" Hmmm . . . this is delicious. I must commend you cooking skills ", Charlie praised evidently enjoying the food in the plate in front of her.
" It's nothing. You are pretty good too "
" Thanks but as a woman we are expected to be good at cooking, for guys not much "
" That's true but now ladies are the ' best of cooks ' ", he said sarcastically, " they would rather spend the whole time doing shopping than in the kitchen "
" Let's not go into that if we don't want this conversation to end in a disagreement "
Chuckling he said, " Men versus women "
" That debate never ends well ".
Remembering something she quickly drank some water then said, " Hey Chris I've always wanted to ask . . . I know it's rather personal but I can't help but be curious "
" It's ok. What is it? ", he replied reassuringly lifting the glass of water in front of him to his lips.
" Who's your dad? ", she finally said slowly watching the expression on his face.
Surprise was clearly written on his face, he was confused on how to reply to the question.
" Hey ", she said catching his attention, " If you don't want to tell me it's fine ".
Breathing out and closing his eyes at the same time he says, " It's not like that. . . I . . . honestly. . . I don't know who he is "
" What! How can you not know who your father is? ", she replied obviously shocked by the statement.
" My mum did tell me about what transpired in their marriage but refused to disclose his identity "
" There are no longer married? "
" They got divorced before I was born "
" If you don't mind, please tell me "
" According to her, her marriage with my dad wasn't particularly a love marriage but an alliance from which his family was to benefit from. The first year of their marriage was quite deceitful. He showered her with so much love and affection that anyone who saw this would think he was really in love with her.
She said that thinking back about it, she thinks he pretended because her parents were always there to check on her. He didn't want her parents to suspect anything. At a time she started falling for him too.
All this love and affection suddenly ended in their second year of marriage. He had problem with everything she did, from her cooking, her work to even her taking a bath . . . "
" Why would he have a problem with her taking a bath? "
" I asked the same question. She said that she normally spend at least thirty minutes in the bathroom "
" If he was in such a hurry, he could take a bath in another bathroom. I'm sure they lived in a mansion "
" My mum offered the same solution to the problem and was about to state another solution. But unfortunately before she could finish stating another solution to the problem , his hand landed on her face with great force. . . "
" Oh my gosh!! He slapped her? ", Charlie exclaimed covering her mouth with her left palm.
" Yes and when she wanted to justify herself by saying, ' What have I done wrong. I was only trying to solve the problem and you slapped me. You are going to pray for this '. He replied saying, ' I am going to pay really! What will you do, tell your parents? By the time I'm done with you, you won't be able to talk '."
" He kept on threatening her but my mum being a daring woman told him to his face that he couldn't do anything. Before she realized what was happening, he had descended on her and beat her up badly. . . "
" I'm sure if someone told her that one day she would be beaten up by her husband, she would definitely not believe it "
" True. He also kept to his threat. She could say a word or move her body for almost two weeks. In the hospital, the doctor who treated came with her reports which stated that she had a miscarriage.
This brought sorrow to both families. Even the a**hole felt bad about it. She hadn't told anyone about the baby and now it was gone. When they asked my dad what happened to her, he made up a story which everyone believed as the victim couldn't say anything to invalidate the story but simply watched in tears. After two months, she got better and was discharged.
His behavior and attitude became better but she knew he was only feeling guilty and. . . ".
" Sorry to interrupt. What powerlevel is he? "
" Both he and my mum are Blue. They are one of the people who never activated their power crystals, so they only bear the label but can't access the power "
" Mm. You can go on now "
" His improved behavior changed back again when she mistakenly spilled hot coffee on him when he bumped into her as she was climbing the stairs. She quickly used the napkin she was holding to clean his shirt and apologized as she did so. He didn't seem to care if she apologized or not. He got angry and asked her if she was blind, then pushed away saying that she shouldn't touch him but my mum still went closer inorder to clean the stain on his white t-shirts. He got more angry and pushed her with all the strength he had. She slipped and fell down the stairs hitting her head and abdomen on the edges of the stairs.
By the time she got down, she has fallen unconscious and was bleeding badly. She said that this time when she woke up, she wasn't in a hospital. . . "
" He didn't take her to a hospital! How much of a d**k could he be ?!! ", Charlie said furious at his dad and sympathetic to his mum at the same time.
" Calm down you didn't even let me finish. He didn't take her to a hospital, yes but he called a doctor to the house to myself check on her. It wasn't their family doctor as he didn't want the family to know about it "
" That doesn't doesn't still make c*nt any good ".
" Yes . . . the report came after he had given her the requirement for her wounds and asked what happened to her, to which he said she mistakenly slipped and fell down the stairs. He looked at the reports which he said, " She is fine now but I'm sorry ". . . "
" Sorry for what? "
" Do you have to been doing that every time? "
" Sorry I can't help asking questions. I'm curious to know "
" You know I'm going to tell you either way "
" I know. . . so what happened? "
" My dad also asked that what happened to her. You just said that she was fine. The doctor told him that she was fine but they lost their baby ".
Seeing the look on her face, he could tell that she was going to make another comment and quickly stopped her saying,
" You know what let's make a deal. You won't make any comments or ask any questions till I'm done or I'm not saying anything anymore "
" C'mon you don't have to do that "
" I have no choice "
" Ok "
" No. . . promise "
" I promise "
" Good ".