Kathleen watched out for Nicole in the days that followed but found no trace of her, sometimes she visited with Derek, she soon waved off the incident, might be her eyes that played tricks on her but she kept having a bad feeling about Michael Deloux's recent behavior, she couldn't quite place her finger on it but she felt a shift in his behavior, she had confided in Derek and he had told the doctor to observe him more closely, still, her mind wasn't at ease.
She had just come back from one of her visits and was about to drive in when she sighted two figures standing by the gate, she urged her driver to stop when they got closer, their backs were turned but it looked so familiar, she had a sudden feeling of deja vu as she came down from the car, they turned at the sound of her car and she paled, she felt an oddly familiar pang in her heart as she stared at the two figures, "mom, Dad, what are you both doing here"
"You think you can abandon us and remain here in luxury right? We've come for our share" her dad scoffed
"But I've been sending money Into your account " since the day he had called her up demanding for money, she had been sending money to him weekly from her savings.
"Those are Peanuts, it's not enough, how can you be living in such luxury and abandon us to that kind of life, you're indeed an ungrateful bitch" her dad hissed at her and she shrank from his anger.
"Donald please, not here" her mother tried to meddle feebly but got shunned by Donald. Kathleen glanced at her mother, she looked emaciated and pale, had Donald not been taking care of her from the money she do send?
"We are here to stay, to taste this rich life with you and we ain't going back" her father's voice interrupted her thoughts and she sputtered, "but...but..."
"What's going on here?" Derek's voice said from behind her, he had stopped when he saw her with the two strangers, they were in some sort of argument that they didn't hear him approach.
"Oh, great! My In-law is here, well this lady here is our daughter and we are here to see her" her dad answered before she could say anything.
Derek stared at Kathleen's pale face and observed the awkward situation, "well let's go in and discuss, we can't all stand here and discuss right"
He gestured for the security to allow them in and some maids were called to take in their luggage.
Kathleen watched her parents go in and painful memories from the past flood her brain, her dad was ready to have her marry Dave, not caring about her happiness, all he cared about was the money and gifts he was getting from Dave, his greed had made Dave seen her as a leech and parasite, now he is here because he must have gotten the info that she's married to an heir, he's here to start from where he stopped with Dave, demanding and demanding.
her mom had always been her father's, she pawn, she knew that her dad had taken them out from the Street and given them a home, but that doesn't mean he'll make them feel so indebted to him, he claimed he loves her mother, was this how he shows her how he loves her? Kathleen felt twisted inside, she knew her mom loves her husband and would never go against him, not even for her own daughter, although, sometimes she tries to defend Kathleen in her own way but always give up too easily when Donald insists on it, Kathleen felt she could have done more and be more of something than being Donald's puppet, perhaps, it's time to have a talk with her mom and make her see that she can do more than being a pawn and she can live without Donald.
"Aren't you such an ungrateful wench? Living in such luxury and abandoning the ones who brought you up with so much love" her Dad whispered to her as soon as they got in and Kathleen colored, she had run away that day from everything and had wanted so badly to put away everything that connected and linked her to her past but looking at her mother now, she felt guilty for taking such decision.
"How have you been mom?" Her dad, catching wind of her question scoffed, "of cause I've been taking care of her since you deserted your very own mother"
"Donald please, it's not Kathleen's fault, we weren't fair to her either, let's just put it all behind us"
Mary soon entered with some wine and her dad immediately grabbed a bottle of whiskey, "wow, french whiskey, how I love this brand" he suddenly laughed out loud in glee as he immediately poured a glass for himself and took a sip.
"I'll like to have a private moment with my mom, we'll head upstairs" her mother looked at Kathleen uncertainty clouded her eyes as she stared from her husband to Derek and only stood up to follow Kathleen when her husband nodded at her. Kathleen gritted her teeth but said nothing as she turned and led her upstairs leaving her father alone with Derek.
Derek sipped his wine and stared at the man seated in front of him, he has heard about him from Kathleen and knew how he wanted to force her into an abusive marriage, the thought of that made his jaw tighten as it didn't go down well with him, he hadn't cared about her before and yet, he had come looking for her, there is just one reason for such, well, he won't allow anyone bully her ever again.
"Have you really come down here because you missed Kathleen?" He asked staring into his glass as he gently shook it.
"Er...I guess she must have told you that I'm not her real dad, but I've loved her like my very own daughter and missed her, it broke my heart when she left"
"Yet you didn't bother looking for her, even though it broke your heart" Derek mused aloud and Donald colored as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"I tried but didn't know where she had gone off to, not until I saw her in the papers" he answered defensively.
So he had come to know about Kathleen's whereabouts because of the papers, it's a good thing though because he could tell Kath missed her mom even if she hadn't said anything about it and he hadn't wanted to push it that she should meet up with her parents because he could tell she was also still hurting, he had wanted her to heal at her own pace and then go see her parents, but here they are, all thanks to the papers even though her father's intention still remains opaque, he wouldn't let them go far from Kathleen, at least, she needed to be close to her mom, so he had taken a decision, one he thinks will benefit everyone.
"I'm doing this for no other reason than for my wife" he finally spoke up and Donald stared at him looking confused.
"I'll give you and my wife's mother a house to live here, not far from this mansion, I want her to have access to her mother whenever she wished to"
Donald jumped up and bumped Derek's arm, "you're the man, I know I have such a lucky daughter" he raised his hands as if thanking heavens as he laughed almost hysterically in Joy.
"Any day she comes back from a visit and I see her sad, that'll be the day I'll take back the house and stop all supplies there" he warned and Donald shook his head, "I'll make her the most happiest lady alive, she'll never be sad with me around"
"I'll order that it should be prepared for you and you'll be shown there," Derek said just as his phone rang, it was from his father's rehab center, he quickly answered the call,
"You're to come here ASAP, your father had relapsed and had tried to commit suicide"
Kathleen paced the room as soon as she entered with her mother, too agitated to say a word, her mother observed her for a moment, "I hope you're happy in this marriage of yours" she said softly and Kathleen sighed, "oh yes, I'm happy mom, what about you? Are you happy?
"What do you mean by that, of cause I'm happy"
"How long mom? How long will you continue to be his puppet? He's supposed to love you not make you feel indebted to him"
"He loves me and I owe him for that"
Kathleen rolled her eyes exasperatedly, "that's not love Mom, please stop feeling invalid, you can't even go against him when he's wrong"
"Perhaps, he's never wrong" her mother refuted and Kathleen stared at her as if seeing her for the first time, she shook her head, abashed that her mother would think so, "so, him insisting I get married to Dave despite all the abuse is right?
Her mother looked away from her and Kathleen felt like shaking her, she was just about to list her grievances when they both heard Derek's bellow, "how the hell did that happen?"
Mother and daughter stared at each other for a split second before sprinting downstairs.
Dear readers, what do you think of kathleen's character? Was she right to never look back? Was her dad right for accusing her of abandoning them? I'd love to know your thoughts on these.