Oberon felt too raw, too angry, too exposed, to be anywhere near Rhonda or near their son. He was not in the right state of mind to be taking care of Ruriel either. It was wrong to use his own fatherhood as a blindfold to the churning hatred stirred by his father’s attitude towards himself and his brothers and sisters…owing all of them nothing except their lives and not even each other. He had to deal with this all alone and then move past it…he had to step forward in the future.
He sought out Karen, the nurse for Ruriel who was now an integral part of their household, finding her in the nursery quarters where Ruriel was due to have his morning nap. Having left his son in her care, he decided that what he needed at the moment was some of the hard mindless, physical exertion to get off from this sickening inner turbulence that was churning his insides.
Oberon headed to the boatshed b
Oberon set down the towel that he had used to wipe down the water from his body and then drew Rhonda in a loose embrace as he focused his mind on speaking the truth on seeking the best path towards understanding. He rested his forehead lightly on hers and almost like he needed their minds to meet.“You have a family,” he started,” It may be dysfunctional but you have met every single member of it. You know what they are like. You know which cousins you like and which you hate. You know where they come from and you know what they can do. You can mix both freely with them, both on your mother’s side and on your father’s side.”Her shoulders pulled back, muscle tensing, whether in impatience or resistance he could not tell but she was in tune with this talk about her family.“That’s not to say that you were not alone, Rhonda. I know
Rhonda knew intuitively that he would retreat from her if she did not show her that she believed in him. Now was the moment to capture the intimacy that they had not reached before.”I am sorry that I listened to your mother. She conjured up things that have plagued my life and although I tried to look past them, I needed you to set them aside for me, to make me feel right with you again,” said Rhonda.“Have I done that?” asked Oberon, with blazing intensity in his gaze.“Yes,” she answered emphatically.” Yes, you have.”“Good!” A fierce triumph blazed from his eyes,” Because you are right for me, Rhonda. So very right for me. In every possible way that there is.”It would be easy now to revel in the rightness that he felt with her, to hold him to herself an
Oberon had planned to give this party before they left for Bolivia, its purpose to publicly celebrate their marriage which he still felt was the important thing to do. Their happiness together, he declared, would confound everyone and make it a scintillating affair, all the guests, glittering madly around them and trying to shine lights on cracks in their relationship and forced to concede failure because there were none.And that was certainly happening tonight, thought Rhonda, secretly amused by some of the outrageous questions that had been tossed at her and Oberon tonight as they stood arm in arm, greeting and chatting up with the guests who were rolling up despite the short notice. The whole A-list of Sydney society was agog with discussion to assess the newly married couple and how on earth had they been able to buy the place at Piper point as a family home.Besides, people generally wished them
Cedric Killian Hunter was dying. And even though whatever the doctors told him he knew that his time had come and there was no point in stopping the inevitable. He did not even want to do that in the first place.Cedric Hunter had been a man of his own name and caliber and he had certainly made his own place in the world and in the society with his skills and charms. The country which had consigned him as an outcaste and a bastard had been forced to give him the place and the title that he actually deserved. He had done a lot in his life too claim what was his and it had definitely not been very convenient either. But what was handed down easily to the future generations, they never came to understand it’s true value ever.He had no regrets in his life, except maybe one. Cedric Hunter was a name which was known and revered in every field that he had touched and stepped foot in. Except family.There he had been an utter and complete failure. He could never been a pr
Oberon picked up his mug of the coffee and carried it out to the terrace of his penthouse apartment, shivering slightly when the crisp cool air hit his face. He thought, I should be happier than I am. Strange thing to peruse in the morning but he could not help being dissatisfied at the fact that he was not happy like all the other people who were around him. The dawn was colder than the day and the sun was already peeping over the horizon with its beautiful reddish orange hue casting and mesmerizing glow all around the sky. Winter in Sydney was considerable better and warmer than winter in London and he knew that since he had lived there for almost five years before coming back to his own soil.Oberon surveyed the panoramic view of the city skyline coming alight all around him and it filled him with a strange sensation. He told himself that a man would be fool to not be happy when he had finally achieved every single thing that he had desired to achieve. He had vowed to achie
A package from Bolivia…delivered by a courier person fulfilling the instructions to have Oberon Hunter sign for it himself so that the delivery to himself was personally assured and there was no chance at all of the package being mislaid and not reaching him. The package from Bolivia…the one his father, the biological one has sent. Oberon could not believe that the man who had never thought of accepting his son in his life time would now go and do that at his sixties. But now he did not need a father any longer.He did not want to open the packet and envelope lying on his desk in front of him. And neither did he want to take a look at it. The hand that had directed this package to him, the hand of his father tied by blood who had not earned the right to touch his life in any way and definitely no right whatsoever to force an entry in his current life. That door had been closed sixteen years ago.No, much earlier than that.A lot earlier.The memory of himself
Oberon Hunter might be his father’s son alright, but he had made it sure that he was nothing like his father in any segment of his life. Never ever would he do all the mistakes that had been committed towards him and leave everything to the wind? What kind of man was it who would leave his own child to fend for himself all his life and not even bother to say a few good words?When he was back in Australia, he had returned home and he had claimed the name Hunter. It was his by birthright and he had changed his surname by a deed-poll. That was the only thing he had taken from his father, just like he had promised. But whatever that package might contain from Bolivia, he was already dreading the effect that it might have on his life. He could not deal with this now under any circumstances.He was in his office and he had brought these things along with him. As if they held a magnetic power on him, he could not deny the fact that he was both pulled towards and repulsed
A part of him wanted to drop the packages and the envelope in the bin and be done with it, yet another part of him wanted to desperately know what his father had wanted him to say in his last letter. So with a sense of very dark cynicism clouding his mind he slit open the envelope which contained two letters. One from the lawyer who was handling the estate of his late father, no surprises there and also the other letter which was written by hand by Cedric Hunter himself, and addressed to him personally. Now that was something which would be interesting. He had not expected him to give a personal touch as well.And then he slit open the package which was sitting there on his desk untouched.It was carefully wrapped under layers of bubble wrap and when he opened it Oberon plopped down on the chair at the sheer shock of the beauty he was holding in his hands. It was a small egg, made of pure gold and had beautiful designs carved and etched in it which made him realize for t