Chapter 35 - Final Goodbye

Silence goes on as the father and daughter awkwardly glanced at each other. Yelena finally realized how her father feels. He didn't want her to stay far away from him. The problem was not Felix, but the distance.

"Father, in this generation, distance is never a problem. Besides, Edeladon is only around 6 hours away by plane. And most importantly, we only started dating and I'm still young." She explained to her father patiently.​​

"You don't understand, Yelena. Many things can happen during 6 hours. What if something happens to you?" Mr. Arista narrowed his eyes and stared at the floor. "Did you know that it only took a minute for your brother to fell off the cliff and die?" He muttered.

It's been years since Mr. Arista last spoke about his son. He always avoids any topic which concerned his late son. He didn't want the heart-wrenching pain to start all over again!

Yelena's calm face was replaced by a dangerously darken one. "Don't talk about Marvin. You don't have the right to do so." She turned her head away from her father.

Of all people, he was the one who shouldn't talk about her late brother the most! How could he when he was never a real father to him? Just hearing out her father made Yelena so furious that she could barely sit down with a tightly clenched fist.

"Yelena, try to accept the truth. Marvin is -"

"How many times do I have to say that Marvin's death was not an accident?! It's a murder!" Yelena yelled at her father but her chest suffered the most! She coughs and holds her injured chest in pain.

Mr. Arista immediately rose from his seat in horror and hold his daughter. "Are you okay?" He worriedly asked her.

Yelena brushed off her father hands and glanced at him with disdain. "Don't act as you care about me! Ever since I was a child, you only care about Marvin. But I completely accept because Mother only cares about me. I always try to understand you and Mother. But I was wrong. When your only son died, you were not even affected by it. The same goes for Mother!" She snapped.

Mr. Arista cannot take the accusations anymore. "How can we break down while you are completely broken?! We need to be strong for you to lean on because you're a total mess at that time!"

Mr. Arista recalled all the sleepless nights and tears of he and his wife which they hide from their daughter. They always act strong in front of their daughter but suffered all the pain together while no one witness!

"We always tried to comfort you and make you feel better, but you never listened to us. It was hard for us too! But we need to be strong because we are the parents of a girl who lost her most beloved brother!" Mr. Arista paused for a while and look at his daughter. "But Yelena, it was very hard for us too. Because we are also the parents who lost their only son." He trailed off.

Mr. Arista closed his eyes and take a deep breath. "We want you to accept your brother's death and move on with your life. That's all we want from you."

"How can I do that when I was sure that his death was not an accident? How can I easily give up on the injustice that my brother faced? The culprit will still be out there, living a good life without even feeling guilty!" Yelena stared at her father as if she was pleading him to believe her.

But she got no response. Instead, the father helplessly sighs at her. She immediately brushed away all the hope and turned her head away from him again.

Her father never believed her during the past 6 years! No matter how many times she said, it never made a difference. Why did she even hope that he would believe him this time? She was such a fool! She should have already known from past experiences!

"I don't care even if you don't believe me, but I will never give up on this matter. So, don't ever regret when I bring a witness and evidence to you." She firmly told her father. She instantly lies on the bed with her back facing the father. She didn't want to talk to him anymore.

"What are you talking about?" Mr. Arista confusedly asked. But this time, it was his turn to receive no response.

"Yelena."

She covered her body with a blanket at once, making it clear that she doesn't have anything to say now.

Mr. Arista helplessly rubbed the middle of his forehead and look at his rebelled daughter. He sighed and finally leaves the room after standing next to her bed for a while.

* * *

The next morning, Yelena was a bit taken aback when Maurice walked inside her hospital room. Felix went home to get changed and as soon as he leaves, Maurice came.

Yelena frowned, not because of the ex-fiancee, but the thing that entered her mind. Did the two men plan this together? Why are they so unpredictable?

"Hi, Yelena." Maurice greeted her with a smile.

Yelena? Not Elen? She was surprised but didn't show it. She already knows that Maurice has no other intention; so she decided to be patient with him.

"What brings you here?" She asked him.

"I came here to see you one last time." Maurice forced a little smile. He approached her and sit next to her bed.

"Last time?" Yelena asked dumbfoundedly.

Even though their engagement was broken, it doesn't mean that they will never see each other again. Isn't it?

"I plan to return to our branch in Edeladon." Maurice noticed that Yelena was looking at him with a surprised face. "Oh! You may not know, but after I finished my studies, I spent my whole time in our Edeladon Branch." He explained.

"But you only return weeks ago. Why would you leave again so soon?"

"Actually, I only came back to meet you. I prefer to be alone, much more like I will be running away from my family." He lightly giggled. "I said that I came to meet you one last time. But as I thought about it, I may be wrong. If things go well between you and Felix, we might even meet again at Edeladon. Who knows? You might even become the next Queen."

Maurice tried hard to act normally which Yelena didn't fail to notice.

"I always wanted to say this to you." Yelena glanced at Maurice with a warm smile. "Thank you for being there for me when my brother died, Maurice. You may not know how much it meant to me, but I want to tell you that I really appreciate it."

Maurice fake smile instantly dropped as if he was caught red-handed. "I thought that I will be okay. But now that I see your face again, it's much harder than I imagined."

He hung his head low and raised once again. "Goodbye, Elen. Even from a distance, I will always root for your happiness. And I'm sorry for every pain that I gave you."

He takes out a small box from his pocket and gives it to Yelena. He then rose from his seat and leave the hospital room after he flashed a convincing warm smile.

Yelena opened the small box and when she saw the thing in it, she blinks in surprise. Their engagement ring from 7 years ago was placed in it!

She gawked and look at the door where Maurice just left. He had said his final goodbye through this ring.....