Captive By Desire, A Love We Can't Deny-Chapter 99: Back From The Brink
~Burke Family Mansion~
Half an hour after dinner...
Deborah’s parents arrived at the Burke family mansion to inform them of the good news about their missing daughter.
Everyone gathered on the sofa in the living room to hear the news.
"Guys, we have good news for you. Yesterday we finally received a text message from our daughter Deborah, informing us that she was very much alive. She told us not to worry about her and she would come home to explain to us everything that happened during her disappearance," Alpha Roger said happily.
"But the text message is nothing, it doesn’t assure us that she is indeed safe and alive," Alpha Maxwell argued.
"Of course I know that. To prove her claim, she did send me a short video message to prove that she is very much alive. Here is the video of her standing on the veranda of a mansion overlooking the beach." Alpha Roger played the video for everyone to see.
In the video, Deborah can be seen standing with the horizon and beach view as her background. She smiled broadly, facing the camera. She looked a bit pale but smiled nonetheless. "Hello fam, I’m fine. Please stop worrying about me. I’m coming home soon. I’m on holiday vacation with someone new in my life. You will meet him soon. See you all!" She announced cheerily, appearing like she was not abducted at all.
The video finally ended, Deborah was smiling the whole duration of the video and everyone took notice of it.
The Burke family were finally convinced that Deborah was alive after seeing the video. They all released a deep sigh of relief, feeling grateful that the mental and emotional torture they went through during Deborah’s disappearance was finally over.
It’s welcome relief for everyone in the room, especially Alpha Maxwell.
"Thanks to the Moon Goddess for taking care of Deborah. We are looking forward to seeing her again," Alpha Nelson said in relief.
"Yes, but we all know my daughter won’t be coming back here to stay. She will proceed with the divorce and wants her marriage dissolved at the soonest possible time," Luna Mary said grimly, bringing to the table another unpleasant topic they all needed to discuss.
Becca cleared her throat. "I heard in the video that Deborah would introduce us to someone new in her life. Which means she has developed a romantic relationship with the guy who abducted her. Just like what happened to my brother and Naomi way back when they were the ones abducted and gone missing for more than a year..."
"My story with Naomi is different," Alpha Maxwell quickly corrected his sister.
Alpha Roger groaned and said, "Alright, now that we’ve all gathered here, let’s discuss this matter now. Let’s set the record straight once and for all."
"OK, I agree..." Alpha Nelson responded, looking at Alpha Maxwell. "Son, can you enlighten us again on what you and your wife talked about before she went missing?" he asked.
"Yes Dad." Alpha Maxwell nodded his head. "My wife Deborah told me she wanted to divorce me because she no longer felt happy in our marriage. She wanted the divorce to happen as soon as possible. That’s what she told me before she went to the bar to party with her friends."
Alpha Roger looked at his son-in-law gloomily. "I see, now that it’s clear that my daughter wants a divorce from you, my question is will you give her what she wants?"
Alpha Maxwell nodded his head. "Yes, I agree with the divorce. We both wanted it. We are no longer happy in our marriage, it’s better to go our separate ways."
Luna Mary was sending daggers in her son-in-law’s direction the whole time. "My daughter loves you so much. She sacrificed a lot of her time and attention but you failed her. You can’t blame her. It’s all your fault!"
"Wife, stop it!" Alpha Roger said, silencing his wife with an angry stare.
"What am I doing wrong? I’m just trying to express what I truly feel about the whole thing," Luna Mary argued fiercely.
Alpha Roger sighed heavily. "Alright, let’s stop the blame game. It’s over my wife. The couple’s marriage didn’t last. It’s time we moved on. If our daughter wants to move on, we should respect her wishes. I don’t care about the divorce. Their marriage was doomed from the very beginning. The important thing for me is our daughter’s safety. After I learned that she’s very much alive, it made me happy more than anything else. Besides, we all know that married couples can make mistakes with their life choices and divorce all the time. Nothing new, let’s not torture ourselves anymore."
Everyone in the room fell into deep silence.
"Guys, we all have to move on eventually. Life is too short. People make mistakes and they learn from their mistakes and move on. It happens all the time. A broken marriage is not the end game for our beloved children. They will eventually find somebody new to love. We shall move on. OK?" Alpha Roger said, trying to use logic to subdue his wife’s anger. He knew that his daughter was the one who kept pressuring her husband to marry her. He knew everything, that’s why he blamed himself for tolerating his daughter’s madness. Now is the perfect time to correct the mistake Deborah made in the past.
"Agree." Alpha Nelson nodded his head. He has deep respect for his friend because he thinks differently compared to his wife who holds grudges.
"Our family business partnerships continue because of baby Zed. To secure his bright future the bond between two families will stay despite the couple living separate lives. Now that we have reached this arrangement, the couple can finally proceed with their divorce in good faith and with full support from both sides of the family," Alpha Roger declared calmly, his tone carrying maturity and wisdom.
Alpha Nelson and Alpha Roger both stood up at the same time and went outside to breathe fresh air and discuss business related issues affecting the two families.
Back on the sofa, Luna Mary and Luna Adela were awkwardly facing each other. The former was sporting an angry expression on her face while the latter was wearing a calm expression on her face.
"I’m so sorry that the children’s marriage has come to this..." Luna Adela apologizes sincerely. "I feel guilty and sad about it. I hope our friendship won’t be affected by all this," she added sorrowfully and sincerely.
After a while Luna Mary’s face softened. She took a deep breath and said, "It’s okay, no need to apologize. It’s not your fault. My husband is right. Life is too short to waste on bad feelings and bad memories. What is important for us is to know that our daughter is alive and safe. We will eventually move on from this bad episode in our lives. Our friendship and lives should not be affected because our children are heading for a divorced. I agree we should all move on." She softly said, fully accepting in her heart the things she couldn’t control. The heavy burden was finally lifted from her shoulder and all negativity faded from her mind and heart.
Alpha Maxwell was in deep thoughts the whole time Deborah’s parents started talking. Now everything is clear as daylight. He is free at last!
Everyone around him was talking openly but he remained quiet. Honestly, deep inside he was happy and greatly relieved that his wife had finally resurfaced alive.
His biggest problem is finally over and Deborah’s family accepts the divorce with open arms. He was pleased with the good news, forever grateful because the Moon Goddess had been kind to him.
After staying in the Burke family mansion for nearly three hours, Luna Mary and Alpha Roger finally bid them goodbye and went home with peace in their hearts.
That night, the Burke family retired to their respective rooms still thinking about Deborah in their minds.
As for Alpha Maxwell, the moment he entered his room, he quickly sat on the edge of the bed wanting to chat with his sweetie pie, eager to tell her the good news.
He smiled because she was online.
Alpha Maxwell: Sweetie, I have good news for you!
Naomi: What is it?
Alpha Maxwell: Deborah’s family arrived here awhile ago and informed us that Deborah is alive. She sent a video of herself sending a message to her parents and we all saw it. His family also accepted the divorce, so everything is going well on my end.
Naomi: Wow, that’s good to hear. I’m happy for you and Deborah.
Alpha Maxwell: Yeah, this is one giant step towards achieving our goals soon!
Naomi: I’m glad about this latest development in your life. One more left to go and that is my husband. Hmm, I wonder what I can do to speed up the process of my divorce?
Alpha Maxwell: Let’s think of a better plan in the days to come. I’m sure we can think of a wise idea how to get rid of Edison once and for all.
Naomi: OK...
The couple continue chatting merrily, discussing their son and life in general. When the time finally hits 10:30 in the evening they finally bid each other goodnight.
After putting his phone on the bed, Alpha Maxwell brushed his teeth in the bathroom ready to go to sleep.
When he emerged from the bathroom door a moment later, he was shocked to see Deborah in his room, sitting on the bed, smiling brightly. She was looking at his face intently, wearing a triumphant smile on her face.
