Mismatched

Chapter 19

It was a cold winter morning. I received a call from my father. It was the first time he had ever called me. I was shocked that he had my number, to begin with. It had always been Nella who contacted me.

Did something happen to her?

"Hello," I said as I picked up the phone, lips quivering. Please don't let anything happen to her, I chanted in my heart.

"Belinda, Nella is... gone," my father's voice rang through the speaker.

I didn't reply. I couldn't. I hung up the phone. Tears streamed down my cheeks. I can't believe the woman I hated for eleven years and finally started to like for the last three months is now gone.

To think that three months ago, I was happy to think that they will never call me again. I'm going to miss her texting me, asking me to join them for dinner. I'm going to miss her calling me, asking me to join them for a picnic.

I didn't know her that well but I'm going to miss her. I'm going to miss her annoying smile. I'm going to miss her annoying voice. I'm going to miss her annoying face.

We had so many misunderstandings over the past ten years. Now that they've been cleared, she seemed like a ray of sunshine to me. Perhaps that's what attracted my father to her. I still despise him for what he did to my mother but Nella was innocent.

Yes, she was the third party. Yes, she's the cause of my mother's heartbreak. But, deep down, she's a nice person. Just because I hated the idea of her, I didn't hate her. There was absolutely nothing about her personality to hate.

Except for her annoyingly chirpy voice and her annoyingly huge smile.

My legs were jelly as I crumbled on the ground. I felt like I lost my mother all over again. I screamed at the top of my lungs. I didn't expect her to go so soon. Three months ago, we were just having lunch together, talking about her imminent death.

Now, she's dead.

I thought I was prepared for it but I wasn't. It didn't hit the same. When Mum died, my aunt was there to comfort me. Now that Nella died, there was no one to comfort me. Dad, Nicole and Nigel were also very upset. My aunt has no reason to feel sorry.

I have to be the one to comfort them. It's what I promised Nella. Packing up my stuff, I rushed to the address Dad sent me. I went to the hospice and met up with my father and half-siblings. They were crying.

"I'm sorry for your loss," I muttered.

Nicole and Nigel rushed to hug me. I didn't know what to do but to rest my arms on them. Dad just sat in one corner, crying alone. I averted my eyes. Looking down at these two children in my arms, they reminded me of myself.

"Mum! Mum!" I cried.

"Stop crying, Belinda. Your mother is gone. Crying won't bring her back," Dad scoffed. He bent down and said, "Come on, be a good girl and stop crying. Daddy will buy you ice cream, okay? Just be quiet."

"No! I want my mum!" I hollered.

Aunt Elena walked towards us. She had a straight face. "Charlie, this is not how you talk to a child," she said. Charlie is my father's name. She knelt and muttered, "Belinda, Mummy is gone. Now, you need to stay strong. Mummy doesn't want to see you crying, right?"

I sniffed and wiped my tears. Nodding, I replied, "Okay."

She patted my head and glared at my father. She said, "What kind of father are you? You can't even pacify your own daughter?"

He shrugged. "It's not my job. It's Diana's job but she got herself killed in a car crash. If anything, she's the one who abandoned Belinda. It's her fault, not mine. My job is to earn money for the family."