CHAPTER 4

Carla accompanied her granddaughter to breakfast. Alice had already arrived with her clothes to stay with her pretty little girl, she adored her, she settled in the next room and went to the kitchen to have breakfast with them. When they finished, they went to Jenna's room, because she was not going to go to school yet. She had three days' leave because of her mother's bereavement.

While at Dereck's house he had already woken up, but he didn't want to go to the company yet, because his conscience was not clear, he got up and went to the bathroom, he had already left to take his morning bath, when he heard his son's voice outside his door.

"Dad, can I come in?". He was alone in his boxers, but it was his son and he answered.

"Come in son."  He stood there and watched the door open and Marck came out more quietly, closed the door behind him and went straight to his father and gave him a tight hug, making him sob.

"Son please per... forgive me, I want to tell your mom, the guilt is killing me, I'll risk her divorcing me, even though it's going to hurt, I love her."

Marck knew his father, he loved having sex outside, but he never stopped loving his mother, he never thought of leaving her, however, what happened made his conscience jump, the guilt was what had him bad, he adored his daughter-in-law and his granddaughter.

"Dad... I thought better of it, you didn't know Judith would go to the company, besides it was your fault for not letting me know what you were thinking of doing, another was that if you wanted to do it you could plan it to be in some motel, I think nobody is to blame here, my wife wanted to.... give me a surprise of... love", Marck sobbed as he said that "and another painful thing happened, besides dad, your granddaughter loves you, my mom loves you, I love you, please dad try to forget, I... I will do it for my daughter, I don't want to cause her traumas".

Dereck watched and listened, but thought it was going to be hard to keep quiet, especially in front of his beloved granddaughter and said.

"Son I...I don't know if I can when Jenna hugs me, the guilt is going to hurt my heart."

Marck sat down to consider it to meditate it, he realized that this was very hard for his father, it was going to cause him problems not only with his family, but even with his business, he is going to be with his conscience about to explode and he won't have a head for anything, but an idea crossed his mind and he stood up to tell him.

"Dad... I have an idea." Dereck looked at him carefully and Marck mentioned.

"Travel to Canada as if you were on business and go into your friend Dr. Harding's psychiatric ward, he has always been your confidant, tell him what happened, I'm sure he will help you, I'll call him and tell him to wait for you at the airport, please dad I love you, I don't want to lose you, if you keep this up you are going to go crazy with guilt."

Dereck sat on the bed thoughtfully and commented.

"It's okay son, I'll do it for you, for my wife for...my Jenna, for her I don't want her to suffer any more yet."

Marck hugged his father for the good decision he had made, he didn't hesitate to call Dr. Harding, he told him what had happened and told him that he would help his father to overcome what he was feeling, not to worry that he would do everything he could to achieve it, receiving Marck's thanks, who closed the call and said:

"That's it dad, I'm going to book you on a flight today." Dereck looked at him and said

"But Marck so soon?"

He looked at his father answering.

"At once dad, please, you must do it you must not show your state of mind, you must leave before someone notices, so let's go first to your company so you can let your assistant know and stay in charge of the company, I will go from time to time to see how everything is going, besides Gustav has 15 years in the company and he is of your absolute confidence."

"That's right I have already left him in charge a few times, that's fine son, let's go then."

The two of them went to Dereck's company who spoke with Gustav giving him the instructions of everything and said goodbye to him, while Marck called the doctor advising that his father would arrive at 6pm, so that he would wait for him at the airport, which was immediately accepted.

Marck called his company to let them know he would be late, instead he went home to say goodbye to Carla and Jenna, he asked her to be strong, that only that time he would see her and try to dissimulate, Dereck promised him, but it was going to be hard to do it, one thing is to say yes and another is to fulfill it.

From the moment they arrived in the car Dereck was nervous and immediately tears began to spill down his cheeks, Mark hugged him saying.

"Dad please have strength, it's just for today" to which his father only nodded wiping his tears with his handkerchief.

When he got to the front door he inhaled a good breath of air to try to calm down, he was greeted at the door by his wife Carla, who missed seeing the two of them, because they were supposed to be at work, but Marck spoke up.

"Mom, my dad has to go on a trip to finalize some contracts in Canada, that's why he came to say goodbye to you and Jenna."

"Oh my love well you're leaving, well I'll wait for you, call me from time to time love." To which Dereck nodded and kissed her so lovingly that the tears of guilt came uncontrollably.

Jenna hearing her grandfather's voice ran out of her room and hugged him saying, "Grandpa are you leaving?"

Dereck upon seeing and hearing her sobbed softly, but controlled himself by saying, "Yes daughter I must go, but don't worry I'll be back as soon as I'm done."

Jenna squeezed him tightly; she adored her grandparents. More she felt guilty, Dereck tried to hold on as long as he could, and Mark went to save him because he could tell his father was flagging.

"Come on daddy you must get your luggage ready, I'll help you come on, bye mommy, bye my little heart.

"Bye daddy, bye grandpa." She stood in the doorway watching those two beings she loves so much leave.

Carla closed the door and took her to watch a children's program on TV, while the two men went home to pack their bags. When they finished, they just went to the private airport, since they had a plane of their own that they used just for business trips.

He left him inside the plane, said goodbye and stood there watching as the plane was already lost in the horizon, instead he was already calmer, because his father would overcome everything with the treatment of his psychiatrist friend.

He boarded his car and went to his company to continue his work, although he remembered his beloved wife, all his workers knew that, no woman had ever dared to seduce him, because she had won the hearts of everyone there, the only thing that hurt them was that sometimes they heard him sobbing for her.

At home Jenna played with her nanny with her grandmother who was still there for not being at home and seeing the emptiness of her husband not being there, but the time came to leave, she had her life made and obligations with the foundations she had created and she could not stay away from them, they were her responsibility, she said goodbye to her beloved granddaughter, however, she promised that on Sundays she would return to go somewhere for a walk.

In truth, Alice filled the void left by Judith, she loved Jenna, she took care of her, she would drop her off and pick her up from school, her classmates had received her very well, they supported her in everything, no one bothered her or made fun of her.

Dereck had already returned with other thoughts, calmer, the treatment taken away from home had paid off. Mark was very happy, his father had already returned home different and far from guilty feelings, something that his son thanked God for, because he wished his family peace of mind. Now he was visiting his granddaughter and was giving her his grandfatherly love as she loved him the most.

Carla had noticed that her husband was happier, but she didn't suspect anything. Marck and his daughter's life had become very stable, he had the opportunity to have very close a pretty girl with whom he seemed to have fallen in love, his friends were celebrating until they heard from his own mouth to say.

"I'm sorry Loretta, but I can't share your feelings, I loved only one woman and I still love her, I'm sorry don't insist".

Loretta was a beautiful model who seems to have fallen madly in love with him, but soon after she realized that Marck did not reciprocate, until she heard it from his own lips, she resigned herself to let him go on and said goodbye to him giving him a kiss on the cheek saying.

"Hopefully someday you will love again, you need it Marck", she said those words to him and traveled to another country, her friends were saying.

"But Marck, your wife is gone, you need to love again, distract yourself."

"Dude, you're missing a great opportunity, she was beautiful that woman".

Marck got up from the Bar chair where they were saying already angry.

"Enough please, enough already, don't you understand? I don't want to love anyone else, I don't want to, I don't want to give my daughter a stepmother either, she doesn't deserve it, no one is going to take her mother's place... no one damn it, no one!"

They felt sorry to see him sit there sobbing for his wife, they all knew and knew that immense love between them, they didn't insist anymore, but Mark's temper got hurt and he preferred to go back home. When he opened the car to leave, he sat there for a few moments, closed his eyes and imagined the voice of his wife Judith, laughing, talking to him, smiling inside the car, the guards were watching him, they looked at each other imagining what was going on and preferred to leave so he would not see them or believe they were watching him.

When he opened his eyes he was calmer, he entered his house and only said:

"Where is my beautiful little princess?"

A cute little girl was seen running to greet him and he grabbed her waist to twirl her around and around smiling very happily and Jenna was smiling too, it was a very beautiful picture

"Daddy you're home I missed you, I love you daddy". She hugged him very tightly and Mark loved it, feeling that warmth from his daughter and the emotion with which she received him.

"My beautiful girl how I missed you, without you by my side I would suffer". Jenna answered when she heard him.

"I will never leave you daddy, ever." That made her father laugh with affection.

He lowered her down and shook her hand and together they went to their room, Jenna fetched his clothes from home and laid them on the bed saying.

"My mommy is gone, but I'm here to leave your clothes there for you to change into, I learned how to match clothes, Alice taught me daddy."

When she saw the clothes she saw that they were a beautiful combination and she liked them saying.

"Wow daughter what a nice taste, thank you my love" Jenna went to hug her daddy very happy and said.

"I'm leaving daddy, so you can take a bath and I'll wait for you to have dinner together".

Mark gave her a kiss on the cheek and replied.

"Of course my little love, I'll have dinner with you, you are my little winged princess, my fairy of the enchanted forest"

Jenna skipped away, closing the door behind her, while Marck was bathing he remembered Judith who loved to put the shampoo in his hair, that made him sob, he really missed her, their love was true, they were soul mates.

The dinner with his daughter was made up of pure laughter, anecdotes of her telling her daddy, Alice was teaching her how to cook and she had made a homelet for her dear daddy, Mark tasted it and liked it, she said

"My little princess this is delicious, you should be a chef" Jenna smiled and said.

"Daddy, what do you eat you guess, I wish I was a chef".

"Really Jenna, do you want to study to be a chef?"

"Yes daddy, it's one of my wishes, but later I will study more things, I am still very little, I also want to learn to help you in the company"

Marck listening to her liked his daughter's enthusiasm, her desire to improve herself, it was a good indication that she was the best daughter, Judith's best daughter, her true love.

Love between father and daughter, a very normal love, Marck didn't want his daughter's life to have any obstacle or someone in between them, that's why he didn't want to fall in love, for her, for his daughter and for the immense love he had with Judith, he couldn't forget her or he shouldn't forget her.