Forced Marriage: Husband Won't Even Look At Me

Chapter 5: Die With Regret

Richard Dawson brought out his phone and some documents from the car’s compartment

He handed them to her along with his phone. Aria hesitated to look at them. She felt it might be disrespectful to her mother. But curiosity won in the end. She opened the documents first and read through them

"These transfer records are from the year 2006 and she always returned them as new transfers" Richard Dawson said

Aria’s heart broke as she saw the transfer records. She didn’t even know who to believe anymore. She checked his phone to confirm if it was real, and it was. Her mom had been transferring everything back to him almost every month. She couldn’t even finish reading. She handed him his phone and documents back and turned to face the window

"I’m also at fault here. If I had strongly opposed her and gone to court to report this and fight for you, maybe all this wouldn’t have happened. I agree, I’m a bad father, a very irresponsible one at that. You can hate me forever, Aria, but please… give me a chance to be in your life. Let me have the chance to be your father. I regret my actions, and I don’t want to die with regrets" Richard said, pausing for a moment before continuing

"Please come and live with me. Your stepmom, stepsister, and stepbrother are eagerly waiting for you, th..."

"No!" Aria cut him off and turned to look at him angrily. Live with him? That was never going to happen

"Aria, you’re a freshman in your university, right? Don’t ask me how I know. I keep tabs on my daughter, of course. I know almost everything about you. At least I got to be a father from behind the scenes" he said quickly to clear any misunderstanding

"I promise to take care of you. I will sponsor your education throughout. I’m sure your mom will be happy from where she is, seeing that her daughter is not suffering but is happy. And I know that was her wish... Aria" Richard said

For a minute silence filled the car, Aria sniffed and she stared at her dad with teary eyes while nodding slowly. This sentence alone convinced her.

Aria finally agreed to follow her dad home, but the little hatred she had for him was still there. She knew he was helping her by wanting to take care of her. She was still young, a 19 year old girl turning 20 in the next few weeks. Maybe this was an opportunity for her, especially since affording school fees had become so difficult.

A day after the funeral, her dad came to pick her up from her house. Rowan was with her. Even though he had strongly tried to change her mind about leaving, he realized it was her life and she could decide for herself. Maybe this would help her out of her struggles, and he had to stop being selfish.

Rowan even spoke to Richard man-to-man, telling him to take care of Aria properly and that nothing must happen to her.

Aria only picked a few clothes and some important things. She had no intention of leaving the house completely. She decided she would continue paying the rent to keep her mother’s memory alive. It wasn’t even that expensive.

On their way in the car, Aria was nervous. What if his family didn’t accept her like Richard had said?

Mr Richard noticed her nervousness beside him in the backseat

"You don’t need to be nervous. In fact, your stepmom and step-siblings were the ones who wanted you to live with us. She already likes you" he said gently trying to calm her down.

Aria’s heart calmed a little. She hoped that maybe staying there would help her sleep better. Since the incident with her mom, she hasn’t been able to sleep well. She kept dreaming of her mom falling beside her. Sometimes she woke up sweating profusely. She thought maybe what she needed was a new place where she could create new memories

When they arrived at her dad’s place, Aria was amazed by the beauty of the villa. The compound was neat and large, with different flowers everywhere. She spotted some maids walking around

When Aria got down with her dad, the driver brought out her luggage from the boot

Her heart beat fast with both excitement and fear

"Let’s go inside" Richard said, smiling at his daughter

At the entrance, some maids stood in rows on both sides

They bowed to Aria

"Welcome, young miss"

They already knew who she was, since they had been informed that Mr Richard’s first daughter was coming home today. Most of them didn’t even know he had a first daughter

Aria, who was not used to such treatment, felt uncomfortable. She bowed back slightly, making some of them smile at her

As she walked inside, she saw two gorgeous ladies and a little handsome boy standing, as if they had been waiting for her.