Beneath the scars

Chapter 5

Asia’s POV

The morning of my father’s memorial always started the same way.

I woke up before my alarm, lay still for a few minutes and stared at the ceiling, almost expecting him to call my phone like he used to. He always joked that if I spent the whole morning crying over him, he’d haunt me just to complain about it.

The joke still made me smile.

Barely.

After getting ready, I changed into a simple black dress and tied my hair into a low ponytail. There wasn’t any reason to dress up today. My father had never cared about expensive clothes. He only cared about showing up.

So I would.

When I walked downstairs, the housemaid was already setting breakfast on the dining table.

“Good morning, Madam.”

“Morning.”

She looked at me for a second before smiling gently.

“The flowers arrived earlier.”

I nodded.

“Thank you. I’ll take them when I leave.”

She disappeared back into the kitchen while I poured myself a cup of coffee.

A few minutes later, Kelvin walked downstairs, already dressed for work. His tie hung loosely around his neck as he scrolled through something on his phone, barely paying attention to where he was walking.

He finally looked up when he reached the table.

“Morning.”

“Morning.”I responded.

He sat opposite me without another word and reached for the toast.

For a while, the only sound between us was the clinking of cutlery.

“I’ll be heading to the cemetery later,” I said quietly as I buttered my toast.

Kelvin looked up briefly.

“The cemetery?”

“It’s my father’s memorial.”

For a second, he looked like he was trying to remember something before his phone buzzed again.

“Oh.”

He picked it up immediately.

“I completely forgot today’s schedule is packed…I’d be really busy today, I won’t be able to make it with you.”

I watched him type a quick reply on his phone to someone who I’m really sure was Jane before continuing what he had been saying to me.

“I’ve got meetings almost all day.”

“I figured.”

“I probably won’t make it.”

He finally looked at me properly.

“But…I’ll stop by to pick you up after .”

He stood, grabbed his car keys and jacket, then walked toward the front door.As he reached it, he turned back.

“Drive carefully.”

“I will.”

The door closed behind him.

I finished the rest of my coffee in silence but strangely enough, I wasn’t disappointed.

He had stopped going with me to the memorial because he always had an excuse so this wasn’t any different.

An hour later, I was standing in front of my father’s grave.

Fresh white lilies rested neatly against the headstone while I gently brushed a few dry leaves away with my fingers.

“I know…”

I laughed softly.

“I came later than usual.”

The wind carried the ends of my hair across my face as I crouched down.

“So much has happened.”

I placed my palm lightly against the cold marble.

“I almost joined you.”

The words came out before I could stop them.

“I got shot…I…I lost my baby and almost lost myself.”

My throat tightened.

“But I’m still here.”

For a long moment, I simply stayed quiet.There was never any rush whenever I came here.

Talking to my father had always been easy.

Even now.

“I made a decision….dad.it wasn’t an easy one and I don’t know if I’m ready for it but…”

A small smile found my lips.

“I’m finally getting divorced…I should’ve done it a long time ago.”

I looked down at the flowers.

“I kept convincing myself that if I loved him enough, he’d eventually see me.”

I shook my head.

“You would’ve called me stubborn.”

Actually…

He would’ve called me an idiot.That thought made me laugh through the tears threatening to fall.

“I’ll protect everything you left behind.”

My voice became steadier.

“I promise…No matter what it takes.I may have been stupid to stay this long but you know your daughter is never a weakling.”

After another few quiet minutes, I stood and adjusted the flowers one last time.

“I’ll come back next week.”

Then I turned and walked away. I tried calling kelvin a few times but no response.so I just called Racheal who had earlier insisted she drove me home.

She claimed my back still hadn’t healed enough for me to drive long distances by myself.

I argued for exactly thirty seconds before giving up.

Now she was humming quietly along with the radio as we made our way back into the city.

“You okay?”

I only gave a polite nod to her question.

“If only dad…was here right now...”I said in a tone barely higher than a whisper.Racheal turned to look at me with that sad feeling in her eyes.

“Well…I know he would have loved to be …but he isn’t …but I’m here for you Asia and I always will be.”

She gently placed her palm on her hands tighten her grip just enough to make me feel safe.

We drove for quite a while after that because the cemetery was quite a distance from the fletcher mansion.

Traffic slowed near one of the busiest intersections, forcing Rachel to ease her foot onto the brakes.

I looked absentmindedly out of the passenger window.

Then I froze.

Across the street, surrounded by floor-to-ceiling glass windows, was a restaurant I knew immediately.

Months ago, I’d spent almost an hour showing Kelvin pictures of it on my phone.

“They make homemade pasta and the reviews are amazing.”

“We should go one weekend.”

And every single time…

He’d been too busy or had another meeting.

Or promised we’d go next month.

Next month had never come.

But today…He was there sitting comfortably near the window.

Jane sat across from him.

She was laughing so hard she had one hand over her mouth while Kelvin smiled in that relaxed way I hadn’t seen in a very long time.

There wasn’t a laptop on the table,no files or anything that told me this was a work meeting like he had earlier told me about.

Just the two of them.

Rachel followed my line of sight and the smile disappeared from her face immediately.

“Oh…”

Neither of us spoke for several seconds.I watched a waiter place another plate between them.

And just then jane leaned forward placing her arm around his neck to say something.

Kelvin laughed again.

Rachel’s fingers tightened around the steering wheel.

“Asia…”

I slowly looked away from the restaurant.

“Just…drive Racheal.”

She hesitated.

“Are you sure?”

I nodded without another word, Rachel pressed the accelerator as traffic finally began moving again.