24 || The Truth? ||


    Part 24.


    “Papa,” called out Kimmy with her cute voice.


    “Yes, dear?” Joe replied. “What’s up, honey?” he added.


    “Grandma said I’m going to have a new mom, is that true, Pa?” Kimmy asked, her voice trembling in typical four-year-old fashion.


    “No, sweetheart,” Joe answered, unable to exin further.


    “Mama, why did Mama leave us, Pa?” Tears welled up in the little girl’s eyes.


    “Papa promised he wouldn’t leave Kimmy, Kimmy, don’t be sad, okay?” Joe reassured her.


    Kimmy nodded slowly.


    “Now go to sleep, okay?” Joe requested. He wanted to quickly get ra out of her hiding ce. It wouldn’t be fair for her to hide there for hours.


    “Yes, Pa,” Kimmy replied.


    But the little girl couldn’t seem to close her eyes; her gaze was fixed on the photo of her parents’ wedding.


    “Papa!” Kimmy whispered.


    “Yes, dear?”


    “Thank you for putting Mama’s picture back up; I don’t feel lonely now because whenever I miss Mama, I can see her there, and Mama is also watching me!” she said.


    Joe nodded.


    Oh!


    ra just realized that the photo was still there not because Joe hadn’t moved on, but because of Kimmy’s wish.


    So, what did that kiss mean? “Does Uncle Joe love me?” ra’s question shed through her mind.


    “You go to sleep now! Papa is sleepy!” Joe coaxed as he turned off the main light and hugged Kimmy, hoping his little daughter would fall asleep soon so he could bring ra out.


    The ticking of the clock continued. Seconds turned into minutes. Joe observed Kimmy, who had fallen asleep.


    After making sure his daughter was asleep, Joe breathed a sigh of relief. Slowly, he got up from bed and walked quietly to the wardrobe.


    He opened it and led ra out.


    “Uncle, I want to go back to my room now!” ra whispered.


    “It’s only nine o’clock; Mom and Dad are still in the living room; wait until ten!” Joe requested.


    ra nodded andplied.


    The room was dimly lit. Two bedsidemps cast a soft glow, along with the light from the balcony.


    “Uncle!”


    “Yes?”


    “Where’s the sofa?” ra, unfamiliar with Joe’s roomyout, asked.


    Joe guided ra to the sofa. They decided to sit together, side by side, on the plush seats.


    “Uncle,” ra whispered.


    “What is it, ra?” Joe responded, holding ra’s hand tightly.


    “That photo, the photo of Uncle and Aunt Vivian’s wedding, let it stay there!” ra said.


    “Why? I thought you didn’t like it being there?” Joe turned his face closer to ra’s cheek. There was aforting feeling that couldn’t be expressed. There was a different feeling in his heart; no emptiness anymore. The void in his heart seemed to be filled with ra’s presence.


    “Isn’t Kimmy the reason Uncle keeps that photo there?” ra asked.


    There was no answer from Joe.


    “Has Uncle forgotten about Aunt Vivian?” ra asked again. She really wanted to know, especially since Joe had stolen her first kiss. ra’s enthusiasm grew; she wanted to know what was truly in Uncle’s heart.


    “Whether I want it or not, do I have to forget her? It hurts to love someone unterally, ra, it’s very painful. She became selfish and did whatever she wanted. And… Even when I gave in and followed all her wishes, I was still wrong,” Joe said.


    Silence.


    Oh! There was a tightness in ra’s chest. It was overwhelmingly heavy.


    “What about my feelings for Uncle? Is it the same as Uncle’s feelings for Aunt Vivian? Will I also feel the pain Uncle feels?” ra asked.


    Joe couldn’t answer. ra, she had a strong charm. But, when it came to love, her heart was hurting.


    “Answer me, Uncle,” ra urged.


    Joe chose to remain silent because he couldn’t exin anything to ra.


    .


    .


    .


    .


    “ra,” Joe whispered after they had been silent for a while.


    “Um…” ra murmured unenthusiastically, ncing repeatedly at the time on her phone that still hadn’t reached 10:00 PM.


    “Are you angry?” Joe asked.


    “I’m not angry, Uncle!” ra replied quickly. “Can I make a request?” she asked.


    “Go ahead, I’ll do anything you want!” Joe answered. He felt guilty and afraid of upsetting ra. He was starting to get carried away by the atmosphere. An atmosphere where attraction and liking turned into excessive care.


    “As long as the contract hasn’t ended, I hope Uncle Joe won’t bring anyone between us!” ra insisted, releasing Joe’s grasp.


    “Of course, ra!” Joe replied. He wrapped his arm around ra’s waist. There was a sense of gratitude that emerged. If it weren’t for ra, during the difficult times of his divorce from Vivian, maybe every night he would only run to alcohol. But, because of ra, because of ra’s presence, Joe was able to control his frustration that he faced. Now he was frustrated because he was afraid of losing ra, and afraid of hurting her.


    “ra,” Joe whispered, guiding ra’s body into hisp.


    “Yes, Uncle,” she wanted to refuse for a moment. But, another part of her was curious and couldn’t resist it.


    “Have you ever thought about us?” Joe asked.


    “What do you mean, Uncle?”


    “Okay, if we were really in a rtionship, have you ever thought about people’s reactions? My mom and dad’s reactions, Kimmy’s reaction, and also your friends’ reactions?” Joe asked.


    Silence. ra. Thinking for a moment.


    “I’ve never thought about it, Uncle. All I know is that I’ve loved you for a long time, and I just want Uncle Joe to reciprocate my love, regardless of what people outside say!” ra replied. Her face was getting closer to Joe’s. Even his thigh felt warm. ra began to feelfortable sitting on Uncle’sp.


    “So, ra, I will tell you the possibilities of what people might think if we were really dating!” Joe said.


    ra listened carefully to what the man was about to say.


    “Mom and Dad might be angry with us, my friends might think I’m weak for chasing after someone older, and your friends might think you…” Joe stopped speaking.


    “I don’t care what they say. All I know is that I love you very much, and all I want is for you to reciprocate my love!” ra interrupted. She was afraid of what Joe was going to exin, afraid because of her shameless love.


    “But I care about you, ra. I want your future to be secure!” Joe insisted.


    ra, unable to handle what Joe wanted to exin, immediately got up from hisp. Then, she just left Uncle’s room like that.


    Luckily, there was no one in the living room. ra went into her room. She closed the door tightly. Shey down on the bed, then hid, curled up under the nket.


    Joe wanted to chase after ra, but he was stopped by a cute voice calling him. Kimmy’s voice.


    “Papa?”


    Joe approached the source of the voice.


    “Yes, sweetheart!” Joe replied, lying down beside Kimmy.


    “I heard Kak ra’s voice, did she juste here?” Kimmy asked, rubbing her eyes.


    “There’s no Kak ra here, it’s just Papa and Kimmy, go back to sleep. Papa wants to sleep too now!” Joe pulled the nket to cover his and his daughter’s bodies.


    Time continued to pass, and Joe fell asleep.


    ==?==


    Joe came home from work early. He intentionally wanted to invite ra to have dinner together.


    He arrived home around five o’clock. After getting out of the car, Joe immediately went inside the house. He hurried his steps to tell ra to get ready.


    Arriving on the second floor, ra wasn’t there. Only Cici was arranging Kimmy’s toys.


    “Where are Kimmy and ra?” Joe asked.


    “Miss Kimmy is with Mrs. Linn, and as for ra, she’s attending an event at her school, Sir!” Cici replied, pausing her activity momentarily to answer Joe’s question.


    “An event at school?”


    “Yes, ra was picked up by Mr. Joko earlier, and she left again,” Cici answered politely.


    “Was it Mr. Joko who took her?”


    “No, Mr. Joko left earlier today and will be back tomorrow, Sir!”


    Joe hurried to his room. He checked the CCTV and had a hunch that Mario had taken ra back to school!


    The man checked the CCTV footage. With his right thumb, he scrolled through his phone screen to find ra’s number.


    And…


    The call connected, but the girl didn’t answer Joe’s call.


    “Why aren’t you picking up, ra!” the man muttered, starting to worry. He hadn’t had time to send a message in the afternoon because he was busy with preparations forunching a new product.


    The same thing happened in the morning. ra left for school early to avoid talking to him.


    “Are you trying to avoid me, ra?” Joe asked himself. He admitted, he wasn’t in the right position. In the position of someone who loves and is not loved in return.This text is ? N?velDrama/.Org.


    That’s not the problem now! The only problem was whether Joe wanted to acknowledge his attraction to ra or let the girl misunderstand. Then, allow ra to get close to someone else.


    Joe sat down, watching the TV screen showing the CCTV footage. It was seen at 4:15 PM earlier, ra got into a car.


    Joe didn’t see it wrong; the man who opened the door for ra was Mario. Yes, his posture and bodynguage were still vivid in his memory.


    “Huuftt,” the man let out a long breath. “Should I pick her up or let Mario take ra!” Joe leaned back on the sofa. He stared at the ceiling of his room. ra had really upied his mind today.


    One.


    Two.


    Three.


    His phone vibrated; there was a message from Mario.


    [Uncle, I need your prayers,ter on the way back, I want to express my feelings to ra, please pray for me, Uncle, hopefully ra will ept my love.]


    Joe got up from his seat. He quickly grabbed the car keys he had just put down. Then, he hurriedly left his room.


    “Where are you going?” Mrs. Linn asked as she led Kimmy upstairs.


    “I have some business to take care of, Ma!”


    “Where are you going, Joe?!” Mrs. Linn shouted. However, the man just passed by.