Chapter 37: Bitter Like Coffee

They didn't start school immediately for there were arrangements like the transfer test and uniforms to be seen to. Claire busied herself away while Mr Wilde headed straight back to work. The children were left to occupy themselves and Jasper wisely chose to nap his time away.

Scarlet was busy researching more about the country and that left Alex all alone with nobody to entertain her. The Wilde princess spent the day sulking in her room. Not even the new set of colour pencils could cheer her up. Alex silently compared the treatment she received before and after Scarlet joined her family. Her mood got darker as time passed. Everything was beginning to make sense and Alex started to view Scarlet in a more hostile light. Friends? Sisters? Forget about it! The Wildes' princess decided that Scarlet wasn't a nice person anymore after stealing so much away from her. Her parents now favoured the Chinese girl and it was all because Scarlet was good at playing the pitiful person. Unlike then, Alex wasn't buying it. With that, her afternoon was spent on the computer researching on ways to deal with mean people.

>>Xxx Destiny Aitsuji xxX<<

Mr Wilde was back at work when he received the call.

"Who did what?!"

Claire didn't know any better way of breaking the news. If possible, she didn't want to bother the busy CEO. But given the circumstances, nobody knew what to do. Jenna was too far away to help.

"Alex pushed Scarlet down the stairs. Sue saw it, Alex is denying it and throwing a fit with tears and all claiming it was an accident and it wasn't her fault."

Wilmer felt his heart stop. "Why would Alex do that? More importantly, how is Scarlet?"

Claire gave the busy man a rundown explanation of the things that happened.

"Tina is with her, we are currently waiting for news about what the hospital says. Scarlet might need an operation to put the broken bone back and she might have a concussion. Sue is watching Alex now and Jasper is with her. Your orders, sir?"

Wilmer looked at the board of directors and steeped his resolve. "Report to me when you have news about Scarlet's condition and ground Alex. She is not going anywhere until I come back. No dinner for her."

Claire was surprised that Wilmer would go to such extents to punish his beloved biological daughter when he was always a father with serious daughter complex.

"Understood," Claire obeyed and passed the word to both maids.

As expected, Alex threw an even larger tantrum when she heard that she was being punished. The maids couldn't do anything and Jasper coldly told Alex that she was in the wrong before leaving her all alone. The Wilde princess cried herself to sleep eventually, leaving the maids to wonder what the CEO will do once he returned.

Wilmer came back at about eight. He had a dark cloud over his head and none of the maids had the courage to speak to him. The CEO immediately visited Scarlet's room. The blogger was not there and he turned to ask Claire where she was.

"The doctors are keeping her in the ward overnight for observation. If everything is fine, she will be discharged tomorrow morning. Sue brought a change of clothes over and Tina is staying with her now."

Wilmer nodded grimly and closed the door. He then asked if Jasper has eaten but Sue shook her head. "He said that he would wait for you to return before he eats."

The CEO felt his heart soften a little after hearing that. "Tell him that he can eat, I'm not eating tonight and neither is Alex. The rest of you should eat too. I am going to discipline this spoiled daughter of mine and right my wrongs."

Without another word, the CEO entered Alex's room and turned the light on before shutting the door. Claire didn't stay long enough to hear what was going on but she knew that Alex was awake. Her pleas could be heard even from down the hallway and it was difficult to ignore how heartbreaking it sounded.

In the room, Wilmer didn't say anything. He allowed Alex to cry and plead and beg and yell. All throughout Alex's tantrum, the man kept a poker face. As the only child, Alex was used to getting whatever she wanted. As a father, he failed to teach her the ways of the world.

Instead of scolding his daughter, Mr Wilde only spoke two words that surprised her.

"I'm sorry."

Stunned, Alex stopped crying. "Daddy, why are you apologising?"

"I'm sorry, Alex. I'm not a good enough father. I have failed my duty to have raised you right. Don't cry," he wiped her tears. "Daddy won't just punish you, I will join you as well. We'll both go hungry tonight."

Not expecting this kind of reaction, Alex didn't know what to say. Mr Wilde could have simply forgiven her and they would have been happily on their way to dinner but instead, her plan backfired.

"Why daddy? Why aren't we eating? I apologised, didn't I?"

Mr Wilde smiled sadly. Never had he woken up to reality as bitter as this… He never thought that Alex would be so rotten as to disregard the life of another human for her personal benefit. It was ugly, but he knew the reason why she became such a monster. It was like drinking a cup of coffee every morning, sobering up to the mountain of work that will never be completed. And yet, he never stopped working. And just like his work, he couldn't stop himself from loving his rotten daughter. The only way to lessen the pain was to join her in her punishment.

"I'm sorry, Alex. It is daddy's fault, but we need to go hungry tonight and tomorrow and the day after that for however long it may take so that you will understand where you have gone wrong. You've apologised and I'm proud that you did. Now, let's learn together what the value of life means."

Alex was speechless as her father kissed and hugged her like usual before bidding her goodnight.

When Wilmer came downstairs, he took a look at the liquor cabinet and passed it in favour of the strongest coffee they had.

At his desk, The CEO texted his wife and updated her about the situation. Orita was shocked but agreed that punishing Alex was the right choice to make.

The coffee tasted bitter that night, more so than usual as Wilmer drowned his thoughts out with the low drone of work.