Chapter 6

Charlie was surprised to find himself in a large garden. Many flowers were blooming, and the trees were shady. Charlie walked around looking at the whole place, he had no idea what it was.

"Charlie." Someone's soft voice made Charlie's steps stop. He turned to the source of the sound.

Instantly, a smile formed on Charlie's face when he saw someone in white with light around him. Someone he had been missing all this time.

"Mommy!" Charlie shouted with teary eyes.

Monica only smiled, she slowly faded away in the white light. This made Charlie run to his mother, but it was too late. His mother had disappeared somewhere.

"Mommy, please! I want to be with you!" Charlie kneeled on the ground and looked up at the clear sky. Hoping his mom would reappear.

"Not yet, Charlie. You have to pick up the happiness you've been longing for." Monica's soft voice came back, but she didn't appear like before.

After hearing his mother's words, Charlie immediately saw a bright light. It was as if he had entered into that light.

"Charlie!" 

The call managed to wake Charlie up, and slowly his eyes opened. Charlie looked at the man next to him, then looked around the room.

'It was just a dream,' thought Charlie, who was still lying weakly in the hospital bed.

Charlie managed to survive the suicide attempt; he lost consciousness before jumping into the sea. Luckily, Jonathan quickly pulled him up, so he wouldn't fall into the sea. After that, Jonathan immediately took Charlie to the hospital.

Yep, the person who came and claimed to be Charlie's father when Charlie wanted to commit suicide was Jonathan. Whatever Charlie did, Jonathan knew about it. Because all this time, Jonathan ordered his subordinates to keep an eye on Charlie. Jonathan even knows everything that happens in Charlie's life, including the bullying and violence he often gets.

Jonathan was fed up and couldn't let it go too far, so he decided to meet Charlie and take him home immediately.

"Thank God you're awake," said Jonathan, who was still on the edge of Charlie's bed.

Charlie frowned, trying to remember what had happened. Finally, he remembered when the man beside him said that he was his father.

"Who are you?" asked Charlie, looking at Jonathan confused.

Jonathan smiled and replied, "I'm your father."

Again, that's what came out of Jonathan's mouth, making Charlie even more clueless. "Liar, my father is dead," he said, looking away. Charlie clearly remembered Monica saying that his father was dead, and suddenly there was someone who claimed to be his father. Charlie really couldn't believe it.

Jonathan sighed. "I'm not lying, I'm Jonathan Andrew, your father. If you don't believe me, I can show you the proof," he said as he handed over a brown envelope. Jonathan had expected this to happen, luckily, he had done a DNA test that might make Charlie believe him.

Yep, the hair taken by the girl at that time was Jonathan's order, so he could do a DNA test, and the results were positive. That's why Jonathan decided to meet Charlie after all this time.

Charlie changed his position to sitting, helped by Jonathan. Then he opened the brown envelope without saying a word. Charlie carefully read the letter inside the envelope. His eyes began to glaze over when he learned that his father was still alive and was now beside him.

"Is this true?" asked Charlie, looking up at Jonathan as if searching for a lie there. But he couldn't find any. Jonathan was his father.

Jonathan nodded, then replied, "Right, the letter is official. Aren't you smart? You should be able to read the letter, right?"

Charlie looked back at the DNA test result letter, he could indeed read it. It was just that Charlie couldn't believe that the person standing next to him was his father.

Charlie's tears fell, and he crumpled the letter. Then I threw it in any direction. "No, you're not my father," he said, looking away.

Jonathan closed his eyes; he knew that Charlie might not accept it easily after all that had happened to him. Jonathan held Charlie's shoulders as he said, "I'm your father, you have to believe that."

"No! If you're my father, where have you been all this time? Why did you leave Mommy and let her suffer?" Charlie shouted; there was no harm in it. He let out all the questions that were on his mind.

Jonathan was silent for a moment, then he hugged Charlie. He was confused about where to explain; so much had happened so far. "I'll explain everything to you, but not now. You just need to believe that I am your father," he explained hopefully.

Charlie was silent; he didn't know what to say. Instead, he savored Jonathan's embrace, the fatherly embrace he had always wanted. 

"Listen to me." Jonathan released his embrace, then he took Charlie by both shoulders and said, "Come with me; your life will change. You won't be bullied, and no one will dare to hurt you. Believe me."

"Why should I believe and come with you?" Charlie asked softly.

"Because I am your father, I will never let anyone hurt you again. Please, give me a chance to make up for all the wrongs I've done to you over the years," Jonathan replied with a sincere smile.

Charlie thought hard, should he trust the man in front of him? But the evidence was there, there was no reason not to believe. After a while of thinking, Charlie finally nodded slowly. I don't know if the decision was right or not.

As the smile on Jonathan's face grew, he hugged back the son he had missed for so long.

"Thank you."

***

A few days later, after Charlie decided to believe, Jonathan immediately brought Charlie home after the doctor gave the go-ahead.

The two of them were now on their way to Jonathan's house. Jonathan had also told him some stories from the past that made him believe even more. But there was still something stuck in Charlie's heart.

"Come on, let's go in," Jonathan said.

Charlie just nodded and followed behind Jonathan. Having just entered the mansion, Charlie was amazed by the interior and design of the house. From the outside, Charlie was already dumbfounded, let alone going inside. It was understandable that all his life, Charlie only lived in a small house with his mother.

"Charlie, let me introduce you to someone." Jonathan walked into the living room, followed by Charlie behind him.

Charlie frowned. Someone was sitting on the sofa watching TV.

"Laura!" called Jonathan to the woman.

"Uh, honey, are you home yet?" The woman named Laura got up from her seat. She looked Charlie up and down with a look that was hard to decipher.

"Who is she?" she asked sternly.

Would Charlie be accepted into the family? Charlie didn't expect much.