PERFECT MATCH

23. The Truth

Mabel's POV

My black mustang came to a halt, it was too beautiful to screech, one of my favourite. Picking up my Chanel bag from the black leather passenger, I opened the door and stepped out.

The compound was still the same. My father's fleet of cars littered around, the garden was neat, every flower blooming and well trimmed, the water fountain rushed to life, droplets of water bubbling.

I reached the two heavyset metal doors. My palms made contact with the knob, ushering myself into the house. Inside was warm, smelt like home and it almost felt like home.

There was a calm in the house, I could hear my breath. Passing by the tea room, I was reminded of my father. This used to be one of his favourite places, with his most cherished antiques and artifacts, I missed him.

Without wasting time I headed to the only place I knew my mother would be. It was a yoga room where she practiced acrobats, it was large and bright. Stepping out of my shoes, the vinyl floors felt smooth under my feet.
My mother stood by glass wall that fenced the garden, enjoying the scenic view of beautiful blooming ornamentals. She had a thing for gardening and she loved her peace and quiet, Hence the yoga. Like Queen Ramomda of Wakanda, she effortlessly always happened to embody grace. The wine sequence dress hugged her curves, her skin glowed and her hair shone in a high neat bun. I felt bad that she had to live the rest of her life alone.

"You look fine mom." I stood by her side, drowning in the ocean of her perfume. It was a beautiful burst of flowers.

Her gaze remained fixed on the garden. My mother always kept her thought to herself, in fact, we hadn't spoken about our grief.

"How was your first day at work?"

Of course she'd know because she had eyes everywhere. "It was just an introduction, I got used to the environment and from now on, I'll be getting used to job. We plan to expand too."

I earned a glance from her. "You're doing great, Mabel."

Hearing her say that boosted my confidence, a smile crossed my face before it fell in seconds.

"You seem to really doing well mom, you're so calm, composed, like you have it figured out. You and Ada, it's like you both have it figured out."

"No amount of preparation would have been enough for the bomb I knew was ticking."

Now, I fixed my eyes on her. "You knew he was going to..." I couldn't bring myself to say the word. "Die? Did you?"

The thin moment of silence only broke my heart. It was true, my father knew he was going to die, my mother too, what about Ada?

"Mabel we couldn't bring ourselves to tell you, all he just wanted was a few happy days with his family, his daughter, to make things right.

Anger, hurt, sadness. It was a whole different wave of emotion.

"You could have told me! You both could have, I'm your daughter. I deserved to know."

The pain in her eyes was so evident. She was wounded and the scar would never heal. She held my arms.

"I know baby, I wanted that too." Her hands squeezed tight, as she shook her head sadly. "But not your father, he wanted everything to be normal."

"How can everything ever be normal? How?" I tasted the salt in my tears, they flowed like a river.

She broke down too, not bothering about being strong. "It won't be baby..." Her shudder tore me apart more than I already was. "It won't be, it... Won't be!" She wailed, breathing raggedly.