course, we will!” Natalia exclaims. “Come! I promise you’re gonna have a lot of fun.”
“Cool! Thanks!”
Everybody laughs shyly, forgetting about their problems and just enjoying the time that they are spending together. But while he is watching Edward and Natalia being cute for each other, Daniel gets a little sad and stops participating in the talk, sometimes glancing at Anna with the hope of getting her glance at least once. At some moment, Cassidy pays attention to her brother, puts her hand on his shoulder, asking softly in a whisper:
“What’s wrong, bro?”
“Well…” Daniel pronounces without emotions.
“Are you sad because of Anna?”
“She doesn’t even look at me. She ignores everything I say. As if I’m not here.”
“What did you want? Be happy at least with this.”
“Her silence makes me feel terribly embarrassed.”
“Relax, Dan, everything’s not so bad!” Cassidy replies cheerfully. “She doesn’t insult you and blame you for cheating. Besides, Anna allowed you to come here.”
“If she were alone in the room, Anna wouldn’t take me.”
“No, I don’t think so! This girl is melting slowly! Yesterday, Anna wanted you to be kicked out of here and banned from coming, but now she quietly accepts the fact that you’re here.”
“I know, but I don’t feel better.”
“Excuse me, bro, all in good time. Now Anna let you be in the room and agreed to accept your protection from that stinker, who beat her. But later, she’s gonna wish to talk to you and even hug you.”
“If you knew how much I want it. How much I wanna hug her. But I can’t do this. ‘cause I might get another slap and lots of insults.”
“You know, any girl would kick you on the head if you kissed and hugged her by force.”
“No, I’ll no longer touch her with a finger… No… I won’t touch her… Even if I want it so badly…”
“It’s gonna be okay, Danny, don’t be upset.” Cassidy caresses Daniel’s back softly. “I’m sure.”
“Everybody’s laughing, but I wanna choke myself. I wanna leave somewhere. But I can’t.”
“Do you think the guys are blind idiots that see nothing?”
“I just don’t wanna whine.”
“You know, Dan…” Cassidy thinks a little, putting her finger on her lips. “I think you’ve got a chance to leave…”
“What?” Daniel frowns slightly.
“My doctor came to me this morning and asked me to tell you to come to him to talk about my release and therapy in a clinic.”
“Great, I also wanted to talk to him,” Daniel replies thoughtfully. “He’s trying to get contacts for the clinic that he wanted to recommend.”
“Let’s go together. I should go to the doctor to get examined.”
“You’re my salvation, sis,” Daniel cracks a slight smile. “Come here…”
Daniel hugs Cassidy, kisses her on the forehead, and just looks at her with sad eyes until Edward meddles in the talk with a shy laugh:
“Hey, guys, why did you fall into silence?”
“Tell us!” Natalia suggests. “We wanna know it!”
“Well, nothing special,” Cassidy replies with a slight smile. “Dan and I have our secrets.”
“So important that nobody should know them?” Helene smiles mysteriously.
“Sort of!”
“Erm, listen…” Daniel pronounces thoughtfully with sadness in his eyes. “I should leave… To talk to Cassidy’s doctor. She said he wanted to see me.”
“I should also go to him to get examined,” Cassidy confesses.
“Yeah, you can talk here.”
“Don’t dare to run away from us secretly,” Peter orders.
“How we could do!”
“Okay, guys, we’re leaving,” Cassidy says.
“C’mon, chatterbox.”
Daniel gets up from the bed, lets Cassidy go forward, opening the door of the room and letting her leave it first, and leaves his friends after her. And when the door is closed, everybody slightly frowns and looks at each other, and the girls shrug or slightly shake their heads.
“He’s lately been so exhausted,” Helene notices thoughtfully. “He hasn’t gotten enough sleep and has been worried…”
“And he’s having fun against his wish…” Natalia adds, getting up from Edward’s laps and just putting her hand on his shoulder while standing next to him. “I don’t know, I don’t believe he’s really in a good mood.”
“We all know the truth,” Edward says thoughtfully. “We know what’s more important to him now.”
“Right…” Peter pronounces with sadness in his eyes, throwing a short look at Anna, who is looking at her hands. “That’s bad we can do nothing.”
“If only he didn’t fall into depression and want to withdraw himself from everyone and give a damn about everything…” Helene expresses hope.
“No, Perkins won’t do this,” Edward replies confidently. “He knows he’s got too many responsibilities.”
“Don’t worry, guys,” Anna says without emotions, locking her fingers too tightly. “He’s strong… And he’ll solve any problem.”
“Even the strongest man may get weak someday,” Natalia replies with sadness in her eyes. “All of us may seem to be strong. But there are things that could break us down and make us vulnerable.”
“It’s not about him. A man like him will stay strong and unbroken in any situation.”
“Are you sure about it?” Helene frowns slightly. “Do you think these words are true? Don’t you see and notice nothing?”
“I do, Helene… I do…”
Anna clearly sees Daniel’s condition, understands what the reason for that is, and is truly worried about him. But the girl pretends that she does not care about this man, thinking about how he kissed another girl before her eyes again and again.
“Listen, girls…” Peter pronounces thoughtfully and looks at Edward. “Edward and I will leave for two minutes… Walk to the cafeteria…”
“Yes, we wanna eat something,” Edward agrees.
“You know what we want,” Natalia laughs amicably.
“Okay, boys, you can go,” Helene waves her hand. “Talk about your secrets, while we talk about ours.”
“Don’t feel bored, beauties,” Peter says cheerfully. “We’ll be back soon.”
Peter and Edward get up lazily and leave the room quickly, closing the door and starting to talk about something on the way. While Helene, Natalia, and Anna watch them and look at each other.
“So, girls, we’ve stayed alone…” Natalia says with a slight smile, sitting comfortably on the bed in front of Anna next to Helene.
“Yeah, but Raquelle is missing…” Anna replies thoughtfully with sadness in her eyes.
“Yeah…” Helene agrees. “I can’t even imagine what happened if she didn’t come.”
“I have only one assumption – a fight with Terrence,” Natalia shrugs. “Maybe, because of her secrets.”
“They don’t wanna come here not to see each other!”
“Anything is possible!”
“I wonder what she’s hiding?” Anna wonders. “Is she sorry for Terrence? Or is she afraid of his reaction?”
“Ah, if we could assume just something…” Natalia sighs quietly. “But I think relationship issues may be excluded as well as the wish to break up.”
“No, not a breakup!” Helene raises her hands up. “Raquelle loves Terrence, even despite all his shortcomings!”
“But what’s wrong?” Anna throws her hands up. “What happened yesterday or today?”
“You can kill me, girls, but I’m sure that Edward knows something.”
“But why does he say nothing? Do they have some family issues, which they don’t wanna talk about?”
“At least, I know nothing,” Natalia shrugs.
“Listen, haven’t you tried to ask Edward about it? He would surely tell you everything!”
“Oh… No, honestly…” Natalia runs her hand over her hair. “I haven’t thought about it… And I forgot about Raquelle’s problems when spending time with him.”
“Maybe, you should really ask him?” Helene suggests. “I don’t believe that this guy don't know anything!”
“I dunno, maybe, I’ll talk to him later. Who knows… Maybe, Edward will say something to me.”
“Edward will surely share their secrets with you! And he’ll probably make the situation of Raquelle and Terrence clear.”
“I promise nothing, but I will do everything I can.”
The girls think about something and look around for a few seconds, enjoying the silence that might be broken by some noises behind the door.
“Hey, when do you think the men gonna be back?” Helene asks thoughtfully.
“I don’t know…” Natalia shakes her head. “But our boys can’t pass by food as well as we can’t run by a gorgeous dress from the new collection.”
“If they do it, you can think they got sick,” Anna adds.
“Yeah, our pretty boys love eating,” Natalia laughs shyly. “A lot of food. Peter and Terrence call Terrence a glutton, but they use any free minute and go to take food and drinks.”
“If one of them has to keep a diet, they won’t do this.”
“Huh, they won’t even try!”
“Oh, forget them!” Helene waves a hand. “Let them talk and eat as much as they want! We’ll have a good time without them.”
“It’s okay if they don’t come back,” Anna chuckles quietly.
The girls laugh quietly with their mouths closed with a hand and shake their heads.
“Listen, I liked Daniel’s sister,” Natalia confesses.
“I agree, she’s a sweet girl,” Helene smiles shyly. “And quite funny.”
“I can’t deny it,” Anna agrees amicably. “Cassidy doesn’t let me feel bored. So… I’m definitely lucky to have a roommate like her.”
“I don’t know if she’s really so positive or just hides her pain, but Cassidy is very good,” Natalia says confidently.
“Daniel’s very lucky to have a sis like her.” Helene tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “I hope he understands it.”
“Maybe…” Anna throws gloomily with her arms crossed over her chest. “Maybe, he’s gonna be a better brother than a lover.”
Helene and Natalia look at each other with sadness in their eyes and glance at Anna, getting closer to her.
“Anna, honey…” Natalia pronounces softly.
“Listen, sweetie, we understand you, but maybe, you should be softer to Daniel?” Helene asks carefully.
“Isn’t the fact that I let him be in the room enough?” Anna asks gloomily.
“Because of Cassidy?”
“If that girl wasn’t in this room, Perkins wouldn’t come here.”
“Don’t you feel sorry for him?” Natalia asks with sadness in her eyes. “Do you see how exhausted and tired he is?”
“I’m not the one to blame,” Anna replies coldly. “I don’t care about his life. He had a choice: betraying and becoming a horndog or staying loyal and being loved. You know what that man chose.”
“Friend, please, give him a chance,” Helene begs softly. “Daniel’s suffering from remorse and wants to get your forgiveness more than anything.”
“I won’t come back to him anymore, Helene. He killed my trust in him and will never get it back again.”
“But you won’t feel better if you break up with him,” Natalia says. “You love him and will hardly love as much as you do now!”
“It’s okay, I’ll get through it,” Anna replies in a low voice.
“It was okay if he didn’t try to do anything for your well-being and prove his love. But Daniel is jumping out of his skin to prove what’s important to him.”
“I didn’t ask him to do anything for me.”
“But it won’t stop him,” Helene says confidently. “Daniel won’t be stopped by anything to save you and your parents.”
“I had to accept his help because of my parents, who literally fell at his feet and praise him. Father and Mother want to hear nothing bad about that man.”
“Oh, no, darling, don’t even hope that your parents will do that.”
“Mom and Dad are making the same mistake and haven’t learned to see people through! Julian was good for them at first, but now they bow at Perkins!”
“Daniel’s gonna seem an innocent angel after everything Julian did! And it’s hard to deny it. Perkins is way better than your offender, who had your parents wrapped around his fingers.”
“They don’t care that that man betrayed me.”
“Do you really think Daniel was pretending that he loved you?” Natalia rounds her eyes.
“If he had loved me, he wouldn’t have done such a mean thing to me,” Anna throws gloomily, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Honey, don’t say that,” Helene says with pity in her eyes. “Daniel loves you and wants you to forgive him more than anything.”
“He should’ve thought earlier! Instead, he licked a certain behemoth!”
“Friend, no one would do something for someone if they didn’t love someone,” Natalia says confidently. “Why would Daniel need you if he didn’t love you? Why would he let you into his home and live with you for more than one and a half years?”
“To serve his lazy ass! Clean his house, wash his clothes, cook… To be a servant! The servant, who got no thanks for everything I had done to him!”
“Oh, Anna, don’t say that you weren’t happy.”
“I was an idiot! An idiot in love that didn’t understand she got in touch with a horndog!”
“But he didn’t cheat on you before! Daniel was always loyal to you!”
“I can’t be so sure! Maybe, he had an affair with that fatty for a long time, but nobody knew anything!”
“He said that girl hasn’t contacted him for a long time,” Helene confesses. “And Daniel’s afraid that she might show up someday. But he’s determined to punish her.”
“Wow!” Anna exhales sharply. “I didn’t know he was a storyteller.”
“But he thinks about her much less. Now the most important thing to him is to save you from Julian.”
“I would do it without him…” Anna grumbles and pouts, throwing a short look aside. “That idiot naively thinks I’d forgive him if he did a heroic thing and hit Julian in the face two times.”
“No, friend, you needed it as much as air,” Natalia smiles mysteriously.
“I need the help of my close people as much as air. No betrayers, who could only show off and work their tongue.
“You’re lying, friend,” Natalia replies confidently with a slight smile, caressing Anna’s shoulder. “You dreamed of it. You wanted Daniel to save you from Julian.”
“So, he’s come!” Helene smiles slightly.
“I need nothing from that betrayer,” Anna replies softly.
“You need, Seymour, you need. You love him. It’s not a secret to anyone. You just put on a mask, under which you hid your real emotions and started to pretend that you don’t care.”
“I ain’t gonna ruin my life because of my love for the betrayer and give no chance to more decent guys.”
“Ah, Anna, how it’s familiar to me…” Natalia sighs with a slight smile. “I got through that. Though, what happened was my fault.”
“Nobody cheated on you. Edward could’ve hooked on with any other girl and forgotten you, but he didn’t do that.”
“You know, I could’ve also pissed him off and said nothing about how Wainwright framed me with Michael’s help. I could’ve found another guy. But I didn’t dare to think about it because I only loved Edward. When I was told I’d have a decent man, I protested deep inside.”
“I am ready to do my best to forget Perkins and get ready to fall in love with another man! He can act like a jealous man as much as he wants, but it will change nothing.”
“He won’t tolerate another man ‘cause he loves you,” Helene replies confidently. “As well as you love him.”
“And what?” Anna exhales sharply. “I can’t forgive! I told Perkins many times that I was ready to close my eyes to anything but a betrayer.”
“Don’t speak so confidently, sweetie,” Natalia replies softly. “Remember that Raquelle and I said we’d never come back to our beloved men. But we did it!”
“I am a single girl.”
“It’s too early to say it. Wait for Julian and his father to get arrested. See what Daniel will do to save you. Trust us, he’s ready for anything to see your eyes full of gloss and your happy, true smile and know you’re happy.”
“Don’t compare this case with what happened between you and Edward, Natalia. You almost broke up because he understood the meaning of those photos wrongly, but you didn’t tell him everything in time. But you love him. Love him as much as never before.”
“That’s why I will never ask you to forget Daniel. You should fight. Fight for your relationship with him. He’s fighting now. But in order to come to the happy final, you also must start to do this. You two must do it. Together. This is the only way to break the wall between you.”
“Nope…” Anna shakes her head. “I don’t want… No… I can’t… It’s stronger than me.”
“A relationship is work,” Helene notices confidently. “Hard work. The secret to a perfect relationship is a joint work on it. When only one works on it, it will lead to nothing good.”
“A person loses trust after cheating,” Anna replies without emotions. “Perkins paid for betraying me.”
“We don’t deny that cheating is a very bad act,” Natalia says softly. “But everything is fixable if a person wants to fix their mistake. Being mad, worried, and hating is fine. But you can’t be mad forever and always say you don’t love Daniel when you keep loving him even after he cheated.”
“Maybe, it will be forgotten later… When I meet another guy that would make me forget about my feelings for Perkins. But the memories will be alive…”
“It’s autosuggestion, friend,” Helene replies confidently. “You made yourself think it would happen. Sometimes we make up problems and suffer because of them. But you try to change your mind and forget the offense. Confess to yourself that you love Daniel, can’t live without him, and want to forgive him.”
“Ah, girls…” Anna sighs tiredly. “You’d say the same things if Edward or Peter cheated on you.”
“Agree, I wouldn’t forgive Peter if he cheated on me. But I completely trust him and know he loves me.”
“Pete is just a gem!” Anna smiles slightly. “You’re madly lucky to make him yours.”
“I know, I still can’t believe that’s the truth,” Helene moves her eyes shyly to her hands folded in front of her for a second.” I couldn’t wish for a better man.”
“Edward is a wonderful guy, too. Yes, maybe, he’s got his own demons, but he’s good anyway.”
“And now I understand I could’ve lost a real treasure,” Natalia confesses with a slight smile. “Now I know for sure that I’ll never leave him at a hard time, even if I’m too mad. I love Edward and am ready for anything for him. I could accept any of his shortcomings.”
“And I’m sure that he highly appreciates it. Unlike Mr. Perkins.”
“Listen, Anna, forgive me for saying it, but he’s also got a real reason to be mad at you,” Helene confesses a little hesitantly. “You left Daniel at a hard time. When he remembered nothing and needed care. Yes, you were mad and humiliated, I know. But you should’ve stayed with him even after that scene in the room. Maybe, the foreigner would’ve left him alone if she’d known that the man was taken. If you’d gone to the room, you would’ve scared that madam!”
“I don’t deny that I did a bad thing to him,” Anna sighs heavily with sadness in her eyes. “But I did it not because I didn’t wanna be his nanny. Because I was terribly mad, hurt, and insulted after I saw him with that fat cow. I forgot about his amnesia. And I haven’t stopped being mad. I have that scene before my eyes again and again.”
“He would’ve probably remembered you sooner if you had been by his side. Moreover, Daniel asked about you. The red-haired girl, who was in his room and was always silent. His feelings were alive. He just ignored them.”
“I couldn’t be by his side after he kissed that gal. I wouldn’t have been able to pretend that everything was okay… If I hadn’t run away on that day, I would’ve left on another day. Or after he would’ve gotten his memories back.”
“Daniel needed you so much,” Natalia replies with sadness in her eyes. “He needs you now. That guy feels bad without you, even though he doesn’t talk about his pain openly. We aren’t blind or deaf and see things clearly.”
“I want to forgive him, but I can’t…” Anna confesses, holding down the tears coming to her eyes, and locks her fingers tightly. “I can’t help myself…”
“Don’t miss a chance, darling, before it’s too late.”
“I swear, girls, I also feel very bad because I can’t be with him…” Anna sniffs quietly. “I… I don’t know what I’m gonna do after the story of Julian ends… When Daniel, as he promised, leaves my life. But sadly, I have no choice…”
“There’s always a choice, Anna,” Helene says softly and confidently. “Sometimes you just need to make some efforts to get something.”
“But what can I do to stop wishing to hurt Daniel? Say something unpleasant or insult him! I’m literally dying from the wish to tell him everything I think of him… But… I’m literally dying from the wish to hug and kiss him… If only you knew how much I want it! How I miss that body contact. With him…”
“First, just listen to your parents and don’t reject Daniel’s help,” Natalia advises confidently. “He’s your only chance to get saved from Julian. If you’re under Perkins’ protection, that man won’t come to you.”
“Although I’m mad at him… I don’t want… Julian to do something to him. I don’t want Edward, Peter, and Terrence to suffer because of him.”
“As if you don’t know our lads! Together, they’d defeat a bull! And they’d quickly deal with Potter, who can’t fight.”
“Yeah, but when Julian takes a pistol or a knife, the men are gonna be dead!”
“Anyway, just trust them. You won’t stay indifferent if Daniel saves you. I was ready to jump from happiness when Edward came to save me. I saw what he was ready for me and got a much stronger love for him.”
“Natalia’s right, Anna,” Helene smiles shyly. “We’re sure you’ll surely appreciate what Daniel will do. At least, I think he deserves the simple and true ‘thank you.’ He’d be hurt if you said nothing good. Truly strong people thank even their enemies and betrayers. For the valuable experience. For making them much stronger and helping them find out that they could do much more.”
Anna silently thinks about what Natalia and Helene said for a few seconds, sighs quietly, and looks around the room with sad eyes.
“I wasn’t gonna reject his help,” Anna confesses quietly. “I knew he was my chance to save myself from this hell and help my parents. Deep inside, I did want him to come to help me.”
“We get it,” Natalia replies softly with a slight smile. “And we were sure that you’d agree not just because of your wish to save yourself and your parents.”
“Yeah… I keep loving him,” Anna sighs heavily. “It’s one of the reasons why I let him help me.”
“It’s definitely a good sign,” Helene smiles shyly, caressing Anna’s hand. “If you aren’t so rude to Daniel, there’s a chance that he’ll deserve your forgiveness.”
“The case is not only about forgiveness but also trust. No guarantee that Daniel won’t betray me and make me disappointed in him again. Maybe, he’ll wish to leave me later because he’ll fall in love with another girl.”
“No, no, no, no,” Natalia jabs. “Perkins won’t leave you. He’s totally in love with one girl. You. Even if you break up, it’s gonna be hard for him to find the one to be better than you. At least, I’m sure Dan won’t find anyone better.”
“And trust? How do I trust someone, who betrayed me?”
“Yes, maybe, you can become more careful and mistrustful. But it’s fixable if someone tries so hard. Don’t forget that Terrence also cheated on Raquelle with Perkins and Rose’s friend. Cameron saw them with her own eyes and kicked the ass of that bitch. But she found the courage to forgive MacClife.”
“Yeah… She could… I can’t…”
“Oh, Anna, let everything happen as it wants,” Helene sighs quietly.
“Yeah, you better think of your salvation,” Natalia adds softly, caressing Anna’s hand. “The girls, the men, and I will always be by your side and help you overcome and forget what hurts your heart. You can always count on us. Your friends would never push you.”
“And we will all support you and be by your side, despite your decision for your relationship with Daniel. And he will just be your good friend.”
“You’re not alone, dear,” Natalia recalls softly, taking Anna’s hands. “Nothing can break the thread that connects us.”
“Thank you so much, girls,” Anna smiles shyly, absolutely truly. “I dunno what I’d do without you. You’re the best. I… I love you so much.”
“We love you, too, friend,” Natalia replies amicably, looking at Helene with a slight smile.
“Very much,” Helene smiles slightly.
Anna smiles much wider, and Natalia and Helene suggest she hug them by one, and she does it with great pleasure. The girls say nothing for a few seconds and just smile shyly. And then the door of the room opens, and Peter and Edward laughing quietly show up on the doorstep.
“Hey, so fast?” Natalia wonders.
“Didn’t you get food?” Helene chuckles. “Or are you super fast when the case is about food?”
“Guessed!” Peter pronounces thoughtfully. “We ate nothing!”
“The hell is happening there!” Edward replies confidently and shows something big with both hands. “Such a crowd! Such a line! So many loud people! We’d stay there ‘till the night!”
“in short, we changed our mind and left!” Peter waves his hand. “We’ll go there later when people calm down.”
“But I see your talk was good if you’re still laughing,” Anna chuckles kindly.
“Yeah, we talked about something funny…” Edward replies with a mysterious smile.
“Ah, we got it!” Helene exclaims.
“What about you, girls?” Peter asks with a slight smile. “You discussed all your secrets?”
“All, my dear, all.”
“Would you share it with us?” Edward suggests with a sly smile.
“Secrets are secrets that everyone shouldn't know,” Natalia smiles innocently.
“Were you talking about us? Huh, beauties?”
“You?” Natalia rolls her eyes dreamily. “Oh, c’mon!”
“Don’t believe them, MacClife, they talked about how handsome, strong, and brave we are,” Peter says with a sly smile, putting his hand on Edward’s shoulder.
“I don’t believe it!” Edward says confidently.
“You’re too self-confident, boys,” Natalia laughs shyly. “Don’t imitate our greatest rooster, Terrence MacClife.”
“We don’t,” Peter throws his hands up. “Why would we be pathetic images when we could be imitable originals?”
“Oh, my gosh…” Helene rolls her eyes.
“Confess, beauties, you talked about us,” Peter says confidently with a sly smile, while Edward keeps his hand on his shoulder. “Our irresistible personas!”
“Okay, okay, our irresistible folks!” Anna raises her hands up. “We talked about everything, including you!”
“Only good things!” Helene adds confidently.
“Huh, it couldn’t be otherwise!” Edward chuckles kindly.
“I wouldn’t believe it if you said different things,” Peter says with his head proudly raised.
With these words, Edward and Peter come to Natalia and Helene respectively. The first one hugs his beloved girl from behind, putting his arms around her neck, and rubs the tip of his nose against her cheek with a wide smile on his face. And the other kisses his sweetheart’s temple and fixes her hair. While Anna watches them with a sad smile and wants someone to hug her like this.
“By the way, Edward and I passed by the office of the doctor, who is working on Cassidy…” Peter says thoughtfully, keeping his hands on Helene’s shoulder. “The door was half-open, and that girl was near.”
“But there wasn’t Perkins,” Edward adds, wrapping the strands of Natalia’s hair gathered in a puffy ponytail around his fist or letting his fingers through it.
“Wasn’t?” Helene rounds her eyes. “But he said he’d go to her doctor!”
“Yeah, but he’s not there,” Peter shrugs.
“Maybe, he’s already talked to the doctor?” Natalia assumes.
“He didn’t talk to him,” Edward says. “Cassidy said that Daniel got out shortly after he left the room.”
“But where is he now?”
“He’s surely not in the cafeteria.”
“I’m actually guessing why he’s behaving like this…” Edward replies thoughtfully. “We all know what’s going on.”
“Only the blind folk doesn’t see it,” Helene sighs quietly.
“He needs to have a rest and put himself in order,” Natalia says with sadness in her eyes. “He looks so exhausted… If only he got the strength to fight with the Potters.”
“We’ve told him about it, but he says he’s okay,” Peter shrugs.
“Perkins is gonna exhaust himself…” Helene shakes her head with sadness in her eyes.
“We know…” Edward agrees. “But we can do nothing.”
Maybe, Anna pretends that she does not care about what’s happening to Daniel. But everything her friends say actually gives her a strong pain and makes her think whether she is too rude to that man. At the bottom of her heart, Anna understands that any painful word hurts Daniel, even if he says nothing. But she cannot resist her wish to hurt him strongly, as if she is revenging him for his unwanted betrayal. Her friends watch the girl silently for a few seconds and look at each other. And then Natalia and Helene get up slowly from the bed and come closer to Edward and Peter.
“Did she say something?” Edward asks in a whisper.
“Yup, Anna revealed half of her soul,” Natalia replies quietly. “She still loves Daniel and wanna be with him, but she’s afraid she can’t trust him anymore.”
“Anyway, Daniel’s on the right track,” Helene adds confidently with a slight smile.
“I’m sure that Daniel has a little hope that Anna will appreciate his efforts and realize he’s not indifferent to him,” Peter assumes.
“Anyway, that guy is doing everything fine,” Edward replies confidently. “He doesn’t give up, even if he understands that she might not thank him.”
“At least Seymour quietly accepts the fact that Perkins is in the room. She no longer gets excited about the mention of his name. Though, she wanted to hear nothing some time ago.”
“But I didn’t see her looking at him,” Helene notices. “Daniel often looked at her, but she didn’t even turn her head to his side.”
“What did he want? Get everything at once? No!”
“C’mon, they’ll make peace, guys, don’t worry!” Edward says cheerfully, waving a hand. “He just needs to do what he needs and wait for a while.”
“Now I definitely got hope,” Helene replies thoughtfully. “Anna lets us know everything’s not lost.”
“Anyway, we can help her,” Natalia smiles shyly. “We can help her come to herself and forget this hell.”
“And we will do it,” Edward replies confidently.
The friends say nothing and look at each other with slight smiles.
“Hey, guys, whatcha you talking about?” Anna asks.
“Erm, well, nothing special…” Natalia replies thoughtfully and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.
“Yeah, nothing…” Helene shrugs.
“Any problems?” Anna asks hesitantly.
“No, no, it’s okay!” Edward raises his hands.
“It’s good!” Peter exclaims cheerfully.
Although Anna guesses that her friends are talking about Daniel, she decides to say nothing and pretend she does not care about it.
“Oh, I wanna drink something…” Helene sighs quietly and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’ll go to the cafeteria and buy something. Or come to a vending machine.”
“Oh, could you buy something for me?” Peter asks amicably. “Something hot, preferably.”
“Okay. Any other orders? Natalia? Edward?”
“I’d love to get just a bottle of water,” Edward shrugs.
“Me too,” Natalia says confidently and looks at her purse, in which her mobile phone starts ringing. “Oh, sorry, guys, I’ll leave you. Gotta answer…”
Natalia leaves the room quickly, answering the call on the way and closing the door.
“Okay, I’m leaving!” Helene exclaims amicably. “Watch our friend.”
Helene claps softly Peter and Edward on the shoulder and leaves the room, while Anna watches her.
“They’re so funny,” Anna notices with a slight smile.
“Yeah, since when they heard that you were okay,” Edward smiles shyly.
“And because they’re with you. You just need to stand next to them to make them shine with happiness.”
“We treat them the way they deserve,” Peter replies confidently.
“Yeah, like queens,” Edward adds with a mysterious smile.
“Well, they answer you back and treat you like kings,” Anna chuckles kindly.
“We’re kings for life,” Edward raises his head proudly.
“Yeah, who would resist us!” Peter adds.
“Yeah, the girls praised you too much,” Anna laughs shyly.
“We’ve never doubted ourselves, my darling. Some work on ourselves and a beloved girl before you feel like one million dollars.”
“One million baby,” Edward adds confidently.
The friends laugh quietly, and then Edward and Peter sit themselves on the bed in front of Anna, who thinks about something with sadness in her eyes.
“Guys…” Anna pronounces hesitantly. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure,” Edward replies amicably. “Ask what you want.”
“Do you think… A person, who betrayed you, can lose your trust and… Get it back? Is it possible to forgive someone, who… Disappointed you so much?”
“Well… If a person regrets it truly and wants to fix their mistake, you need to give them a chance. Yes, it’s gonna be hard to win trust back… But it’s possible.”
“I’m afraid that someone might betray me again if I decided to trust them for the second time.”
“No, Anna, nobody will betray you,” Peter replies softly and confidently. “You’re surrounded by the people, who love you for what you are.”
“I know. I don’t doubt those, who surround me.”
“Listen, Anna, I understand you like nobody else,” Edward says quietly, caressing Anna’s hand with sadness in his eyes. “I know what kind of pain you feel. I know you can’t let it go. But if you want, anything is possible.”
“But it’s hard for me to do that, you see…”
“If you don’t forgive a person, you won’t be able to speak to him or her even a few years later. Offense will press on you.”
“I really want to forgive Daniel and get him back…” Anna confesses quietly. “But I can’t and am afraid.”
“You need to talk to him about all your doubts when you’re ready,” Peter advises. “He told you what he should’ve told – now it’s your time.”
“He does know everything well. Why do I say all the same again and again?”
“You hardly told him you wanted to forgive him, but you were afraid and doubted,”
“I told him I needed time. That… I don’t wanna talk about our future now.”
“Nobody makes you do it,” Edward replies softly. “Vice versa, don’t do it. Now, it’s not the best time.”
“Anyway, I won't get better from it.”
“My sweetie, if you really wanna establish your relationship with someone and talk to them quietly, never remind them of all their sins. I don’t mean Daniel. It’s about any person.”
“Oh, guys…” Anna sighs heavily, fingering over nervously. “Actually, I’ve never been vindictive. I always got cool, forgave, and forgot everything quickly. But now… Now it’s different… This is the first time I got so angry at someone… Nobody else has hurt me so much.”
“You know, Anna…” Edward replies thoughtfully. “Even if I was supposed to lose my trust in Natalia, it didn’t happen. I’ve never felt I started to trust her less after I believed she cheated on me.”
“No, Edward… You’d say different things if you saw Natalia cheating before your eyes. Not in photos and videos. Personally. Standing one meter away from her.”
“I agree. Cheating is the thing that any man does not forgive.”
“The same about you, Peter. I doubt that you’ll forgive Helene for cheating and wish to be with her.”
“The one, who constantly betrays, lies, and cheats, doesn’t deserve forgiveness,” Peter replies quietly. “Those people will never change. Their promises are empty. They can’t be loyal.”
“What if Perkins is the same?”
“No, no, Daniel is not. He’s a loyal man, who always keeps his promises. Over the years of our friendship, he has had a few affairs. But he never dated two girls at the same time.”
“I wanna believe you so much…” Anna sighs quietly with sadness in her eyes. “But I can’t…”
“It’s been a long time since that happened,” Edward notices quietly. “It’s time to turn your brains on and search for the solution to this problem. You can’t be mad at Daniel forever. Someday, you’ll have to talk about your relationship.”
“I know, Edward…”
“You should be open and honest to your partner. A relationship can’t be built thanks to a lie. Sometimes it's better to fight once than keep everything inside and become much more resented. Early or late, it might lead to a serious scandal.”
“Yup, you’re right…” Anna nods. “But I doubt… Him and me… Everything…”
“Nobody makes you decide something now,” Peter says softly, caressing Anna’s shoulder. “You aren’t ready for this talk. And Perkins understands that it’s not time.”
“At least, he’s a very good friend,” Anna confesses thoughtfully. “I can’t deny it… Daniel can be a friend.”
“We wouldn’t befriend him if he was a bad man,” Peter says confidently. “Yeah, maybe, he seems to be a cold and rude man, who would kill anyone to stand in his way. But Daniel is not. He’s a wonderful man. With his demons, but still.”
“You know…” Anna thinks for two seconds and smiles slightly. “Although I liked him immediately, I… I was a little afraid of him… He seemed to be insolent and too self-confident at first… Though, it didn’t prevent me from talking to him quietly. But a little later, I realized that Perkins wasn’t actually so terrible.”
“You know, sweetie, I was also afraid of him to death,” Peter laughs shyly. “When I found out that we’d be in the same band, I cursed everything. I was sure Dan would erase me from this world. He seems too horrifying to me! I ignored him when we didn’t have to work together. When rehearsals ended, I quickly ran away from the studio.”
“Wow… None of you have ever said it!”
“Yes, Daniel aimed to get along well with me, but I didn’t give him a chance. Everything changed slowly. And in the end, I realized that Perkins had never been aggressive to me and wanted to befriend me.”
“Great!” Edward chuckles kindly. “Why didn’t any of you tell us about it before?”
“It happened,” Peter shrugs with an innocent smile.
“If I hadn’t known who Daniel was, I would’ve been surprised why you befriended him when I met you for the first time,” Anna laughs shyly. “You two seem so different. You look like one of those, who is constantly bullied. A weak, insecure guy.”
“You won’t believe it, but people are still surprised that we’re actually friends.”
“Yeah, it’s impossible to understand that you actually make a pair,” Edward says confidently with a slight smile.
“Just like you and Terrence,” Peter smiles innocently.
“No, we aren’t the same. I can keep my emotions under control, but my brother…”
Edward does not speak his mind because the door of the room opens, and Terrence shows up on the doorstep.
“Hey, guys,” Terrence greets amicably with a slight smile.
Everybody moves their eyes to Terrence, who surprisingly looks cheerful, smiling, and quiet.
“Terrence?” Anna pronounces surprisingly.
While Peter and Anna smile shyly and are glad to see Terrence, Edward getting a little white gets tense enough and swallows up nervously with widely open eyes, being afraid to imagine what this man can do and thinking about how to leave the room not to make his friends suspect anything bad.
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