His Lovely Ward

Chapter 1

Looking perfect was easy for Angelica Dalton. Living a perfect life was another matter though. And the way she led hers brought out different reactions from people—horror, amusement, bitterness, and envy.

She never cared how others saw her and she was honest to say what was on her mind. For her, she had nothing to hide. Not to anyone, not to herself.

But enough of that for now. At the moment, she was too busy thinking about the unfortunate circumstances that happened to her. You see, she had been having fun chasing after this guy named Philip Strindberg, her best friend’s brother; and now, she just got a call from him telling her to stop whatever she was doing.

It was a shame, really, to finally admit defeat. She was secretly fond of Philip’s wife, Cassandra, who has as much fighting spirit as she. She sighed and thought of what to do next.

Okay, I’ll leave Philip alone. After all, I don’t want his wife to skin me alive. That woman has guts.

She was getting ready to go out of her office to make her rounds when the call came through.

It was her father’s attorney.

“Angelica, your father’s gone.”

If you think she dropped the phone while tears pooled her eyes, you are wrong. Angelica didn’t feel anything. Or maybe she chose not to, but no one would know if that were so. She was numb, she was blank. The words were clear and her mind was able to comprehend them, but the tiny synapses that would have triggered some tears out of her eyes didn’t care.

“Angelica?” Cole Hartman’s voice spoke again.

“Which hospital?” she asked.

“He’s at the house.” That was all she needed to know and she hanged up before he could say anything further.

Not many people knew that her relationship with her father had long been stained. It rusted through time. It crumbled as years went by. Both of them never talked about it whenever they got together—and those times were even forced, more like going through the motion. They never discussed the growing silence, the wavering smiles, until they just stopped. Like a deleted chain of messages, their relationship stopped dead.

After that incident with her sister, nothing came back to what they used to be. All of them, including her mother when she was still alive, tried to appear normal and happy for the eyes of others. They would come out of their house with smiles on their faces, but deep inside was the pain—the loss. Angelica tried a long time ago to be the glue that would stick her family back together after being ripped apart. She failed.

Now, her father’s death brought out nothing. Maybe it was the doctor in her, having dealt with so much death, but she knew deep inside that it was something else.

No one knew about that side of her—just that one side. Not even Chanty, her best friend--no one. Maybe you could consider that the only thing she hid from everyone else.

Whatever she felt, she knew she had to come to where her father was—to be there when no one else would. For the last time, she would have to do something for him.

She didn’t want to tell Chanty. Not that her friend actually met the man. No, she was not going to tell anyone.

 *****

Angelica didn’t know how to spend the last remaining hours she had with her father’s body before the people Cole called would come to take him away. Talking to him would definitely not work. She was glad though when she felt like she needed to go to the bathroom. She walked to the door of her father’s bedroom bathroom and did her thing. Already wanting to get out of the massive house her father owned, she planned about how she could bury her father in silence without dealing with his business partners.