It was a cold winter morning. I received a call from my father. It was the first time he had ever called me. I was shocked that he had my number, to begin with. It had always been Nella who contacted me.

Did something happen to her?

"Hello," I said as I picked up the phone, lips quivering. Please don't let anything happen to her, I chanted in my heart.

"Belinda, Nella is... gone," my father's voice rang through the speaker.

I didn't reply. I couldn't. I hung up the phone. Tears streamed down my cheeks. I can't believe the woman I hated for eleven years and finally started to like for the last three months is now gone.

To think that three months ago, I was happy to think that they will never call me again. I'm going to miss her texting me, asking me to join them for dinner. I'm going to miss her calling me, asking me to join them for a picnic.

I didn't know her that well but I'm going to miss her. I'm going to miss her annoying smile. I'm going to miss her annoying voice. I'm going to miss her annoying face.

We had so many misunderstandings over the past ten years. Now that they've been cleared, she seemed like a ray of sunshine to me. Perhaps that's what attracted my father to her. I still despise him for what he did to my mother but Nella was innocent.

Yes, she was the third party. Yes, she's the cause of my mother's heartbreak. But, deep down, she's a nice person. Just because I hated the idea of her, I didn't hate her. There was absolutely nothing about her personality to hate.

Except for her annoyingly chirpy voice and her annoyingly huge smile.

My legs were jelly as I crumbled on the ground. I felt like I lost my mother all over again. I screamed at the top of my lungs. I didn't expect her to go so soon. Three months ago, we were just having lunch together, talking about her imminent death.

Now, she's dead.

I thought I was prepared for it but I wasn't. It didn't hit the same. When Mum died, my aunt was there to comfort me. Now that Nella died, there was no one to comfort me. Dad, Nicole and Nigel were also very upset. My aunt has no reason to feel sorry.

I have to be the one to comfort them. It's what I promised Nella. Packing up my stuff, I rushed to the address Dad sent me. I went to the hospice and met up with my father and half-siblings. They were crying.

"I'm sorry for your loss," I muttered.

Nicole and Nigel rushed to hug me. I didn't know what to do but to rest my arms on them. Dad just sat in one corner, crying alone. I averted my eyes. Looking down at these two children in my arms, they reminded me of myself.

"Mum! Mum!" I cried.

"Stop crying, Belinda. Your mother is gone. Crying won't bring her back," Dad scoffed. He bent down and said, "Come on, be a good girl and stop crying. Daddy will buy you ice cream, okay? Just be quiet."

"No! I want my mum!" I hollered.

Aunt Elena walked towards us. She had a straight face. "Charlie, this is not how you talk to a child," she said. Charlie is my father's name. She knelt and muttered, "Belinda, Mummy is gone. Now, you need to stay strong. Mummy doesn't want to see you crying, right?"

I sniffed and wiped my tears. Nodding, I replied, "Okay."

She patted my head and glared at my father. She said, "What kind of father are you? You can't even pacify your own daughter?"

He shrugged. "It's not my job. It's Diana's job but she got herself killed in a car crash. If anything, she's the one who abandoned Belinda. It's her fault, not mine. My job is to earn money for the family."

Aunt Elena laughed, "Do you think I don't know what you did? I never trusted you so I hired someone to snoop on you ever since you got together with Diana. Do you think I don't know you had a mistress out there?"

Dad looked angry. He stood up straight and said, "So what?"

"You are a terrible father and husband, Charlie Mason," Aunt Elena replied firmly.

Looking at my father now, he didn't behave the same way he did eleven years ago. It seemed like he truly loved Nella. I walked towards him. "I'm only here because it's what Nella wanted. She met up with me three months ago, telling me to reconcile with you. I definitely don't forgive you but I will try to be nicer."

He looked up at me. "I'm sorry for what I did, Belinda," he murmured.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"That night, you asked me if I killed your mother. Yes, I did. I hired someone to kill her. I'm so sorry, Belinda. I deprived you of a mother in your teenage years and for the rest of your life," he replied. His voice cracked.

I sighed. "Thank you for your apology. I've waited for it for eleven years."

"I'm sorry it took so long. I was afraid that I would go to jail. The fear increased as Nicole and Nigel came along. I can't leave them alone as I did with you. And I don't want them to know what a monster their father is," he said.

"It's okay. It just feels great to hear that word finally coming out of your mouth," I replied with a smile, patting his shoulder. I took a seat beside him. "Nicole and Nigel are really good kids."

He smiled. "I know. Nella raised them well," he replied.

I nodded. "Then you should pay it forward. Continue raising them well. Be the awesome father you are in their eyes. To me, you were a terrible father. I'm not going to lie about that. But you can be the best father in the world to them."

I gestured towards the kids who were sitting silently at the other end of the room, deep in thought. Dad nodded. "I will. I'll make Nella proud."

"Good," I replied.

***

Days passed and Nella had been buried six feet under. The only people present were Dad, Nicole, Nigel and me. Nella didn't have any close relatives. She did mention that she had a tough life.

After the ceremony, I drove to Brooklyn to visit my mother. "So, the woman who broke your marriage is dead. She died a few days ago from cancer. I spent the past eleven years hating her, only to find out that she was incredibly nice."

Silence.

"It's funny, isn't it? Nella was very sweet. She took my nonsense. She held her tongue when I called her names over the years. She respected me even though I never returned the favour. I never ever called her by her name until three months ago," I said.

Silence.

"The world's kind of ironic. Why do nice people always die? First, it's you. Now, it's Nella. Why isn't the man who brought suffering to us all the one suffering for his misdeeds? Life is hilarious," I said.

Silence.

I heaved a deep sigh. I'm talking to my mother about the woman whom my father cheated on her with. I'm telling her what a nice person she was. I'm hilarious. "Mum, I feel like I lost another mother."

Even though I didn't see Nella as a mother or a stepmother, her death felt like losing one. I guess her actions and patience towards me made me subconsciously see her as some sort of mother figure.

"Am I a traitor?" I asked.

"No, you're not," Jace replied. I only realised then that he was there. "You're not a traitor for liking your father's second wife."

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

He smiled. "When you're feeling incredibly upset, you come here to rant to your mother. I figured you're quite sad over Nella's death so I came here to check. It's not that far a drive from my home anyway."

I nodded in acknowledgement.

"Come on, let's grab a bite at French Louie. Don't beat yourself up over this. I'm sure Nella doesn't want you getting so upset over her death," he sighed.

I smiled and held his hand. With that, we drove to Boerum Hill to dine at the restaurant I always go to when I visit my mother. If we somehow meet Mark again, telling him that we were dating would be the truth.

I hope we will last forever this time.

***

A/N:

She's gone ㅠ~ㅠ

In memory of Nella, please make the star orange (jk you don't have to). But you should press F to pay respects...

Cherish all the people around you. You never know when they'll suddenly disappear. Touchwood.

One last chapter before we say goodbye. I'll miss you all ;-;