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.

she thinks no one’s doing any harm. She only recently realizes that her brother-in-law, 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 pregnant and exiled by

that...” he didn’t even know

I want you to understand is that you must be empathetic, put yourself in her place, understand her or at least try to,” she said something to Hamlet and then went back to him. “I know you like her, if you weren’t attracted to her, you wouldn’t be screwing your brains out

he said

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

as he stood in front of the house, the

hit him

his penthouse and carry on as if nothing happened. But the part that contained his

opened the door for him. He recognized her, since the

woman’s face, she knew who

to finally meet you,” she said and stepped aside, making way for

banging with frying pans

wine?” she asked after inviting him to

Redford’s cordiality surprised him to the extreme, he tried to behave as affable as possible, but it was

way up to their teenage years. He focused on

Melody’s mother watched him, he was 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

And he was.

how petulant he

he lost his essence

judged him so harshly. Because in her eyes, he was a

how he let himself appear

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

Melody communicates,” but he found it unnecessary to

like it’s a good thing. It’s not a good thing to be

beginning to think the woman wanted to tell him something else, but

Redford,” he decided to take the first

idea what Melody said about him at his parents’ house, he hoped not so much that his father would cut him down with a razor. The report said he was a surgeon, and one of the

why Melody left

and released him as he looked at his wife. “Did you

spreading uncertainty in him, than trying

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

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 can get to know each other,” Melody’s father sounded more like an accusation and challenge than an invitation. But he

rant at him or told him what kind of relationship they were starting

that made him feel

looking to sow hatred in others at the thought of him, though

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

lips at the sight of him. Her eyes went from calm to immediately on

Her black hair 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 a bunny face on her knees. He noticed her eyes; they were bloodshot and cursed himself for being a bastard to

in the room grew heavy and it

was implied in his eyes,

hurt her,” and he meant it from the bottom of

so. Because money doesn’t matter to me, none of my family members care how rich you are, my daughter doesn’t deserve

on her father’s back. “Leave

a phony standing in front of Melody’s parents, when

at her mother, but it didn’t take it for him to realize something was going on there. Melody looked at him without fear and walked to

wall, made of brick, Melody sat there and looked at him with her left eyebrow

her and leaving 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 scent

at him quizzically and wrinkled her brow. Her big gray eyes were undaunted. She was strong. One of the strongest women he knew, taking care of a child alone, never minding that the father was absent, shouldn’t be easy. He didn’t know the root of her relationship with that guy,

“What?”

at me Melody, look me in the eyes and believe me when I say I’m sorry. I’m sorry

and stare

“You...”

believe you. I know you had nothing to do

this morning...you believed...” she let out a

he wrapped one 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 marry me. I don’t deserve to have you even as a friend,” he knew he was babbling, but once he started, he

her head and turned away

was a secret between you and me. No 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

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