Chapter 48: Chapter 48
DAHLIA:
I paced the room back and forth, trying to think carefully of what my father had told me before I sent him secretly away through the giant window that gave a direct access to the garden.
He really said there were no such letters, right? My papa didn’t receive my letters, save but one…
“Here, Dahlly,” he said as he produced a parchment from inside his vest. “This is the letter I received from you. The one and only letter I have ever received for the two months you have been away...”
I unfolded the parchment my papa handed to me. It did look like the parchments I have used when I was writing those letters to him.
The first few lines of the letter had caught my eyes suspiciously. It wasn’t like any of the letters I had written to papa before. It read:
Father,
I’ll go straight to the point. I do not wish to see you. Please stop trying to get into the district and leave quietly.
Don’t worry about me. I am in good health and will make sure I will be healthy and happy for the rest of my life. Good bye, and have a nice life in the capital without me.
Dahlly
It was so sort, blunt, and cold… Just like someone I know who just showed a part of his real personality to me a few days ago.
“Papa, thank you for showing me this… Like I said, I did not write this letter. It might look like my handwriting, but it’s not from me at all.”
“Just as I thought. I was really going to ask you about it, that’s why I carried that letter with me. I never believed a word of it! I know my poor baby would never send such a cold reply.”
I didn’t respond to father after that. I was busy thinking about the fake response.
No matter how much I think of it, only Tristan would be the one to make such an act, but why would he send a fake letter under my name? If he did not want papa to visit, he should have just told me so…
There was no reason for him to make such an elaborate hoax. Besides, didn’t he know that this incident could create a grave misunderstanding between papa and I? What would he benefit from that?
“Thank you for letting me read this, papa… Now that you know I didn’t write this, I want to clear this misunderstanding between me and my husband too about your visit,” I held my father’s hands warmly as I spoke.
“Papa, please allow me to mention that you and I have seen each other. I want to understand what all of this is about... I have a hunch that he acted only to protect me, but I needed to confront him and be honest about this… Please allow me to tell him about our meeting today.”
There was no best way to approach Tristan but to tell him the truth. I cannot simply ignore this fact… I have to let everything out in the open…
“Let me think about it, Dahlia… Give me some time to think things through, for I could not bear to see your life be endangered if your husband learns this truth… At least allow me to secure you a way out should he turn into something rotten…”
I couldn’t tell papa that he had already turned rotten once, but because I opted to clear things out, everything did not descend further into the abyss…
“Alright, papa… I won’t confront Tristan yet, but as soon as you have found a way out for me, please inform me about it. I’ll take care of myself, don’t worry…”
Those were the last words that father and I spoke. I urged him to leave after that, and then I sent the carriages away and told them to wait for further instructions in the future.
My heart could not stay still after that. What was Tristan thinking? Why did he send that fake letter to father?
Although I had promised papa never to mention our secret meeting, I still cannot stand keeping silent to Tristan about this. If I let this be for a long time, it may not be him who would rot inside, but me…
However, I have to think of my situation and how he would respond… Even though Tristan had talked about the source of his anger before, and we’d come to the conclusion that he must manage his anger in another way, there’s no guarantee he wouldn’t become wild like last time…
Actually, there was a nagging feeling in my chest… When he told me that he was searching for the people who killed her parents, a thought came into my mind, but I was not able to voice it out for fear of what he’ll say.
I wanted to ask him: if he later finds out that I was somewhat connected to the death of his parents, what would he do? Would he hate me with such fervor too?
I knew that papa had fought many territorial battles alongside the king before I was born. It was written in many of the kingdom’s historical books and records…
If there was one chance that papa was one of those people, would he – my mate – come to abhor me?
I was reminded of that idea just now after hearing that he had tricked father… Did he do it for the sake of protecting me from my father, or did he do that because he hated me?...
I heard voices from the outside, probably coming from the front door. Tristan must have come back already.
Sure enough, he walked into the room of the study, his face a bit strained.
“Rough day,” I asked. He strode towards me on the couch, kissing the top of my head.
“Hmm, yes,” he said. He stayed from behind, hugging me, his head resting on top of mine.
“I… There’s something I want to talk to you about,” I began.
“What is it?”
I hesitated… I could only hide things to a certain extent. I don’t want to hide things for a long time too…
“Did you… Did you really ask papa for a large sum of dowry?”