"Leave my house, Arlo," Julian, Arlo's father, demanded in a cold, demeaning voice.
"That's not going to happen, old man," Arlo shot back defiantly.
Arlo muttered under his breath, 'The man I once admired, Julian Templeton, stands before me. Everything changed when he brought that woman, Vivienne, into our lives.'
"Leave at once, or I'll have no choice but to call the authorities for the destruction of a room," Julian warned Arlo.
"Go ahead, no matter what you threaten, I'm not moving, old man," Arlo retorted, grabbing a phone from his hand and tossing it. It landed near Julian's feet.
"You're misunderstanding, Arlo. I won't just call the police; I'll make sure Aya is there to see when the police handcuff you and take you away. I will ensure that Aya understands the kind of criminal you are; you will never see her again," Julian threatened, his icy stare unwavering.
"Criminal? If I'm a criminal, what does that make the two of you? What were you doing in Aya's room? How could you invade the privacy of your own daughter? It even had server transfer, how many of Aya's reports did you send?" Arlo fumed.
Suddenly, Vivienne interjected, "It's a scientific study, something beyond your understanding." Vivienne defended her actions, claiming it was all for the sake of future advancement.
"Silence!"
Julian ordered with a chilling, deadly glare, causing both Arlo and Vivienne to shudder and swallow hard.
They both fell silent, and Julian picked up Arlo's phone that he had thrown away. He continued typing something.
"BOOM!"
Suddenly, a loud noise echoed from Aya's room as the second floor began to crumble, threatening to collapse onto the first floor.
Arlo and Vivienne were shocked and terrified. If it collapsed, the vibrations and impact would undoubtedly cause the floor below to disintegrate, reducing the entire house to rubble and trapping everyone inside.
Arlo hadn't anticipated the grenade to be this destructive, and both he and Vivienne were petrified as the entire second floor started to give way.
"SNAP!"
Julian flicked his fingers, maintaining his composure, still engrossed in his phone. Suddenly, Arlo and Vivienne were even more unnerved as the debris of the second floor hovered mid-air, gradually settling down onto the floor.
While Arlo was still reeling, Julian approached him, handing him his phone and smirking, "You're old enough to get a Void stone grenade and nearly destroyed our house. It's time for you to learn the truth. Read the document I've sent you, then tell me what you want. I'll gladly listen," his voice was calm but carried an underlying threat.
That was the moment Arlo discovered the true nature of his father.
Julian returned Arlo's phone and went to Arlo's room, cradling Aya in his arms. As Aya emerged and saw her room, which was gradually deteriorating, she was stunned and exclaimed,
"What happened to my room?"
"Nothing, it simply aged, hence it crumbled," Julian reassured her.
"Dad, what if that happened while I was inside?" Aya was alarmed at the thought.
"That's why your brother made sure you were not in your room," Julian consoled in a soothing tone.
"Thank you, brother," Aya waved, and Julian added,
"I will arrange for you a larger and better room, one decorated with moons, birds, and enhanced shadow tracking."
"I really love the room you built for me, Dad. I want exactly the same as before," Aya declared.
As Julian slowly turned and smirked at Arlo, Vivienne and Julian left the floor.
Arlo was frustrated; he punched the wall. He felt powerless for the first time in his life, unable to save Aya from his father.
Arlo retreated to his room, examining the documents his father had given him on his phone. It was Julian's diary, but it lacked any personal entries; it was more like reports about his experiments and Aya.
Initially, he maintained a composed demeanor, but as Arlo continued reading, he experienced a whirlwind of emotions: rage, sorrow, distress.
As Arlo read about Aya, he gradually recollected his past memories of her and reminisced.
After my mother Catherine passed away when I was ten, within three months, my father remarried and brought Vivienne home, who was seven months pregnant.
That's when I realized that my mother and I were merely minor aspects of his life. He moved on so swiftly, even before she passed away; he was unfaithful, wasn't he?
I remembered he and mom attended my football game just days before she died in an accident.
He was laughing, cheering in delight when I scored a goal. Was this all a lie? How long has he been deceiving us?
For Arlo, resentment grew more and more each day as he observed Julian and Vivienne together.
Even though Arlo was a child back then, Vivienne didn't bother to interact with him or spend time with him.
As the gap between them widened further and further, one event completely severed Arlo's connection with his father: Aya.
After three months of Vivienne's arrival, one day crying echoed through the Templeton's house.
Arlo descended the stairs to investigate the commotion. He saw Vivienne seated near the stroller; inside was a pale-skinned baby with no teeth and a few stray hairs swaddled in a blue towel.
"AHHH... AHHHH..."
Arlo peered down from the top of the stairs, he saw the child wailing. He was infuriated that Vivienne was nonchalantly lounging on the hall sofa, engrossed in her phone, completely ignoring the baby.
Arlo sprinted towards the stroller and forcefully slapped Vivienne's hand away. He wheeled the stroller to the kitchen, prepared milk at the appropriate temperature, and fed her. After she drank the milk, he placed her back in the stroller and whispered,
"Sleep tight."
Arlo returned to Vivienne, who was still engrossed in her phone, she didn't even care that Arlo had taken the baby somewhere.
"Aren't you her mother?" Arlo shouted. "She was screaming out of hunger; why didn't you tend to her? Explain."
"Huh?" Vivienne stroked her hair and removed her earbuds, questioning, "What is your issue?"
"Huh, Ahhhh… Where did the stroller go?" As soon as she realized, she thought the stroller had gone missing. She placed both hands on Arlo's shoulders and shook him,
"Idiot, did you see a stroller a few minutes ago? There was something inside it."
"Something!!! She is a human," Arlo murmured to himself. Suddenly, Arlo said, "She is a human, just like us."
"She was crying, she was hungry, why didn't you feed her? Why are you using your phone? Why?... Why?..."
Arlo couldn't control his emotions, tears welled up in his eyes. But Vivienne mocked,
"Stop crying, it's irritating. Tell me, where did you hide that thing? It's crucial to our experiment."
"SLAP!"
Arlo slapped Vivienne in the face, it didn't hurt her physically, but it damaged her pride.
"You weasel," she spat, raising her hands, about to strike back.
"What are you doing?"
Vivienne momentarily paused upon hearing Julian's voice. Arlo felt a huge relief as his father arrived, sparing him from having to deal with Vivienne's irresponsibility.
Suddenly, the baby began crying. As soon as Vivienne heard, she went to the kitchen and grabbed the baby.
Returning, the baby was still crying. Julian scolded her,
"It's your responsibility to make it stop crying, feed it, and take care of it."
"It!!... It…"
Arlo murmured to himself. Then suddenly he exclaimed, "You too, bastard! She is a human, just like us."
Arlo forcefully grabbed the baby and remarked, "She is not an 'it' anymore. Mom wanted to name her child if it is a girl. Her name is Aya."
[End of Chapter]