CHAPTER 17 – UNWANTED VISITORS

“Hey Rio, could you come down and meet our guests?”

Riona could hear her dad’s voice calling her from the sitting room downstairs. She was sitting on her

bed and was going through her laptop when her dad called. She wondered who could be the person

that wanted to see her today.

Frankly speaking, she was not in the mood to meet anyone right this moment but she just had to go to

meet the visitors since she did not know who they were nor was she aware of the purpose of their visit.

Riona was already out of her room and was on her way to meet with the guests when her dad called

out to her again.

“Riona,”

“I am on my way dad” she responded.

She hastened her steps to meet up with whomever that her dad wanted her to meet. It was obvious

that whoever that might be must be very special for her dad to be so eager for her to meet with them

and so, she too could not wait to see who it might be.

She was eager and excited too as she climbed down the stairs.

“I am here dad” she said.

She looked up and saw Maeve and Riley sitting on the couch and were both smiling at her.

She stopped and stared at them. Anger began to build up inside of her. She could not understand why

they should both come to visit her. She had made her intentions toward them obvious and she was not

ready to change that anytime soon.

“Riona, they stopped over to say hi” Wright explained.

Wright was excited when he made the announcement, and he had expected Riona to be excited as

well.

Looking at the duo, Riona made her disgust towards them so obvious even right there in front of them.

Wright on his part was trying to make her display some acts of hospitality to her guests and he

sincerely wished that she does not carry on with her display of arrogance towards them.

“Hey Riona” Riley said.

Riley seems to be already used to Riona’s attitude. Riona was never cold towards her before her

mother’s death, hence Riley felt her attitude must be as a result of her loss and so Riley believes that

she would definitely come around even when it was obvious that this was taking longer than it should.

Even though Riley felt that there might be more to Riona’s attitude, she nevertheless decided to give

her the benefit of doubt.

The reason for Riley understanding was that Riley could remember when she had loss her dad, and

even though she was just five at the time, she still felt the impact of his death and even till this time, she

always trembled at the thought of his death and she knew she would do absolutely anything to see him

again, even if it would only be just one more time.

“Hey Rio, we came over to say hi, hope you are doing fine?” Maeve asked.

Riona heard Maeve and Riley very clearly, but decided not to give any response. She was only focused

on her dad and so she acted as though no one was talking to her.

“Be polite Rio, show some courtesy” Wright said.

“But I don’t remember inviting them dad, and they never told me that they were coming over too” Riona

protested.

Wright looked at Maeve and Riley, he was completely embarrassed by Riona’s arrogance. He thought

of where he had gone wrong. To him, he had shown her nothing but love and care, and had done

everything that he could to ensure that she came out perfect.

He began to reminisce on all that he could remember that had ever transpired between Riona and

either Maeve and/or Riley. And from all the facts that were available to him, Maeve and Riley had been

nothing but kind to him and Riona since Evolette’s death.

Maeve could see that Wright was beginning to get upset with Riona and she was eager to get

everything under control before it escalated into a cold fight between father and daughter. So thinking

of a way to go about that, she stood up and went to hold Wright who by now was already fuming and

she tried to pacify him and make him calm down.

“It’s okay Wright, she is just a little girl and you must understand that she is still suffering from the loss Belonging to .

of her mother” she said.

Riona did not like the fact that Maeve had just referred to her as a little girl. And even worse is the fact

that she had the enfrontery to try to speak to her dad on her behalf. What exactly does she think she

knew about her and moreover, what gave her the right to say that about her. Riona thought.

Riona decided that she is going to respond to Maeve right this very moment. She would not want a

repeat of what just happened again as she never made her a mediator at any time.

“I am no little girl Maeve, and I would formally request that you do not address me as such. And just so

you know, you know absolutely nothing about me” Riona challenged.

On hearing the words coming from his daughter, Riona, Wright tried to get to her, but Maeve stopped

him. She would not want him to do anything to Riona, not even because of her.

Riley was already scared of the tension that had built around her and she quickly got up and ran to hold

her mum.

“It is okay Wright, I understand where she is coming from. Please don’t take it all out on her”

“How dare you talk to her that way, Riona, what has come over you?” Wright challenged Riona.

“But she talked about me too daddy” Riona replied in her defense.

By this time, tears were already running down Riona’s cheek. She could not believe that her dad was

already taking side with these people, Maeve and Riona. To Riona, they are nothing but intruders, and

should be seen as such.

“She is a stranger and she has no right to try to talk about me".

“A stranger” Wright murmured under his breath.

He could not believe that these words were coming from Riona and he wondered where exactly all of

those were coming from.

Seeing that this could get out of control if nothing is done to stop it right now, Maeve left Wright’s side

and was heading for the staircase where Riona had been standing all along.

“Come on Riona, we are only here …..”

Maeve tried to speak, but immediately Riona figured out what she was about to do, she brought her

right hands forward and stopped her.

“Don’t come close to me, you intruder. What are we, destitute? We don’t need your pity, you can as

well take that to an orphanage where it would be very much needed and appreciated. We are fine just

as we are, just the two of us” Riona said.

Maeve looked around her, amazed at Riona’s emotional outburst. She tried to think of something that

she might be missing. Why Riona would refer to her as an intruder, was she intimidated by them? It is

obvious to Maeve that she must have been doing this the wrong way all along.

She was aware of how the little girl felt and she would want to bring her anything but pain. She turned

around and went to hold Riley.

“It is my fault Wright, I think I have been doing this all wrong and I never thought it would ever get to

this. Please take it easy on her and try to make sure that she is always emotionally balanced. We

would see soon” she whispered to Wright.

She looked at Riona and said.

“Guess it would be some other time honey”.

Riona remained quiet and completely ignored her. As long as she was going to leave, Riona would not

mind what she said. Maeve smiled and led her daughter, Riley out of the house.

Wright contemplated on whether to go after them and stop them from leaving or to just let it be for

another time. He tried to walk to the door, but only stopped halfway with his hands at akimbo.

On the other hand, Riona could not understand what was happening in front of her. Was her dad about

to pick Maeve over her, does he intend to go after her, where is the undying love that he had always

professed for her?

“Dad” Riona whispered.

He turned to see that she had been staring at him all along. For a moment, he had even forgotten that

she had been standing there.

Wright knew that his daughter’s love for him was undeniable and she would do anything for him. But

right now, he is in a dilemma, one that she has put him into. And he could only wonder if she was

acting for the love of him, or if she was just being selfish and wanted him all to herself.

Or maybe he was the one that was inconsiderate. His little girl has no other person but him, and he has

not been there for her fully even when she never failed to show him just how much she yearn for his

love and care.

Riona could not bear to see him away from her. She needed him as he was all she has. She would

stop at nothing to keep him all to herself. He is her dad and she intended to keep it that way for as long

as they both live.

“Riona” Wright called.

He could see the fear in her eyes, the fear of losing him. But did he just make it appear to her that he

was ready to choose someone else in place of her? He thought to himself. He can never do that. No

one can compare or take the place of his daughter in his life.

He felt so ashamed of himself, he had failed her, and he had failed his lovely wife, Evolette. What was

he even thinking? His daughter needs him right this very moment and he has to be here for her.

A tear dropped from his eyes as he smiled at her. At this moment, nothing else mattered to him but

Riona, his precious little daughter. She was protecting what she owns, and she has every right to do

so.

Wright stretched out his hands to Riona, and she gladly ran down the stairs and into his embrace.

Wrapped in her father’s embrace, she felt fulfilled and at peace. She wished they would both remain

like this forever with nothing to come between them. She could only wish that this moment would never

cease.

She hoped her dad feels the same way as she feels wrapped in his embrace. She hoped that he

adorned her as much as she adorned him and would never trade him for anything else in the whole

wide world.

She loved the feeling of his heartbeat on her chest. She wanted to breathe only the air that he

breathes, she wanted to be one with him as long as she lives.