Entwined Fates of the Two Daughters

Third Person's POV

Ever since James saw Emily and the real daughter of his brother, Robert, at Alina's university, it had not left his mind—not even once.

His conscience had been knocking on his head, the voices telling him how he pushed away his morals for the sake of his brother's revenge kept on bothering him.

He was aware, deep inside, of how evil he became because of it. Nothing about what he did was right and he knew that nothing could excuse that crime. From that day until the present, he was still haunted by that mistake.

Just remembering Emily Miller's face, not even aware of the messy thing that happened years back, made him feel really guilty. There was no one whom they would blame once they found out the truth because it was him who separated the children from their real parents.

James was aware of how unforgivable his wrongdoings were. It affected the fates of people, it affected their emotions, it affected their lives and for sure they would never pardon him.

"I'm so sorry," he mumbled to himself while lying on his bed, eyes closed his arm above his eyes.

If only he could turn back to the hands of the clock, and if only he could correct his mistakes. But James was aware that Robert would never let him do anything that would ruin his plans.

Those thoughts eventually made him clutch the clothes above his chest. No matter how much he desired to straighten the bent, he knew it would now be hard. That made him feel like his heart was about to burst into so much regret and pain.

With all those regrets and pain, he stood up from the bed and sat on his working area just beside his bed and got a pen and paper.

He knew he had to let out what he was feeling deep inside. The worst thing about not having anyone was the fact that he could not vent out what he was feeling. He could never just say anything to anyone because of the gravity of what he knew about the past.

In front of the notebook, he started writing what had been weighing on his mind. It was a diary—a diary where he confessed everything.

If there was one thing that I was regretting the most in life it would be what happened in the nursery room at the hospital where I was working seventeen years ago. If I could turn back time and I could wish for the Almighty High, I would ask the Universe to give me a chance to undo all the things I did.

I wished I was never a fool, I wished I was not selfish, I wished I never listened to my demons. That night, I exchanged the baby of the Millers and the baby of my brother, Robert. Alina who was with us was the true Miller.

The diary went on, he let out all his emotions, his thoughts, and all the hidden truths.

In the very last part of the first entry, he ended with his name and signature. Deep inside, as he closed the diary, he hoped that whoever got a hold of that, the person would find out the truth. If one day fate would allow, the truth would be unveiled. Yet he knew that as long as it remained hidden, it would also mean that the secret would stay between him, his brother, and the diary.

Inside the residence of the Millers, Vida was sighing continuously while reading all the notes and books on her desk. As the competition went nearer, the more she spent her time reviewing. She did not care, not even once about her physical health, all she needed was to make sure that her intellect would be sharpened.

The deep-rooted reason for her actions was that she was thirsty and very hungry for the attention and love from her parents. She could tolerate her body almost giving up on her just so she could make sure that they would be proud of her.

No one would ever understand that much drive to study, but for Vida, it was already a chance to make her parent's time worthwhile as they watched her compete.

"Damn it," she groaned when another night had come and her answer to her reviewer was just near perfect. Vida was aiming to get all the answers right.

From frustrations, anger toward herself, and tears of fear that she would mess up to the smile of pride that finally, she was confident that she would do good. She attained all that by not giving up until she got all the scores perfect.

On the other hand, Alina, who was also a participant in the competition, was worried about something else. It had been days since she tried to go to different hiring businesses just so she could find a part-time job to support the needs of her family.

Although she had a scholarship, it was still not enough for all her expenses in studies, especially since she also promised she would help at home with all the things their family needed to pay for. There were many things that needed money to cover and Alina was too shy to ask her parents about them. The last thing she wanted to be was to be a burden.

Sighing, she ate the food in front of her. She was at the school cafeteria with Lucas once again. She was used to eating together with him ever since.

"Why do you look so down again? Someone bullied you again?" the young man asked worriedly.

With a small smile in her voice, Alina shook her head. "No... I'm just worried that it will take time before I can find a part-time job. I really need one, Lucas," she told him honestly with a sad smile.

Hearing that, the young man's eyes lit up as if he suddenly remembered something.

"Oh! I just remembered that we are still hiring part-time workers at our coffee shop. Do you want me to vouch for you?" he suggested.

Alina's eyes widened and without hesitation, she nodded her head with glee. "Goodness, sure! I really need money right now so... thank you for suggesting that, Lucas."

Right after that day, Alina noticed how she and Lucas became even closer. Not only once did he fight for her when there were bullies trying to ridicule her for being of lower status, but he helped her stand up against them countless times already.

"You don't have to be mean because of her status in life! Such discrimination is not tolerated inside the university, girls. Do you want the prefect of discipline to know about this?" She remembered him once lecturing the girls.

That was the time she realized it was nice having someone who would defend her in the times she badly needed it and Alina was so grateful to have Lucas around her. It was as if he became a knight and shining armor—someone who protected her and guided her.

Her life at the university became easier because of Lucas, however, at home, Alina had been very saddened because of how her father was treating him.

"Dad, I'm participating in a competition at school—"

"I'm tired now, Alina. Don't bother me." Her father brushed her off.

As time passed by, the more she realized how her father did not care about her at all. It was as if he had no intention of building a relationship with her.

Her heart was so bruised because of her father's actions and Alina could not name how pained she was. The pillows inside her room witnessed how much she shed tears.

Oftentimes, Robert talked to her with a hint of anger in his voice. He would always raise his tone and he was always annoyed whenever he was talking to her. Yet when he needed something and he needed her to do some errands, that was the only time his voice was softer than normal.

Fixing her bag while on her way to the gate, she was about to go home when she saw a familiar figure meters from her. To her shock, it was none other than her father!

Robert approached her while Alina was still stoned on her feet, it was as if she could not believe what she was seeing.

"D-Dad... why are you here?" she asked Robert.

"To fetch you, what else?"

Even though there was a hint of irritation in his voice, Alina was still very happy that he took the initiative to do that. It was as if he was doing fatherly duties toward her. It was the very first time that her father came to her university to fetch her!

Seeing him do that felt like he was slowly caring for her.

Little did Alina know, Robert's eyes were actually directed to the young woman behind Alina, it was Vida.

Robert's lips arched upon seeing his daughter grow such a fine and beautiful lady. He felt so fulfilled just seeing her having a wonderful life.

There was delight laced in his heart just by seeing Vida from afar.

The truth was, the reason why he came to the university was that James told him that he saw Emily fetch Vida, his daughter, at the same university where Alina was studying. For that very same reason, he immediately went there hoping he could take a glimpse of them.

He could not even remove his eyes to Vida, but his attention was caught when suddenly, a fancy car parked near where he was standing and what shook him to the core was seeing Emily go out of the car, smiling towards the daughter she thought was her real child.

As Emily's eyes roamed around, the woman found Robert's eyes amid that and she could not hide the shock in her orbs.

"Robert," she murmured his name.

Vida and Alina who heard Emily Miller call the name of Alina's father were baffled by the situation. None of them was aware that Emily knew about Robert.

"It's nice to see you again, Emily," Robert muttered and there was a hint of amusement in his eyes while staring at the woman in front of him.

Realizing that, instead of staying there, Emily called Vida. "Get inside the car, Vida," she told her daughter.

That time around, Emily's attention went to the man near her again. "Nice to meet you again, Robert. We have to go," she said and turned her back to them.

Watching them go made Robert almost delusional again about where he was standing. His thoughts became deeper and in his mind, he was so delighted that he was able to take a glimpse of his first love's face once again after years.

'Just wait Emily... I'll get you back to where you truly belong together with my real daughter,' he vowed in his head.

He promised himself deep inside that he would definitely snatch them away from Oliver Miller, the one who got everything from him.

All those thoughts drove him to desire more. He was delusional and it was as if Robert was still caged to the past. He was trapped in his own thoughts, and in his own craziness.