Dear Devil Husband, I Love You

After five hours of driving, I arrived at my hometown. 

"When did you come back, Bianca?" A familiar old woman greeted me when I stopped over at my father's favorite diner here in Portland. 

"Just today." I smiled as I looked at the menu. "I want the usual." I said, talking about the meal my father used to order here. 

"How's your father, Bianca? I haven't seen him for three weeks now."

My forehead creased. "He hasn't come here in the past days?" 

"No. I thought he's sick or something."

This time, my lips parted in confusion and worry. Was Dad sick? But he didn't sound sick on the phone earlier. 

"Thanks, Frances." As soon as I got my order, I went back to my car. 

I drove down the familiar road until I reached my father's two-story house sitting in the suburb where I grew up. 

I was the only child of my parents. When my mother died, I convinced Dad to come and live with me in New York, but he refused. 

The moment I parked my car in front of the house, I already knew something was off. There was a lot of unwanted grass on the lawn. It has never happened before. My mother's favorite part of this house was the lawn. One of the reasons Dad never wanted to go with me was because he said he could never leave this house.

"Dad!" I called as I entered the door. My lips parted when I saw the empty bottles of beer on the carpeted floor. When Mom died, Dad went into depression. But he was able to move past it. After a month, he got back to his old self. 

"Dad!" I worriedly went to my father, who was sitting on the sofa. His eyes were closed. He looked asleep. I noticed the visible wrinkles on his face. He seemed like he had aged dramatically since the last time I saw him. 

His stubble was an inch longer than how he usually keeps it. His white t-shirt was stained with grease. 

He looked like he hadn't been taking care of himself. What happened while I was away? 

Did Dad fall into depression again? But he sounded fine every time we talked on the phone. 

"Wake up, Dad." I tapped his arm. "I'm here."

"Bianca... you're here." A smile escaped his lips when he saw me. "How's your trip? Do you want something to eat?" He stood up from the couch. "I have bolognese in the kitchen. It's still your favorite, right?" 

"Dad, what's wrong?" I said, ignoring him. "You look like a mess."

He looked away. "I'm sorry, Bianca. I've been so busy these past days."

My forehead creased. "Busy with what? Dad, I stopped by at Cherry's diner . She told me she hasn't seen you for three weeks now. And the lawn." I pointed at the lawn outside. "It looks like it hasn't been cleaned for weeks. And this mess!" My eyes went to the empty bottles of beer on the floor. 

"Are you having a problem, Dad? Why did you ask to see me?" 

"Nothing's wrong, Bianca." He gave me a faint smile. "I just feel alone here and I wanted to see you."

My frown deepened. "Dad, you know you can't lie to me, right? So tell me, what's wrong?" 

Dad sat back on the sofa. He lowered his head and covered his face with his hands. 

"Dad..." I sat next to him. "What's the problem?" 

He slowly looked at me. My lips parted when I saw the tears in the corner of his wrinkled eyes. 

"I'm sorry, Bianca. I… made a huge mistake. I shouldn't have trusted that man."

"Huh? What are you talking about, Dad?" I asked, confused. "What man?" 

"I'm... going to jail, Bianca."

My lips parted. "W-what…" I held him in the arm. "W-what did you mean, Dad? What do you mean you're going to jail? What did you do?" 

He shook his head and evaded my eyes. "I'm in a huge debt, Bianca."

"Dad, I don't understand. W-what do you mean?" 

"Gideon Henry. I owe him two million dollars. And now, he's threatening to send me to jail if I don't pay his money back within a month."

"LAST month, I lost a lot of money at the casino. There, I met Mr. Gideon Henry. He lent me a huge amount of money without asking for collateral… He said he's confident that I could win back all the money I lost…"

I was pacing back and forth in front of Dad as I listened to his explanation. 

"But that didn't happen… I didn't win. I lost every penny I borrowed from him. Gideon Henry… gave me one month to pay off my debt. He said that if I didn't pay him on time, he would send me to jail." 

"Dad…" I stopped in front of him. I shut my eyes as my hand went to my forehead. "Why did you only tell me about this now?" We just talked on the phone last week, and he didn't mention anything to me. "Why did you keep me in the dark, Dad?" 

"I didn't want to give you problems, Bianca."

I wanted to get mad at him. For hiding things from me. But somehow, I wanted to blame myself for not being perceptive enough. I thought he was doing fine here. I had no idea he was already dealing with something. 

I let out a sigh as I settled beside him. "Dad, I'm your daughter. I have the right to know about these things."

He shook his head. "I didn't ask you to come here to help you solve my problems, Bianca." A weary smile appeared on his face. "I just wanted to see you before I go to jail." 

"Stop it, Dad. You're not going to jail." I told him. "No matter how much money you owe that Mr. Henry, he can't send you to jail. That's against the law." I placed my hand on his back. "Don't worry, Dad. We'll settle this. We'll find a way to pay him on time."

I closed my eyes as I remembered how much debt my father was facing. Two million dollars. Just… how are we going to pay that in two weeks? 

He looked at me. "I thought Mr. Henry was a kind man. But I was wrong, Bianca. I'm sorry for trusting him." 

Gideon Henry. This was the first time I heard that name. What kind of asshole was he for threatening to send my father to jail? 

"Dad... that Gideon Henry. Where could I find him?"