CHAPTER SEVEN
1586 Words
NATHAN HAN.
Uncle Colleen is furious and it is evident on his face and the way his jaw is clenched tight but that is the least of my problems right now. Ophelia does not have a problem with it and that makes everything better.
After the entire briefing and everything, I tell her to meet me in the office before finally pulling my body off the chair and making my way out. I don’t bother to spare uncle Colleen another glance, he can go to hell and burn.
After settling down in my office, a knock comes on the door and she steps in.
“General” her voice rings out.
I look up from the document in front of me before leaning against the chair. My gaze travels over her for a few seconds before resting on her face again.
“I thought you would not come,” I tell her.
“Why? You asked for me so I came, General”
“You can call me Nathan when no one is around” I say again, “you know me, drop the formalities”
She smiles lightly and my insides churn with anger. Her smile reminds me of her father and it annoys the hell out of me.
“Earlier, you said I should call you general”
“We have a lot of soldiers around, you should know courtesy demands that”
“Of course” she nods, “I totally understand”
“Have a seat”
“Thank you sir…Nathen”
I don’t say anything until she is finally comfortable on the chair. This is when I lean forward, my gaze intensifying with each passing moment.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Ask away” the smile on her face grows and the anger inside of me grows.
“What do you know about me?” I ask, “you said you know me and we used to be close eight years ago. Tell me, what kind of a person was I?”
For a few seconds, she remains silent but her eyes never leave me. I know that look, she is trying to sniff me out. Ophilia is definitely her father’s daughter, trying to sniff me out like a bloodhound.
“What exactly do you know about me, Sargent?” I ask again, “I think you are the only one who I can ask now because I think your father hates me”
She chuckles lightly, “Why would you say that?”
“It’s obvious”
“My father adores you, Nathan” Ophilia announces, “he wouldn’t stop blaming himself for what happened to you and your father. He thought you were dead and he even set up a foundation in your father’s name”
A small frown carve on my forehead. A foundation? This is the first time I am hearing this. That bastard!!! He will do everything and anything to syphon as much money as he can.
“I didn’t know that”
“My father loves you, Nathan” she continues, “he is just overwhelmed with the fact that you are not dead and you are back, the fact that you are the new general. It’s just a whole lot and maybe this is his own way of reacting to way of reacting to that”
Look at her, defending him with her life. Right now, I can’t tell if she is trying to play dumb or if she was actually oblivious to her father’s actions.
“But you were a good person, Nathan” her voice pulls me out of my train of thought again, “one of the best soldiers on the team. Everyone liked you and the moment they heard you died in that blast, everyone mourned you and your father. The whole country was in mourning because they adored the Han family. You really left a legacy behind”
“Hmmm” I nod, “I left a legacy behind? What does that even mean?”
She smiles gently but this time, the smile doesn't reach her eyes. Something is wrong, I can clearly see it.
“Tell me, Ophilia. What do you mean?”
“Hmmmm” she bites down on her lips lightly, I can see the hesitation spread across her face. Whatever she is about to say is going to be huge, I can feel it in my gut already.
“After everything that happened, news began to spread that you orchestrated the whole thing because you wanted to take over from your father but it was almost impossible to convince anyone, not when you were the nation’s hero. Even the then First Lady came out and spoke about you. She talked about how you saved her during an attack on her when she visited her hometown”
I lean back as her words settle in. In my quests for vengeance, I have actually forgotten about a whole lot of things. Nothing about the incident was online by the time I regained consciousness from my seven months of coma. August told me she didn’t do anything and I just let it be. Eight years ago, everything I did was under my father’s command. If anyone was to be honored, it was him—only him.
“And my father?”
She bites down on her lips again. Here comes the bad news I guess.
“No one said anything about him. Nothing at all, it was like he never existed”
“What?”
“I tried asking my father but he said it was best I left everything”
“So you did?”
“Yes” she shrugs, “I mean you were dead anyways so—
“Oh, I see”
“But you lived a good life”
“You and I—how close were we?”
“We went to college together and there are days when you would crash at my house. We were close, like really close”
I remember those days and how close we used to be. Just that I chose to forget about all that the moment her father pulled the trigger and became a villain.
“It’s a shame I forgot about all that” I say as I pick up a ball pen from the table.
“Yeah, it is but it’s fine. I mean a lot happened, I can’t blame your brain for trying to protect you”
A knock comes on the door and it pushes open—sergeant Nicole walks in.
“General” he calls out, “the car is ready to take you to the base”
“Right” i answer, “I will be down in a few seconds”
“Yes sir”
With a little glance at Ophelia, he closes the door and I return my gaze to her.
“We should talk more often. I think that will help me get my memory back if that’s okay by you”
“Of course” she nods, “I will be more than happy to help”
“I will hold you to your words then”
“No problem” With another smile, she finally stands up and gets ready to leave, “I will leave now, I have some work to get done”
“Come with me to the base” I suggest and watch her. I know she won’t refuse, she is too excited to get to talk to me. People like Ophilia like to please people, it’s almost like that is what she is made for—people pleasing.
But she is making my work much easier than I imagined. Using her to get to her father will be an icing on the cake—very easy and juicy.
“I don’t—
“You are the only one I can trust here for now, Ophilia” I tell her, “so do not refuse and come along”
“Oh—okay sir, I will come along”
“Good”
With a mod, I stand up and pick up my phone from the table. We both make our way out of the office but I come across uncle Colleen who is standing in the hallway. As soon as he sees us, the countenance on his face changes for the worse. I can see the anger beneath his gaze. Bus mind may have conjured a whole lot of things when Ophilia was in my office.
The thought of it makes me smile—this old man may die of a heart attack before I get to do what I want to do to him.
“General,” his voice rings out, “Sergeant Ophelia has something to do for me. Are you perhaps done with her?”
“Not yet” I shrug, “she is coming with me to the base. She can do your work when we are back, I only trust her right now”
“But—
“Take your time, sergeant” I turn to the lady beside me, “I will wait for you in the car”
As I turn and walk away, I ball my hands into a fist. How I want to bash both father and daughter’s head against the wall and watch them bleed to death—especially Ophilia, I want to see the look on her father’s face when I do that to her.
- Writer
