The Wrath Of The Shadow Wolf

It was a little past midnight and everywhere was dark and calm. A cool and gentle breeze blew across the house sending a cold chill to Riona as she walked around the house in her nighties with teary eyes. She was covered in grief and sorrow which were a result of the strong pain that has built up inside of her.

As she takes each step, she was lost in the happenings around her and with this, she did not take cognizance of the darkness surrounding her. But she knows her way around the house and was able to dodge the obstacles in front of her.

She arrived at the front of a frame on the wall in the sitting room and stopped in front of it. "Mum" she muttered and more tears dropped from her eyes.

Still unconscious, she walked up the staircase and when she got to her dad's door she stopped. She made to turn the door handle but changed her mind and withdrew her hand. She turned and continued to her room.

When she got to her room, she opened the door and turned on the lights. She slowly walked to her bed and laid down. Then she covered herself up to her shoulder with her duvet and closed her eyes.

As soon as Riona entered her room, Wright opened the door to his room and walked out. He was putting on only boxers and the upper part of his body was uncovered and left bare exposing his muscles and his perfect skin. He stood tall in the darkness, his physique overshadowing the coldness of the midnight air.

He walked through the passageway and came to Riona's door. He stopped in front of the door and he decided to open it to know if Riona was awake. Carefully, he opened the door slightly and takes a peep inside. Wright was been careful in this as he does not want to disturb Riona with his activities by this time of the night and he hopes that she was deep in sleep.

When he looked into the room, he saw her lying on her bed and with her appearance, he could tell that she was fast asleep. The lights were on and he reached for the switch by the side of the door and put off the lights. After that, he closed the door gently and left. Even though he had confirmed that Riona was sleeping, he was still conscious of his movements and he quietly walked down the staircase to the sitting room to avoid making any sound that would alert Riona.

From his look, it was obvious that he had been restless and was very exhausted. All night long, he had tried to get some sleep but was unable to because all through the night, his mind kept drifting to the events of the past month.

As soon as he got into the sitting room, he yawns and stretches himself. After the stretch, he walks up to the frame on the wall which has Evolette's picture and he looked at it. With his eye still focused on the picture, he murmured "It is today darling". After saying this, he smirked.

He hopes that the picture had heard what he said and so he stood in front of the picture looking at it for a little while longer. Then he gradually closed his eyes and he placed his right hand on the frame and keeping a sad and weary face, he slowly ran his fingers through the picture.

His heart is bitter and he felt he cannot last a second longer. He wants to be free from all of these, from the pains that are within and hunting him. He wants to shade off his human skin. It has been a very long he did this. Actually, he had vowed never to do it but right now, he was left with no choice but to be free and he hopes that shading off his human skin would bring him the relief that he so many desires at this point in his life.

"Till we met again, love," He said to the picture.

He slowly removed his hands from the frame and opened his eyes that were already holding some tears. He takes some steps back from it.

He stops and looked around the sitting room and he growled. When he stopped, he once again takes a look around the sitting room and he growled one more time, this time louder than the first.

He quietly takes off his clothes from his body and after that, he looks around the sitting room another time, and in the swift of a second, in pain, he shifted into a wolf.

After he had shifted into his wolf, he growled once again and he ran out of the house through the back door and into freedom.

.........................................................

Wright took the plates from the kitchen and to the dining table with a heavy heart. He dropped the plates on the dining table and returned to clean up the kitchen and to ensure that everything is kept in order.

When he was done fixing the kitchen, he glanced at his wristwatch, and it was 6:48 am. He sighs heavily, his hands braced against the kitchen sink.

He stalled as he remembered the way his daughter, Riona, wept at her mother's bedside at the hospital. Riona had lost her mother and he had lost his beloved wife. He hadn't taken Riona back to see her mother after that encounter, and now he had to tell his daughter that her mother would be laid to rest today and he just could not bring himself to do that as he does not know how to go about it without steering up her emotions.

"Oh God, what is all this. How would I be able to go about this?" He said to himself.

Even as a werewolf, he has not been able to control the hurt that he feels at the demise of his lovely wife, Evolette, no matter how hard he tries to. So the thought of how painful this is to his precious daughter, Riona only caused him more pain. He could not do anything to ease her pains even at this dire moment when he needs to do something. He could not bear to think about how painful this is to Riona who is only but a human and could not absorb pains or control her emotions.

"I need your help Lord" he sighs.

He left the kitchen and walks to the staircase. He was going to go break the news of Evolette's burial to Riona in her room. However, he stopped at the staircase and hesitated for a while as he contemplated on whether to continue with his mission or not.

After fighting a morning struggle against his heart and mind he climbs the stairs with a lead-filled foot.

"I have got to do this now" He murmured as he approaches Riona's door.

Still filled with reluctance, he stopped at her door and raised his hand with the intention of knocking. He slightly stalls then finally tapped on the door.

He waited, but no reply.

He knocks again, "Riona darling are you awake?" He asked.

Yet there was no reply from Riona. He contemplated on what to do as he was reluctant on opening the door. After what seemed like forever, he grabbed the handle of the door and gently opened it.

He saw Riona lying on the bed, she was wide awake. He stood and stared at her and she stares back at him. Wright's heartaches as he sees her eyes, a replica of her mother's, but now reddened by frequent tears.

Riona reminds him so much of Evolette, his wife, and anytime that he looks at her, he remembers the first time that he had seen Evolette at her friend's place and had fallen in love with her at first sight even though she was completely different from him. She is human.

Riona possesses all the attractive features of her mum, from the long brown hair to her straight legs and then to her succulent pink lips and that eyes. She also has a great height just like Evolette. And even at age twelve, she already has the curves in all the right places.

After Wright had met Evolette, he had immediately revealed his werewolf identity to her. At first, she considered his assertions as being ridiculous but when he had gone ahead to shift right before her. At first, she found the whole situation very strange but accepted to be with him after she had assured her that he has no intention of continuing with being a werewolf.

When Riona was born, Evolette asked him to embrace his real self for the sake of their daughter because she could as well be a werewolf just like him. However, he and Evolette had vowed not to let her in on his identity until she comes of age and is able to fully comprehend and handle the truth.

Looking at how inquisitive Riona had turned out, Wright felt that keeping away his identity from her was the best thing to do for now at least till she becomes more mature.

He tried to soften the act in his voice before greeting her. "Hey, dear".

"Good morning daddy" Riona replied.

She was still staring at him expressionlessly and she did not even make any attempt to get out of her bed.

He takes a seat next to Riona and placed his hands on her body.

"Listen, Rio, I need to tell you something that is happening today..."

He falters, clearing his throat before continuing his sentence.

Riona stares at her dad with eyes of innocence as she was completely oblivious to the situation.

He coughed again and tears dropped from a corner of his left eye.

"Today is the day ..."

A knock at the door downstairs snags Wright's attention from his daughter. He breathes a breath of relief and immediately stood up.

"Give me a minute, Rio, let me see who is at the door"

Riona did not respond to her dad's excuse, instead, she rolled her eyes and immediately turned her back to him.

Wright stood up and stared at Riona for a little while. Actually, he felt lost at her disposition and within him, he sincerely hopes that Riona is a werewolf just like him. For this, he has to wait until her sixteenth birthday to find out. Hopefully, she would shift on the full moon of her sixteenth birthday.

And he has to get her ready for this. He alone cannot do that alone and so he plans on getting her close to a female werewolf who would take out her time to explain everything to her so that she would not find it strange if she discovers that she is a werewolf.

"I would be right back," Wright said and walked out.

Wright rushes down the staircase and went to see who was at the door. He wasn't expecting any guest this early and he wondered who it was that have come to see him by this time.

He got to the door and opened it. He managed to force some smiles as he saw Maeve and Riley standing right before him, each holding a bunch of flowers. Their presence gave him some sort of reassurance, the kind that he felt he needed in this present situation.

Riley is Riona's classmate and even though they had not been best of friends, they still find a way to get along. Maeve is Riley's mother. Maeve started showing interest and coming close to the family after Evolette passed on.

"You are here already," Wright said as he welcomed them into the house.

"Good morning Wright" Maeve greeted.

"Hello Maeve, hello Riley" Wright greeted the both of them.

He moved a little and gave way for the both of them to enter inside the house and with a smile on their faces, they entered and dropped their flowers on a table. However, they both remained standing. Wright closed the door and turned towards them.

"Good morning Mr. Wright. We brought some flowers for you and Riona" Riley announced.

"That is very thoughtful of you Riley" Wright responded.

"And how is Riona?" Riley asked.

"I believe she is fine Riley" Wright replied.

"Would I be able to go be with her?" Riley requested.

"I doubt she would want that, but anyway, thanks for the offer, I appreciate" Wright replied.

Haven got a negative response from Wright, Riley went to sit on a couch.

"How is she, have you been able to tell her yet?" Maeve asked.

Instead of providing a response, Wright rubbed his hands on his face.

"I can help you do that if you don't mind" Maeve volunteered.

"There would be no need for that Maeve, I can take care of it, I assure you of that," he said.

"Are you sure you do not need my help, Wright?" Maeve asked.

She smiles as she speaks. She knows how difficult it had been for Wright to pass this information to his daughter, Riona. He has been postponing this for like forever and right now, he cannot delay any longer and must tell her this very moment.

"Trust me already Maeve, I said I got this completely under control" he responded.

"Come on Wright, I know exactly how these things are. She is human and we both know how emotional they can get over things as this" Maeve said.

Wright quickly looked around the house to know if someone has heard Maeve's last sentence. When he was certain that they were the only ones in the room, he whispered "please keep it low Maeve, be conscious of your environment"

"Sorry if I scared you Wright, but I know there was no other person here" Maeve mumbled.

"I said I got this under control, I can handle it" Wright snapped.

Wright was already beginning to feel nervous and he wished he could rather do away with Maeve's unending questions as they were only adding to his anxiety.

Maeve was immediately sorry for what she had said as she noticed how her statement has gotten to Wright and how nervous and furious that he was. So in a bid to pacify him, she said "Sure, of course, you do and I trust that it will be fine"

"Thank you so much for coming, Maeve, I really appreciate it," Wright said as all he wanted to do was to dismiss them and be all alone to face Riona.

Maeve carefully looked around the house. She wanted to ensure that everything was where it should be and that nothing requires her assistance.

When she was sure that everything was fine, she asked him "Is there something that I can help with before we leave?"

"No Maeve, everything is perfect, believe me, I am in control here" he replied.

She looked at him intensively, as she was searching to see if he was hiding anything from her. When she was satisfied that he was not hiding anything, she said.

"That is good to know Wright".

"So when would you guys be ready, it's almost time," she asked.

"Do not worry Maeve" he replied.

"Are you sure about that?" she persisted.

She was beginning to look worried. Wright had never acted this way towards her and so she wondered why he should be acting all cold towards her. She knows he is the reserved type, but she is actually doing what she believes is the best for him and his daughter.

She has been there once too, and she knows that this is a trying time and she was only trying to assist.

"You can leave now Maeve" he instructed.

Immediately the words left his lips, he realized that he was being too blunt and unfair to someone who has decided to stand by him at a time that he needed a friend by his side and so he quickly retracted his words and said.

"I sincerely appreciate your kindness Maeve..."

He paused for a while and stared at her, he wanted to be sure that she was not misunderstanding his motives and so, in a bid to ensure this, he said slowly.

"Rio and I would like to go through this alone at the moment"

Realizing that he might have just passed the wrong message, he quickly added.

"I am actually trying to say that I would like to be alone with her when I pass the news to her. Please don't get me wrong"

"It's okay Wright, I believe we have to leave now," she said.

Immediately Maeve said that they were about to leave, Riley got up and heads towards the door.

As Maeve was about to take some steps towards the door, Wright grabs her by her wrist. He looks at her, his eyes begging her to understand the dilemma that he finds himself in at the moment and understand him.

Maeve understood his plight and so did not attempt to remove her hands from his grips.

"I understand Wright, we would see later in the day," Maeve said.

Wright knows Maeve well enough to tell that those words were truly from her heart and so, he let go of her wrist and she left with her daughter, Riley.

Wright remained where he was and stared at the door for a while. When he was done, he went and locked it and climbed back upstairs to Riona's room.

When he entered the room, he noticed that Riona was still lying down with her back against the door and so he was not sure if she was sleeping.

"Are you still awake, Rio? He asked.

His voice was a little bit tense.

In response, she turned to face him.

"Okay, as I was saying..." He began.

He walked to the chair beside the bed and sat on it. He cleared his throat in preparation for his speech.

Riona watched her dad's countenance carefully and she noticed that he was avoiding her eyes and was also finding it very difficult to tell her the news that he's got for her. She tried to think about what could be possible reasons for that. And when she concluded that no news would be worse than the news of losing her mum, she decided to make it easy for him to talk to her.

Actually, Riona has almost lost her voice as a result of her constant crying for her mum's death. But despite this fact, she managed to speak with her barely audible voice.

"What do you want to say dad?" she asked and went on to stare blankly at him.

Wright was glad at the question from Riona as he saw it as the push he needed to start, so he quickly grabbed it.

"You know this past month has been a very challenging and trying time for us, you and I. After we lost your mum, my wife..." he suddenly stopped.

At the mention of her mum, Riona closed her eyes for a few seconds. Wright clinched his fist and tightened his lips.

After Riona was done closing her eyes, she opened them and said to her dad "Continue dad, I am listening"

This was much more to the surprise of Wright because Riona has always instantly broken down whenever her mum was mentioned.

"Thanks, Rio, your mum, my wife... have to be laid to rest..." He stammers.

"Actually, what I mean to say is that today, she would be laid to rest today. It is actually going to be this morning" he finally said.

He was talking in a rush, as he does not want anything to stop him or any of the words to elude him.

Riona listened attentively as he spoke and all along, she never tried to interrupt him.

Wright watched her countenance, and he was surprised as to how well she has received the news. Seeing that she was been receptive, he became more relaxed and continued.

"We have to be there Rio, we have to be there for her, to pay homage and show our last respect for her. She meant so much to us, and this is our last chance to show her just how much she means to us"

Riona listened attentively to her dad and she waited patiently for him to finish speaking before she responded.

"Okay dad, I will do just anything to make my mum happy".

She managed to force some smile, and Wright also managed to smile back at her.

She got up from her bed and said "Let me get ready immediately dad"

"Yea Rio, when you finish, come down for breakfast," he said as he gets up to leave the room.

But fearing that she might decline to come to the dining table and thus not take any breakfast, he quickly added.

"Or I can go get it up here for you right now if you don't mind"

"I will be joining you dad" she responded.

Her response was like a miracle to Wright. Ever since her mum's demise, she has barely eaten, let alone join him or any of their guest(s) at the dining.

"Dad" she called.

"Yes, Rio" he responded.

"It's just the two of us now right, we've got each other now that mum has left us?" she asked.

Wright did not know the reason for her question so he hesitated to reply to it for some seconds. However, fearing that refusing to respond might trigger her emotions, he answered.

"Of course Rio, just you and I"

She went over to him and hugged him.

"We've got no one else, just the two of us, all to ourselves. And I know that mum is with us too, and even though we cannot see her, she would not let us be all by ourselves" she said.

"Just us Rio, just us," he said.

She released him from her embrace.

"And dad" Riona called.

"What is it dear?" Wright asked.

"I know I am not hallucinating dad, but I heard some growls earlier today. I don't know what time, but it was still very dark and it was almost as if the maker was inside of this house. I was wondering if you heard it too" Riona said.

"I don't think that is correct Rio. You know you have been down lately and moreover, where could such have come from? There are no bushes around us" Wright replied.

"Never mind dad, I will join you shortly," Riona said.

"And I will be expecting you downstairs Rio" he responded.

"And I would be there in a jiffy," she said.

It is the burial ceremony of Evolette, and the graveyard was filled with friends and loved ones who had come from far and near to pay their last respect for Evolette and also show their support to the bereaved family.

With the countenance of everyone present, it was so obvious that they would miss Evolette so much as she had been a dear friend to them during her lifetime.

Riona watched absentmindedly as the priest prayed over the remains of her late mum, Evolette. All through the duration of the whole event, she was lost and was absent-minded on all the happenings around her. The death of her mum had hit her so badly and it had turned her into a shadow of her formal self.

Riona had not known when the priest was done with the intercession and even when he had said 'We pray oh Lord', she was still aware.

It was when everyone present had chorused 'Amen' that her mind was drawn back to them.

Haven been absent-minded all through the final rites, and brought her back to the present by the sound of amen from the crowd; she focused her gaze at the coffin in front of the priest.

Riona wondered how such a little piece of wood would be able to hold her mum captive for a very long time. She reminisced on how she would be able to go on all alone without her own mother to lead, guide, and love her, and within her, she cursed the coffin and death. Of course her dad, Wright is great; there was no denying that fact. But there was Maeve, clung all over him like she has been waiting for this very moment her whole life.

Thinking of her dad, she turned in his direction. She saw him in grief, and she could see Maeve all glued to him, pretending to console him.

The sight of Maeve beside Wright disgusted Riona. And no matter what happens, she will never trust Maeve's sudden friendliness and sympathy over the death of her mum. To her, Maeve should be the enemy.

Riona cannot remember where Maeve emanated from and how or why she all of a sudden decided to become a part of their lives.

Even in her grief, Riona was able to access Maeve for the untempt time. To her, there was no doubt that Maeve was beautiful and she also appears to be lovely. But then, her beauty was nothing to Riona who believes that Maeve's beauty goes to no issue when compared to her mum, Evolette. As for being nice, Riona overlooked that fact as she believes that she was only acting that role in order to gain her and her father's trust. An agenda that Riona has already vowed to make impossible.

She cannot fathom ever seeing Maeve around her family. She only sprung out after the demise of her mother, Evolette and Riona had never hesitated to show Maeve that even though her presence brought her father some consolation, she will never be accepted as part of them no matter how hard she tries.

It is not as if Riona had never known Maeve before now, on the contrary, she had known Maeve ever since she was little. But then, she was never this close to her family and Riona had never seen her close to her dad before now. So what changed after the death of her mum? This is a mystery that Riona is bent on unraveling.

"Hey Riona, I am so sorry that you have to go through this," a voice said beside Riona.

Riona turned to see that Riley was standing next to her. Seeing Riley by her side, Riona can't tell if she was just coming to stand beside her or if she has been there the whole time. However, Riona was not in any mood to accommodate Riley at this moment and was ready to outrightly discharge her if she persisted.

She takes a look at Riley, and she noticed that her eyes were red. Riona concluded that that might be as a result of crying on this occasion but nevertheless, the realization did not bring any relief to Riona, but only further disgusted her.

Why the hell was she crying? Riona thought. Was she the one that had lost her mum? Riona does not seem to understand the excess show of care and concern on the part of Riley. She could only conclude that she was just like her mum, a person that Riona has already termed as an opportunist.

"Accept my condolence dear" Riley added.

Riley was hoping Riona would embrace her kind gesture, and would not see her as an intruder. She knows what Riona was going through right now and how much she would need a friend to talk to and she was hoping that friend would be her.

However, Riona was filled with nothing but disdain. She believes Riley is only acting up and she could not take this shameless show of hypocrisy any longer. The truth is that, as a classmate, Riley was a girl that Riona has a little respect for, but these past weeks have revealed a whole lot to her and had made her start seeing Riley as a person one needs to be conscious of.

Rather than respond to Riley's condolences, Riona decided to go meet her dad who all along has been occupied by Maeve. Her main concern was to go get Maeve far away from her dad since she does not appear to be shameless in her desperation.

As Riona walks towards her dad, Wright, whose face had been bowed to the ground all along, suddenly looked up and saw Riona approaching. He brightened up a little to receive his daughter.

"Hey Riona"

Wright called her as soon as she was standing in front of him.

A tear dropped from her eyes as she could feel the pains in his voice. The death of her mum has really been hard on both of them. She wishes she could do something to bring him back to how he used to be before the demise of her mum. Riona vowed that she would do anything, absolutely anything to achieve this but would not let Maeve in even if she is the solution that she seeks.

"Daddy" she replied.

She went to where he was standing and she intentionally stood between him and Maeve.

Riona turned to see that Riley had actually followed behind her and was now right where they were, standing close to Maeve.

Riona is strongly of the opinion that Riley and Maeve have all along been waiting for an opportunity to take over her family and Riona is as much ready to forestall this attempt. Riona sees them as being wicked for wanting to profit from her misfortune.

Riona did not want to be in the company of Maeve and Riley as she detests their presence. So she held Wright by the hands and led him away from them. She wanted him all to herself.

As she led Wright through the mist of those that have come to sympathize with them, and away from Riley and Maeve, her eyes wandered through the sympathizers once again.

She could see her aunt Kyra standing beside her husband, Phillip with his right hand on her shoulders. Kyra and Philip had flown in from Regina this morning for the burial.

Kyra wore a dark shade on her black gown and even in her grief, she still looked pretty. She has not been able to bring herself to alter many words ever since her elder sister, Evolette passed on.

She saw Maeve's family members, the Johnsons. She was able to recognize them as she had attended two or more parties at Riley's place as a little girl. The ones that her dad had made her go as he claims it would make her appreciate everyone even those beneath her class. Her mum was not in full support of her attending those parties but she never tried to stop her against her dad's wish.

As a little child, Riona had this fear for the Johnsons. This fear has been built up from how she has always felt whenever she attended Riley's parties at their house. She wondered why there should have such a large expanse of land at the outskirts of town all to themselves and how much care they had put in to ward off intruders when they should have just sold a good part of it to better their lot.

Riona knew that the Johnsons were not anywhere close to her family in terms of wealth and yet her dad does not have such a large expanse of property. Because of this, Riona suspects that the Johnsons must be hiding something in most of their rooms as they were just numerous for her to count and there were not in use.

One very singular occasion had almost confirmed Riona's fear and when she had gone home to narrate her experience to her mum, her mum had used that opportunity to stop her from attending any more occasions at the Johnsons.

On that day, in disregard to Mr. Johnson's instructions, Riona had wandered to the back of the house and for a moment she could swear that she had seen about three huge wolves right in the middle of the big field. What further alarmed Riona was the fact that she could swear that she had heard one of the wolves speak and they had all run off as soon as they had noticed her presence.

She had been so scared to speak and in her frightened state, she had not known when Maeve had come to the back door. It was when she heard Maeve call out her name that she fainted.

Upon being revived, she had narrated what she had witnessed to Maeve and her mum, Mrs. Johnson but they instantly brushed it aside as a hallucination on her part.

She has gone home to narrate the event to her parents but her dad had scolded her for disobeying Mr. Johnson's order and her mum had restricted her from ever attending any event at the Johnsons.

Riona does not know why, but after some years, she noticed that Maeve stopped inviting her to any of their occasions after her encounter at the back of their house so she took the task of knowing what lies beyond the estate of the Johnsons. Her search only revealed that the Johnsons reside at the borders of the city and her search did not reveal the possibility of having a wolf within the parameters of their property.

Since then, Riley has remained just a classmate, and even though both girls are not the best of friends, they have always found a way to get along as classmates simpliciter.

Riona could also see her team from Rennet Aid, the Non-Governmental organization that is owned by her mum. Cindy was in their midst. She has been a dutiful and diligent staff all these years and Riona knows that with Cindy by her side, she would not have any difficulty in running the affairs of Rennet Aid.

Riona led Wright to the front of the gathering. At the time they were almost close to where the priest was standing, the coffin was ready to be confined to mother earth.

In fear of watching her mum go away from her forever, she clinched onto Wright as she could not bear to look at the remains of her mum buried to come out no more. She wanted to scream and wail, perhaps that would make her mum come back to her but as much as she tried, she could only let out some sobs.

She has lost her strength and her voice from crying for the past month since the demise of Evolette, and now she has no tears left to shade anymore.

Tears dropped from Wright's eyes as he watched the remains of his late wife been finally laid into the earth.

He held his little girl to himself, he could not imagine how much she must have suffered from missing Evolette, her mum.

When he broke the news of her mum's death to her, he saw how traumatized she was and how she could not bring herself to accept that her mum was gone to be seen no more.

The next few days that followed after that were hell to both Wright and Riona. Riona would not stop wailing as she refused to eat anything and asked that her mum be brought back to her.

During those times, Wright had hated more than anything else to see his beloved daughter in such a state, but what more can he do? On his part, he could not even console himself. For days, he lived in denial of Evolette's death, he believed that his lovely wife was going to walk through the door and return to him and their precious little daughter, Riona to make their family whole and happy once again.

It was only until this morning that Riona has stopped crying and had joined him in the dining for breakfast when he announced to her that Evolette would be laid to rest today.

At first, Wright had feared that Riona would not want to come for the burial. His fear was premised on her blunt refusal to accept the death of her mum, Evolette. Hence, he was very careful when he was relaying the information to her.

Riona watched as sands were poured to fill the earth. Unwilling to take it, she held her breath and also closed her eyes. When it became impossible for her to sustain herself without air, she opened her mouth slightly and began to breathe a little bit fast as she starts to gasp for air.

"It will be okay Rio, mum is fine wherever she is right now" Wright whispered to Riona.

When Wright, saw that the whole scenario was becoming too much for his daughter to take, he decided to lead her out of the premises for he too was unwilling to look on any longer.

He led her to the back of the venue, away from everyone. He took her to an empty bench and they both sat on it.

"She will be fine, dad," Riona said.

Her voice was barely audible and it was obvious that she was only trying to reassure herself that her mum would be fine.

Wright looked at his daughter, not sure whether to respond or not. In reaction, he could only shake his head in affirmation of what she had said.

"She loves us, and did not just leave us" Riona continued.

What Riona just said touched Wright so much. Yes, it is undeniable that his wife loves him and their daughter, Wright was certain that if Evolette was given an option to pick, she would have chosen to stay with them and not leave.

"And I believe that she knows that we love her too and would forever miss her so dearly" She added.

Wright placed his hands on Riona's shoulders to assure her that he is still here for her and would never leave her, at least not anytime soon.

"She knows dear, we love her" Wright managed to say.

"Hello, Mr. Wright" Cindy called.

Wright looks up to see Cindy standing just a little distance from them and he replied to her. "Hi Cindy"

"Please you can come inside now," Cindy said.

"Very well Cindy. Thank you" Wright replied.

Cindy went back inside and looked at her, Riona wished she would be closer to her family in place of Maeve as she has been very good to her mum and has diligently worked for her and the organization.

Wright held her by the hands and they both stood up. They looked at each other and smiled and still holding hands, they both walks back inside.