4 Leaf Clover - ᴹˣᴹˣᴹˣᴹ

42.

࿐࿐࿐ Warning - Use of Slurs

Clover entered his home at 9 pm, a longer day than usual spent at the office. Usually, his father would come home with him but before he was picked up, the chauffeur told him his father came home a few hours earlier. He wasn't surprised, Clover had been asking for a lot of his help recently to catch up with certain things and he realised his father deserved a break - a real break, where he could officially retire without coming into the office.

His house was strangely quiet - the silence put goosebumps on his body, an eerie sentiment settling in his mind. For the last couple of weeks, Clover had been coming home to a warmer environment, where his mother would be cooking in silence, and his father would settle in the sitting room to read. As Clover walked around, his parents were missing and the lights were out.

"Dad?" He called out, making his way upstairs and to his room.

No one called back out to him and he wondered if some family function was happening and they let him be at work. He walked down the dark corridor to his room, finding his door wide open. He slowed his steps and peaked around the corner. The sight he saw frightened him and he took a deep breath in. The slender figure of his mother was standing in the middle of his room, the only light from the corridor casting her terrible shadow up Clover's wall.

"Mother?"

Clover slowly stepped into his room, his mother never turned to him, never spoke a word, she just took a breath. Clover looked around his room, another shadow sat on his bed, barely noticeable as if it was trying to hide from the light. From the suit attire, Clover could tell it was his father. He turned to switch the light on, the golden light illuminating his mother's tense shoulders.

"What's going on?" Clover asked, feeling the harsh tension between all three of them standing in his room.

"Honey," His mother spoke, "Tell him what you told me,"

Clover looked at his father, anticipating something that had happened. Martin couldn't meet his son's eyes, and he fidgeted with his fingers refusing to speak up. Clover turned his eyes from his nervous father, another set of goosebumps rising on his skin. His mother turned to him, a firm disgust set on her face.

"No matter how hard-working you are, I knew I shouldn't have trusted you," She sneered at Clover, "I should have trusted my own judgement,"

Clover took a step back in scared confusion, "What happened?"

"Martin placed a camera in the office," She said, and Clover turned to his father.

Realization slowly dawned on Clover as he processed the situation. It became evident to him that his father's behaviour mirrored his mother's. Both of them remained distrustful of him, and their reaction to his refusal to marry was to intensify their surveillance of him.

As Clover gazed at his father, a profound sense of betrayal etched across his face, he felt the sting of tears forming in his eyes. Recollections of the seemingly genuine and pleasant moments shared with his father now felt like an elaborate charade. The facade had shattered, revealing the truth. They had seen Elio, they had been privy to the events of the evening in his office. Rather than being embarrassed, Clover was overwhelmed with a potent mix of disappointment and anger.

"Dad!" He almost shouted, wanting to know if his mother was telling the truth.

He looked at his son, his hands muddled together by his mouth, "I'm sorry,"

Clover couldn't believe his ears, he might've believed his father if he said he was forced but instead, he was smacked with the truth. Clover felt his heart drop in devastation. He turned back to his mother.