Page 109 of Until You Came Along
At that moment, the man who had brought me there appeared and stood next to Hermes, looking at him menacingly with an intimidating posture.
“Are you going to have me thrown out by your thugs too?” he said to my father. “You threaten to destroy my company and now you want to beat me up, right? Don't bother, you can keep her because she's not worth any sacrifice, she's actually worth nothing.”
“It's not what you think, I swear,” I repeated, but I felt my father squeezing my arm in clear warning.
The “thug,” as he had called him, grabbed him by the arm to “invite” him to leave.
“Get your hands off me, you son of a bitch!” he shouted, and tried to throw a punch that never reached its target because the guy caught his arm and...”
My father closed the door and I couldn't see anymore. I started screaming, not wanting to imagine what that man might do to him.
“Leave him alone! Don't touch him! You goddamn son of a bitch!” I screamed desperately.
I lunged at him, but he grabbed my arms and forcefully took me to the sofa to make me sit down.
“Calm down, it's for the best. Amin won't do anything to him, he'll just make sure he finds the exit.”
“I swear if I find out you did something to him, I'll kill you. You'll have to sleep with one eye open because I'll find a way to get to you and end your life. I don't care about mine anymore, but I'll make sure you don't hurt anyone else.”
“I see that at least you have some of my blood running through your veins, because you certainly didn't inherit that temper from your mother. Get used to my presence because, from now on, you're going to stay by my side until we leave this place.”
“You're kidnapping me,” I stated, wiping away my tears angrily. “You can do whatever you want, but I assure you I won't get married, even if I have to do something drastic, I won't give you the satisfaction of marrying whoever you want.”
“We'll see about that. Make yourself comfortable because you're going to be in this suite for a couple of days. And drop that bitter face, you should be happy and grateful to marry the man that...”
“That you chose because it's convenient for you,” I interrupted. I wasn't crying anymore; it wasn't worth wasting energy and tears in front of this monster and evil being. “But you're wrong about me. I'm not bitter; I consider myself brave and I'm going to fight you tooth and nail. The bitter one was that little girl who begged you countless times not to forget her and to show her a little love. You know something? If I had that little girl in front of me, if today I could talk to the girl I once was, that fearful and sad Delfina, I would tell her not to worry, that it was better to be raised by a brother barely older than her than by a man who only knows evil and only loves himself. I would have saved her so many years of sadness and questioning why her father didn't love her. To that innocent little girl who only wanted a little love, I would say that, thanks to that man not being in her life, she became a good person, a person with principles, a person her mother would be proud of. Who knowswhat would have happened if she had been raised by someone like you who completely lacks those qualities and has no heart. I would never abandon my children, no matter how many reasons I thought I had to do it or the circumstances life dealt me.”
I remained seated while he stood in front of me, looking down at me seriously. When I finished, he stared at me in silence for a few minutes, then turned and went to another room in the suite with that walk that exuded confidence. I sat there staring at nothing, no longer wanting to know what awaited me, as my hope and light slowly faded away.
I was awakened by his voice; apparently at some point my body and mind had succumbed and I'd fallen asleep. I was still in the same armchair where he had forcefully seated me.
“Wake up, Delfina, you need to eat,” he ordered, pointing to a room service cart with covered dishes.
“You can take all that away, I’m not going to eat,” I replied, sitting up in the armchair.
I didn’t even know what time it was. Through the suite’s large windows I could see the darkness of night, but I didn’t know if it was the same day or another; I had no sense of anything except that I was locked in there, at the mercy of my father’s selfishness and power.
“Where’s the bathroom?” I asked, needing to go there because my bladder was about to burst.
He looked at me and pointed toward the door of another room. I stood up and nearly ended up sprawled on the floor; my legs gave out and I had to sit back down.
“Are you feeling alright?” he asked, as if he cared.
I didn’t answer him. What did he care whether I felt well or not? I looked at him, stood up again, grabbed my purse and walked toward where he had indicated. When I looked at myself in the mirror, I was frightened—I had enormous dark circles, swollen and reddened eyes, and was paler than I’d ever seen myself. My condition was pitiful. I searched for my phone because I needed to know about Hermes. I wasn’t going to call him because I knew he wouldn’t answer, but I wanted to see if I had any messages from him and also to write to him explaining that this man was my father, not my lover. I couldn’t find it, and I was certain I had left it in my purse. That bastard had taken my phone to keep me isolated. I stormed out of the bathroom in a rage, but even after searching the suite, I couldn’t find him. The only person there was that Amin character, standing by the door like my jailer—which in fact he was—following my every move with his eyes but without making a sound.
I gave up; I wasn’t going to find either my phone or the damned Malek Naik. I looked at the clock; it was already two in the morning. My stomach was growling with hunger. I needed to eat something because I needed strength; I couldn’t allow myself to weaken. I had to keep all my senses alert. I went to the cart and took an apple. I moved away to eat it without my sentinel’s scrutinizing eyes. I stretched my legs a bit by walking around the suite and then returned to the armchair. I needed to think of a solution; I needed to talk to my brother again. I didn’t have my documentation to leave the country with me, so I assumed that at some point we would go to my apartment. I would wait for that moment; there I would find a way to escape from this situation.
I was awakened by thunderous shouts that paralyzed my heart. I sat up in the armchair and froze. My brother was there, struggling with Amin to get in.
“Let him in, he’s my son,” my father said, emerging from the bedroom while tying his bathrobe belt.
Tom shook himself free and pushed Amin aside to enter the room, looking at me in surprise. I ran to him and hugged him tightly. Tom returned the embrace with equal intensity while stroking my head.
“How are you, little sister? Did this son of a bitch do anything to you?” he asked worriedly, pulling back slightly to look me over from head to toe.
“I’m fine, he just won’t let me leave and he’s keeping me isolated.”
“You goddamn son of a bitch! How could you do this to your own daughter? I swear you’ll pay for all your evil deeds.”
