Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-one Melody “Here’s your tea,” Melody’s mother handed the tea to Timothy and he sat down in the living room next to her.

Between her parents, she was going to keep up the charade the best she could. In their eyes, the wedding was a fact, her affair with Timothy was true. She would never confess that Equilay blamed her, there was no need to. That would bring into question the reason she was getting married, and she didn’t want that. Not when she still didn’t know what Timothy wanted from her.

What if he no longer wished to marry her? What if he felt only regret towards her?

She didn’t know what she felt for him, fear did not allow her to analyze her feelings for the Italian. The only thing that was clear to her was that she already had solved at least the ugliest part. Having Timothy’s trust was enough for her.

She didn’t want to be a bother, she didn’t come into his life to annoy him, she was attracted to him, that was perfectly clear to her, but she didn’t want to upset him.

“Thank you, Mrs. Redford,” he told her very politely. She couldn’t take her eyes off him, it was so strange to see him there, in the house that saw her grow up, her anger was over. Now she only felt his warmth, his proximity was an aphrodisiac for her. She wanted to kiss him, for a moment she thought he would, but he didn’t.

“Tell me Lydia, please. You’re Melody’s fiancé, we’re already family,” she smiled, her perfect teeth. She was remarkably similar to Melody, or rather the opposite. Melody had the same gray eyes and dark hair, though Lydia had a few silver strands standing out from age.

“Lydia it is,” Timothy agreed.

Forgive him? She didn’t know if she could do it so quickly, but, even if she was erring on the side of bipolar, she felt that, at that moment she counted more on him, than she did on her own mother.

That was more than enough to forgive someone.

“You know Melody is pregnant, right?” Melody looked at her mother in surprise, her eyes widening wildly.

“Of course,” Timothy answered her confidently and without hesitation. “I’ve known it since we met.”

“And yet you still proposed?” her mother had no hesitation. Melody felt her cheeks burn from the embarrassment her mother was causing her.

“I still want to marry her. I don’t mind being a father to the child. “

“Hello!” Allegra’s voice filled the house, interrupting the path, down which things were going. “Here we are.”

“Allegra, my child. How glad you are already arrived,” Lydia excused herself and went quickly to the door.

“Timothy...” they never talked about it. Him being in her son’s life...? That hadn’t crossed her mind. Now she realized how innocent she had been about everything.

“What?”

“It’s just...”

Seconds later, the Thompson-Redford family entered, and he was forced into silence as he saw who entered after Allegra.

Timothy immediately stood up when he saw Equilay there and Melody grabbed his hand.

He looked at her and she whispered not to do anything.

“Good evening,” Allegra said as she saw they have a guest. “You must be Timothy,” she walked over and greeted him.

She did not look at her sister for any moment.

This saddened Melody.

She missed those days where her sister believed her and understood her.

Now she wouldn’t even say a polite hello. All she could think about was how many things her husband must have put in her head, to make her doubt her completely.

“Dad!” her sister went straight to her father, who was coming from the kitchen at that moment.

“Allegra. Hi. Have you seen...?” the question died as it began, the moment her father’s eyes landed on Equilay. “Well, you’ve got a lot of nerve coming in here.”

“Charles, whatever Melody told you isn’t true. You know she’ s always had quite an imagination...”

“You’d better be careful what you say about my fiancée,” Timothy let go of Melody and walked toward him. “You thought you were so smart? Testifying against your own sister-in-law, not knowing if I was going to bring her to justice. Without thinking about what was going to happen to her and her baby,”

Timothy was turning red, as he took small but sure steps, towards Equilay. “You’re a fucking bastard and if I don’t smash your asshole face right now, it’s because I don’t want to do it in front of your child.”

Allegra carried Anton in her arms, and lowering him to the ground, she stepped between the two men, surprised by Timothy’s reaction.

“But what’s wrong with you? You just got here and already you want to create a problem in my family.”

“Problem? You believe your husband instead of your own sister?” Timothy looked at her like she was the same shit.

That look she knew all too well how he felt. Until that very morning, he gave that same look to her.

Melody walked over to Timothy and pleaded with him to return with her to their seat.

“Come on. It’s not worth it.”

“No? Not worth it? She’s your sister! I don’t have any siblings, but I’m sure they don’t treat each other like that. They’re not above anyone, not partners, not friendships, not anything!”

“You don’t know me!” Allegra snapped angrily and her face turned scarlet, “you can’t come and disrespect me, disrespect my husband.”

“Your husband stole three-million-dollars from me. Your husband signed a statement saying your sister was the mastermind behind it all. Your husband called Melody and threatened her, talked to her like the disgusting human being he is.”

“You... You don’t...” Allegra began to stutter, looking at Equilay who was silent with his head down.

“Equilay...” it pained her to see her sister in that position. But she deserved it well for not believing her.

For not giving her the vote of confidence for the twenty-two years they had been sisters, being thick as thieves. She owed it to her.

Her father watched the situation without giving his opinion. Melody didn’t want him to get sick. Even though he was relatively a young man. She knew that such strong impressions could be fatal to a heart that was past fifty.

“Dad, you’d better sit down,” she approached him, intending to care for him, but he wouldn’t let her.

“What for? So, I won’t support Timothy? Do you think I believe Equilay?” he asked angrily.

“No daddy,” she was finally sure he believed her. That he trusted her. Her mother, on the other hand, was a completely different story.

“Allegra, Equilay. Please. Let’s get this cleared up at once. It must all be a very ugly misunderstanding,”

Lydia Redford stepped in and grabbed her eldest daughter, as if this would save her from the bad wolf.

“We all know Melody can manipulate very easily when she wants to...”

“For God’s sake Lydia!” her father exclaimed looking at his wife of over twenty-five years, as if she were a stranger. “Have you gone mad! How can you say this about your own daughter?”

Timothy took a few steps back and looked at Melody, she just wanted to get out of there.

Officially, in front of everyone, her mother finally made it clear her position and concept she had regarding her.

“This was what she wanted all along! This is what she came for,” Lydia opened her arms and pointed accusingly at Melody. “You wanted to cause chaos. Since no one supported you with your crazy pregnancy, with your irresponsibility, now you want to ruin your sister’s marriage. That’s being selfish Melody.”

Her mother, even though she was exalted, never lost her composure. She spoke as if she were saying the most normal things, as if she were talking about the weather, about life, about dreams cut short.

Her father, on other hand, gave no credence to what he heard his wife say.

For him alone, Melody was able to forget her own pain, the embarrassment she was going through in front of Timothy.

“I didn’t want this,” she couldn’t listen to her any longer without defending herself.

“Of course, you did! That’s what you wanted. You wanted to see the world burn. You wanted to precisely cause this. Look how uncomfortable you’ve made Equilay. The poor thing couldn’t even defend himself.”

“Uncomfortable? Is he the one you’re worried about? Why don’t you think of your husband? Your daughter? Can’t you believe that I’m telling the truth? So hard to think I’m being truthful,” this last was almost a whisper. “He’s not quiet because he’s uncomfortable, he’s quiet because he knows he’s been caught. Because he has me and Timothy in front of him, because his damned lie was exposed.”

“Equilay,” Allegra looked at her husband, but he didn’t lift his eyes from the floor. “Say something.”

“Don’t say anything. You don’t have to defend yourself. You haven’t done anything wrong,” her mother interjected again.

“Shut up Lydia!” her father raised his voice so high that everyone looked at him. Even poor little Anton who was crawling on the floor and had no idea what was going on.

“Let’s calm down please. I’m sorry you think that way about me,” she smiled at them even though inside she was dying. She wanted to end it all for the sake of her father’s health, whom she could see his chest rising and falling extremely fast. “I don’t want to cause trouble. I’m not that kind of daughter,”

Melody looked at Timothy and he watched her worriedly. “If he returns the money, you won’t press charges? You’ll leave him alone?”

She knew it was a lot to ask. But she had to try.

“Melody!” her father exclaimed. “Don’t help him. He doesn’t deserve it. He deserves to pay for all this.

Don’t you see what he’s caused? You’re being exceedingly kind, my daughter.”

“If that’s what you want,” Timothy said, surprising her. “I told you I’m capable of giving you anything you want as long as I don’t see you cry again.”

“I want to. And I want to leave and never come back.”

She looked at her father with tear-filled eyes and a heavy heart. He was not to blame for the pain his mother and sister caused his family. Her father was innocent in that house. Just as she was.

“I’m sorry daddy, but I can’t stay,” she hugged him and closed her eyes, squeezing them tight. She wanted to die right there, just so, it would stop hurting his heart the way it did, stop hurting the way she did. “I love you daddy.”

“And I love you,” he whispered. “Please don’t leave again,” he begged, his voice breaking. “Let’s work it out.”

“I’m sorry. I already realized that I’m not welcome in this house,” she hardly realized, and with a pain in her heart, she peeled herself out of her father’s arms, he was red-eyed and looked at her pleadingly.

“I’m really sorry,” she repeated.

“Here,” she watched as Timothy handed Allegra the envelope that he arrived with. She had no idea what the hell it contained, nor did she care. “I hope you regret not believing your sister.”

“Let’s go,” he said, she went into her room, pulled out her purse and cell phone and walked past her mother who was trying to talk to her father, but he wasn’t listening. He only had eyes for his daughter, who was leaving home once again with nothing he could do to stop her.

Melody watched as Allegra opened the envelope and began to pull out white sheets with detailed information in Excel charts.

“Ready?” she couldn’t believe she was going to leave with Timothy, this time for her own sake. He pulled out his cell phone and called Clark. “You can come by for us now.”

A flame flared in her heart that she hadn’t known had been out.

He sounded as if he had indeed hoped all along, to return with her to the penthouse.

“I’m ready. Let’s wait outside for Clark,” she looked one last time at her father. She heard him and her mother’s voices arguing, saw him watching her totally broken down, but with enough strength to berate her mother for what she had done.

This time she was leaving for good.