Marco was slowly falling apart.
Pedro immediately went to one of the
Small hospitals in the small town, mostly surrounded by plantations, after Marco had called him earlier, saying that he needed something. Pedro didn’t sit idly by and immediately prepared everything. Pedro hurried to a small room after asking one of the nurses where Marco was. Pedro stopped in his tracks when he saw Marco, who was silent, staring towards a small window that pierced the garden with the sunlight shining through.
“Sir,” Pedro said, making Marco not budge an inch.
“I have brought everything you asked for, and earlier when I was about to finish all the business at the hospital, the hospital staff said everything was already taken care of,” Pedro said, finally making Marco turn to look at him.
“That must have been Letta,” Marco said, making Pedro fall silent for a moment.
“Does that mean you have met the Lady?” Pedro asked, making Marco nod. Marco then walked towards the side of the bed, then reached out his hand and took a worn-out red ribbon.
“Yes, I met her and also my daughter. I don’t know what to do now. I really want to hold them tight in my arms, but I’m afraid,” Marco said, pausing for a moment, making Pedro notice the frustrated expression on his master’s face. At this point, Marco already knew of their whereabouts. If it were the old Marco, he would surely have brought Letta and Freya back into his grip. But now, Marco seemed too cautious.
“I’m afraid that the more I hold onto them, the more they will be afraid to come near me, but I also don’t want to let them go. So, what should J] do?” Marco asked, looking at Pedro with a helpless gaze.
“Should we meet them? The Lady couldn’t possibly drive us away in front of the young Miss, could she?” Pedro said, making Marco fall silent for a moment.
“What if Freya doesn’t want to meet me either? What if she doesn’t want to have
A father like me?” Marco said again, as if there was only something frightening that would happen to him. Marco seemed unable to accept it, and Pedro didn’t know what decision to make. Even when his master seemed confused, Pedro didn’t want the answer to make Marco’s life worse.
“Do you think God will really not give me another chance to be happy? Should I really bear all this punishment alone?” Marco said again, making Pedro finally walk closer.
“I apologize, Sir. Iam not bold, but you deserve to be happy. Haven’t you accepted the punishment you received so far? At least you can try to reach out your hand again and regain them. I believe happiness still gives you a chance,” and that was the only sentence Pedro could give to his master. Pedro seemed unable to see how Marco was slowly falling apart.
“Is that what I should do?” Marco asked, making Pedro nod. Marco fell silent for a moment, before Pedro chose to wait for Marco outside, giving him time to think. Until Marco could see the sun starting to set again, making the twilight sky look so beautiful. It was then that the smile of Letta appeared in his mind, making Marco feel as if he was strengthening his heart that he could regain happiness with them. Marco took off the patient’s clothes that were still clinging to his body, put on the clothes that Pedro had prepared earlier, and then left.
“We will meet them. I will accept whatever consequences I may face, but I want to try,” Marco said, making Pedro nod his head. Of course, seeing that his master had even a glimmer of hope like this made Pedro feel that it was enough for his master to accept his punishment. They then got into the car and headed to the address where Letta’s house was, not too far away, so they arrived in just a few minutes.
“Is this the plantation?” Marco asked, making Pedro nod.
“Yes, for the past few years, the Lady has struggled so hard to build this business. Although it’s still not too big, it seems enough to meet their needs so far,” Pedro explained, making Marco nod. He felt more and more like a useless man who had abandoned his wife and child.
Upon arrival, Marco didn’t immediately get out. He paused for a moment, observing the simple house, before trying to gather his courage. Marco got out of the car, with Pedro waiting for him inside. Marco walked towards the yard that didn’t even have a fence. The simple yet sturdy wooden door made Marco feel as if his courage would crumble as soon as he saw Letta’s unfriendly face. But he pushed all that aside because all Marco wanted was to regain happiness with them.
Eventually, Marco gathered his courage and knocked on the simple door several times. Until finally, the door began to open slowly, making Marco’s heart beat fast. The image of Letta’s disapproving gaze was already in his mind. But all of that dissipated when he saw a little girl with some flour stains on her face, making the little girl look at Marco with a puzzled look.
“Is it Uncle who saved me?” she asked with her cute voice, which was truly adorable, making Marco still unable to regain his composure.
“Freya, who’s there!” shouted a very familiar woman, making Marco immediately settle his gaze on the house.
“Freya, are you listening to Mom?” she shouted again, as the voice got closer. And that was when they fell silent in surprise, seeing Marco now looking at Letta. So did Marco, who looked shocked at his own arrival.
“Mom, look, Uncle who saved me is visiting now. Mom, he’s really healthy now and meeting us,” Freya said, making Letta blink a few times before walking closer.
“Look, your face is very dirty. You can wash it inside first, right?” Letta said, trying to divert the little girl’s attention.
“Really? Do I look dirty?” Freya asked, trying to touch both sides of her face, making Letta smile.
“Not cute, but you still need to clean it, right,” Letta said gently and lovingly. The interaction between the mother and child was Clearly recorded in front of Marco, who truly wanted to embrace them tightly.
“Okay, Mom, but remember, don’t serve the burnt cookies to Uncle. I’m embarrassed,” Freya whispered, making Letta laugh before letting her little daughter enter. Meanwhile, she immediately looked at Marco, who was still silent.
“I’m sorry, I came without informing you first,” Marco said, finally making Letta open the door in front of him.
“You don’t intend to keep standing in front of the door, do you? Come in, Freya has something for you,” Letta said, making Marco fall silent. He didn’t even expectText property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.
That Letta would ask him to come in. That made that glimmer of hope now seem even clearer. Marco entered the house, which was really very simple, with a small sofa, open rooms, and not too big, and sat down.
“T’ll prepare a drink for you,” Letta said, making Marco immediately grab Letta’s wrist.
“T came…”
“Isn’t it rude to ignore a guest?” Letta said, making Marco finally let go of her grip because of Letta’s words that considered him a guest. Letta immediately walked to the kitchen and prepared a warm drink for Marco.
“Is she okay after the accident?” Marco asked, trying to start a conversation, making Letta nod her head.
“Yes, just waiting for her wound to heal,” Letta replied, making Marco, who still felt awkward, nod his head.
“Thank goodness for that. I hope she will always be fine,” Marco said with a distant look, making Letta only able to see how defined his jaw looked even clearer. Has he lost quite a bit of weight, Letta thought, then brushed away all her worries.
“Yes, I will take good care of her. Ican do anything to prevent anything bad from happening to her,” Letta said. Even though she was reckless last time, almost losing Freya’s life. Marco was about to reply to Letta’s words when suddenly the sound of small footsteps approaching was heard. Freya had finished cleaning the stains on her face.
“How is it, Mom? Everything’s clean now, right?” Freya asked, now sitting directly facing Marco.
“Yes, you look beautiful,” Letta replied, making Freya smile. Before Freya looked at Marco, who was still silent watching their interaction.
“Did Mom serve my homemade cookies?” Freya asked, whispering right next to Letta, making Letta shake her head. Letta then leaned in and whispered something.
“You have to serve them yourself, right?” Letta said with a smile, making Freya nod enthusiastically. Freya then walked to the kitchen table, where she had previously made cookies with Letta. Freya took the best-looking cookies to serve to Marco with her little feet. Freya walked, making Marco always amazed by every behavior of his little daughter.
“I’m not very good at making cookies, but Mom is very good. She always makes the most delicious cookies I’ve ever eaten, so Uncle has to eat them too,” Freya said ina funny tone, making Marco truly just able to pull the corner of his lips, seeing his little daughter growing up without him all this time.