Kiss of A Titan
Chapter 8

Alone and bored inside his bedroom, Richard kept himself busy with the video game he was playing on his android cell phone while lying on his bed. Over quarter an hour after taking his breakfast with his dad at the dining table downstairs, he had quarantined himself inside the room and preoccupied his lonesomeness with the engrossing game he was playing. He didn't feel the need to call or chat with someone on the internet but rather, video games were the first remedy he could find to save himself from drowning in silence. He felt cozy resting on the bed in his black sweater and blue jumpers in spite of having trouble concentrating with the video game he was playing.

He couldn't care less how unkempt his bedroom was after returning back from hanging out with his dad since he had never lifted a finger to clean the four corners of his spacious room let alone pick his underwear from anywhere on the soft carpet that concealed the floorboard underneath. The few cleaners his father employed to take care of the entire rooms in the mansion have always done a great job cleaning his room as well every morning even before he could get up from bed. His adaptation to this kind of lifestyle has been the major cause of his laziness and one of the few reasons he hadn't been on good terms with his dad but he never saw this as the real reason why he sometimes quarreled with his father. He had refrained from stepping out of the mansion ever since his dad left for the office after their brief return from the Tennis Court, knowing quite well he didn't plan to spend the rest of the day outside the comforts of his parent's home. Being the only son around to witness the frequent absence of his father whose major focus in his work at the office in Hawaii, he had come to terms with the fact that his family was on the verge of losing that closeness they once had way back before their desperate move to Houston few years ago and with his two older siblings not around to keep him company, it was only a matter of time that he was going to succumb to his reality of facing the world alone. A fact that had lingered in his thoughts for the past three summers in Houston and he had fought really had to deal with the irksome circumstances which he had unavoidably found himself.

It was a matter of respectful commitment to his parents who were on the verge of being torn apart by some force they had beyond their control and which had been the cause of their separation, that he had often tried his best to live in good terms with his father and which has been the reason why he had accepted his dad's offer to spend quality time of father and son day at the tennis court at the early hours of the morning though he knew it was almost completely out of place that his dad would request that he tag along to have fun with some friends of his at the court which his father never did even once ever since their stay in Houston.

During their outing, the servants had thoroughly ensured that every nook and cranny of the twelve bedrooms apartment comprising of four flats was in perfect shape before their return from the tennis court and his father was pleased to see that things were being done rightly in a mansion when he came back to get changed prior to his departure to the office.

At first, Richard was suspicious of his father having ulterior motives for asking his son out for a game of tennis since his outing with his father had been first in three years he had gone somewhere with him and he barely remembered the last time his father invited him to spend quality time as father and son. Apart from his mother and elder sister, his elder brother, Ben, had been the only sibling in his family to ever show him most of the love he yearned for in his family but as for his dad, he wasn't too sure if his prejudiced opinion about his father's priorities was the cause of his suspicion that very morning he was called by his father for an outdoor event after dawn.

Seeing that they didn't have their breakfast before they left for the tennis court, almost questioned Richard's doubts that his father was turning a new leaf and it was one of the major reason why he overlooked his father's philanthropic gesture of escorting a female stranger right in the middle of a game he had barely won. Added to his private island of solitude, it was the holidays and Houston High, the school he attended, hadn't resumed yet for him to catch on with the likes of Clyde and Linder, his favorite friends. But it was clear that he didn't have the intention of seeing anybody particularly his high school friends nor was he going to leave the mansion for an afternoon ride around the neighborhood just for the fun of it which he often does in his father's black SUV car.

Only the sound of the video game and the music he was listening to on the red headphone he wore on his head were the only thing that distracted him from falling into complete boredom in the room which had been way too quiet for him to stay alone. Dinner was fast approaching and he was still lost in his personal time to relax in his bedroom.

The fancy wall clock, of Italian design inside his room, had barely clocked eleven in the morning when an unknown intruder gently tapped his room door. He had intently shut the door as well as closed the curtains to avoid being disturbed by the servants and didn't quite hear the soft knock on the door. Persistently, the intruder knocked twice, this time around, louder than the first time. Luckily, it was loud enough to attract Richard's attention to the door. Suspecting that it was one of the servants in the house, Richard removed his headset and dropped his android cell phone on the drawer near the bed beside some few notepads near his desk lamp. He walked towards the door and hadn't gone closer when the servant knocked again.

"Hold on a moment", he said strolling barefooted on the carpet, "I'm coming right away", When he got to the door, He flung it open only to see a man dressed in a natty black suit. He was surprised to see the stranger who turned up unexpectedly at his doorstep.

"Richard...It's been a while", said the man who turned out to be someone different than Richard had anticipated. Richard felt a sudden wave of suspicion at the appearance of the well dressed stranger whose presence in his life had always informed him that his father was about to go on a long office duty. At least that's what he had in mind when he confronted the familiar guest. The stranger waited for Richard to wake up from his trance. The man standing at Richard's doorstep was his dad's personal secretary and his ties with the Jefferson's family were by far too close for Richard to even phantom. From the first moment he knew how to crawl, Richard had come to terms with the fact that his father's secretary formed an integral part in his father's life due to the length of time his father's secretary had spent working for the company as the personal secretary to the CEO. Apart from Richard's father, only his mother knew how long his dad's Secretary had been working for the company. He didn't think of Ben knowing the actual date his dad's Secretary was employed to work for the company but he knew that he was always there accompanying his father like his dad's shadow when he started schooling in Hawaii as a fourth grader.

"Have you been all alone in your bedroom all this while?" the stranger asked the second time when Richard failed to speak.

"Yeah, I was...", Richard stuttered, opening the door wide enough for his stature to be seen by his dad's personal assistant.

"It seems to me that you don't recognize me since it's been two year you last visited your father at the office", "Of course not, I do remember you", Richard said and ventured outside. He quickly embraced the man who had been old enough to witness the forgotten memories of Richard's childhood.

"Mr. Adrian....How...?", Richard questioned but stopped halfway at the realization that something was amiss, "Is my dad back from the office?" he asked, knowing the obvious.

"Yes, he is. You have grown up into a handsome I last saw you", Mr. Adrian complimented but Richard ignored him. His dad's unexpected return from the office was the only thing that he was interested in finding out the cause rather than his reunion with Mr. Adrian.

"He's back already? But that's unlike him", "Oh, yes, let me see", Mr. Adrian replied with both hands tucked inside his pockets. Then he brought out his left wrist and checked his wristwatch to confirm Richard's speculation about the hour. Mr. Adrian quickly glanced at his wristwatch of the Rolex brand and saw that it was already one pm early in the afternoon after midday before shoving his hands into his pockets once again.

"Yeah, about that.... You're right actually",

"And where is he now?", Richard inquired impatiently.

"He's downstairs as we speak....", "Then you're here for....", Richard retorted, trying to figure out the true intent of Mr. Adrian's sudden visit.

"He sent me on an errand to get you to meet him downstairs and here I am carrying out his orders", Mr. Adrian explained with a broad grin which revealed much of the wrinkles on his face but Richard wasn't too amused about the brief reunion which ended shortly. It was clear to him that something he didn't like was bound to happen if he were to go downstairs to see his father whose early return back to the house was a reminder of a painful memory he had been struggling hard to forget and Mr. Adrian's friendly smile wasn't going to dissuade him from believing that his dad had something up his sleeves "Is that so? Did he tell you why he wanted to see me?",

"Well.... It would be better for the both of us if you go talk to him about it personally", Mr. Adrian replied and Richard felt disappointed

"Lead the way then".

Accompanied by Mr. Adrian, Richard came downstairs and went in the direction of the sitting room. The sitting room was by far broader than his room several meters apart from the center where there were four sofas which occupied merely a quarter of the spacious cubicle. There was no television inside since his father rarely spends the night in the mansion due to his work and the servants were not permitted to use the whole house for their own personal leisure.

More still, Richard often spends the most of his time inside the house in his own room and didn't have the time to request for a plasma television to be erected in the living room. Besides, he hated watching television alone because his father was never around to keep him company and it has been that way ever since they came to live Houston not to mention that his dad had earlier planned for his family to stay for a couple of weeks in the house which in fact, wasn't their real home. His father had done this because of his mother's condition but they hadn't expected that her treatment was going to be tough and lengthy which had actually been the cause of their long stay in Houston.

Compared to the other rooms upstairs, the sitting room had a chandelier and was highly decorated with beautiful antiques to match the quality of the interior design including the brownish wallpaper with a glossy pattern used to cover the bricked walls around the house. To match it all, a two larger portion of the frontal part of the living room was covered with dense opaque glasses both of colossal size, which aid in preventing too much sunlight from penetrating into the living room.

It was a stylish interior household design that had fascinated Richard's dad in buying the house and it had served his taste for the kind of house he wanted though his area of expertise never cut across urban house building and the kind of design used in furnishing them.

Estate management and interior house décor was never his father's interest in terms of personal matters but it was an extension of his father's company which formed an integral part of the service utilities the company renders to its customers seeking partnership in line with the housing projects the company often carry out for its interest and gains particular estate vendors. Such projects were usually supervised and organized by the staff directors of the company and Richard's dad had no personal experience in that field though it was one of the major services his company markets to customers, both on a foreign and a domestic scale.

His mother's viewpoint about the house her husband chose for all three of them to stay while she undergo treatment was somewhat conflicting, believing it was too isolated from the surrounding neighborhood since the fancy house was situated close to woods that occupy the remote side of the town but she had decided to go ahead with her husband's poor judgment to establish peace between them though it was only after a period of four months she became acquainted with the serene surroundings and profound tranquility that hovered around the forest mostly at night and in the afternoon.

Before she was hospitalized a year after they moved to Houston, She had pestered her husband that the area was far too quiet for them to stay in spite of the fancy outlook that was used in furnishing the every cubicle in the apartment particularly the apparel of the Chandelier that intrigued her whenever they were to eat supper together as a family at the dining hall and the comfort that she derived when she was still in the house to keep Richard busy before her unplanned admittance into the hospital.

Like most rich family do, she had had a private doctor that often keep up with her periodic checkup at home where for a year before being hospitalized, she had received medication at home and as a filial son, Richard had been there to ensure she didn't lacked the love she didn't get receive from her husband in full amount.

Ever since she was diagnosed of a life threatening malady, it had been a tough battle for her between her love for her husband and the company profits that provided the bills for her treatment. And so far, she has been fighting a losing battle to the company financial gains thanks to the priorities her husband had focused all his time and resources in sustaining their personal affairs as a family afloat in buoyant way of keeping things balance between his work life and his family affairs notably his love for his wife. A queer feeling that something wasn't right with the unexpected appearance of his father's personal secretary kept bothering Richard as he climbed down the stairs to see his father in the living room with Mr. Adrian trailing behind him.

Arriving there, he was not only shocked to see all the servants standing in a queue before his father but he was perplexed at the sight of the head butler holding three hefty luggage of which he knew belonged to his father.

He knew at first glance that his father was going on a trip but what he couldn't phantom was the reason why his father is leaving home at such a crucial time their family is passing through. He felt reluctant to move any further. Mr. Adrian swiftly went to take his place by the side of his father. His father could see that Richard was taken by surprise but he kept peering at his son in profound silence with his fingers crossed on his knees.

"Mr. Stark, Richard's here, I'll be waiting in the car", Mr. Adrian whispered into his boss's ear as though he didn't already know that Mr. Stark had seen his son. Then he left the parlor and went outside.

"Richard, we need to talk", "No, there's nothing to talk about. You can't leave when things ain't going right with Mom", "Her treatment has always being my priority and it will continue to be that way", "But-", Richard said and drew closer, "What's the problem, Dad?", he questioned with his eyes turning red with tears.

"Something urgent that requires my attention came up at our office in Singapore", "Singapore?"

"That's right", Mr. Stark explained, "I'm sorry, Richard but I have to go",. He got up and Richard watched him walk towards him in dismal.

"You're leaving right now?", Richard replied as though he hadn't seen the bags already prepared for his father's departure.

"Irresponsible as it may seem, yes though I'm leaving on such short notice", "Does Mom know about your unexpected trip? You haven't told her, have you?" Richard questioned feeling utterly disappointed, "You're right. I haven't told her about it yet but you and I know it's best if she finds out later when I have settled things down in Singapore", "Can't the trip wait?", Richard asked, feeling the sting itching his heart, "You promised us that you would stay with her for the entire summer, can't you leave next month?", "No, Richard, it'll be too late by then", "Too late for what?"

"If I don't leave right away, a major setback will hit the company shares drastically or worse, we might end up getting bankrupt if things ain't done in haste", Mr. Stark replied and turned to face his son, "This could affect your Mom medical bills", Richard was speechless, unable to say anything any further. His hope of seeing his dad for the entire school had been dashed to pieces by some sort of problem which he had nothing to do with and from the way Mr. Stark sounded, the case was somewhat serious and required swift action to curtail it before he could be affected by the mysterious millstone but he was indifferent rather than supportive.

His dad had done something similar before when he barely knew the neighborhoods of Houston and it had turned out to be a hoax concocted by his very own dad. His dad's old lie had almost crippled the deplorable state his mother was in and he wasn't ready to take any second chances though the circumstances were already out of his control.

"For your sake, I'm leaving behind the SUV car and taking the Limo instead. Robert will be back shortly after accompanying me to the airport and he'll be at your beck and call", "This isn't happening", Richard replied feigning ignorance. "Richard, listen to me. You might think I'm neglecting your mother but this time, something is definitely wrong with our office in Singapore and this could really endanger all our assets", His dad said placing his right hand on Richard's left shoulder but Richard shrugged and took his hands off which greatly surprised Mr. Stark.

"Hands off, Dad, you're only doing this for the company which you love so much than us", Richard said almost tearfully and withdrew away from his father.

"That's not true and you know it. All I have done is for your own good and for the family", "You are wrong, if you really do love us, you would have told Mom that you are leaving", "I decided to keep it from her on purpose but I told you instead",

"You told me because you wanted her not to miss you too much but she always does whenever you are not around", Richard retorted angrily. Right at that moment, Mr. Adrian, who had spent a lot of time waiting in the car, suddenly appeared at the doorway and beckoned to Mr. Stark to take note of the time. Richard watched in dismay as his dad checked his watch. Mr. Stark found out that the hour had truly elapsed their scheduled time for departure and beckoned at the servants to take the bags to the car outside. The servants quickly obeyed, rolling the hefty hand luggage to the front door where they met Mr. Adrian who accompanied the servants to keep the bags in the car. Richard and his dad were now left alone to say their goodbyes in the sitting room.

Mr. Stark took his son closer to him but Richard was too stiff to budge. He wasn't ready to listen to any of his father's explanations since they all pointed at his inevitable departure to the eastern side of the world which he knew was a long distance away from the comforts of his estates in Houston.

"I know I made a promise to stay with you and your mother until she gets better but I need to do this to save the company that have financed her treatments and her needs ever since we came to Houston", "Please, Dad, don't use Mom as an excuse to satisfy your greed. Yes, she needs money for her treatment but what she needs more is your presence this time when she's going through a lot for these past few years, can't you see that?" Richard persuasively explained, still in pain, hoping that his words could be persuasive enough to convince his dad from leaving at such a short time when his school was yet to resume. He hadn't foreseen this coming and for all he cared about at that moment, his father had failed him yet again and his earlier opinion that their relationship was getting better than it was when his mother was first admitted into a reputed hospital here in Houston.

"Look, son. I'll try to tidy things up quickly in Singapore and return back as soon as I can", Mr. Stark said holding Richard's jaw with his two hands but Richard was quick to push them off from his face and retreated further away from him towards the stairs.

"Dad, you can do whatever you want and I ain't going to stop you", "Richard, don't be like that", "That's enough, dad! You don't even care about the fact that I will be living alone in this house all summer. Ben, most likely won't be coming home for entire year and..."

"I'll make sure that you don't feel lonely", Mr. Stark retorted.

"And how'll you do that, Dad? I'm sure you ain't paying the servants to do that job, are you?", "No, not them.....I'll make adequate calls to check up on you and Mom", Mr. Stark explained despite knowing his son would be against the idea of him sending messages across on the phone which he knew proved Richard's point that he was planning on abandoning them. At least, that is what he thought Richard would feel. Richard scoffed and shook his head.

"I've had enough, Dad, you can go ahead and leave like you want to. I'm done talking with you about this", Richard said in anger. He was now infuriated more than ever and Mr. Stark could clearly see that Richard was still bent on antagonizing his persuasions. Mr. Stark had foreseen that Richard would have the wrong idea of his true intentions to leave town but he hadn't expected that Richard would rudely refuse to comprehend the importance of his unplanned departure out of the continent. Before Mr. Stark could say anything, Richard turned his back on him, heading back up the stairs. It was clear that he wanted to leave for his bedroom, possibly to hide his tears away from his father like he often does whenever he was about to cry.

"Richard, don't walk out on me. We haven't finished talking about this", he said in a harsh tone and Richard stopped abruptly before turning to face

"As far as I'm concerned, we're done talking. Aren't you leaving, huh? If it's about mom, don't worry about it, I'll let her know that you don't keep to your promise", "Don't get the wrong idea that I'm doing this on purpose. Your mother's still dear to me and no one can change that", "No, Dad, you doing this for yourself, as for mom, she'll find out about your trip and I know she won't be too happy to hear it", Richard replied and walked away, heading to the stairs. Mr. Stark watched him as he left the living room to his bedroom upstairs.

Richard's departure ended their long argument and he knew that his son won the fierce debate which in fact was inevitably forthcoming after failing to keep a promise he made to the family sequel to the last argument he had with Ben on the phone. Ben had phoned Richard a month ago to check on how things were going with his family particular his hospitalized mother and during their brotherly conversation,

Richard had mentioned to Ben about their father's temporary visit to see their mom at the hospital and his frequent travel to work in Hawaii.

After Mr. Stark had conceded to Ben's demand, it didn't come as a surprise to Richard that Ben got through to him even after unending pleas from Richard to his dad for him to set his priorities straight for his mother not to feel neglected during her stay in the hospital. From time immemorial, Ben had been the only one in the family to ever be able to have the courageous ability to change Mr. Stark's opinion on matters when Ben was still with them in Hawaii. Even Richard had sometimes wished he had the same ability like Ben to change his father's mind of prioritizing his work over family matters but he knew his father would never see him like the way he thinks of Ben.

A few minutes after making it to his room upstairs, Richard looked down from his bedroom window and saw his father leaving to enter the car that was already prepared for him for his departure. He drew the curtain aside to catch a glimpse of his father's unexpected departure from where he was way up in his room and he could clearly see that his father was really quite serious about leaving. He had thought his dad would have a change of heart if he tried to dissuade him from leaving but little did he know his father was serious about leaving for Singapore. It was highly disappointing and heartbreaking to Richard for Mr. Stark to leave for the airport despite knowing that he might end up cutting ties with his family. It was surprising to Richard that Mr. Stark was ready to bear the consequences of his action regardless of the fact that it could end up affecting the entire family.

He saw Mr. Adrian open the door of the black limousine for his father that was to take his dad to the airport while the butler, Robert and the other servants stood behind the limousine after keeping the bags in the boot. Robert was quick to enter the limousine before the driver drove the car out of the compound through the gate which automatically paved the way for them to pass. Mr. Adrian followed his father to leave the mansion, from behind in his Chevrolet black automobile. Richard kept watching the two cars driving towards the main road from a bird eye view inside his room till it became too difficult for him to see the next route the two cars took to hasten their journey to the airport.

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