[ To avoid confusion Ichigo will be addressing Alec as father and Damon as his dad.]Hestia slumped on the stage when every guests were gone, all her energy was completely depleted. Her body was shaking uncontrollably from nerves, anger, sadness, frustration and grief. All those emotions are too overwhelming for her pet.i.te body to handle.
The tears Hestia was holding poured like a dam when she felt the familiar warmth of her son Ichigo. She was too emotional to care about her surroundings, all she wanted to do was to cry all her misery out of her system.
Seeing how hurt his mother was, Ichigo climbed down from Leo"s arms and run towards his mother to give her a tight hug. He tenderly rubbed his mother"s back when she started to cry. He clenched his tiny fist, he can"t forgive his real father for hurting his mom and ruining his grandparent"s party.
Ichigo never guessed that his biological father was a close relative of the Gray"s and that"s why he was so shocked when he heard his father declare the truth in the presence of too many people. He clenched his little fist tightly, by just seeing how his father act and how he handle himself he deduced that he is unworthy to be called a man. He is the perfect definition of the word coward and a mama"s boy. Now Ichigo was ashamed to share half of his DNA.
Damon grind his teeth, he will kill his b.a.s.t.a.r.d cousin for hurting his family. Damon moved closer to Hestia and Ichigo to give them comfort and strength. When Ichigo looked up, Damon"s heart constrict painfully. His son was bravely holding his tear at bay.
Damon tenderly kissed Ichigo"s forehead and he circled his arms around Ichigo and Hestia. He"s grateful to have a brave and loving son.
Lila stood unmovingly at her spot, she observed the whole thing with a blank face. Leo removed his jacket for his wife to wear. She looked ghastly. Leo sighed, this is going to be ugly. He just hoped that his wife can recover quickly from the drama his nephew caused.
Lance was behind his parents looked over at the three. He scratched his forehead, he too was mad about what happened. How can his cousin be so insensitive and stupid, Alec ruined the whole thing for Hestia and Ichigo. His brows were knitted in worry when his mother walked where Damon and Hestia was. Concerned and worried, Lance walked to stand in front of his mother.
Hestia looked up when she heard heels clicking. She stared at Lila who openly welcomed her into their family, her eyes once again watered. She shakily stood up and bowed half of her body. "I-I"m..." Hestia cleared her throat. "I-I"m deeply s-sorry! I"m so sorry!" Her voice was cracking and hoa.r.s.e from crying.
Hestia was too ashamed to face Damon and his family. She tightly shut her eyes to prevent the tears from falling, "I-I"m sorry that I kept the truth about I-Ichigo"s father. I-I"m sorry if I allowed myself t-to think about being part of your family! I"m really sorry ma"am and to show how sorry I am, me and my son we"ll leave and we will never bother your family ever again." She sobbed. The silent treatment she received from Lila tore Her heart apart. She doesn"t want to depart from Damon but it is the only way to save him and his family from scandals and humiliation. She hugged herself, "The pain she felt from her past heartache doesn"t compare to the misery she"s feeling right now." She laughed humorless inside her head. "Is this her fate? Will she die without experiencing true happiness for her and for her son Ichigo?" She smiled bitterly.
Ichigo who understands their situation moved away from Damon. His melancholic figure, crushed Damon"s whole being. Ichigo did not looked back. He doesn"t want to cry and be weak, he needs to be strong and brave for his mom. He doesn"t want to leave but his mom needed him the most.
Ichigo hugged his mother"s thigh. Hestia smiled sadly at her son. She hardly bit her lower lip drawing blood when she saw the woeful face of her Ichigo and when he bravely smiled at her, her heart was ripped off from her chest and was torn to pieces. She carried her son and bowed once again for forgiveness.
Damon tightly clenched his fist until his nails dig deep on his palm. He hates seeing the heartbroken figure of Hestia and Ichigo. "I never gave you the permission to leave me!" Damon growled. His frustration is thick in his voice. "He will never allow Hestia and Ichigo to run away from him. He"ll do anything just to secure his place beside Hestia and their son Ichigo. If he needs to return to the dark side just to be with them he will gladly break his promise to his father."
"Hestia have you forgotten the promise you made? Remember, you promised me a date and now you"re trying to break that vow! I was even planning to fulfill Ichigo"s wish to have siblings at our trip. Hestia please don"t go, don"t separate me from our son. I will die if both of you leave me." His voice cracked at the end.
Hestia avoided Damon"s earnest gaze. She hugged Ichigo close to her. "I-I also don"t want to be away from you but that"s the right choice to choose."
Her sorrowful voice made Lance tear up. "What kind of cruel situation is this? Is there no chance for them to be happy?" Lance lament.
Damon smiled but it didn"t reach his eyes, it was dry and mirthless. "We have plenty of choices Hestia but you choose to run. You can always pick me but I guess I am not that important to you." He brushed his hair backwards from frustration. "Ha, who am I kidding. I was never really important to you, our relationship was only one-sided."
Hestia shaked her head. "I admit at first you never was in my priority list but as we spend time together I now realized that I-I"m beginning to fall for you. You"re not the only one who"s hurting from this separation. We also don"t want to part with you and your family!" Hestia whimpered. "How can she and Ichigo not be affected! They are also hurting."
Damon moved closer to his family. "Then choose me. As long as we stay together, we can defeat all our adversaries. I"ll never let anyone hurt you and Ichigo just have faith in me Hestia. Please just have faith in me." Damon pleaded. His eyes begin to tear from the thought of losing Hestia and Ichigo forever. "How unsightly, what did love do to me? Because of it he was now begging and at the mercy of the woman in front of him. Ah! But he never regretted loving them. If he had five lifetimes* he would only will love Hestia and have Ichigo as their son."
"Mom you know that I"ll always follow you wherever you go but this time I agree with dad. We can never escape our past even if we try but just like what dad said we can all face our nightmares head on and with confidencw as long as we are with each other." Hestia smiled. "Her son grow so fast, sometimes she just wished Ichigo to just be a kid but she"s always grateful whenever Ichigo acts like an adult because it calms her mind to know that she can rely on him."
The words of Damon and Ichigo cleared her mind. They are right, what can running do to help them resolve their problem it will cause more haunting and it will only hinder their happiness. Just like what her son said facing the nightmares head on with your love ones beside you is a more sensible choice. "Can you handle the scandals and humiliations once we stayed together?"
Damon breath a sigh of relief. He smirked when he saw the clear eyes of Hestia, her doubts and insecurities are nowhere to be found instead her determination and willingness to fight are brightly shining in her eyes. "Nothing can faze me but how about you can you handle all the dramas and danger of the business world?"
Hestia raised a brow. "I can be tough if faced in any dangerous situation."
"Then there will be no problem!" Damon smirked.
"Yehey!!" Ichigo cheered. "He was scared for a moment, he thought that it was the end for their family but thankfully his dad did not give up on them."
Lance was also happy that his sister-in-law and nephew will not leave their family. He was also thankful that Damon changed Hestia"s mind because if he failed to convince her and they left his future will be in dire danger. He can almost foresee how Damon will make him suffer and the people around him just to forget the pain. He was still basking in his happiness when he was shoved by his mother. "Oh oh!"
"Mom! wait!" He tried to blocked his mom but his dad stopped him. Leo protested but his father just gave him a warning look. He reluctantly surrendered. The only thing he could do is just pray that everything will turn alright.