Angel Girl

Epilogue

  Halfway around the world in London, England, Evie drove up to a red brick Victorian mansion and got out of her car. Before entering the home, she gazed up at it, as if recalling long-faded memories of the place. She remembered standing outside on the stairs with her father on a dim, rainy day. He and a 5-year-old Evie stood and watched as a driver loaded a taxi with luggage and, before getting in the car, a younger Freya stared back at her daughter with teary eyes, then glared at her ex-husband who looked away with nothing but contempt. Freya waved a final goodbye to Evie as the taxi pulled away, and Evie began to shed tears without her father noticing. The two of them then went inside.

As the now distant memory faded, Evie entered the house. The house was eerily quiet, seemingly devoid of life. The interior looked fantastic, however, though Evie wasn’t too fond of it. She headed upstairs to the second floor and made her way down the hall, where she came across some double doors with gilded door handles. 

Placing her ear to the door, she heard only a man’s muffled voice. She reached for the handle, but paused for a brief moment to reconsider opening it. Nevertheless, she turned the handle and opened it, then entered the room to see a clean-shaven, middle-aged man with brown hair, who noticed Evie approaching as he talked on the phone. The man was Edward Thornwell. “I’ll call you back,”- he said as he hung the phone up and flashed a disingenuous smile at Evie- “Evie, my beautiful daughter, welcome,” he greeted dryly. “Dad,” Evie said as she drew closer. She stopped when she noticed a bottle of chardonnay, two wine glasses, and a tray of cheese and crackers placed neatly on a side table. “This is for….?” she flatly asked. “Please, sit,” Edward replied. Evie looked at him suspiciously and with suppressed anger in her eyes; he was planning something, she was sure of it, and it could not be anything good. But she humored him and took a seat beside his golden throne. “Found a new jezebel to screw or another fool to rob?” Evie snarkily asked. Edward laughed as he threw up a dismissive hand. “No…,”- he poured himself a glass- “... I wish to talk,” he said, sipping his drink. “Talk?” Evie questioned skeptically. 

“Yes, I believe that it is time for us to settle our differences.”

“Unfortunately for you, I have nothing to say.”

Edward clenched his wine glass tightly in anger as he got upset, but then calmed himself. “Please, Evie. All I ask is that you come back to the gang.”

“My answer is still no," Evie refused.

“Look, I know we haven’t seen eye-to-eye since your mother abandoned us, but I have tried-.”

“Abandoned?!” Evie snapped as she banged the table with her hand. “You drove her out of London when she found out what kind of man you are.”

Edward stared at her, blank-faced, letting her words slip through his hearing. “If you say so,” he responded as he finished his wine and poured her a glass. “Hmm?”

Evie smacked the glass out of his hand, causing Edward to get up in anger. He marched toward her, and Evie quickly caught his hand when he attempted to slap her face. “I gave you everything, Evie, and this is how you thank me? You should feel honored that I let you live and molded you into perfection”- Edward snatched his hand away and poured himself another glass- “Without me, you’re nothing,” he crowed. “You molded me into what you wanted me to be, you never gave me a chance to explore myself. You gave me everything, yes. But the one thing I wanted from you was your love, and you never gave that to me, but mum did,” Evie said, as her voice started to crack and her eyes dampened with emotion. “No matter how hard I tried, I was never good enough for you. Not once did you say ‘I love you’ or that you actually cared for my well-being,”- she sobbed but got a hold of herself- “B-But now, I realize that I was never a daughter in your eyes, I’m just your weapon, your tool.” Without saying a word, Edward looked over his shoulder at her with a cold stare. “My love is something you must earn, and yet you fail miserably,” he cold-heartedly said as he took a sip of his wine.
Evie was devastated, and couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Memories of her father’s abuse and harsh training flashed in her mind, and his ruthless and unloving nature was a breaking point for Evie. To her mother and Ryan, she was an elegant person, but inside, she was a desperate soul, tormented by Edward’s ill-treatment. “I hate you,”- she snarled as her father looked at her- “I HATE YOU! I always have. Every day, I wanted to kill you, I dreamed of gutting you like the rotten, vile fish you are. My entire childhood was lost because of you. You had my boyfriend murdered in cold blood. He was the only man who truly loved me, and you took him away from me!” Evie angrily yelled. “Oh, shut up! He was an American distraction, and I couldn’t let him take you from me. So I got rid of him. You never would have had a life with him,” Edward heartlessly said.