“Oh, come on, give me a smile, would you?” Daniel cooed, “I mean your old man narrowly escaped death, the least you could do is be happy for his life. Do you know?” He continued to say, “In the past, huge miracles like this one are given as testimonies in the church. Do you think I should consider a testimony chicken and fellowship with the lord when I’m back on my feet?”
Marcel didn’t know whether his father was teasing him or fucking around with him, but either way, it wasn’t funny at all. The anger inside of him only kept boiling the more Daniel talked.
Not only does the man have the talent of attracting trouble wherever he goes, but he also has the special skill of aggravating him. Was he seriously joking around in this condition? Because it wasn’t funny to Marcel at all who still had his poker face on.
“I swear to God if you keep on with that frown, then it might get permanently etched on your face and you don’t want to look at that face forever,” Daniel started laughing at the thought of such a thing happening only to end up wincing and coughing in the end.
Ouch, his stomach really hurt. Natalie should have just finished him off already. At least he would be chilling with the devil already, smoking the flames of hell. But then, God loved him so much that he decided to give him a second chance at life and Daniel promised the almighty creator that he would make “very” good use of it.
Marcel couldn’t help but pity his father because, at the end of the day, he was all alone. One could almost say that this was his father’s way of trying to draw his attention to him, Marcel was so flattered – note the sarcasm.
For someone who got shot in the stomach and nearly died, Daniel was quite talkative. He said to Marcel – who hasn’t uttered a single word since he arrived –
“Whenever I want to see my son, I have to beg or force him to visit me, however, the moment you hear that I almost died, you come running here to see me like a prodigal son...” He wriggled his brow, “Or a man getting home to his lover,”
“Oh God no,” Marcel cringed, “Please do not ever say that way again,” He wanted to throw up. He and Daniel were not close enough to crack such a dry and expensive joke. It was disgusting.
.....
“Or perhaps, you’re here to confirm if I have died or not so you can finally live your life in peace?”
“That’s more like it,” Marcel was not ashamed to admit it. What does his father think he came here to do? Feed and rub his back and wish him to get well? He could rot in hell.
“How’s my daughter-in-law doing?” Daniel suddenly asked and Marcel’s expression shifted – his father does talk a lot when in pain. Daniel knew how much talking to him aggravated Marcel yet he kept on speaking as if somehow he wanted him to get a share of his pain – to make him know how he was feeling right now. Yeah, sadism, much?
Marcel stood to his full height, looming over the man on his death, no, sick bed. Yeah, Marcel felt like ending him right now. His patience was slowly thinning out, especially with him involving Arianna.
But even with Marcel’s intimidating figure, there was not an ounce of fear in Daniel’s eyes, only mirth. The man was crazy.
Marcel crossed his arm, saying in a warning tone, “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but don’t even dream of it.”He released his arms and stepped closer to the man, “Because if you dare to lay a hand on Arianna, I promise you....” Marcel placed his hand on Daniel’s stomach, squeezing hard on his wound and no matter how Daniel was, he couldn’t stop the painful groan that left his lips.
“I would end you most miserably, killing you slowly, and would enjoy every bit of it,” Marcel promised him with chilling darkness in his eyes. When it comes to Arianna, he would gladly let the world burn down to the ground if that meant she survived. Arianna was his joy, the source of his light and he wouldn’t allow anyone to extinguish that light forever.
Daniel cried out, “Why are you doing this to me, a poor, helpless old man? Just because I’m not able to defend myself, you maltreat me already,” He almost sounded genuinely hurt.
He went on to say, “Since you already stopped me from choosing a prospective bride for you, I decided to accept the woman you choose as well. So tell me, is it so wrong to ask about my daughter-in-law?” He was aggrieved.
What was wrong with him? Marcel blinked, staring at his father with his brows narrowed in suspicion. If this was another tactic to get close to him and wreck his life, he was not going to let it happen. Letting Daniel into his life over a mere look of remorse was equivalent to accepting the devil’s offer just because he gave a peace offering.
“Just give up the act, I’m not going to fall for your tricks, and neither is that the reason for my coming to see you,” Marcel said to him with his unsmiling face.
“And they say I’m not a good father,” Daniel tsk, “Just when I have self-reflection and decide to be good for once.” He sighed, “Fine, what’s the reason for coming here, then?”
“Who did this to you?” Marcel asked him seriously.
Their eyes met and for a moment there, Marcel thought he saw some sort of emotion there only for him to blink and it was gone.
Daniel’s lips curled to the side, “What do you think?” He shrugged, “Your father is a troublemaker and the sneaky bastard decided to take advantage of my moment of weakness. That’s all,” Daniel lied.
Marcel looked at his father hard, why was he lying?