In Time

Epilogue (1)

Some say that wedding preparation is such a tough thing to do. However, that was not the case for Clarisse. She didn't need to run errands or anything. Everything would be brought to her presence. She only needed to say what she wanted and someone would do it for her. Just like how the scene at the moment where she was sitting with three proposals on her hands.

"Mr Lou had picked three venues that you might like, he let you to make the final decision. As you can see, the first one is cruise wedding, the second one is garden party with beautiful view of the sea , and the third one is theme park.", the wedding organizer explained.

As Clarisse had always loved theme park, she chose the third option. For her, theme park was not only a recreation place, but also a place where you can freely to be yourself. You did not need to hide your fear, you can scream however you like, you can escape from the harsh reality for awhile. She still remembered that her teenage self went to theme park and rode on all the adrenaline rides for the sake of screaming out loud. Because that was the only moment when she could scream out all of her unexplainable pains.

In the middle of the meeting, her phone rang. She saw that it was from her cousin so she picked it up. As long as she knew her cousin, he would never call her if it was not urgent. Her face turned darker when she heard the purpose of his calling. 

"I got it, I'll go back."

Right after she hung up, she dismissed the meeting and told the wedding organizer that they could do as what they had discussed. Any follow up would be made through phone as she had some urgent matters to attend. She didn't dilly dally and rushed to the airport to take the earliest flight to her hometown. As things were too sudden, she only managed to send a text to Kevin since he was in business trip. 

It only took two hours to her hometown by flight so in no time she arrived at her home. There she could see that an old man in his sixties was kneeling down in front of the gate while some of her cousins were standing as they were out of their wits of what they should do. Her aunts and uncles were also there unsurprsingly. She seemed to not recognize the old man but she knew who he was. The man that had abandoned her when she was six years old, for the sake of working and giving better life for the family.

She once had believed his promise that he would give them good life. She once had hoped that he would come back. She once dreamed of their family to be reunited. It took her six year to finally realized that he would never come back, and took another three years to finally accept the fact that life without him would be much better. Later on, when she was in her university, she felt grateful that he had abandoned her so she could be such a strong and determined lady. However, at the same time, she wished that he would live so well that he could forget them and never came back.

There was once that Kevin asked her what if one day her father came back. She replied him calmly. "I wish that day will never happen. Because if that day ever happens, it means there is another child is abandoned."

She had long forgotten when she got his last news, but when she heard that he had remarried and had a child. She prayed to God that he could live well with his new family and never abandoned them. She had adapted to only have her mother as her family. She had adapted to carry the burdens herself that she didn't need him any longer. Her life had been tough. She didn't want any children to experience the same thing as her.

When her cousins looked at her, they came forward "You are finally here."

One of them who was her eldest cousin with full of guilt said "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told him about your current life."

She smiled "This thing will come sooner or later."

She then walked toward the kneeling old man. As far as she remembered, he was still the same. A coward. They were once had such a blissful life. She once lived like a princess. Whatever she wanted, she got it. Her four-year-old self once told her aunt confidently "If I say that I do not want something, it means that I do not want it. You do not need to ask twice. But what I want, I will definitely have it." Who knew that, life played with her. She was crushed over and over. Starting from him gambled and lost the trust of his business partner in which their family went bankrupt. From living in a big house to a small house. From having whatever she wanted to compromise in every situation in order to survive.

"You are finally here.", she said.

The old man picked his head up and looked at her with full of hope. "Yes, Clarisse. Dad has finally come back."

"I pray that you have good life."

The old man smiled "Clarisse is indeed fillial. Dad never wrong to adore you."

"So that you never come back.", she continued. "You were not there when I needed you the most. Now, I can stand with my own feet. There is no need for you to assume a role as my father."

"You.. How can you say so? I am your father, without me you can't be born."

"First, I have never begged you to let me born in this world. Second, I only respect elders that are worth to be respected. Third, you didn't fulfill any of your responsibility as a father. Fourth, the only thing that connect us now is blood. Let me tell you honestly, if there is a way to change my blood, no matter how painful the process it is I will go through it. So, let me tell you that you should just go back and live your life. Now, I let you decide. Would you rather leave yourself or I call the police ?"

Forgive ? Yes, she had. However, it didn't mean that she would accept whoever that wanted to come back to her life. When she was born, she couldn't choose which family that she would born into. Now, she had the choice to accept or decline whoever that wanted to walk into her life.

Upon listening that she would call police, the old man was scared so he left immediately. She knew that he wouldn't give up so she told her mom to come back to J city with her. Her mom agreed as it was all along the plan that she would move there once she got married. Her mom then said "I can't accept him as my husband, but if you want to recognize him as your father , I won't hold you back. After all, he is indeed your biological father. You are getting married soon. Don't you want a father to attend your wedding ?"

"The Lou family has known my background long before. I do not need to let unworthy people to attend in order to save my face."

"He won't dare to come back to disturb me, but he might come to disturb you."

"I will handle him according to how he acts."

However, that day never came because right after Kevin received her text, he decided to clean up the mess for her in order to let her have good life. He went to meet her biological father behind her back.

"Indeed, my son-in-law is exceptional."

"Do not rush to call me your son-in-law when Clarisse hasn't even accepted you. However, I bet that day will never come."

"..."

"I'm here to offer you a good deal. After all, I am grateful that Clarisse was born and she once told me that she never hopes you to have bad life either. So, I will offer your one billion in exchange of you cut all ties with us like how you have always done. If you agree, please sign this contract and the money will be yours. If one day you break this agreement, a lifetime jail will await for you."

"..."

"Do not think that such thing will never happen. I warn you that I have the privilege to make such request to the government."

One day after her years of marriage, Clarisse found out what Kevin had done for her. She gave him a hug "Thank you."

"If you regret and want to meet him, I can let you know where he is."

She shook her head. "No, it's hard to finally attain such a peaceful life. I do not want to ruin this balance."