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 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 your own parents? I didn’t have anyone growing up to take care of me after my grandmother died. Not until I met my sister, not until I came into a good home and

didn’t know that about you, I’m sorry that...” he didn’t

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

thanks,” he said

screwed up, tell her you’re sorry and hopefully, hopefully, you’ll get her to forgive you,” she said goodbye and

as he stood in front of the

hit him with a broom, so

out of the car and watched Clark drive away, a part of him wanted to leave with him, take refuge in his penthouse and carry on as if nothing happened. But the part that contained his integrity, his remorse, and his

said when Melody’s mother opened the door for him. He

the woman’s face, she knew who he was,

and stepped aside, making way for him, which he was curious about. He hadn’t expected such a simple

with frying pans

asked after inviting

surprised him to the extreme, he tried to behave as affable as

all the way up to their teenage years. He focused on Melody automatically, her face hadn’t changed a bit. She was smiling at the camera with all her teeth, even though she wore braces and her bangs on her forehead messed up in almost every

in Italy and

And he was.

how

he lost his

Because in her eyes, he

himself appear to the

her she should stop making such a big deal out of

way Melody communicates,” but he found it unnecessary to let her mother paint

a good thing. It’s not a good thing to be constantly drowning in a glass

to tell him something else, but Melody’s father came out of one of the rooms

Mr. Redford,” he decided to take the first step and

father would

all that, as it seemed as if the family was a jewel of union and love, that made him question why Melody left her parents’ house, even

for a second and released

amused, spreading uncertainty in him, than trying to

fine,” he said as he agreed to sit down. “Where’s Melody? I

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

that Melody hadn’t rant at

that made him

in others at the thought of him, though

long,” he just wished he could talk to Melody alone

lips

her look so damned beautiful. She wore a flowered long-sleeved dress a little below her thighs, her white skin stood out attractively. Her black hair fell loose on either side of her face and down to her breasts. She was wearing

in the room grew heavy and it

was implied in his eyes, but he still said

mean to hurt her,” and he meant it from the bottom

to me, none of my family members

them and put a hand on her father’s back. “Leave us alone for a moment, we’ll be

phony standing in front of Melody’s parents, when hours before,

didn’t take it for him to realize something was going on there. Melody looked at him

low wall, made of brick, Melody sat

next to 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

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

“What?”

her hand. She tried to let go, but he didn’t let her. “Look at me Melody, look me in the eyes and believe me when I say I’m sorry. I’m sorry

stopped struggling and stare at

“You...”

I know you had nothing to do with the

let out a sob and covered

I’ll give you anything, but I want you to know that I know I was

her head and turned

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 about her well-being. “You feel good, telling me you’re willing to give me anything, don’t you? That’ s got your conscience

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