Page 5 of Always With You

I huff. “Dad, you do know I can help. Please, can I take care of the bills?” Concern etches my face as I regard him. Now that I am here, I’ll do whatever it takes to shoulder his burden.

Dad shakes his head. “Princess, we only want you to relax.”

Before I can reply, Mom’s voice interrupts us.

“You still standing there and gossiping? I thought I asked you to help me in the kitchen,” Mom scowls, coming out of the kitchen while wiping her hands on the blue apron that she is now wearing.

“I was on my way to you, Darling, it’s your daughter who distracted me.” Dad winks at me and walks past me.

“Ya, right.” I chuckle and look at them adoringly.

We walk into the kitchen. The long wooden table in front of the big island has been loaded with food on it. I help Dad bring the plates to the table.

“Mom, you are the best cook,” I say, grabbing my chair and sitting down.

“I agree with you on that,” Dad says as he too pulls out his chair next to me while Mom sits opposite us and we begin to eat. While chattering and laughing, we relish the delicious meal.

Mom is about to serve me a second helping of chicken rice when Dad’s phone rings. Pulling his phone from his pants’ pocket, he looks down. His eyes then move from mom to me. The panic in his eyes is apparent.

“I… need to take this call,” he mumbles as he pushes away from the table and almost bolts out of the room.

“What was that?”

“Nothing for you to worry about,” Mom murmurs, not meeting eyes with me.

Her stance is such that I knew it would be useless to bug her to confide in me. Though I don’t utter a word, I can’t keep quiet. Meanwhile, Mom suddenly seems to have lost her appetite too. This makes my insides shrivel. Come what may, I need to know what’s the matter.

Soon, Dad comes back, and I watch him toss his phone on the table.

Something is so not right.

Chapter 2

Alisha

I stare down at the legal document I’m holding in my hand. Anger and panic rise within me as I crumple the paper into a ball. No. This is crap. This can’t happen. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath and grip the paper so tightly that my knuckles turn white. After a few seconds, my gaze falls on my fist holding the paper. Maybe I read it wrong? I should go over it again. I hurriedly place it on my desk and flatten it out. Hankering for it to be nothing but some sort of a joke, I re-read the document, focusing on each word. But unfortunately, each clause in the document is like a needle poking in my heart. The document mentions that Dad mortgaged our house to buy my boutique. I know he always strived relentlessly for me from day one, but this is something I was not prepared for. He has trimmed down his financial resources to give me comfort. Though I did notice that the past few months were hard for him, I always blamed it on his business being slow. I was completely unaware of the loan. Plus, what makes it worse is that I am the cause. I feel my heart wincing in pain as I try to fathom the implications of the situation we have landed into. My mind goes back to the previous night.

Without saying a word, Dad walked into the dining room and sat back on his chair. I noticed Mom and him exchanged a silent look.

“Dad, something is going on.” I wasn’t asking, I was telling him.

“Princess, it’s nothing.” I wasn’t buying it. He tried to put on a feeble smile, but the way he was avoiding my gaze said a lot.

“Dad, either you tell me, or I have my ways of finding out, and you know how stubborn I can be.”

He weighed my words for a few minutes, but when he saw the determination in my eyes, his mask crumpled. He heaved a sigh and began, “Our house…” He faltered and looked at Mom. When she too looked crestfallen, I had a sinking feeling. “Our house is under mortgage.”

“What?!” To say I was devastated would be an understatement.Hearing Dad’s statement, my heart crushed and my body froze. “Why?”

“We wanted you to have your own boutique,” Mom pitched in as she squeezed my hands.

Everything inside me had gone numb, draining the life out of me. I could feel the goosebumps on my skin.My eyes began to water, unable to bear the pain and tension they must have been through. I felt morose about missing the obvious clues. Was I so blind to have not gauged all that? “You have to tell me it’s a lie,” I sobbed. “We can’t lose our house.”

“It will be fine,” Dad tried to soothe me as he reached out and pulled me into a hug. “Trust me, Princess, it will all be okay.”

“I need some time alone to process all this.” Those were the only words I could say.The weight of his secret bowed my head.

After that, I slipped into my room. The night passed in tossing and turning, worrying about them. The urge to pull Dad out of this mess was strong. ‘Struggles won’t be a part of his life,’ I vowed to myself.

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