Drunk & Sober : IN LOVE

Chapter 31

Rebekah's POV:

I couldn’t control the next word that came slipping out of my mouth when I saw all those pictures of myself with my mom and dad. “Why did you beat mom?”, I said while my lips were quivering.

He came towards me and while taking my hand in his he said, “I didn’t, sweetheart. For the hundredth time baby, I didn’t do it. I loved Scarlet and I can’t even think of doing that to her ever.” I looked at him in the eyes trying to find the smallest hint of betrayal but all I could see was hurt and loneliness.

“Then why did mom told me that you used to beat her after she found out about your affair?” He sat on the couch with his head in between his palms and said, “I already told you the reason Becca. You don’t want to accept it because you don’t want the last memory that you have with your mother to be a lie. I never stopped loving Scarlet even when I met Julie. It’s just that I loved Julie more.”

I bit my lip to stop the tears that were threatening me to fall on my cheeks. “Why didn’t you come to mom’s funeral?”, I asked him while looking everywhere but him.

He took a deep breath before saying, “I was in Dubai for a business meeting. It was the last day of my stay there when I received a call from Julie. She told me that Scarlet had sent some parcel for me. The next day when I returned home the first thing that I did was opening that parcel. It was a tape from her. I still have it with me if you want to hear it yourself.” I thought for a moment if I had the strength to listen to her voice after so many years.

I nodded at him and he walked towards the table to press the button on his tape player. Suddenly her sweet voice filled the room.

“Hello Robert. I know you are happy with Julie and that you are marrying her soon. I am leaving this tape for you because I know I won’t be alive for too long now. Thank you for loving me unconditionally all these years. You have been a very supportive husband but the only thing that hurts me is that I wasn’t enough. You left me now when I need you the most and life without you seems a big waste to me. Our daughter hates you for doing this to me and so do I. I wish that you never stay happy and that one day you regret the decision of leaving us. I just want one thing from you and that is to leave me alone. You aren’t here with me now when I am almost dying and so I don’t want you to be there for me when I am dead already. Promise me that you will leave my daughter alone as I don’t want her to become like her father, selfish and unworthy of love.”
There was dead silence in the room after the tape went off.

I felt betrayed by my own mother. How could she do this to me?

How could she decide if I needed my father or not? All these years I have been blaming my father when my own mother had chosen a life time of misery for me.

All these years my grandmother felt as if she was at fault to raise a son like him who was least concerned about us. She died having this belief and my dad being bound to her promise, stayed quiet all these years.

I will never be able to tell my grandma that she was a perfect mother. “I never wanted you to hear this tape but I can’t stay away from you now when you need someone to take care of you. That day in London when you told me that I used to beat your mother, I lost all respect for her. She lied to her own daughter just because she wanted to keep you away from me. All these years I have kept my distance but one day I finally decided to end whatever this promise was to stay away from you. And that was the day when I called my mother to ask her about you but she just told me that she isn’t in contact with you anymore. I then searched you up on facebook and when I saw your update that you study in St.Vincent. I reached Seattle by taking the very next flight. I am sorry baby for staying away from you all these years. I know I am a terrible father but I can make it up to you by doing everything I can”, he said with tears in his eyes.