Aster Veren
Episode 216's

- Esther

I opened my eyes slowly as I felt pain in my chest, then I weakly looked at every corner of the room I was in.

It doesn't feel foreign. My mind was still lying around watching, and my eyes stopped at the figure of my sleeping father beside me. With a feeling of shock I instantly roused my body forcefully and moved away from that bed.

"Ah, what's going on?" I continued grimacing with pain in my chest, I quickly grabbed my chest and held it as tightly as I could, trying to shake off the throbbing.

It's impossible, right? This must be a dream, right? How can I go back to this house? That night, I was ...,

"Aster! Kamu—" Father's voice surprised me, I saw that father had woken up from his sleep and rushed down from his bed, then walked quickly to me who was standing in front of the wardrobe with one of my hands supported there.

"Don't come any closer!" As I managed to stop his steps, I saw his red bead tremble and grow at a glance as I shouted.

I really don't want to go back now, but how can I be in this place now? And again .. This is very painful. Wh why? Why am I still alive?

"A—Aster? Come here and lay your body on the bed, wound you—"

"No way." My words again did not lower my voice, even my body was already shaking violently with puddles of tears filling my eyes, staring at the pitiful looking father figure.

Wh why? Why does it look like that? It should be that after he kicked me out, his life could be much better, happier than before right? But what am I seeing now?

Tyrannical cheeks with dark circles under his eyes, his thin body with pale skin? What the hell is going on? No. .. was Uncle Rigel saying that night right? Dad—'s memory has returned? My mind could not take my eyes off the figure of my father standing not far from me.

"... I'm sorry, I'm sorry Aster. Me, your stupid father this—"

"My dad? So your memory's back?" Cut me up to make him meet me. Along with that my memory of seeing my father pointing a gun at me again shadowed me.

I quickly grabbed my head and immediately leaned against the cupboard beside me as I felt my knees tighten further and further.

"No ..," I muttered trying to ease the throbbing in my head that was excruciating.

"Aster?" The voice of my father, who was standing in front of me, grabbed my hands so that I would not lose my balance and fall.

I saw my father's face, somehow scared of him now. "Don't touch!" I tried to push him back, but my strength wasn't enough.

"Relax Aster, I won't hurt you." Said the father with an expression I could not understand, whether it was sad or upset. I don't know.

"Will not hurt me? Really? After you threatened me with a gun that day?" I was not able to hold back my tears any longer, I saw that my father was looking at me with great surprise.

I don't know if his memory has really recovered or not, but what I'm seeing now. He seemed to remember that bad day. And the memory I had so hard-earned to bury again stuck in my head, the hard days when I avoided everyone who was chasing me until I intended to end my life and end up with a plan to forge my death.

I really couldn't bear it, I didn't want to feel this kind of stifling feeling anymore. I want to go to a place where everyone doesn't know me as Aster, I want to live quietly with my mother and grandmother like I used to. But it can't, can it?

So tightly my father hugged me that I could hear his heartbeat racing fast enough.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry Aster, I'm sorry ..," he continued, not stopping to say an apology with his trembling voice, then I felt something warm on my shoulder before I heard my father's heartbreaking sobs, making my tears melt even more.

"Hiks, why? Why is it that when I'm living well, you're looking for me? Then what the fuck is with dad's appearance now? Have you been tormented by the news of my death? Did I make Dad difficult? I ma—forgive me, I—" Ocehku could not hold Iskan my cry anymore, even unconsciously my two hands have squeezed the clothes of father tightly, channeling all my emotions there.

"No! Don't apologize to me. It is precisely I who should apologize to you, because I am your life so unsettled, because of me you are suffering. But I'm so grateful now that you're alive. I'm really very grateful that the news of your death is not true, I'm grateful to be able to hug you again, forgive your father this Aster. Had the accident never happened, had I known Rigel's plan sooner, had I been stronger."

"Really! Dad really got me into trouble huwaaa, shouldn't I apologize to you. I was not wrong, that day Kalea forced me to release the knife in my hand, she herself grabbed it and made me accidentally stab it. But dad hiks, that day you even care about it and intend to shoot me? Dad kicked me out, Dad asked me not to show myself in front of you again. I was just following my father's wishes, asking Uncle Albert for help to fake my death after wandering around for days without a purpose, trying to avoid pursuing Uncle Rigel and the enemies of the Veren family. Every night I couldn't sleep, my bruised body also felt so painful that I, I may have jumped off that bridge, you evil father!"

"... I'm sorry, I'm really sorry Aster. I'm sorry my daughter." Whispered father in his soft voice but his embrace grew stronger, as if he did not want to let go of me anymore.

"Hiks, it's all because of dad. Bad dad!"

***

- Villa

"Miss ...," I muttered trying to hold back my sobbing sound when I heard the voice of the lady crying with a jerk in her room. Then I also heard Mr. Ansel's unceasing voice saying an apology in his heartbreaking voice.

"For all this time she must have been having trouble holding him alone." Mumbled Mr. Carel who was standing before the door of the lady's room, I saw that his hands were already clenching hard there.

I, Hans and Mr. Carel, we immediately rushed away from the waiting room next to the lady's room when we heard Mr. Ansel's voice calling out the name of the lady in his loud voice.

Then our steps came to a halt in front of the lady's room upon hearing the father and son talk, and it didn't seem like I was the only one who felt I shouldn't bother them now. So inevitably we can only wait outside until we find the right atmosphere to go inside.

Moreover, this time was a fitting situation for the miss to take out her entire heart. Rarely did she say what she felt so clear. My mind can't imagine how hard it is to live out there, hiding and running from the people who are after him.

I never even imagined that miss would be that desperate and intend to end her life? What if that person he called Uncle Tesar did not find him? Miss ... she must have been completely .. without anyone's knowledge. And now we all must think that Miss is still alive somewhere. Then the plan of faking the death would also never exist. I continued still in my heart while squeezing the end of my clothes with tears that could not stop coming out because I heard the so heartbreaking cry of the lady from behind that door.

"Calm down, lady is fine with us now. Next I'll never let miss in trouble again." Hans's voice made me turn to him, then I felt his warm touch on my shoulder along with his thin, forced smile.

It seems like he is also trying to look okay in order to comfort me?

Well, after hearing the miss's cry and how she explained her feelings, it was certain that the people who heard it would feel sad as well. Imagining how the life he's been through the past half a year.

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Thanks for reading...