Chapter 97: [Extra] Forgotten
(Before the events of chapter 94)
Ricardo's POV (Robbie's father)
It is not like me to come to this dingy gloomy place surrounded by a bunch of low lives. I was feeling the creep rise at the back of my spine. This was disgusting but I am more shocked at myself for even bothering to come to meet Stephan in this filth.
I barely had my thoughts gathered when a grim-looking officer with a voice like a trumpet spoke from the other side. He was holding the door open and was tall enough to hit his head on the wall above the door. He spoke monotonously,
"You have fifteen minutes. Your visitor is waiting for you"
I saw Stephan walk in, passing by the officer. His handsome face had lost its glow in just a month, however, his body still looked well built for a mid-fifties man. He was wearing greyish blue trousers and a blue tee shirt. His face didn't carry the smirk that he usually showed off as a mark of his dominance. He looked at me with narrowed eyes and tilted his head like a curious little kid.
"What an honor!" he spoke sarcastically, though, his voice sounded a little strained.
I was not sure what to say. Heck! I was not sure why I even came to meet him. I looked at him, feeling a little blank and wondering what to say. While I was contemplating, Stephan dragged his feet to the chair and settled with a sigh!!
"So, to what pleasure do I owe this visit?" he asked, his voice strained with the colors of his old mockery.
I gave him a sharp irritated look and asked in a voice full of annoyance,
"Why did you deny the bail? Don't you hate this.....place?"
I almost said 'prison' but thought the better of it. Stephan leaned back on his chair, his expression somber. He again tilted his head letting his black hair cover part of his face,
"Speak the truth, Ricardo! Why did you visit me? Haven't you always been looking for a chance to get rid of our unfortunate relationship? The one, who reminded you of your guilt?"
Guilt! Well, he was not exactly wrong. I did keep up this friendship more out of guilt towards Stephan than anything. Otherwise, why would I bother being with an a**hole like him? An awkward silence followed his statement and we both stared at each other without words. I couldn't take the silence any longer and opened my mouth to speak when Stephan declared,
"Go back. You don't need to stick with me any longer. Your guilt is not going to change anything"
"I never thought your aunt would use that opportunity to get rid of you neither did I ever expect Charlotte to speak against you. I know, my parents were trying to save me and their reputation but I really didn't think it would end-" I started justifying not knowing why I wanted so badly to clear my name but Stephan's voice interrupted me.
"ENOUGH! GET LOST! Give this silly excuse to your naive son who would gobble it up, not to me" Stephan roared jumping up from his chair and slamming the glass barrier between us with his fist.
"You always blamed me and Charlotte for it but honestly, how do expect us to know that your aunt-"
"That woman is NOT my aunt" Stephan hissed, poisonously, "We just happen to have an unfortunate blood relation! Don't forget why Charlotte lied in the first place"
"We both were bound by our family, you know that very well" I too got up from my seat and almost screamed, "Charlotte never contacted me after that and completely disappeared from my life. Then, when she resurfaced, she was already your wife. Weren't you just getting your revenge on us? Marrying the woman I loved, and making her life miserable till she died. Torturing me by making me see you with her every day, what els-"
"What trash are you talking about?" Stephan suddenly cut me off with his robotic tone. His eyes were shrunken. His skin turned the color of spoilt milk.
"What do you mean trash? Isn't it what your aim was?" I asked taking in his sudden change of tone and expression.
Again, complete silence fell but this time it was much heavier than before. Stephan looked like he had turned into a statue. He was staring at me blankly as if trying to solve a very difficult math problem in his head. For a complete two minutes, there were no words exchanged. After which Stephan's face broke into a dangerous smile. It was such a deadly cold smile, which only turned his eyes more lifeless and made him look less human. The next words he spoke were so icy cold that it sent a chill down my spine,
"So, that's why you hated Omegas because you forgot!"
Stephan sat back down on the chair with a 'thump' without a change of expression.
Unconsciously, I too followed suit, settling myself in the chair and looking through the glass barrier toward the dead face of Stephan.
"Wh-What do you mean?" I asked cautiously. I had a feeling I was missing out on something.
Stephan gave a weird inhumane smile at me. He spoke in the same icy tone,
"Charlotte didn't lie because of her family bonds which were pretty non-existent. She lied so that your name is not dragged into it. Some love!"
For a moment, I had heard wrong. I couldn't speak a word and stared at him as if hoping for him to say 'Kidding'. However, no such thing happened. Stephan continued,
"Charlotte's family themselves wanted to get rid of her as being an omega from such a well-known family was a shame to them and to make things worse, she got caught in a scandal with you. Charlotte's parents wanted to use this opportunity to get you and her engaged but your parents, who always treated omegas like a plague, naturally refused. They said, they would disown you if you chose to marry her. Charlotte got scared that because of her, you will be thrown out of your family, so she took the offer of my dearest aunt and pinned the whole blame of the scandal on me. I thought you were aware of it as you never accepted Ashley. Turns out, you, instead started hating omegas because of this misunderstanding, not able to love anyone else"
After Stephan finished his talk, I felt like all the strength in my legs have vanished. It felt squishy and jelly-like. My brain appeared to have been jammed. What was Stephan saying? If that's true, then all my life I lived hating the woman who actually tried to protect me? What was the point of me hating all omegas? What was the point of me opposing Robbie's relationship? I thought I was trying to protect Robbie from such scheming and heart wrecking omegas but turns out, that life made a fool out of me!! How can this be? My voice trembled as I asked Stephan,
"The-then why did you marry her if not for revenge?"
Stephan's voice, if possible, turned even more icy cold, as he said slowly and deliberately,
"Are you seriously having a memory loss or was two bottles of whisky too much for you? Did you forget who was it that begged me to protect Charlott? Who was it that asked me to keep her safely away from his family's clutches?"
Stephan's words were like a trigger that started a video film in my head. I saw a dark room where I and Stephan were drinking, and I was whining and complaining about the company training that my mother was making me go through then, I got all emotional and I started crying over Charlotte and how she left me, how I missed her, then.....Stephan hugged me??!! All of those memories were very blurry like the video was being played by a very bad quality player. I held my head trying to clarify the images when Stephan said,
"Forget it, if you can't remember. Anyways, it's all in past. The time's almost over. Go back, your free from me now!"
No sooner had he finished his words, than the door behind him opened, ushering the same stern-looking officer from before. He said in his trumpet-like voice, "Time over"
Stephan got up, turned, and started leaving but I was not done. I stood up noisily throwing my chair back. I felt extremely imbalanced after all the truth being revealed. It was like my head was still trying to process everything. But there was one thing that was not clear. I yelled at his retreating back,
"WHY?? Why did you heed my words?? Don't you hate me for making your life a living hell?"
Stephan stopped right at the exit of the door. I was breathing heavily, putting my hand over the glass barrier, waiting for him to give me an answer. I heard the soft chuckle from Stephan, and then a voice that was completely unlike his own. It was almost like I heard the innocent voice of high school student Stephan, coming out from the mouth of this twisted old man,
"I wonder why!"
That was all he said and left me on that enigmatic note. I blankly stared as the door closed behind Stephan. My thoughts were still jumbled and going haywire. The thought of what Charlotte did for me was too shocking and unbelievable to digest. Strangely, what bothered me now was not Charlotte's sacrifice but Stephan's voice and the answer he left me with. The officer, who was standing far behind me in the shadow near the door, called,
"Sir, your time is over"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone