A Gift from the Goddess novel Chapter 115

“Come in,” said a deep voice on the other side of the door.

I’d only had to wait a few seconds for his response after knocking, but I wished there hadn’t been a reply at all. More than anything else, I just wanted to walk away. I wanted him to not be there waiting for me in his office. But that wasn’t the case.

After leaving the construction site, I’d done only the bare minimum in fixing my appearance before coming here. Showering within a few minutes and changing into some more appropriate clothing as quickly as possible. After all, I wouldn’t be able to show myself in the state I’d been in after the accident.

There was no backing out now.

With one final deep breath, I pushed open the door and faced the man I knew would be there.

Even in the dim light of his office, I could still make him out clearly as he sat behind his desk. His clean-cut dark hair and expensive suit only adding to his imposing presentation, his blue eyes having a way that made you want to squirm away under their gaze. This was the man many feared… and rightfully so.

“My sweet Raven,” he greeted, standing up as I entered.

I moved to the centre of the room and avoided his eyes, casting my own down to the ground in a sign of submission and apology.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting, sir,” I said. “I came here as quickly as I could.”

“Ah… yes, understandable.”

I heard as he walked around the desk to stand in front of me, his hand coming up to pinch under my chin. Instantly, my pulse began to quicken. What would be the punishment waiting for me this time?

“Look at me,” he instructed, pushing my head up. “Tell me what happened.”

There was no point in lying to him. He would find out the truth even if I tried to deceive him. He always did. There was no such thing as hiding a secret from Eric Reid.

“…I failed to bring in Miles Kennedy alive, sir,” I answered slowly. “I apologise for my carelessness.”

He clicked his tongue three times in disapproval, causing me to flinch involuntarily in surprise at the abrupt sound. Despite that though, I still remained firmly in his grasp.

“So disappointing, Raven,” he scolded. “So unlike you.”

“I… I lost control,” I admitted.

“Ah.”

And I felt as his grip then tightened on me, his other hand coming up to wipe something away from my temple. Upon him inspecting it closer-up, I saw that it was blood. I must have missed a spot in my haste to get here as quickly as possible.

“Such a pretty girl on the surface, my Raven” he mused, looking at his hand as he rubbed his finger and thumb together, removing the blood as if he’d just picked up some dust. “Yet looks aren’t everything, as we well know. Did anyone see you?”

His eyes flicked back to my own as he asked the question, shooting ice-cold fear through me.

“N-no, Father,” I answered. “There were no survivors. Zac is the only person I’ve been in contact with prior to coming here and I had already reverted by then. He didn’t see anything.”

He held my gaze for a few seconds, almost as though he were trying to see if I were actually telling the truth.

Evidently, he felt assured by my response in the end.

“Good,” he simply said.

And, finally, I felt his grip on my face ease off slightly, allowing me a moment of reprieve to breathe.

“You need to be more careful,” he said. “Do you want people to lock you away and experiment on you? Never forget that you cannot trust anyone. A parent’s love may be unconditional, but others will never understand and accept you for what you are.”

I could feel as tears wanted to sting at my eyes but I bit them back, knowing that showing weakness would not help my situation or appease him in any way. If anything, it would only make things so much worse. But I knew I shouldn’t let it weigh on me too much. It wasn’t as though I hadn’t heard these words countless times before.

“I’m sorry, Father,” I whispered.

I didn’t want to speak too loudly, not trusting my own voice. But relief immediately flooded through me when he took a step away, and I watched as he walked back to his desk to sit down. With a quick shuffle in the draw next to him, he proceeded to pull out two glasses filled with what looked to be whisky.