Chapter 91 - Family Warmth

"Are you seriously going to do such a cruel thing to me?"

Darius thought he could only see what David was going to do to him. David slowly walked over to Darius who had run out of bullets. Only a knife he held as his last weapon, while David held the AUG, an assault-rifle type of gun which had one hundred and forty-nine rounds of ammunition in it.

Bang! ...

Needing only one bullet, David mercilessly shot Darius in the head, causing Darius to slam the PS4 controller he was holding. David just laughed triumphantly at Darius's side.

Angeline and Hellen who saw the incident from the kitchen also laughed softly.

"Surely Darius feels very depressed, he has never been beaten by anyone in the Call Of Duty game, because the only ones in this house are the two of us who play it. And I'm not a game maniac like Darius." said Hellen, peeling the lobster meat that David and Darius had caught this morning themselves. David got five lobsters, seven squid and a fairly large octopus, while Darius only got a few medium-sized prawns and small fish that even Hellen didn't want to use as ingredients.

They both fishing with only a small boat that they assemble themselves and a special diving goggles, with a hunting tool in the form of a traditional spear made of aluminum iron, without oxygen cylinders that help them to breathe when in the water.

"Since you guys lived here, Darius has had the most valuable experience in his life that he almost never had while we were married."

Angeline, who had just finished peeling the red onion skin, turned her head, "What is that?"

"Feeling what it feels like to lose. David is better at doing almost anything than Darius. As you know, David is very good at cooking, fishing, playing video games, all of which are Darius's skills that he is always proud of and things he really is really good at. And what making Darius feel very defeated, is ... "

Hellen put the kitchen knife she'd been holding on to the table and looked back at Angeline with a smile. "David is more reliable in treating his wife than Darius. I also see it, David's treatment of you is way above sweet. For David, you are a complete package. Sometimes, he sees you as a woman who he really respects like a mother figure. Sometimes, he sees you as a little sister whom he desperately wants to protect and care. And sometimes, David also sees you as a wife he will love as long as he lives. The way David looks at you is so clear in our eyes."

The reddish tinge painted on Angeline's face made her look almost the same as the crab's skin that Hellen was boiling. "You guys go too far about that."

"Too far?" asked Hellen mockingly. Hellen returns to processing the ingredients that are on the kitchen table. "What I'm saying is a truth from what we've seen so far. Me and Darius have been husband and wife for longer than you new couples who are still warm, but it feels like you are the ones teaching us here, not the other way around."

"But I don't feel like I'm doing anything."

"But I don't feel like I'm doing anything."

Hellen stopped moving her hands again because she heard what Angeline said. Hellen turned around, walked towards Angeline and gently stroked Angeline's head. Hellen cupped Angeline's cheeks with both hands. "From now on, don't ever feel that you never did anything for David. I don't see that in your family life, if you are in the same boat, only David is rowing his boat while you are not. Don't ever think like that."

Angeline was still silent, had not replied to anything Hellen said, while Hellen was still looking Angeline straight in the eye with a warm gaze.

"With you accepting all of David's treatment to you, you also rowed the boat. From what I heard from Darius, all this time David lived alone on such a dark road. And what's worse, he kept walking without knowing which direction he was going. With your presence in David's life, when compared to anything David has done for you, for David, you have done more for him even though you were not aware of it yourself. "

"Do you think so?" Finally Angeline opened her mouth, making Hellen nod in agreement with Angeline's question while smiling at her.

"Have you ever lived alone in such a dark and cruel place? Every second that passes, you feel that someone will come to threaten your life, and even you don't know what you are trampling under your feet, because of that place that you are standing is completely dark. Your mind will be filled with all kinds of bad, even terrible opinions. And because it is so terrible, those bad thoughts keep attacking your mind all the time, trying to slowly kill you from the inside. Have you ever felt that?"

Angeline shook her head, making Hellen continue her words. "David has lived such a tough life. Not even for a short period of time. Enduring such a worldly hell, even more than ninety percent of the people who felt it decided it was better for them to end their own life than to have to feel it all the time. That's why I dare to say so firmly, that you have done more for David than you thought so far. My advice to you, is never to leave David again. With you by his side, he no longer needs to feel that he lives inside the hell he's been dealing with alone all this time. Do you understand what I mean?"

Tears escaped Angeline's eyes. She was really wrong because she had left David. And Angeline had promised herself it would be the last time she would ever leave David. She was really stupid at that time.

Angeline wiped off the trail of her own tears then returned the smile Hellen gave her. "I understand. Thank you for reminding me of my own stupidity."

"It's great if you understand. To me, you are like a little sister that I never had. A very beautiful and adorable little sister. David is really lucky to have such a life partner like you."

Angeline was about to hug Hellen, but Hellen held Angeline's body away, making Angeline stare at her in confusion.

"I have to get the crab out now. And now that all the ingredients are ready, it's up to the execution process. So, your job is done here. Just go accompany David, I can do the rest myself."

"Is it okay?"

Hellen smiled again while nodding in agreement with Angeline's question. Angeline took off her apron and hung it on the hanger then walked into the living room where David and Darius were still playing the video game they had been playing.

Angeline sat next to David, causing David to turn his head. David also put his PS controller on the table in front of him and immediately embraced Angeline's body with one hand. David glanced at Angeline warmly. "Are you done helping Hellen in the kitchen?"

Angeline nodded and then glanced at the PS controller David was holding. "Why stop playing? Darius is waiting for you."

David flashed a smile with a very obvious mocking expression. "I'm tired of winning from this amateur."

Darius rolled his eyes at David's words, while Angeline chuckled.

"Do you want to try it?" asked David as he handed Angeline his PS controller.

"I don't know how to play it." replied Angeline.

David also hinted Angeline to move to sit on his lap which Angeline immediately complied with, still wearing a curious face about what David would do. David also leaned his chin on Angeline's left shoulder from behind and put his arm around her waist.

No, David was not hugging Angeline, but David's hand was holding Angeline's hand, who was holding the PS controller. "If I explain how to play it, it will take time and also not necessarily that you will be able to play it right away. So, let me teach you with hands-on practice."

Another reddish tinge printed faintly on Angeline's cheek. The girl is now sitting on David's lap holding the PS controller. Darius just snorted in annoyance that David was making out with Angeline so blatantly in front of him.

Darius returned to direct his gaze at the television screen that he had been using with David to play video games. "Don't think because you're a woman, plus you're also a rookie, I'll hold back."

They also returned to playing the game which had been stopped. And after a few minutes, Darius slammed his PS controller again.

"This is totally cheating! It's no different than fighting David this way!"

Angeline, David and Hellen also laugh at Darius's annoyance.

Darius was really frustrated to have been beaten by Angeline, even though it was David who directed all of Angeline's finger movements.

But this moment is truly an extremely rare moment. Now David really feels a very warm and affectionate family atmosphere that is full of love.

More than that, his happiness was completely complete because of the presence of Angeline, and also their first child who was still in Angeline's womb.

David also imagined when their first child would be born. He will be the father who loves his child the most in this world.

That's what David promised himself.

***

Author's Note :

PS stands for PlayStation, which is a graphical game console from the 32-bit era. First produced by Sony around 1990.. PlayStation premiered in Japan on December 3, 1994, in the United States September 9, 1995 and Europe September 29, 1995.