Station 53

Coming to Terms

This is a short chapter. It's an important one though and it explains why Isabella hates her father. It hasn't been edited so please excuse any mistakes.

WARNING: There are mentions of death and suicide in this chapter as well as some coarse language.

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I sat in front of the man that took part in reproducing me. Neither of us said a word - he was too scared that I might leave the moment he opened his mouth and I simply had nothing to say to him.

My mother in law cleared her throat, seeming to have had enough of this silence. I was tempted to roll my eyes at her but then I remembered the only reason she was even here was because I told her I'll only meet Mr. Pierce if she was present. It was strange that I had become so reliant on this women. I mean, just days earlier she was one of my top enemies.

"Arabe--"

"Isabella," I corrected Mr. Pierce. "My name is Isabella."

"Isabella," he repeated with a sigh. "I..." Mr. Pierce trailed off, clearly not knowing what to say. It had been years since we had last spoken and it was clear I wasn't the only one who felt uncomfortable.

"How have you been?" He asked, his voice sounding strained.

"Good."

"I heard you are studying. What are you studying? Are you having a hard time at school?"

I just blinked at him. I did not agree to meet this man just to have small talk with him.

"If you requested to see me for small talk then I am leaving," I said as I stood up.

Mr. Pierce quickly shook his head and pleadingly motioned for me to sit back down.

"I want to fix things between us."

A loud and ugly laugh escaped my lips.

"Fix things?" I seethed? "I want nothing to do with my mother's murderer!"

A loud gasp escaped Mr. Pierce's mouth and he stared at me with nothing but shock.

"I-Is that why you ran away? Because you think I killed your mother?" He sounded hurt but it was nothing compared to what I wanted him to feel. I wanted him to suffer as much as he made my mother suffer. I wanted him to feel hopeless and unloved just like he made my mother feel.

"I didn't kill your mother," he said more loudly. "She killed herself."

A dry laugh escaped my lips when those words left his mouth. My heart began to beat faster in anger and tears threatened to spill out of my eyes. I forced them back in and glared at the man before me.

"And why did she do that?" I asked, feeling my blood boil even more. "You cheated on her with that bitch you thought would be more profitable for your business. She loved you so much to the point that your betrayal broke her. You think she would be dead right now if you weren't a greedy son-of-a-bitch?"

The words left my mouth without a filter. Even if I wanted to, I just couldn't bring myself to stop talking. He looked like he was going to say something more but I stopped him before he could.

"No, she wouldn't be dead. She would be alive and she would be living the rest of her life feeling content and happy. But you stripped her life away from her. You left her because you found someone more profitable. You made her feel worthless. You killed her!"

A moment of silence went between us and I used this opportunity to steady my heart rate.

"I didn't kill her," he pathetically repeated. I felt my heart rate begin to spike up again so I quickly closed my eyes and took in a few deep breaths. Had this conversation taken place before I found out I was pregnant, I would have relentlessly fought back. But I was pregnant and I didn't want to hurt my baby because of the man before me. I won't let him take away another life from me.