Taming Mr. Cold and Arrogant

"No! Piccola mia, sono io." (No! My baby, it's me.)

"Dad?"

At first, I thought I was just playing by my own ears or I was just imagining his voice, but when I heard him speak again, I suddenly crumpled up the paper on my desk without realizing that it was the attendance sheet that Craig given to me this morning. 

"How are you, my Belle?"

"H-How did you know my number? Where did you get my number?" I asked him, clenching my teeth as the memories and pain of the past rose slowly to my c.h.e.s.t and made me struggle to catch my breath. 

"I got it from your friend, I mean I ask him."

"Whose friend of mine are you talking about? Is it Bryan?"

"Belle---"

"Is it from Bryan?"

"Yes, but I told you I asked him to give me your number, so please, don't be mad at him."

"Tss! Mad? Why would I be mad with him? Why would I be mad with the only person who believed in me, trusted me and supported me, which was supposed to be your responsibilities as my father?"

"Belle..."

"What? What do you want? Why did you suddenly call after seven long years? Do you want to set me up again into another engagement, into another agreement? Tell me, Mr. Del Mundo----" but I was stopped by his next words. 

"I'm sorry."

I could feel my breath suddenly stuck in my throat. 

I couldn't help but laughed after hearing the words 'sorry' and 'apologize' from him for the very first time in seven years. It's a kind of laughter with pain, longing, confusion and mixed feelings I couldn't explain in words. 

"Sorry? Apologize? Why? What prompted you to say those words?"

"I didn't mean to hurt you, my baby"

"W-What did you say? You didn't mean to hurt me?" I asked forming my fist. 

"I love you, my baby----"

"Stop! Please stop saying those words!" I closed my eyes as I tried to stop the tears from flowing, but they were like streams that no one can seem to stop. 

"I'm sorry for hurting you. I know I was wrong, but believe me, I believed you when you said he molested you. It's just that----"

"It's just that what, you've been bought by millions, billions that De Lucca gave you just to stop me from filling the case against his son? What kind of father are you? You chose them over me! You chose their money over your own daughter?"

"It's because I was afraid. I was scared----"

"My Belle, please let me explain. Believe me, I regret all the things I have done in the past, especially what I did to you----"

"I don't need your sorry, I don't need your apology and most of all, I don't need your explanation! Because for me, we're no longer connected, we're no longer a family! I already cut the ties that connect us since I have left Italy!"

"No, don't say that, Belle! I'm still your father."

"Father? You call yourself a father? Since when did you became a father to me? When mom left us, you started to become cold, arrogant, a cunning businessman, a gambler who forgot his responsibilities to be a father! So stop describing yourself as a father, because you're not! You can't even visit me at school, you have never visited my dance programs and competitions, you never asked me once if I am okay if I was okay!"

I hardly wiped my tears and swallowed the knot that has been stuck in my throat. 

"You never asked me how I felt after that incident! You didn't find any way to look for me when I was away! And instead of helping me, you helped that bastard to clean up his name and put the blame on me! So don't call yourself a father, because a father means a guardian, a protector, someone who will make his family a priority over everything else, does everything he can to love and protect his children, unlike you!"

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry but I'm not." I took a long deep breath before I continue. "Don't ever call again, I'm going to block your number----"

"They threatened me to take the company and demanded payment for the money I borrowed from them." I heard him sighed. 

"No, Belle! If that was only the condition they gave me, I would have given up the company, I would have given up everything for you---"

"But you never did it, instead, you chose the opposite."

"Yes, because I have no other choice. You are my daughter and I'm willing to sacrifice everything for you."

"What are you talking about? You didn't sacrifice anything for me because you just let them humiliate me---"

"They threatened to kill you."

My mouth hung in shock and left me speechless for a few seconds. 

"They threatened me that they will take you, they will use you against me. They will destroy the company and will take everything I have, but I said I don't care. They can take everything they want, but Nicholas De Lucca told me that he will take you and will kill you if I won't stop you from filing the case against Joseph. I was so scared that time, Belle, and I don't know what to do. Your mother left me and you're the only one left in me, and I can't take it to lose you-----"

"And you want me to believe you?"

"Belle?" Shock was evident in his voice, maybe he didn't expect my comeback. 

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" I repeated sarcastically. "Well, I'm sorry, but your 'sorry' is not enough to fill your shortcomings as a father to me! I have already forgotten the feeling of having a father."

I didn't hear any words from him. A few seconds have passed and we both fell into silence. I was about to end the call when his next words really shocked me into the core. 

"I am dying, Belle."

He barely said a whisper but enough for me to hear those shocking words. 

"I have a fourth-stage lung cancer, Belle, and my doctor told me that I only have four to five months to live."

Yes, I was mad with him. I was disappointed and hurt but never in my dreams that I would want to hear those words. 

"W-What?"

I don't know what to say. I couldn't form any words. I wanted to cry and scream but my mouth remained hanging in mid-air.