Chapter Twenty-two.

They were both still very much in each other's embrace, when the door yanked open and jolted away from themselves. 

Lina's gaze shifted to the door and she saw it was her father who came out.

'Good evening, Mr. Smith.' Arnold greeted Nathan swiftly 

'A good evening to you too, Arnold.' Nathan responded, returning his eyes back to his daughter. 

'Thank you for dragging her out of the house today. She's been cooped up in here for too long.' He added.

'It was my pleasure, sir.' Arnold chuckled. 

'Should I be interrupting anything, I promise it wasn't my intention.' Nathan spoke and Lina flustered at the thought that her father may have seen her in such compromising position with Arnold. 

'I needed to get the paper from the mailbox. I forgot to take it out this morning.' He added.

'Of course, sir.' Arnold said and made way for Nathan to walk pass.

'Thank you.' Nathan voiced and walked away.

After Nathan left, Lina let out a breath she hadn't realise she was holding.

Arnold turned to her, his eyes searching.

'So,' He muttered. 

'So?' Lina mumbled after him, with a chortle. 

'I'd see you on Sunday.' She uttered before he said another word.

'See you on Sunday.' Arnold replied and watched her go in before he took his leave.

A couple of hours later, Lina had dinner with her family.

And they concluded that her grandmother's clothes will be sent to certain care homes the following day.

They made Christopher and his uncle, Nate in charge of the delivery.

When all was cleared and sorted, Nancy and Nate returned to their various homes 

Natalie sorted the dishes with Catherine in the kitchen, while Lina cleaned the table.

As she took out the used napkins, Nathan approached her and voiced.

'Can I talk to you?' 

'Yeah...' Lina replied, feeling skeptical.

'About what?' She added almost immediately, thinking it was about what her father saw when he stepped out to pick up a paper.

'We haven't seen eye to eye for a while since you arrived but I am glad for the opportunity that I got to see you at least, after such a long time.' Nathan started, and a sence of discomfort gnawed at Lina's stomach. 

For someone who did not want to be in the same space as her father, she has rather grown accustomed to his presence over the pass weeks.

'I've been meaning to talk to you for years now, because I wanted us to be on the same page.' He added and Lina realised that her father wasn't going to talk about Arnold. 

He was going to talk about the incident that sent her away from her family years ago.

And that was certainly a conversation she would never have with him.

'I don't want to talk about this.' Lina retorted, a knot apprehension forming in her stomach.

'Please, child. I need to have this conversation with you.' Nathan went on.

'No!!' Lina fired, trying to keep her voice as low as she could.

'We will not have this conversation.' Her eyes darkened in wrath.

'Of what use will it be to me anyways?' She questioned.

'The deed is done already, and we can not undo anything.' She concluded.

'Can you please just listen to me?' Nathan pleaded.

'No, I don't want to listen to anything.' Lina faltered. 

'I don't want to listen to you hurting me all over again.' She muttered with tears pricking the corners of her eyes. 

'Breaking my heart all over again.' She went on and her tears rolled freely down her cheek.

'I trusted you, sir.' Hearing his daughter address him as "sir" again that night, made him realise Lina may never let go of what happened to her.

She may never forgive him or address him as dad ever again. It made him unsettled.

He can't lose his child forever, he would never forgive himself. 

'You betrayed my trust and you never felt remorseful about it.' She concluded. 

'Lina let's talk about this, please.' Nathan said. 

'I don't want to talk to you, sir.' Lina called him "sir" again for the second time that night, breaking Nathan's heart immensely. 

'At least not about this.' Lina grumbled with her teeth clenched, trying hard not to draw her mother or sister's attention. 

'You forbade me to talk about it in the past and it is going to stay that way.' Lina added, taking a few steps away from him.

'And I want you to remember that I still haven't forgiven you for it.' She stated.

'And I will never forgive you for abandoning me and leaving me to suffer alone, when I needed you the most.' She concluded and darted out of the dining room, overcome with emotion.

While Catherine remained in the kitchen to wipe the damped surface, Natalie walked out of the kitchen in time to see her running upstairs. 

She walked up to her husband in the dining room and asked.

'What happened to Lina?'

'I tried to have a conversation with her like you suggested.' Nathan answered, lowly.

His gaze fell to the floor, and he fidgeted with his hands.

'It didn't go well, did it?' Natalie asked after reading her husband's body language, and Nathan shook his head. 

'Don't worry, hon.' She said and wrapped her arms around him. 

'She'd come around. You know, we all are still grieving.' She added.

'And Lina was quite close to my mother, so I believe she must be hurting so much, coupled with the fact that she wasn't here when my mother died.' She went on and Nathan wished he could tell his wife the real reason their daughter didn't want to have a conversation with him.

He wished he could just spill everything to Natalie that night, but what if it makes Lina furious and take off again?

Nathan pondered on that for a bit.

'She'd come around.' Natalie's voice erased his thoughts and he emmited a dry laugh.

He held her calmly in his arms, reciprocating her hug and then planted a kiss on her forehead. 

'I love you.' Natalie whispered. 

'I love you too.' Nathan replied, and time went by with them in each other's arms.