Happily Letter After

Chapter 1

"Is this your final decision?"  I asked my father who was sitting opposite me in a leather chair in his home office.

"Yes, I promised them you would be there. Please attend this meeting," his tone was tired and his eyes weary.

"I cannot, dad. Try to understand...I don't want this to be fixed by you. I want it to happen in its own time and when I am ready," I begged.

"I know that Anna and I am really sorry to ask you this. But I only want you to have this meeting, whether you accept the proposal or not is totally up to you. I will never take that decision away from you," he explained.

I had never seen my dad so stressed and he had even lost a considerable amount of weight. For the past few months, he had been coming home late from work and going in early. I asked him about it but he shrugged it saying a new project has been keeping him busy. But I could feel that something at work was troubling him and I had to find out.

I didn't want to stress him out anymore and that was the only reason I said, "Okay..."

That one word from me brought a thousand-watt smile on his face. He seemed a lot younger in that moment. It was the first genuine smile in months, and for that reason alone I was glad to have agreed to the meeting.

"Are you sure the choice is mine alone?"

"Absolutely. I just want you to attend the meeting. And I think this meeting would do you good. There are high chances you would even accept the proposal."

I laughed at that. "Don't get your hopes up old man, there are very high chances that I will reject it."

"We will see. Thank you for agreeing to the meeting."

"Anything for you, Dad. But please don't ever do this kind of thing again. Ask me before committing me to something this big."

Sensing my sadness and disappointment, he stood up and walked around the table towards me, "I am sorry, Anna. You know how much I love you." He murmured something else that I couldn't quite catch.

"I know, Dad. I love you too. Text me the details of the meeting." He hugged me and I hugged him back trying to comfort him as well as myself. It would take some time for me to wrap my head around it all.

I broke the hug. "Goodnight, Dad."

"Goodnight, kiddo."

I left his home office and walked straight to my room, all the while thinking about how strange Dad had been acting lately. He had been going in early to work, coming home late, barely making time for us on holidays and when he did show up, it was like his mind was somewhere else. And under normal circumstances, he never would have set up this meeting but then 'Why did he do that?'  My mind was filled with questions.

If I asked him anything directly, he would dismiss everything right away. He had never shared his business problems with me. I had to find out the other way, calling his secretary would be first and researching would follow.

I plopped down on my desk chair, determined to find out whether my doubts were correct.

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What is the meeting about? Does her father really have problems? If yes, will she be able to find out?

AUTHOR'S NOTE

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