Page 75 of Blinded By The Sun
Ciro
Ihaven’t said much ever since my baby broke down and cried in her father’s arms while gripping my hand. I sit back and watch as she shyly peers up at her father through her cappuccino. I know she wants to ask him more questions, so I give her a little nudge. “Do the De la Saints know that she’s alive?” I ask.
Czar turns his eyes towards me. He nods. “Yeah, they do. They made it known that they tried to get in touch with King so she could get her inheritance or some shit.”
King pops her head up. “I was told that it was a will that my grandmother left before she passed away.”
Czar tilts his head in confusion. “What? Your grandmother isn’t dead, and it’s definitely not a damned will. That would mean she isn’t trying to harm you for being my child,” he says sarcastically.
“But, Uncle Stannis said that my grandmother was dead, and that it entitled me to some money. He told me, I had two options; become a whore or go to them and take their money but since I didn’t know them, I stayed,” King confesses.
Oh Stannis, you sick son of a bitch. I will kill him as soon as I step foot in Quebec City. He made me look like a complete fool, and I don’t appreciate it at all.
“There’s no will but there is an inheritance that only you are entitled to. When your mother was alive, she went to the bank and changed it to where only you could access it.”
“But they could’ve gotten anyone to pretend to be her,” I interject.
He nods. “They could’ve but either I or her mother would have to present. That old witch, Laurel, is still alive and kicking. She’s the one who made the phone call to me personally. I know what she wants. She wants the billions of dollars they turned clean so they could invest in themselves again. Their greed will be their downfall one day. They spread that shit like the plague. Faster than anything else that I’ve seen. It’s repulsive, and it’s a surprise that their baby girl didn’t end up like that. Lora was a kind soul. I didn’t deserve her because my wife and I were separated at the time. We didn’t want to be together despite having a child together. I met your mother when I wanted to forget and like I said, I didn’t deserve her at all but I loved her nonetheless. She was like a breath of fresh air. She smiled no matter the hardships she faced.” He smiles to himself as if thinking about the memories of 23 years ago.
“So, if they would’ve gotten the money, what would they have done with me?” King asks.
Her father shakes her head. “Are you sure you want to know?” He asks. “Look, I just saw you again and I don’t want to ruin things with you or make you think every part of the De la Saints was all bad. Your mother wasn’t like that, and if I have to honor her memory in saying it like that, then I will. Her parents though, complete shit. Worse than me.” he says and for the first time since being here, King chuckles. Her father winks at her.
I may not trust that he won’t hurt her or disappear, but I am happy that she’s smiling. King excuses herself and goes to the bathroom. I sit back and observe Czar. “If you hurt her, I don’t care how much Alex respects you, I will kill you. Like not even the regular gunshot, I will skin you alive. I’ll plunge the knife deep in your gut, jerk it around your insides and then let you bleed out.” I say, but then I put my finger up, “Actually, I changed my mind. I won’t just let you bleed out. I’ll stab you in numerous places and then you can leak out because no one makes my wife cry.”
Czar watches me for a second and then he throws his head back, laughing. “I like you,” he says after he sobers. He clears his throat. “She deserves the best and honestly that’s what you are. The way she smiles when she looks at you is amazing to see, plus she smiles like Lora. She has her mother’s radiance and peace all over her face. She seems sweet and innocent like… like her mother, and if you love her how I loved her mother, then I don’t even have to guess that you’d rather cut off your right arm before seriously hurting her,” he says and then the smile is off his face. “I know it may not seem like I am the best example of a father, but I will tell you that I will kill you, like stab you in your fucking head until I crack your skull because she cried.”
I nod. “That I am okay with because I’d say that’s what it takes for me to give her up, anyway. Now, tell me what are we going to do about your idiotic brother?”
Czar’s anger that he was masking in front of King appears. “I want to tear him apart that way we can each have a piece to torture him in that way. Usually, I’m with the long drawn out torture, but this fat fucker deserves to be treated like the fucking pig that he is. He manipulated my daughter, his niece, to perform as if she belonged there. And he had the nerve to manipulate her into thinking she had to do that? All because I couldn’t claim her as her father to protect her. Fuck! I should’ve just claimed her and took on the damned De la Saints on my own. I broke her heart having her think she didn’t have anyone who loved her.”
I nod. “Yeah, I can see how you didn’t enjoy being a shitty dad but if we’re being honest, she would’ve died much earlier if she stayed with you. Had you not hidden her for as long as you could, she would’ve been gone by now and you’d be visiting her grave all the time instead of having the opportunity of holding her in your arms. She’s moving on and so should you. If I know my wife like I think I do, she’ll want a relationship with you. She’ll want to meet your wife and your son; her brother.”
His eyes grow wide with genuine happiness. “You think she’d want to meet them? They’re kind people, like genuinely, and I really hope that she doesn’t think we’ll hurt her. I would never allow that kind of shit again. Never.” Czar states.
King takes this moment to come back to the table. She smiles. “I would love to meet my brother and your wife, just give me some time. All these feelings are unfamiliar for me and I don’t know how to properly adjust to everything. I just want to take it one step at a time.” she says.
Czar smiles widely. “Okay. Take all the time you need. I wouldn’t pressure you to decide. I’ll be here. I’m done going away.”
King smiles. “Can I ask you something?”
“For sure.”
King slides her hand over to mine and I open my palm, letting her take my hand in hers. She clasps her hand and then shifts both of ours to her lap. She’s nervous, and it’s cute as hell. “Were you the one who brought me all the things to learn? Like Shakespeare and the other plays? Even Homer’s the Iliad? The paintings, the literature?”
Czar nods like a proud parent. “Yes. Did you like any of them? Stannis never told me.” he says sadly.
King’s entire face brightens up. “Yes! I loved them all. What was your favorite?” She bites her lip.
“Shakespeare’s,A Midsummer Night’s Dream.That Demetrius was a fool to deny the love of someone like Helena. Don’t you think so? To have someone be that devoted to you and to turn it down for another beautiful looking woman? One that doesn’t even really want you.”
King places her hand over her mouth and laughs. “Yeah, Demetrius was a fool,” she looks at me from the corner of her eye and I smirk. I pull our joined hands up and kiss the back of her hand. She smiles and goes back to talking to her dad, “Tell me, do you think he would’ve ever gone away from Helena? Or rather, what is your interpretation of the entire forest? Mystic much, Shakespeare?”
Czar chuckles. “Mystic as hell. Honestly, it would’ve made sense if it was like a ball or something and they got drunk. It just seemed like they were all on shrooms.” Both Czar and his daughter laugh at the reference, and they barely get a chuckle out of me. I love that they can understand each other. He continues, “The interpretation of the forest is, sometimes we find the one person who is our life, our love and our everything but our significant other needs to catch up. Helena found her one and only, but Demetrius didn’t understand that he was already where he needed to be. So, the forest is like life, no matter what you do it takes you on a trippy shroom sort of adventure until it parks you right in front of the other person. The one that will make your heart go a bit out of control. Have you wondered why the sound of their name is heard everywhere or when you can hear their name being whispered in the surrounding wind.”
At Czar’s words, I don’t even know what to say. He’s rendered me silent. King is like a sponge ready to soak everything up. “I love how you describe it. The forest for me is like you said, except I wouldn’t call it life… I’d call it love.”
Czar smiles. “Yeah? And have you found your Demetrius, Helena?” He asks, even though I know he does not understand.
King smiles with all her teeth and deepened dimples. She looks at me with such love in her eyes, I could do nothing stupid to hurt her.
“Yeah, I’ve found my Demetrius.” King states. At this moment, I knew I found my best friend.
“And I’ve found more than just my Helena, I’ve found my wife. Demetrius was a fucking idiot; I would never just let you beg me for my love or to remember it because I’m done forgetting. I will never forget you, Kingsley Sarkozy, you’re not just my wife now, you’re my best friend.”
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