Chapter Twenty

Timothy

Timothy was on his way to Melody’s parents’ house; it was the only place he hadn’t looked for. He had called her countless times on her cell phone, wasting time dialing, knowing she wasn’t going to answer.

She was tired of him and his attitude and he knew it.

“Sir,” it was Clark, he was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he hadn’t realized they were already in front of Melody’s parents’ house.

The detective had done the job right.

She was there, she hasn’t been out all afternoon, not even to the porch.

“Shall I wait for you or come back for you later?” he didn’t know what the answer to that question would be either.

“Wait for me,” how about Melody refused to see him, she had her reasons. He screwed up big time. And Equilay Thompson’s Bahamas account confirmed it. He has been stupid, blinded by Gia’s infidelity and betrayal, he judged Melody without listening to her.

Now she was gone.

An innocent in a world full of bullets in the air.

She was hit by one, and unfortunately, Timothy was the one who pulled the trigger and sentenced.

“No,” he regretted. “Go. I’ll call you when we’re done.” He wasn’t going to leave without her.

He always had been known for being a confident man, but at that moment, with the documents the detective handed him half an hour earlier, he didn’t even know how to walk safely and calmly.

Regret and guilt were two things he never felt before, at least not to this magnitude.

He called Hamlet, asking for Devina’s number, which his cousin didn’t like, as he knew they didn’t get along, but in the end, Timothy was forced to confess that he screwed up big time.

Big and deep.

“Did you find her yet?” was the first thing she said when Hamlet put her on the phone.

“No. But you were right.”

“I usually am,” he imagined her smiling complacently, she was tremendous, that woman.

“I don’t know what to do.”

Admitting it hadn’t cost him as much as he imagined.

The truth was, if he was responsible for hurting Melody, it was appropriate to be just as responsible for apologizing and begging for her forgiveness.

He did not see himself as a man who would kneel before anyone, but neither did he see himself as one who would mistreat and hurt.

The last one already did.

It cost him nothing to kneel if necessary.

“The first thing is to talk to her, go over to her and tell her that you know she wasn’t the one who stole the money,” she told him after a while with the line silent.

“You make it too easy; don’t you remember how she beat you up for thinking I sent you?” she didn’t want to imagine what it would do to him if he didn’t tread lightly.

“It’s not that I forgot, it’s that she acted out of how we conditioned her. I realize this now.”

“What the fuck do you mean?” Devina seemed to have all the time in the world, whereas he, needed to figure everything out now. He was a pragmatic man of action, not one to make a mess and walk away without sorting it out.

“You accused her of stealing from you, of planning something as ugly as a three-million-dollar embezzlement, I tried to help her by giving her the money,” she sighed and continued. “I influenced her to believe you were trying to blame her even more. Melody didn’t see it as help, she saw it as a ploy to prove her dignity and her sincerity. Not as an escape, which was what I was looking for.”

“You wanted her to leave me?” he didn’t understand why Devina had stepped in where no one called her.

who she believed in for years, stole from you.” Looking from that way, he only managed to feel like Satan himself, like a deplorable being. He thought of the restaurant and how he gave her Equilay Thompson’s statement and how he smiled at her all smug and wild. “She hardly realizes what the world is like. Did you ever stop to think how hard it must be to be

sorry that...” he didn’t even know what to say

to,” she said something to Hamlet and then went back to him. “I know

he said

and listen to her. Tell her you screwed up, tell her you’re sorry and hopefully, hopefully, you’ll get her to forgive you,”

he stood in front of the house, the

to hit him with a

a part of him wanted to leave with him, take refuge in his penthouse and carry on as if

evening,” he said when Melody’s mother opened the door for him. He recognized her, since

look on the woman’s face, she

aside, making way for him, which he

banging with frying pans

coffee or wine?” she asked after inviting him

he tried to behave as affable as possible, but it was impossible

teenage years. He focused on Melody automatically, her face hadn’t changed a bit. She was smiling at the camera

used to people’s stares on him, he grew up as the son of influential people, both, in Italy and in Manhattan and most of the world. His last name opened doors for him, but it also made everyone see him as a frivolous and

And he was.

now how

discovering Gia’s infidelity, he

so harshly. Because in her eyes,

how he let himself appear

her she should stop making such a big deal out of everything,” he realized at once to whom Melody came out so talkative, for, although he was her daughter’s fiancé, in truth, Lydia Redford didn’t know him to be saying

found it unnecessary to let her mother paint her

not a good thing to be

you mean,” he was beginning to think the woman wanted to tell him something else, but Melody’s father came out of one of the rooms at that moment and stared

Giannato, nice to meet you Mr. Redford,” he decided to take the first step

parents’ house, he hoped not so much that his father would cut him down with a razor. The

family was a jewel of union and love, that made him question why Melody left her parents’ house, even more, because being pregnant she did not

for a second and released him as he

more amused, spreading uncertainty

he said as he agreed to sit down. “Where’s Melody? I need

we are having a family dinner, since you will be my youngest daughter’s husband, the least we can do is invite you to dinner, so we

that Melody hadn’t rant at him or told him what kind of relationship they were starting

that made him feel

to sow hatred in others at the thought of

can stay long,” he just wished he could talk to Melody alone and be able to start from

you know where I can get my...?” the question died on her lips at the sight of him. Her eyes

fell loose on either side of her face and down to her breasts. She was wearing white tights, which came down to her knees, with

energy in the room grew heavy and

talk to you. We’ll leave you alone,” Charles looked at him and the threat was implied in his

to hurt her,” and he meant

matter to me, none of my family members care how rich you

“Leave us alone for a moment, we’ll be on

Melody’s parents, when hours

dinner,” Melody didn’t look at her mother, but it didn’t take it for him to realize something was going on there. Melody looked at him without

a relatively low wall, made of brick, Melody sat

the envelope on top of the wall, with the documents that contained all the family information of Equilay and Melody herself, bank accounts of both and the proof that her brother-in-law kept the money in an account in the Bahamas. He felt her warmth and smelled her

the father was absent, shouldn’t be easy. He didn’t know the root of her relationship with that guy, he didn’t care about

“What?”

at me Melody, look me in the eyes and believe me

struggling and

“You...”

had nothing to

a sob and covered

of his arms around her and held her there, close to his chest. “Sorry... I’m sorry. I really am. I don’t care what you ask, I’ll give you anything, but I want you to know that I know I was a bastard, and I don’t deserve you to help me, or to

head and turned

press. Have you seen everything they say about me? That I’m a freeloader and a slut? You did that!” she began to draw in a forced breath, and Timothy worried

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