“Who is it?” I asked.
“He didn’t specify. He only said that he had something important to tell you,” he replied as he lowered his head.
I turned to James and he was quick to say, “You may go. It may be very important.”
“What will you be doing?” I asked.
“I will be returning to my room. There are still things that I need to settle for our next step,” said he.
I, along with the guard, gave our respectful bows and went on our way.
---*---*---*---
I was immediately stopped on my tracks as I entered the accepting room. Inside, there stood Gonzalo and right behind him was Grandpa Ben.
“Leave us,” I said as I kept my eyes on Gonzalo. The guard left the room and I walked towards Gonzalo. As I reached him, I asked, “What are you doing here?”
Gonzalo bowed as the doors closed behind me. “My humblest apologies, Your Highness,” he replied as he slowly stood upright. “It was never my intent to disobey you. However, Grandpa Ben wanted to talk to you.”
I glanced over at Grandpa Ben and he was emotionless as he stared at me. I stepped closer to Gonzalo and whispered, “Didn’t I already tell you what you need to say to him?”
“I did everything just as you told me to, Your Highness. But he wasn’t satisfied with that answer,” he whispered back. “Also, he has attempted, multiple times, to escape from the castle. He said he wanted to look for the mortal on his own. We can’t control him much longer,” he continued.
Silently, I sighed as I prepared myself mentally before I faced Grandpa Ben. I wanted to prevent the very moment that this conversation would happen between us. I didn’t want him to worry more than how he already was. But at this point, perhaps it was time to tell Grandpa Ben the entire truth.
I had no clue on how he would accept the news. But whatever it was that was bound to happen, all I could do was to accept it. And I was already certain that he would never be happy with me after this.
I cleared my throat and approached Grandpa Ben with caution. I avoided his gaze, up until I stood right before him. “Grandpa Ben,” I spoke with my eyes stuck on the ground.
For a while, he didn’t say anything. But after quite some time, he said, “If you have the audacity to keep things from me, have some courage to look me in the eyes and tell me everything.”
“I’ll give you both some time alone,” Gonzalo remarked as he rushed out of the room.
Slowly, I raised my head and met his gaze. His brows were slightly knitted together. We stood silent as we stared at each other for a while. But he broke the silence first as he asked, “Well, will you tell me what’s really happening?”
I sighed as I shook my head. I bit my inner cheeks as I held back my tears. I stuttered, “I… I don’t know what to tell you, Grandpa Ben. I… I don’t know what to say.”
He crossed his arms and leaned towards me. He raised his voice as he asked, “Why don’t you start from the very beginning? The day that you should’ve told me what happened? How about we start from there?”
My eyes widened at his response. “How did you—“
“Gonzalo told me everything, Robert. From the very beginning up to the present, I already know everything,” he answered as his brows furrowed even more. “How could you lie to me about this matter? Why didn’t you tell me about it? You were in the bakery that day. And you pretended that you only had an argument with Laura,” he continued. He then shouted, “Why would you do that?!”
The room shook lightly as his voice echoed all around us.
“Grandpa Ben, allow me to explain.”
“I trusted you with everything, Robert!” he proceeded. It seemed that he wouldn’t give me a chance to explain myself. And I couldn’t blame him. It was his right to act this way. He continued as he stepped closer, “You promised that you will keep Laura safe, that nothing will harm her. You said that you would even kill yourself if you hurt her.” He then screamed at my face, “What happened to your promises, huh? What happened to that?!”
I closed my eyes as I avoided his face when he came too close. I kept silent because it would only worsen the situation. And I knew that I had no right to justify what I did. Because that would simply be giving out unacceptable reasons and excuses full of holes.
As Grandpa Ben slowly stepped back, I said with caution, “No amount of explanation can justify my actions. I was too focused, too worried about what could happen to you if I told you the truth. I knew how much you love Laura. And I didn’t want to cause you more pain because of the trouble that she was caught in. A trouble that started with me.
“Believe me, Grandpa Ben, I didn’t want to keep things hidden from you. As Laura’s father, you deserve to know everything that involves her. But after the attack on the bakery, I didn’t want to make the situation even worse. I did my best to quicken the process of rescuing her. But other matters surfaced while we waited for the official start of the mission,” I continued.
“Then, you should’ve allowed me to search for her. I understand that you have numerous things to attend to,” he replied. But if that was the case, you could’ve just told me and I’ll find her on my own.”
“She wasn’t taken by people who had nothing to do with their lives, Grandpa Ben. She was abducted by Benjamin, the Prince of Eastern Sun,” I said. “I know you know of him. And I know that you’re aware of his feelings for her. After she chose me, Benjamin hated us and now, he plotted against me by using Laura to his advantage.”
“Whatever kind of conflict that you two have with each other, you should never drag others into it,” he snapped. “Laura has nothing to do with the two of you. She didn’t ask for the attention of two men. You and Benjamin are princes of your realms and this is how you behave? You should be ashamed of yourselves.”
I knelt immediately and kept my head low. “I’m well-aware of that, Grandpa Ben. I never blamed Laura and I will never blame her for everything that happened. With all honesty, I only have myself to blame for the dilemma that we’re in,” I explained. “But I promise you: I will not rest easily until Laura is safely returned to you. I know I already failed with most of my promises. But I guarantee that Laura will be rescued back to you. Safe and sound.”
I added, “I beg of you to give me one final chance to fulfill a promise. I will even accept death just to make sure I return Laura to you, alive and well.” I bowed after I said, “May you grant me this one last chance.”
I kept my position as I waited for Grandpa Ben’s response. But he didn’t say anything. I slightly raised my head and saw that he remained unmoved. My heart pounded harder in anticipation. Sweat formed on my face and neck. My back felt a bit of pain and my knees began to hurt. But I didn’t complain. I had no right to complain. The discomfort that I felt wasn’t enough to atone for my mistakes towards Grandpa Ben and Laura’s abduction.
And finally, after a long silence, Grandpa Ben sighed. He walked to the nearest chair and sat down. With a shaky voice, he said, “Laura is my everything. I worked hard for years just to make sure that she is provided for. When she came into my life, when she became my daughter, I was the happiest man in the world. I was blessed with such a good daughter.”
Slowly, I stood up and carefully looked at him. His head faced the window. His hands clenched onto the arm rest. His eyes watered as he swallowed lumps in his throat. My heart shattered as I watched how he held back his tears. I lowered my head in shame as I stared mindlessly onto the carpeted floor.
“I swore with everything that I have that I will give her a comfortable life,” he continued after a deep breath. “It may not be filled with all the riches of the world. But as long as she had a roof above her head, clothes to wear and food to eat, I would be satisfied.”
He took a long pause before he added, “When you came into the picture, I was glad that she found someone else that she can lean on. Whether you would end as her friend or lover, it didn’t matter. I was already thankful that she met you.”
My eyes closed as every word he uttered struck my heart. I pressed my lips together tightly as I controlled my cries.
“When she fell in love with you, I wanted so badly to disagree with her. Knowing the dangers of a romance between a mortal and an immortal, I wanted to stop her from seeing you,” he continued. “When I witnessed how much she has cried over you, I wanted to ban her from ever coming in contact with you. But I couldn’t do it. I saw how much she truly loves you. And how much she was willing to wait for things to settle on your side.”
My eyes widened again. I looked up and this time, he was looking at me.