Chapter 172 - Leaving The Guilt Behind

Four days later, Santiago was woken up by the knocking on his door. Rubbing his eyes, he pulled his quilt to get out of the bed but just as he pulled the quilt off his body, his gaze fell on a folded document placed near his pillow. He hadn't put these documents here. And nobody came to his room either. 

Then, who could have put these papers here? 

And what sort of documents were these? 

Suddenly he had a very bad premonition. Last night, Persephone came to see him. He thought she was finally there to talk to him. She hadn't talked to anyone since that day. Neither had she come out of her room. And when she knocked on his door, he felt a rush of happiness entering his heart but who would have thought that she wouldn't say more than a sentence? 

'Where are my rings, Santiago?'

He had not given her those rings back. Back then, when he sent her back, he was unwilling to give her those rings back. That time he didn't know that the bitterness he felt seeing those rings was jealousy, but now he clearly does. But since he couldn't hurt her more than he already did, he gave her back those rings. He still had those rings with him. 

She took back the rings and didn't say anything and left the room without turning back. 

Now looking at the folded paper, he sighed deeply to muster up the courage to read the content without breaking down. 

As he unfolded those documents, the content of the agreement didn't surprise him. 

It was a divorce agreement. There were many clauses and sub-clauses but to summarize it could be said -- They would divorce on good terms and the custody of the child would be given to her. He could meet his child whenever he wished to as long as he did not negatively influence their child. 

He smiled bitterly while looking at the ceiling. 

At least, she didn't three him out of her life. She was willing to give him a chance to be a father. This was enough to tell him that despite her hardness for him, he wouldn't be just a stranger in their child's life. 

Life was really weird. It surprises you when you least expect him. Just a few months ago, he was basking in the joy of finally defeating his enemy and now… he was willing to forget everything just to make a woman happy. 

Taking out a pen from the drawer, he signed his name in pretty yet glaring blue ink on the paper. 

Just as he was about to place the pen and document back in the drawer, he heard knocking on his door again. 

"Mr V?!"

It was Emmanuel's anxious voice calling for him. 

"What's wrong, Emmanuel?" Santiago asked in an eerily calm voice. 

"Miss Persephone. I couldn't find her," came the reply. 

"What do you mean?!" Santiago asked him as soon as he left the room. 

"Miss Persephone is not in the house. I couldn't find her anywhere," Emmanuel said. He had been on pins and needles since that day. He had been personally taking care of her. Her diet, medicines and everything was mostly supervised by him on Santiago's offer. Romeo, on the other hand, was responsible for the kitchen alone. 

After checking the CCTV camera, they found that Persephone left the house early this morning. They called Valencia, Sophia, Carina and even Salvatore toa so if Persephone came there but none of them had my idea. 

On the other side, Persephone was standing outside an apartment in a shady building, speculating if she should ring the bell or not. As she raised her hand to press the bell, the door opened from inside and a very young woman came out. 

"Who do you want to see?" The young woman asked her in annoyance. 

"I...I…"Although Persephone had been waiting for this day for months, she still couldn't muster up the courage to say a word now. She had never been so cowardly before. 

"Look, I know that you have been standing outside the door for fifteen minutes now. Perhaps, to contemplate whether to come in or not. But I'm already late for my shift, I can't welcome you now," The woman was quite blunt with her words. 

Only now Persephone saw that the woman was dressed up in T-shirt and jeans, a sling bag hanging on her shoulder. She was about to lock the door as she was on her way to go out. 

"Wait!" Persephone finally said. 

The young woman finally stopped in her footsteps. But she didn't look back as if waiting for Persephone to speak further. "I'm here to see Leena Max. I used to know Joe Max," she only turned her head to look at a stammering Persephone standing behind her. 

"Come inside," These were the words the young woman said as she unlocked the door and went inside. She offered Persephone water. 

"How do you know my brother?" Leena Max asked the redhead. She had seen many beautiful women in her life but had never seen one like her. She wasn't a devastating beauty but there was something that made one not look away from her face. 

Persephone opened her handbag and took out a ring to give it to Leena. "This belongs to him." 

Leena took the ring from Persephone's arms with trembling hands and teary eyes. "How did you find this?" 

"He said he was going to propose to his girlfriend," Persephone said with a sad smile. This ring had been worn by her for a long time now. It was time to give it back to someone who deserved it. Joe wasn't her boyfriend or man as her family thought of him. He was just a stranger. A beautiful stranger who brought a smile to her face when she needed it the most. She wasn't going to meet him or remember him after that night but somehow he ended up becoming an unforgettable memory to her. He was killed before her eyes. He was innocent but her papa didn't think so. Apparently, no man who dared to come close to her was innocent. 

Leena sadly smiled at the woman sitting on her tattered sofa. "She got engaged just three days after my brother's funeral. As evil as he might be to the rest of the world, he was faithful to her. Perhaps, this was karma." 

"Why are you saying that?" Persephone didn't understand her. 

"He was working for some bad people," Leena whispered. "I have always known it. I wanted him to quit and he agreed to. But that day, we were finally going to move away from this dirty life here, he died. He told me that once he marries his girlfriend, he will leave all behind and we will move states."

Persephone could more or less understand now. But Leena didn't know that it was her family that got poor Joe killed, not the people he was working for. She remembered Joe telling her that he was a free man now, capable of loving and getting loved. 

"I'm sorry for your loss, Leena," Persephone whispered. "I wish I could bring him back. If --"

Leena didn't let her complete her sentence. "I don't want to talk about my brother anymore. But I want to thank you for bringing this ring back. It was the only thing my parents left behind. You don't know how much it means to me." 

Persephone just smiled. She had no other words to say to this woman. She got up as she knew that Leena was getting late for her morning shift. 

The neighbourhood Leena lived in was not very safe but this was what she could afford right now. 

"What do you do?" Persephone asked Leena. She didn't know where she was going. She wanted fresh air but didn't want to be alone anymore. So, she was walking beside her. 

"I work in a restaurant," Leena told her. She turned to look at the beautiful redhead walking beside her and smiled at her brightly as if no grief could touch her. "I dropped from culinary school this semester. I hope to own a restaurant one day."

"That's great," Persephone found herself returning her smile.

They walked further but didn't speak anymore. At the end of the street, Persephone stopped and called out a name, "Leena!"

Leena, who was now walking ahead of her, paused in her steps and looked back to see the redhead glancing at her with eyes full of indescribable emotions. "Joe was supposed to be a stranger who one night made me laugh and smile at the silliness of life. I didn't want him to end up as one of my unforgettable memories. I had forgotten many events of my life but the night I met him wasn't easy to suppress. I wish it was because of another reason but guilt. " She paused for a moment and then wiped the tear that leaked from the corner of her eye and continued, "I don't know if what my family did is forgivable or not but I want this episode to end here." She pulled something from her hand and gave it to Leena who was still looking at her in a daze. "Live life, Leena. Fly higher. Your brother must be very proud of you. Fulfil all your dreams." 

Leena saw the redhead's fragile figure disappearing from her eyes. Only when the woman was lost in the crowd of people, did she saw what she shoved into her hand. 

An envelope containing a cheque and a letter.