Cecile and Himawari visit the Couffaine's houseboat on a beautiful sunny day, bringing the letters that the other man has given them. As professional as she is, the young woman asks Anarka to have a private conversation at a coffee shop near their house while the raven head's mission is to give the letters to the Couffaine siblings.
The artist looks around, hoping to see the familiar teal eyes but the only one left on the boat is Juleka. The young Couffaine tells her that her brother is inside and she can call him but Himawari declines, saying that she will talk to him later as she has a very important message for Juleka.
"Himawari, what's this?"
Looking at the letter in her hand, Juleka frows a bit when she sees the name on the envelope.
"Juleka, hear me out." the raven head sighs "I…I met your father a couple of days ago."
"My father?"
Himawari nods her head, saying that she's very sorry for doing things like that behind their back. She tells her friend what happened after they left the stage the other day and how her father wanted to have a small talk with her.
"What did you guys talk about?"
Juleka's eyes are on her friend as she sheepishly told her about the conversation that they had. Himawari is having a hard time as she tries to find words that will not offend her friend and keep the story as true as she possibly can. The letter is from her father, who wishes nothing more than just to have his children read it, hoping that it can at least ease the tension between them.
The girl looks at the letter and opens it, reading the content inside. The words that her father wants to say to her, how he is sorry for abandoning his family for so long, how he is ashamed of himself as a man and a father figure of the family. Mr. Couffaine knows that he doesn't deserve any forgiveness from them but he wants them to know that he owes them an apology.
Juleka reads the letter, expecting herself to feel vulnerable and touched by his words but she feels nothing. No anger, no sadness, just an odd plain feeling that she doesn't know how to describe it.
Is she surprised? Yes…
Is she expecting this? Absolutely not…
Is the apology feel sincere? She doesn't really know…
Living a whole decade without a father figure right by her side, Juleka doesn't feel like she needs him to come back. As much as she hates to admit it, she doesn't hold any grudge against her own father, mostly because she doesn't have that kind of close relationship with him like Luka. He left her when she was very young, although the event scarred her childhood, she has grown to accept that it's okay that her father is not here.
She doesn't hate him, she just doesn't understand why he wants to stir up the situation like this. He may owe them an apology and Juleka may forgive him, then what about mom and Luka? Even if she accepts his apology, he still has to deal with the other two, the people that he hurts the most…
"What do you think I should do?" Juleka turns to her friend "Should I forgive him?"
"I…"
"Himawari, I don't hate him, I don't have any grudge to hold against him. I'm surprised, to say the least, but…" she sighs, lowering her head as the black bang covers her eyes.
"Do you feel like you can forgive him?"
Himawari doesn't want to influence her friend's decision but she also doesn't want her to make a mistake either.
"Juleka, I'm not here to pressure you. As long as you feel comfortable with this, ultimately, the decision is on you."
"I guess you're right. I'll think about it…"
The raven head smiles when Juleka turns to her and hugs her, saying that she's grateful for Himawari to go all out to help her family like that.
The young artist just smiles in return, telling her friend that she's happy that she's able to help them. With Juleka receiving the letter, Himawari turns to Luka, who is sitting in his room the whole time. An odd feeling rises in her as she questions herself on why the guitarist hasn't greeted her as usual and wonders if he's still angry at her for interfering with his family matter a few days ago.
She walks into his room, smiling as Luka is sitting on the bed with a guitar in his hands. His face, however, is cold and emotionless that it scares her for a few seconds. Gathering all her courage, Himawari walks up to him and says hello but her greeting falls on deaf ears as the guitarist ignores it and turns his attention to somewhere else.
"Luka…?"
The raven head looks at him again, calling out his name with her soft, soothed voice. Although she's wearing 2 layers of clothes, Himawari can feel the chills running through her skin, not because of the coldness but rather the silence between them.
"I…I have something I want to gi-?!"
"Get out of here!"
"Huh?"
"Get out of here!" he says again, this time, loud and clear "I don't want to see you!"
His words took her by surprise as she stares at him, amethyst eyes open widely at his 'request'. Luka stands up from the bed, casting his guitar aside as he turns away from her, letting the young girl faces his back. She frowns a little, trying to find a word to respond. Did her action really anger him that much?
"Luka, if it's because of what I did the other day, I'm sorry." she says "Please, I want to give you this."
"I don't need it." he snaps, turning to face her "And you know too well why I don't want to see you, Himawari!"
Himawari stares at him, stunned at his anger. Teal eyes are full of rage, distress and disappointment. The aura that is emitting from his body is cold and venomous like he is ready to fight back at any words that form on her lips. She steps back a bit, not knowing what to do. Luka has never been this angry at her and yet, right now, she feels like if she even dares to say anything, he will hurt her.
"You think it's so great right? That you're able to interfere with my family like that? Do you think that your words and encouragement can save this broken family?"
Luka steps closer to her as Himawari backs down, fear rising in her chest as she thinks of the worst scenario that can happen to her.
"How could you? I trust you so much and yet, you have the audacity to meet him without even telling me or anyone in my family?"
"Luka, please…Listen…" she tries to say something, to justify herself and her actions "It's not what you think…"
"Then what is it?"
Cold sweat runs down her forehead as she finds her back pressing against the wall of the room.
"TELL ME!"
Himawari shuts her eyes tightly as Luka slams his hand against the wall, roaring at her. She feels her body trembles, her legs are ready to give out and her eyes open widely, staring right into his aqua orbs.
Who is this person in front of her?
Luka looks at the girl in front of him, just thinking about what happened the other day makes his blood boil. He feels the rage running through his veins, his heart is beating faster, his teeth are gritting tightly.
This girl…
He should not have put his trust in her like that…
He has thought that Himawari is a different person, that she can understand him and see through all the walls he has built around him… But no…
He has, once again, placed his trust in the wrong person…
"I should have known better…" gripping his hand tightly, he withdraws himself from her "I should have known that you're no different from everyone else…"
"Luka, please…" she opens her mouth, finding it difficult to form her sentence "Please, just listen to me…"
"There's nothing to listen to, Himawari." he growls, turning his back to her "It is a mistake for me to trust you, I should have known that no one else can understand me but me…"
She gasps, stunned at those words. Her heart aches at what he just said, her eyes become glossy as tears begin to well up.
It hurts…
It hurts so bad…
How can he say that to her?
A mistake…
"Just leave, Himawari! I don't want to see you…"
Biting her lips as she tries to hold back a sob, Himawari tries to speak up but no words come out of her mouth. Luka's anger doesn't seem to fade away anytime soon and if she just keeps on standing there, what hurtful thing will he say next?
"I'm…I'm sorry…"
Holding the letter tightly, she puts it on his bed and turns her heels to leave, ignoring Juleka's call as she dashes out of the houseboat. Luka grips his hand, his heart drops as he hears the small sobs coming from her. He can not turn around to see her, too afraid that he will only make the matter worse. Pounding against the wall, the guitarist curses under his breath, a pang of guilt hits his heart as he's starting to regret his words.
Juleka walks into the room, sighing. She picks up the letter on his bed and slowly walks up to him, giving her brother the message from their father.
"At least read this letter, brother." she says "Read it then calm yourself down."
Looking at the white envelope in his hand, Luka exhales heavily and opens it.
Slamming the door shut, Himawari feels tears begin to roll down as she slumps down to the bed, hiding her face in the soft pillows and crying as loud as she possibly can.
Luka…
It was a mistake for me to trust you.
He has called the trust he put in her a 'mistake'. Nothing can hurt her more than hearing those words from him. If he trusts her that much, then he should also know that she would never do anything to hurt him.
Yes, meeting Mr. Couffaine without saying anything to them was her mistake. She can clearly understand why he reacts so harshly when he heard the news. But claiming that he should have never put his trust in her just because of that one action is unbelievable.
Himawari knows it, she should have listened to her father's advice and stayed out of this. Maybe, just maybe, things would not turn out to be this bad for her.
Cecile walks back home after hearing the news from Juleka, as much as she hates to say it, Luka has the right to get angry. It's their fault for not informing the Couffaine household after all.
After her talk with Anarka, the older woman was very surprised when she received the letter. Besides being shocked about the news, she was also quite upset that her friend met that man without saying anything to them but instead of lashing out at her as Luka did with Himawari, she just calmly told her to never do that again.
After reading the letter, Anarka let herself be vulnerable for a few minutes. Cried into the letter, she then wiped her face with a tissue and smiled. After all those years of suffering, she's finally able to understand the reason behind her man's actions. However, forgiveness is still a hard thing for her. As much as she loves Lukka, the man brought nothing but pain and despair to her family, which is why an apology was not enough.
He needs to earn their forgiveness through actions…
Cecile chuckles when she remembered Anarka asked for his number. The young author gave her the business card and the rest is on her friend, whether she wants to welcome him back or just dismiss his apology.
Right now the only person that matters the most to Cecile is her cute little niece as she walks upstairs and stands in front of her bedroom.
"Himawari?"
Instead of hearing any answers, all she can hear are the sobbing and the whimpering coming from the room. All of these crying just for a boy…
It can't be helped when that boy is Himawari's love interest. Despite being told many times that there's nothing between them, the young woman picks up the lovey-dovey signals that her niece has been given out since the first dinner night. Luka is a nice kid, there's nothing to argue about that, but to make the raven head cries like that is not good.
Luka Couffaine…
Anarka did say that the hardest person to please in this situation is Luka himself as he has difficulty accepting his father. While his mom and sister can welcome him back to their house, whether or not the young guitarist agrees with this is a whole different story.
Cecile sighs, hoping for the best for the Couffaine family. If Luka can accept his father or at least, accept his apology then the chance of him saying sorry to her niece for making the poor girl cry a river is very high. Despite acknowledging that Luka is a good boy, the fact that he made Himawari cry is not something that she would take lightly.
"My god, if that boy doesn't come here and apologizes to her, I swear I'll never let him meet Himawari ever again!"