THE BILLIONAIRE'S CRYBABY
Chapter 218: THE BACKSTORY

Chapter 218: THE BACKSTORY

Seth Luxes picked up another picture, and handed it over to Fay.

She was waiting for a story, but he wanted her to view images.

It wasn’t as if there was something wrong with his tactics. She just couldn’t bring herself to be patient enough.

Regardless, she didn’t want to come off weird, so she accepted the picture.

Her breath caught against her chest when she saw the woman in the frame.

They were almost identical. The only thing that differed was the colour of their eyes.

Her pupils constricted as she lifted her head.

"My mum?" She questioned in a stuttering voice.

"Your hair came from her. And many other features too," Seth replied.

Her eyes watered as she placed the picture on her chest. She wanted to feel it deep in her soul.

After all these years of not knowing, she finally could put a face to her parents.

But in the middle of rocking back and forth with the picture resting on her chest, a thought formed in her head.

"Why can’t I remember, though? I thought the day I saw their picture, I’ll finally remember what it was like to be their child. Why can’t I?" She asked Seth in a pitiful voice.

"I think that’s a question only science can answer. Whenever you decide to see a doctor for the trauma you suffered, of course," he said.

She brought the picture to her face, her eyes ridden with regret.

"I’m a terrible daughter. I should remember them," she whispered.

"Don’t say that. They loved you truly."

"How would you know?" She looked up, but immediately regretted her choice of words.

She truly held no grudges against him. Unfortunately, she was in her feelings, and bound to come off as resentful.

"I’m sorry," she said.

"No, don’t be. You’re right. I don’t know a lot, and it’s all my doing. But I know enough to tell you how much your parents adored you, and how they all thought the world of you."

"Did the Atticus also think they were good people?" She blurted, tired of stalling.

Seth picked up a bottle of water, and took a sip out of it.

They were about to enter pretty wavy territories. He needed to be at his utmost form to be able to navigate the waters.

"Your mother was best friends with Ace’s mother," he began.

"What?! No way!" She protested more in shock than in denial.

"Yes, they were. Several times, Gabrielle would go abroad to visit your mother. She’d usually go with Ace too."

"I don’t remember any of this," Fay said, still not sure she could believe everything she was hearing.

"Your mother helped Gabrielle a lot. She was from a small conservative town. Although she came from a pretty wealthy family, she was very awkward. So she befriended your mother in college. Your mother helped her open up more," he went on, ignoring the little adlibs of disbelief from Fay.

"My mother and Ace’s mother? Wow!"

"Yeah," he nodded. "When your parents got married without my approval, and relocated, she was the only one who knew about their whereabouts. I didn’t know either, until the PI found them for me. But that’s not the point."

"Yeah, I want to know what tied them all together."

"Glam," he said.

Her eyes bulged. It seemed that name was something she couldn’t escape.

"As you can see from the picture, your mother was extremely beautiful. She also had a thing for fragrances, just like you. When the matriarch of the Atticus family saw her picture from Gabrielle, she wanted to work with her. So they started to make plans for it."

"Wait, have I been to Glam before?" She asked, remembering how she felt the two times she went to the building.

"According to the matriarch, yes. When you were little. Your mother would carry you along on her business trips. She also mentioned that you loved the fountain a lot."

Fay’s eyes grew a little more moist. She wished she could bring herself to cry. All of the emotions swelled in her, but she just couldn’t cry them out no matter how hard she tried.

She sniffled, and nodded. "That explains everything I felt then. Please go on," she urged.

His eyes studied her carefully. He had not asked about what happened earlier. How she had been kidnapped.

He was afraid to ruin the mood, and risk her going into her shell.

She was so strong. So admirably strong. But he wished she would be vulnerable again.

Four years ago, a very big damage had been done to her.

Everything he said so far was so emotional, yet he had waited to see her tears, all to no avail.

"Fay, you know it’s okay to cry, right? It doesn’t make you weak. You’re not weak anymore. Look around you. This all belongs to you. Only you," he reassured her, despite the burning risk of losing her attention.

She forced a smile, grateful that he could see through her facade.

"I want to. I just can’t seem to find the tears no matter how hard I try."

"I understand. But don’t hold back if it comes, alright?"

"Sure," she nodded.

"Alright, now back to the story. On one of these trips, the matriarch’s last son met your mother, and fell in love with her."

Fay’s heart leaped into her mouth. The matriarch’s last son was an asshole. In retrospect, Ace should have done more damage than he did to him.

Pieces of shit like him were not supposed to freely roam the earth.

"Do you know him?" Seth asked.

"Unfortunately," she replied.

"He wouldn’t take no for an answer, even after your mother told him she was married to your father. That was when things started to get out of hand."

She felt rage slowly but surely began to creep through her veins.

"What did that bastard do?" Her voice went from solemn to fiery.

The words hung in his throat. This was the moment that made the whole story worth telling. But it was also the moment things were going to hurt the most.

"What did he do, grandpa?" She pressed him in an upset voice.

"Fay," his voice choked as he called her name.

"What did he do?" She whispered, almost inaudibly.

"He practically said if he couldn’t have her, then no one would. That was when he set up the accident that claimed your parents’ life. But you survived Fay. You survived."

He looked into space, as his healed wounds were sliced open afresh.

Just recounting the event he only found out from the matriarch’s lips, hurt him to his depths.

"That bastard killed my parents?" She asked, slightly out of breath.

Seth didn’t hear her. He was too busy praying for his heart to bear the burden of the pain he was feeling.

Fay knew they were only two things she could do. Cry, or rage.

The tears refused to come, so she settled for the rage.

"Who knew about this, grandpa? Gabrielle? The matriarch? Celine? How could they not have done— how did they find—- I want to kill him!" She screamed in frustration, when she was unable to complete her thoughts.

Seth’s attention was drawn to her. He jumped up, and went to her.

Wrapping his arms around her, he brought her head to his body.

"I can’t cry grandpa. I want to, but I can’t. I need an outlet. I need to—"

"Shhh. Rage, but don’t let it consume you. There’s no turning back the hands of time, child. The only thing we can do now is mourn. We can only mourn," he said, a single tear rolling from his eyes.

"How could they not seek justice when they knew the truth? How could Gabrielle turn her back on her own friend? It doesn’t make any sense. Nothing makes sense!

She shivered, despite Seth’s arms around her.

She couldn’t seem to draw comfort from it. Her heart didn’t need comfort. It needed retribution. It was the only way it could even consider healing.

"I’ll kill him grandpa. I’ll kill him with my own hands. How could he? How could he?" She repeated these words over and over again.

Seth didn’t speak. He didn’t try to stop her from expressing herself. He just listened.

She would calm down when the shock settled. Then he could tell her how the matriarch had spent every day trying to make up for her mistakes.

The next morning, Fay opened her eyes when she heard a tiny voice in her ears.

She turned, and saw Dream looking at her with her big doe eyes.

"Dreamy?" She called.

"Mummy, why did you and grandpa sleep on the balcony? Is it because I slept on your bed?"

Fay jerked up, and looked around. Seth was watching her.

She had fallen asleep in the middle of analysing how much she wanted to hurt the matriarch’s last son.

As soon as she remembered, she rose to her feet.

"Where are you going, Fay?" Seth asked in alarm as she walked purposefully past Dream, without giving her a kiss, or picking her up.

"To the Atticus mansion. I’m going to find the matriarch. Watch Dream until I return," she said behind her shoulders, and disappeared out of sight.