Redress (gxg)

Chapter 28 "Surprise"

Watching the woman I loved screaming her frustration out in the open field, a tear suddenly rolled down my cheek, feeling my heart broken, thinking about how the truth eventually broke her. I couldn't imagine how this was hard for her, knowing she grew up under someone who she once thought her father, and now that she already knew who was her real father, she couldn't get the chance to know him anymore.

Wiping the tear off my face, I started walking towards her, seeing her fell on her knees as her back faintly shook when she started sobbing. 

"Lauren," I mumbled weakly, bending down beside her.

She sniffled, "It took her...all those years to tell me the truth Alex..." she mumbled frustratingly, causing me to gently pull her to me, and hugged her, my chin resting on her head. "If I hadn't asked...If Nikolai didn't tell me...Would she even tell me the truth?" she added.

"I'm sorry Lauren..." was all I could mumble as I didn't know what to say at the moment. The reason why Laura didn't tell the truth before, was because she didn't want to ruin the family she had, as her relationship with Robert was a mistake, but Isaac found out about it when she was still silently mourning Robert's death. Isaac then filed a divorce, and had started to get violent towards her, until she couldn't stand it, and was about to leave with Lauren, but Isaac threatened to make their life miserable, so she had no choice but to leave Lauren behind, thinking her daughter didn't deserve a miserable life with her.

"She kept it for so long...because she was afraid, that if I knew, I wouldn't look at her the same way..." Lauren mumbled pensively as I stared on an empty space, recalling Laura's explanation. "She just didn't trust me enough to handle the truth..."

"Lauren..."

"And you know what's more painful?...I finally know the truth, but I couldn't get the chance to know my real dad, because...he's long gone..." she cried, making me hug her tightly. My heart cried for her as this was the first time I saw her so broken, and vulnerable, that I didn't know what to do or what to say to make her feel better.

"One thing I know about your real dad..." I paused as she slowly lifted her head up to look at me with her tear-stained face, and red puffy eyes, "is that he was a brave man, Lauren..."

"How would you know?" she asked weakly, "...you never met him..."

"The truth is...Robert, your dad, was the one who saved me that night..." I mumbled, causing her face to eventually light up in curiosity. "He was the one who helped me escape from Cliff's goons, he...was the reason why I got out alive, Lauren...I owe him my life."

"H-How long have you known it?" she stammered as her face marred with shock.

"Just earlier, when Laura showed us the picture."

"Are you sure about this, Alex?" she asked, making me nod.

"Absolutely. I couldn't forget the face of the man who saved me, Lauren...and that was your dad." Hearing what I just said, she eventually burst out crying once again, but this time, a small smile had formed on her lips. 

"Thank you Alex," she suddenly mumbled after a moment, and I eventually frowned, not expecting she would say that. I didn't think she would thank me, as a tiny part of me was expecting she would blame me for her father's death. I was reluctant at first to even tell her about it, because I didn't think I could handle her blaming me, but hearing her thanking me instead, was something truly unexpected.

"For what Lauren?" I asked uncertainly. 

"For letting me know...At least I know something about him that I could now hold on to, Alex," she mumbled sincerely, before pulling me in a hug, "So, thank you, love," she whispered, making me sigh in relief.