Chapter 108
SAAFIA'S POV:-
My heartbeats were dropping by each passing second to think what Helder would do to Jacey. Harry had etched too much hatred in his heart.
I was afraid he might not end up creating an irredeemable mistake.
He was made this way, he had a path to return, to find acceptance.
He would definitely regret losing that.
'Fuck! I can't believe he is taking out my wrath on Jacey!" Dariel growled as technically it was his fault.
'Why didn't you tell me you battered him in your new construction site!?" I hissed at him, not believing that he increased his fury by keeping him chained.
'I was furious. He ruined your innocence, that Sam hurt my sister. For a second, I saw my life falling apart and I took that wrath on him," He sighed in distress, driving hastily to go where Helder called us.
He wanted us to meet where he got hit, at the same construction site as I was glaring at Dariel, now understand why he sent me away.
He didn't want me to witness how ruthless he could become.
'Oh Lord, Jacey, please be safe…" I whispered, clutching my chest. His features softened, lowering his gaze for a moment.
'Please… don't do anything you will regret, Helder," Dariel whispered, becoming worried like me too.
We reached the place. We were outside the building and Dariel took out a gun which made my breath hitch.
'What are you doing, Dariel?" I asked worriedly.
'I can't trust him-"
He was about to hiss but stopped. His eyes fell on my scared features and then the gun in his hand along with a revelation that hatred would continue if he fought.
He scowled under his breath and put it back, 'Things you made me do, woman," He muttered, getting out with me.
I stared at him in disbelief, for me, he resisted his wrath. Suppressed his negative emotions accompanied with the urge to eradicate the roots of this animosity today.
I took a deep breath, following him as we went inside the building.
Helder had kept Jacey and Jared tired to a pillar. Jacey was glaring at him. We rushed, vexed about them but he didn't let us dash to them.
'What the fuck is this, Helder?"
According to Helder, he just wanted to ‘talk' but when we came, he was holding a gun in his hands.
I gasped and held Dariel's arm apprehensively while he and Dariel shared a glaring competition to which Dariel growled.
'Oh, you are finally here, huh?"
Curling his hand in a fist, taking a step forward to stand before me protectively while sparing a glance at Jacey.
'You thought beating me and acting all high and mighty will make things better and I will leave you?" Helder scowled, pointing his gun at Dariel that made us all frightened.
Our eyes widened, dreading the amount of resentment in his eyes. I shivered, tears collecting in my eyes as Dariel stood still with no wavering in his eyes.
Dariel tried to call him calmly, 'Helder, listen to me,"
'Listen to what?! Did you satisfy your intrigue after asking my Father? Where was this curiosity before?" He snarled, displeased that we came to know about the truth he had been dealing with all these years.
The disregard that made him what he was today.
'Helder, leave Jacey, whatever grudge you have, deal it with me, keep my family out of it."
Dariel attempted to speak softly to convince him but he was beyond convincing. Nothing we did or said could shift his heart of stone.
'This is all the problem of the family, Dariel! You guys had everything you wanted! You guys were so happy but what about us? About me!?"
To Dariel's statement, he just burst, the words he was carrying his chest for a long time that stiff us all momentarily.
'I spent all my years in loneliness, I had no one, my father was barely present for me…"
He continued painfully, agonized as an abrupt hopelessness, despair crept on his face.
'Why was my love stolen from me?! Why did you get all the happiness and love?!"
Yelling, his hands started to shake, lowering the gun too. He was absolutely heartbroken and when he was immersed in dejection.
Jacey started speaking out of the blue.
'I am sorry, Helder, for not hugging you, for never accepting you, for all the unfairness I did to you. I am not worthy of your forgiveness, I know,"
Blinking, we all turned to her, bewildered whose words she was speaking.
'What… are you talking about?" Helder gulped, breathing rapidly to regain his composure.
'Mama's letter, the one she wrote before taking her life. In her last moments, she left nothing for us but a letter for you Helder," She informed him that caused his eyes to widen with incredulity.
'Why didn't she come to me and talk to herself? I was dying for her to hug me just once!" He whisper-yelled, almost not believing it.
'But, believe me, for once, I wanted to hold you. And this is my punishment for abandoning you,"
Jacey continued in a sorrowful voice nonetheless.
'I was a horrible mother, I hurt you. I was only afraid of your father and that separated me from you too. Though I tried my best to keep you and Dariel together so you could be friends, I wanted my children to be together. I never meant to neglect you this horribly, son."
'I refused to believe it! She never wanted me! It was me who craved for her attention which she never gave me-" He yelled, shaking his head to believe it but Dariel continued.
'If she hadn't then she would have told the cop about your dirty deeds, Helder. She knew you didn't have a mother, she didn't want to steal your father."
'What are you saying?"
'Your father didn't let us be a perfect family too, he was the one behind my father's accident." I told him softly, praying he would understand that he was only a victim of forced detest.
'What?!"
'Yes! If Mama had broken our home then Uncle Harry had broken ours and we both know what you guys did to us after Father's death!" Dariell yelled, coming distressed too, losing his composure when Helder refused to listen.
'You… are lying. Father can't kill someone. Yes, he was heartbroken, envious but he… couldn't." He whispered, shaking his head in denial.
'He did, Helder. Our parents are our culprit. Don't carry their hatred to us. Please, I am begging you, stop it." Jacey enunciated in anguish that staggered him.
'Jacey…?"
We all turned to her as Dariel unshackled her hands. She took a deep breath and took out a letter from her pocket.
'This is the letter, sorry for reading it…"
Helder was trembling, hesitant to take the letter. He gulped hard and took the letter weakly in dread of knowing something unbearable.
He took a deep breath and began to read as Jacey started speaking.
'But now when I am free, I will be watching over you all from above. Please don't hate Dariel or Jacey, hate me all you want, I am your culprit."
Jacey murmured, letting us all know what Tilda wrote in the letter. My eyes shrinked in compassion.
Those were the words she probably wanted him to know.
'But, please know, that I never hated you and I will always be ashamed of the fact that I never accepted you openly." Jacey whispered sorrowfully.
'This has to be a lie…"
Holding Dariel's arm with a tear rolling down her cheek as she completed the letter with heartbreak.
'I am sorry and I love you, my son, Helder."
'No…"
When Jacey repeated the words written there, our eyes fell on Helder who clutched the letter to his chest losing his composure, becoming absolutely weak.
'Why…? Why did you do this to me!? Why didn't you say it openly?!"
And he just broke, falling on his knees, his tears fell on the letter and keeping the cries he suppressed at bay, he started sobbing, loudly.
'I hate you! I hate you! I always hated you! Still… Still…"
The deafening sound of his cries echoed everywhere as he continued to extinguish the fire in his heart. We all looked at him compassionately when he continued to weep at his end.
'I just… wanted you to look at me once, to hug me…"
When he was shattered and continued weeping at his agony, cops came to stop him.
He had apparently kidnapped Jacey right from Jared's car and failed or perhaps, deliberately let the cops reach him.
'Freeze! Helder Cannedy, you are under arrest!"