Chapter 265 - Call Me Selfish If You Want To (1/2)

Trying to have a better look at the polaroid, she took to from his hand and brought it a bit closer to her face. Just from the scratches and fading colors, she could tell that it was really an old one. A girl in her late teens stood in the center with two guys, one on either side of hers. It didn't take her long to realize who the girl was, it was her mother. She had an arm wrapped around the arm or the boy on her right. She could recognize him as her father. Her parents didn't change much after aging.

Her fingers lingered over their faces for a while, a sad smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Her eyes then moved to the other boy who was standing with a grumpy expression on the other side of her mother. Based on his facial expressions and the way her mother was clutching onto his sleeve, it was obvious that he was forced to take this picture. The longer her eyes stayed on his face, the easier it became for her to see the resemblance between the boy and the man sitting next to her.

”What happened next?” She questioned him before passing the polaroid back to him.

”As time went on, they grew closer to each other. The girl started to spend more time with her boyfriend than with her best friend. He started to feel left out and all. His love for her started to make him jealous, and the jealousy grew with his age.” Carston took a pause and shifted his eyes to her figure.

”I am the one who made your parents leave the city, Stella. I threatened your mother to leave your father, but she didn't listen to me. After you were born, she was scared that I might end up hurting you. That's what made them leave their lives behind without telling anyone else.”

”And you were behind their accident, weren't you?” Stella spoke up, gritting her teeth.

”I was. But I just wanted to have your mother to myself. I loved her so much. Hell, I still love her. Do you think someone like me would visit her grave every week if it wasn't for my love for her?” He questioned her. ”I just wanted to have your mother to myself, Stella. So I decided it would be better to remove the two thorns in my path.”

”Me and my father.” The words escaped her lips. She was now beginning to doubt her decision to meet him all alone. 'What if he still wants to kill me?'

”Yes, you and your father. But I didn't know that your mother would be accompanying him that night. I am so sorry, child.” A lone tear escaped his eyes as he apologized to her. ”Your father is damn lucky. He even gets to keep her even after they are dead.”

”Why did you want to meet me alone, that too here?” She asked him.

Heaving out a long sigh, he answered her question. ”I just wanted to apologise to you before them. Call me selfish if you want to, but I wanted to feel a bit light here.” He motioned his index finger towards his heart. ”And stop worrying about your safety. I won't even lay a finger on you.” He added with an amused expression. It wasn't hard for him to guess what was going through her mind. All it required was a look at her face and he could easily tell it.

Before Stella could say something in return, he ended up laughing like a maniac. ”Do you know how bad karma works? A week later after they died, or as I prefer to say after I killed them, I was diagnosed with Astrocytoma. It's a slow growing brain tumor, but it hurts like hell at times. And true to its description, it's a slow growing one. So I don't have much time left.”

She looked at him with shock expression as her mind processed his words. ”You… are dying?”