Despite her efforts, not a sound emerged from beyond the door.
Tears streamed down her large unblinking eyes as Vivian felt demoralized.
“Daddy doesn’t want me anymore,” she sobbed. “Mommy isn’t here and Daddy doesn’t want us anymore. We are abandoned children to be sent to the orphanage.”
Matteo and Ian exchanged startled glances at the sound of their sister’s crying.
Thankfully, her cries had compelled Sebastian to open the door at last.
“Daddy!” chorused the children.
However, they were saddened to see that their father, who once stood tall and proud, had descended into a state of depression. He looked so forlorn and disheveled that he was almost unrecognizable.
“Daddy, don’t be like this. We still have to search for Mommy. Please, pull yourself together for her sake.’
Vivian was the most upset out of all three. At the pathetic sight of her father, she reached out and hugged his thigh tenderly as she gazed up at him with teary eyes.
Sebastian closed his eyes as he slowly knelt down next to her.
“Give Daddy a hug.”
“Okay.”
Vivian’s smile returned. She stretched out her plump arms and threw herself into Sebastian’s embrace with her head buried in his chest.
Ian and Matteo ambled over to join in.
Sebastian took the children into the room. Finally, Frederick and his men outside were relieved.
“Daddy, Mommy must still be alive. We will look for her and bring her home.”
“Is that so? Why are you so sure about that?” Sebastian dropped his bloodshot eyes to Matteo.
It was the first time in many days since he had heard the possibility of Sasha still being alive.
“Yes, I’m sure. Because Mommy had once said that no matter what happens to her, she will never abandon us. Daddy, all three of us can feel her out there. She must still be alive!” Matteo gazed determinedly at his father.
Sebastian was just about to chastise his son for being naive when he had the sudden realization that his faith was so weak that it was not even comparable to a child’s.
Why am I so quick to believe that she is dead?
There is no proof of her death. Why should the mangled corpse and the urn be sufficient evidence for me to believe that?
After a long week of agony, Sebastian finally saw a sliver of hope.
Standing up slowly, he strode over to the window that had been shut for an entire week.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: The Love that Never Really Dies