AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I sat down next to him and grabbed his hand, needing him to really get what I was about to say. "Dad, I've been so angry for so long, and it's been eating me up. But getting to know you andAntonio has helped me see things differently, understand our family better. It's like I've been carrying around this tremendous weight without even knowing it. I'm done blaming you for everything. I know now that you and Mom did what you had to do, and it made sense at the time. I just want to let all that go, start over. I want a life where there's love, you know? And I want you to be part of it, not just on the outside looking in. It's time to drop the guilt. Mom was okay with the choices you guys made. She wouldn't want you to spend all these years feeling bad about it."
He smiles, shaking his head at me. “You are just like her, you know. I can’t believe the similarities. The small gestures, the way you smile, the way you raise your eyebrows when you speak. Your entire face lights up just like hers did. And you speak with so much strength, so much self-confidence and assurance. You are her daughter; she lives on in you, Seraphina.”
“Will you ever be able to let go of everything? Do you think you will ever be able to find happiness again?” I ask, looking into his eyes with hope.
“I never imagined that I would sit across from you, my daughter, and having lunch and talking about the past. I never dreamed it was possible. So, I think I can accept that I don’t know what is possible. Anything, so why not happiness? I never thought you would forgive me if you ever found out what I did. And yet, here you are with me.” He pauses for a long while, and I study his face, the lines of age and worry, the deepness of his wrinkles. His eyes are soft and kind. “Seraphina, I think, with you in my life, I might feel happy again.”
“I hope so, Dad. I want that for you.”
“I'm proud to be your father. I'm so proud of the woman that you have become, and I know your mother would be, too. You are an inspiration and a beautiful human being. Any father would be lucky to call you their daughter.”
I tell him about moving in with Antonio and how well things are going with the family. I tell him a little about the negotiations that are going to take place between Antonio and Hong Kong over the next few days in positing peace and ending this war that has taken so many lives. My father says it is about time that it was resolved, and he hopes for the best outcome for everything.
After lunch we say goodbye, and I walk along the main street, taking in the sights and smells of New York again, as I make my way back to the hotel where Antonio is waiting for me.
I feel light and playful. My life feels like it has only just begun, with all the pieces falling into place in just the right way.
I'm happy and hopeful about what the future holds.
When I walk into the hotel room, Antonio is there to greet me.
“You are glowing. I take it that your lunch with your father went well.”
“I was amazing. We get on well. He told me about my mother and how she was, and he said I'm just like her.” I grin.
“Well, if you are just like her, then he was a lucky man to have met her.”
“I think they were both lucky, in a way, because love like theirs is rare.”
“It is, and I don’t plan to let it slip away from me now that I have found that rare love for myself.” He pulls me close to him and kisses me.
When I lean back to look into his face, his eyes are a little more serious.
“Seraphina, I'm meeting with your grandfather tomorrow afternoon. We are going to discuss everything in person. The negotiations are going to start. Over the phone, we spoke, and he was as keen as I was to find a resolution. We both know that money is at the heart of all of this and if we can show both sides that it will be beneficial to end all of this animosity, then we will do business together. And then, my little bird, you and I'llbe free to be together with no issues or difficulties facing us.”
“An gung is a powerful figure in our family, and I'm sure that between the two of you, two powerful forces, everything is going to work out just how you want it to.” I smile at him, knowing that he is capable of anything.
“Kalo’s death will be the last life lost to this war. He will not have died for nothing.”
I nod, pulling myself against him, holding him close to my heart. I can't wait to experience a future with him. He is everything I never even dreamed was possible.
46
Antonio
Before the afternoon meetingwith Muchen Hanoi, Seraphina’s grandfather, I first attend a meeting with the highest members of my family, to inform them of what is about to happen. I have been keeping them updated, and they know that a member of the Hong Kong family arrived in New York yesterday, but my goal is to keep them as well informed and involved in the process as I can to help them feel reassured that I'm doing this with the best intentions for the family.
When I arrive, the men and women are seated around a table, sipping coffee and water, waiting for me to begin.
I drop a folder on the table and sit down. “I'm sorry for making you wait.” I touch my hand to the folder. “Thank you to each of you for providing me with your ideas and contributions towardhow our family might work with Hong Kong. I have gone through each of them, and I'm very impressed with what has been presented. I’ll add my own ideas to these, and by the end of today, I'm confident that we will have a new, very lucrative business deal in place.”
I take a sip of coffee and use the scan the surrounding faces.
They all look relaxed and receptive, and to my relief, nobody looks sour about the fact that we are talking about working with Hong Kong.
“While he is here, know that he is in New York as my invited guest and that Muchen Hanoi and his men are off limits. No one may approach them for any reason, and no harm is to come to him. All communication will go through me, and from his side, all communication goes through him. Once a deal is in place, we will branch out from there. If negotiations are successful, we will have dinner with our family and his family, and everyone will be introduced.”
“What if negotiations don’t go as planned?” One of my cousins asks.
