Broken Pieces

Chapter 6

Sofia returned home to find her father in a wrecked state. His hair which was always combed in the past was now disheveled. He hadn't shaved for what looked like a long time for what he had a thick stubble. His clothes were wrinkled and he had dark bags under his eyes. Her heart broke to see him like that.

"Dad?" She called out as Mrs Clarke wheeled her in front of him.

"Oh, Sofia.. princess." He said as he straightened his clothes a bit. He didn't want her to see him like that.

"What happened to you, dad? Why are you looking like this?" She asked as she touched his face.

"Nothing happened, princess. I'm fine just a bit tired." He lied to her.

"You don't look like you're tired, dad. Have you looked in the mirror? You look a wreck. You look terrible." She said angrily as she asked Mrs. Clarke to take her back to her room.

"I don't want to talk to you until you clean up and look at yourself in the mirror." She said over her shoulder.

"What's happening here, Mrs. Clarke? Mum's usually home by this time. Where's she? Why is dad looking such a wreck?" She asked her.

"Sofia, he's been beating himself up. He and your mum are breaking apart. He's been living in your room all the time while you were in the hospital. He doesn't even talk to her. They fought really bad." Mrs. Clarke told her sadly.

That evening Sofia asked the cook to lay the table in her room which was shifted to the ground floor since she couldn't walk and had to be wheeled around everywhere. The cook politely declined her order saying that her mother will be furious if he did any such thing and that he might get fired for it. Sofia didn't want him to lose his job so she asked him to prepare a good dinner. It was a long time since she had proper food.

It was time for dinner in a few hours. Sofia wanted to look good for her mum. She dressed in a pale green shirt with a full-length skirt. She hated the sight of her cast. She tied her hair in a high ponytail and applied a little peachy lip gloss. Mrs. Clarke wheeled her into the dining room where her father sat in his armchair. Sofia wheeled her chair as close to him as possible.

"Hey princess." He greeted her.

"Good evening dad," Sofia replied.

"Where's mum?" Sofia asked.

"I'm here, Sofia," Bella replied as she walked in. She was looking gorgeous. Perfect as ever. Not a single flaw in her appearance.

"Good evening mum." Sofia greeted her.

"Good evening. It's nice to have you back here. You look... nice." Bella replied as she took a seat in front of her husband but didn't say a word to him. Sofia noticed the tension between them. It was so thick that it could be sliced with a knife.

"Mum, I wanted to talk to you and dad about something. " Sofia finally let it out.

"Yes, princess. I'm listening." Her father said to her.

"Is she listening?" She pointed towards her mum who was typing something rapidly on her phone. Bella looked up as she sensed two pairs of eyes staring at her.

"Oh, I'm sorry. It was urgent." She replied as she stood her hands up to surrender.

"You and dad need to get a hold of yourselves. What's going on with you two? I was out of here for a week and everything went down here? Mum, why can't you and dad leave your phones out of the house? Why are your phones more important than me and your relationship, our family? Why can't we be normal? Why do you two always have to be busy and buried with your heads at work?" Sofia asked them. Both her parents looked at her like she had grown another head.

"Sofia..." Bella tried to interrupt her.

"No mum. Let me complete. I will talk and you will listen. I have had enough of this. I'm fed up of living an empty and incomplete life." She said as she stopped her from speaking any further. Bella thought it wise to let her speak. Jeremy kept listening to her. She was not wrong. They were fools enough to think that she won't speak up some day.

"When have you ever had time for me? You two were always busy in expanding your careers. What about my life and my feelings? I didn't need Mrs. Clarke or Simon's mum in the hospital. I needed my own parents to be there with me." Sofia said as a few tears escaped her eyes. Sofia was going great. Both her parents were embarrassed.

"Dad, why were you feeling guilty? Why didn't you come to meet me again?" She asked him.

"Mum, why couldn't you muster enough courage to visit me in the hospital for once? Why couldn't you leave your stupid snobby friends and social gatherings for a day and visit your daughter?" Sofia said as she cried. She didn't want to break down but she couldn't stop her eyes from betraying her.

"As much as I want to go away from here, I won't. From today onwards, business stays out of the house. If I see anyone of you attending your business calls or messages, I won't hesitate to break your phones." Sofia said wiping her tears. She was feeling newfound confidence since she got to know that her backbone, her best friend Simon was back.

"But princess...those are important calls," Jeremy said.

"Yeah.. your dad's right, Sofia," Bella said supporting her husband.

"Mum, dad..." Sofia said as she scooted closer to them and held their hands together.

"This is important. We are important. Family is important." She said as she looked at her parents who were staring at their hands.

"I don't hold you responsible for what happened to me, mum. And neither should you, dad. It was my own fault. I shouldn't have been running on the stairs." She said to both of them.

"We're so sorry, princess. We promise to be better parents." They both said as they hugged her. It felt so nice to be in their embrace after so long.

"Okay okay. Now this calls for a family dinner." Sofia said as she wiped tears from her eyes. They all dined together.

In the days that followed, things started getting better between her parents and their relationship with their daughter wasn't that bad as before. They chatted. Went out together. Sofia started helping her father with the business from home.

Simon came to visit Sofia every day in the park in the morning. They used to sit and chat about anything and everything. Things were better on both ends for Sofia.

Simon had found himself a temporary job as an assistant in a renowned restaurant. One day, Bella went there with one of her friends and was embarrassed to see him there. She made a mental note to talk to Sofia about it when she got home. She couldn't let her princess associate with someone who was such a common person.

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