A force to be reckoned with

Hardening his jaw, Zane glared at Mr. Briggs, laying on the bed, and he said, "Don't call me that. You told me that I am not your son!”

For a while, the two didn’t say a word, just staring at each other, and then Zane asked, “What happened to you?”

“It was Deborah… The one who poisoned your mother... It was her.” Mr. Briggs said as he started coughing violently.

Rage boiling through his veins, Zane felt his chest tighten, his heart skipping a beat for a second before beating normally once more, and then he said, “Tell me why I shouldn’t leave you here like you deserved.”

Silence filled the air for a few moments, but as he continued to glare at him, the silence became unbearable to Zane, so he asked again, “How many times have I told you to tell me the truth?”

Taking several heavy breaths, Mr. Briggs tried to speak, but couldn’t make any noise, so he closed his eyes and lowered his head, unable to keep eye contact with Zane.

“Answer me,” Zane repeated with more force.

Finally, Mr. Briggs sighed and forced the words out between his parched throat, mumbling, “You do not owe me... anything. I was a terrible man to your mother... A terrible father to you. You are free to walk away. But before you do, before I die, I want you to know that I am sorry for everything that I have done. Please forgive me for everything, my child.”

“I won't forgive you!” Zane said firmly.

Unable to say a word because of the pain, Mr. Briggs simply nodded and then began choking once again, causing Zane to become speechless and a bit annoyed by his actions, and finally, after Mr. Briggs had stopped coughing, Zane asked, “Can you walk?”

Ashamed to answer, Mr. Briggs bowed his head and shook it, feeling weak in his knees, and Zane sighed, causing him to raise his head and say hastily, “I can try.”

Frowning, Zane walked over to the bed, and in shock, Mr. Briggs stared wide-eyed as Zane reached under him, and then he cried, “No. I-I wet my trouser...”

But Zane ignored his words and lifted him off the wet bed, and immediately he became annoyed by how light Mr. Briggs was that he could barely feel the weight of his muscles and body.

Afterward, he walked towards the door with him in his arms, and as they stepped out of the room, Mr. Briggs could taste the flavor of freedom in his mouth once more, he felt a little lighter, knowing that his life was being saved from imminent death.

“I am saving you for the truth, if you lie to me, I swear that I am going to deliver you right back into your wife's arms. Understand?” Zane spoke without even looking down at Mr. Briggs.

“I swear that I would. It's the least that I can do for you.” Mr. Briggs coughed out. “Give you the whole truth and relieve your mind.”

Silence settled in the living room as Emma stared straight ahead at the tv, even though Mr. Alfred was sitting in the next chair.

The two had not said much to each other since she came over to his place and it felt awkward since she had spent nineteen years without a father, and suddenly, she miraculously had a man to call “dad.”

“How are you doing in your classes?” Mr. Alfred finally mustered out the courage to say, causing Emma to finally look at her father from the corner of her eye.

“It’s okay,” Emma mumbled, clearing her throat slightly, and then added, “Every girl avoids me because of Kimberly... since she hates my guts, and then all the guys, except for Nathan also hate me because of what happened with Zane and Chad... But honestly, I don't care. It's not like any of them genuinely liked me before all of this happened.”

After a quiet second, Emma felt like she had overshared, and she looked back at Mr. Alfred, only to see him smiling like a lottery winner.

”Umm, yeah, that’s school life for me so far, but I make good grades though.” Emma chuckled faintly, trying to get over the awkward feeling.

“Do you like it there… I mean, at your school? Do you love going there?” Mr. Alfred stuttered nervously, not sure where to start with his question, or maybe where to end with it.

Looking at the phone for some reason, Emma noticed a text message from Zane saying, “I hope everything is going great at your dad’s. I have Damion and I am taking him to a doctor that he and I trust... Dr. Norsemen. I might pick you up a bit late. Love you.”

A slight smile appeared on her face and she replied, “That’s okay. See you later.” Then a moment later, she added, “Love you, too. xoxo.”

After that, she placed her phone on the table and turned back to her father.

“I do like going to that university because I go there for the education and not for the people,” Emma stated plainly.

“Strong-minded like your mother,” Mr. Alfred mumbled, daydreaming for a second before coming back to reality and seeing Emma sadly staring at him, and noticing this, he said, “Sorry, I-”

“What was she like... My mother?” Emma asked almost in a whisper, and then she added a bit louder. “All I ever heard about her growing up were the negatives... That she was irresponsible, wild, and selfish for getting pregnant with an unknown man's child. I never got to hear anything about her past those. It was like her one sin became her only personality.”

Hurt by those words and her moist eyes, Mr. Alfred hesitated and then he said, “She was the brightest among her siblings. I guess your grandfather only slandered her name because he didn't want to grieve who he lost and thought that that would make it easier to forget what she meant to the family. Clara, she-”

Suddenly, burying his face in his palms, Mr. Alfred took deep breaths, trying to steady himself as he mumbled, “Sorry... I guess I didn't realize what I had either and have lost.”

Nodding slowly, Emma looked away, staring into space while her emotions ran rampant inside of her, making her feel overwhelmed.

“Clara was the brain of the family, and your grandfather had her doing all the big negotiations with all the top-notch in the business circle... that's how she and I met. Back then I refused to have a relationship because of past hurt, but your mother was different, she caught my attention with not only her beauty, but damn, her intelligence was attractive. She knew her stuff like reciting the ABC...”

A chuckle left Emma's lips, which made Mr. Alfred glance at her smile, seeing how her teary eyes had suddenly lit up with interest.

“She could argue in a room filled with people of higher status, but she never let anyone dictate her opinions. She was wild, but in an adventurous sense and free-spirited. She was a very passionate woman and cared a lot about what she thought was important. Among your grandfather's children, she was the wildcard, and her name rang back then more than that of your grandfather or anyone in the family. She was beautiful and smart and a force to be reckoned with,” Mr. Alfred explained, dazing off in memories of the past as though it was yesterday.

Then why wasn't she enough for you? Why did you let her go?” Emma said before realizing that she spoke it out loud, instead of saying it in her head.

Pausing, Mr. Alfred seemed to be contemplating something, until finally he cleared his throat and answered, “It was never about your mother, the woman that she was, or the feelings that we shared... I was the problem. I was a coward. She wanted ‘us,’ but I was still holding on to the past... Something that I will forever live to regret.”

Meeting Emma's eyes, Mr. Alfred stared deep into them, saying with sincerity, “I will forever feel guilty towards your mother. I scar her with the exact wound that I had and was trying to heal from-”

“I guess it's true when they say that if you don't heal from what hurt you, you will bleed on people that didn't cut you,” Emma said, and then she glanced away from Mr. Alfred.

“I know, and I am sorry. I will forever be sorry to you, and When I die and make it to heaven, I will kneel before Clara and beg for her forgiveness too.”

“I know it's not your fault that she is not here with us. After all, she died giving birth to me-”

“It’s not yours either.”

Hearing that reassurance made Emma feel better, and a soft laugh escaped her lips, and she whispered, “My God, I missed her so much and I don't even know her like that.”

“Love can do that,” Mr. Alfred responded calmly, watching Emma's smile widen.

Suddenly the sound of her ringtone interrupted their bonding moment and Emma picked up her phone, only to see “Grandfather,” blinking on it.

Since she woke up from the surgery and got discharged, this was the first time his number popped up on her screen and she hesitated to answer it but stayed.

“Emma, my granddaughter!” Mr. Taylor's voice boomed through the speaker, which caused Emma to cringe a bit.

“Hello, grandfather,” Emma murmured while glancing back at Mr. Alfred who just watched her carefully with a deep frown on his face.

“Your grandmother and I know that you have had it rough recently, with the accident, surgery, and recovery, and we want you to come over to the mansion and have dinner with us. Your grandmother is making all your favorites.”

“She knows what my favorite dish is?”

“Haha, of course. We raised you from a newborn to adulthood, of course, she would remember what foods you used to love. What are you doing tonight, dear?”

“Spending time with my husband. We would not be able to make it to your dinner. Sorry, grandpa.”

Because Zane was with Mr. Briggs, Emma knew he wasn't going to be in the best mood tonight to handle her family drama, and she didn't want to make that worse than it already was.

“Tomorrow then, right?” Mr. Taylor asked with excitement.

“Yea, I guess...” Emma muttered awkwardly, not really knowing what to say.

“Great! See you then.”

“Bye.”

With that, Emma ended the call, putting her phone down and turning to look back at her father.

Immediately, she noticed this look on his face that made him look suspicious, and then she asked, “What is it?”

“I want you to hear it from me before anyone else... I canceled my contract with Vex co. and shut down the project with them.” Mr. Alfred said, looking at the ground as he clenched his fists together.

Speechless for a second, Emma simply blinked at him, letting everything sink in. He was not joking around, she was pretty sure. But then she managed to mumble, “Why?”

“Zane didn't tell you?” Mr. Alfred questioned.

“No, he didn't… I don't understand. What did he need to tell me?”

“He didn't tell me either. But I know that after the accident, he went running to the Taylors since he figured that if anyone could go through with a blood transfusion for your surgery, it would be them... When he got there, he tried talking them into donating blood to you, but every single one of them refused to do that.” Mr. Alfred replied seriously. “He even got on his knees and beg them, but that still wasn't good enough for them-”

“Zane kneeled?!”

“I am sorry, Emma.”

Suddenly, Emma's expression darkened with hurt and rage, and she mumbled, “It’s not you who should be sorry, dad... It's them ... they should be the ones sorry! And I want to make them!”