Silence is what followed Alycia's words. Perhaps because what she just said to the General is new to even Kevin Shaw who can be considered her right-hand man.
The reason why the President established CR Securities despite her mother's initial disapproval was her father? Kevin has never once heard about it before.
General Patrick Cortez also seems to be struggling for words to say after hearing out Alycia. All the while, he narrows his eyes at the proposal but his mind seems to be somewhere else.
"I don't want to take any risk when it comes to CR Securities," Alycia breaks the silence after what feels like an hour. "Besides, I don't plan to stop at being the best in the country. My goal is to enter the circle of the top agencies globally and then climb up the ranks, all the way to the top." She pauses and looks at the General who has grown very quiet before she forces a smile. "May I ask your opinion, General? If I manage to achieve this goal, do you think my father will be proud of me?"
The strange attitude of his boss suddenly seems to reach its peak and Kevin Shaw can't help but feel anxious. He is also feeling lost too.
Why is she suddenly like this? In an important business meeting on top of that!
While Alycia fixates her gaze on the General, the latter never once lifts his eyes to exchange her gaze. Instead, his hands slowly squeeze the armrest of the couch as if he were trying to hold back. Still, Alycia Reese says nothing and waits.
Maybe she is trying to force an answer out of the General who is struggling to even meet her eyes now.
More than a minute passes and it seems like Alycia has won. The General finally breaks his silence but...
"Alycia..."
Her name is the only word he manages to mutter yet it is enough for Alycia Reese. She herself softly exhales, proving the pressure she faces beneath her calm facade.
"It took you long enough to call my name again," she says, softly. "Like... 19 years?" She deliberately pauses before she mutters, "Father."
Without even waiting for the General's response, Alycia turns to Kevin Shaw who is too stunned to even notice her looking at him.
Did she just say 'Father'? General Patrick Cortez is the father of his President?! Kevin Shaw even wonders if he had heard it wrong. He only knew that Alycia's parents divorced when she was young but he did not know a thing about the father's identity. Not to mention that he has never heard Alycia or her mother talk about it.
Once Kevin returns to his senses, he notices the President looking at him and pointing her chin at the thing he is holding. Then he narrows his eyes at the small shopping bag before he quickly hands it over to Alycia.
"I think you know why I pick today. This is for you," Alycia Reese says as she places the shopping bag in front of her father. When the General finally looks at her, she says, "Happy birthday, Father."
His daughter's words and actions make General Patrick recall those haunting incidents from 19 years ago which forced him to be separated from his wife and his only daughter. At that time, every inch of him wished to prevent the separation but he could not do so when all he did was put them in danger.
If he could, he would have even chosen to die rather than lose his wife and daughter but the case was different and in the end, he loved them enough to leave them. It was for the best after all.
19 years have passed but... he realizes how hard it still is for him to face his daughter. Not to mention that the familiar guilt is slowly rising inside him - the same feeling that never stops tormenting him for the past 19 years.
"You should not do this," Patrick Cortez finally mutters after a long silence. As he gazes at his daughter, many kinds of emotions flash in his eyes. "I don't deserve it."
Despite the response she receives, Alycia still looks calm and composed, perhaps because she was expecting this. Then after a brief thought, she softly inquires, "Do you know why it took me 19 years to come see you again?"
She pauses for just a split second and then says, "I admit I resented you for never showing up or not even calling me once during the past 19 years. I am telling the truth. I truly hated you for it and... I even thought that you did not love me. I believed that you forgot about us and moved on."
The hint of anxiety she notices in her father's face somehow eases Alycia. After all, it proves that she was wrong and her father is afraid to be considered that way.
"I read a book a while ago," she continues with a much lighter heart. "When I read about one part, it made me think of you. It says that it is never easy for a guilt-struck person to ask for forgiveness, let alone another chance because of the immense guilt they feel. Upon reading that, I think I found the answer to all my resentment."
"Alycia, I -"
"It's not that you don't love me," Alycia Reese quietly interrupts her father who tries to say something. "It's just that... you feel so guilty to come see me or my mother. That's why I reach out to you and come here myself." She makes a deliberate pause once again before she adds, "What happened... it was not your fault, Father; and I never blame you for it. So, don't blame yourself anymore."
When Patrick Cortez accepted his daughter's meeting proposal, he had never once thought that Alycia did so with the intention of reconciling with him. He did not even dare to dream it.
Initially, he wanted to turn it down, considering his ex-wife who would never agree to the reunion. Yet, in the end, his yearning and wish to see his daughter prevail. And now, he does not know what to do.
Something he did not even dare to dream of has suddenly come true yet like a coward, he does not even dare to accept it.
What if history ends up repeating itself? If he were to go through that incident from 19 years ago once again... he wouldn't survived it. The pain and guilt would surely kill him!
Once was enough.
"Don't do this," he repeats his words from earlier and slowly shakes his head. "I will only put you in danger. And if something like that incident were to happen again, I don't -"
"Let's save that for later," Alycia Reese interrupts her father once again and forces a little smile. "I don't get to have lunch and I'm hungry. Buy me some food."