You're Out Daddy

Chapter 623

Natasha quietly watched him.

The note was short and straightforward, but it perfectly described everything that had happened.

The whole thing was a matter of Zavier planning to sacrifice himself without telling Kenneth and writing a note so that Kenneth wouldn't blame himself so much.

Sadly, that note had taken quite a long time to get to Kenneth.

His hands were still trembling and she reached out to grab them.

He turned to look at her with reddened eyes and shaking lips. It looked like he was trying to say something, but he couldn't get the words out.

At that very moment, Kenneth's high and mighty image cracked, revealing his vulnerable side.

Natasha looked at him and said calmly, “I think Zavier must have guessed that this would happen long ago. That's why he left this for you. I don't know why it took so many years for the note to appear, but he wrote it so that you wouldn't keep blaming yourself. Are you going to let his good intention go to waste?”

“You think so?” Kenneth asked in a low, raspy voice, sounding like a little boy who had just cried.

“Of course! Why else would he specifically write this letter to you and hide it in something that means so much to both of you? He must have known how much you would beat yourself up about it. Still, he had not guessed how long it would take you even to open that box after he passed.”

“I never dared to,” he said in a deep, quivering voice. Looking down, Kenneth explained, “I always thought he would blame me, and I never dared to open anything that reminded me of him.”

She reached out to hug him at the sight of his helplessness. She had never seen him look so distraught.

“Why would he? He was your best friend. He saw you the same way you saw him. Besides, Zavier did all this because he felt he was the cause behind everything. He knew that if it wasn't him, it would be either you or Dave. If you guys had a choice, wouldn't all three of you make the same decision?”

Kenneth nodded. “I was thinking about that when I first approved of the plan. I just didn't expect Zavier to beat me to it.”

“He was afraid of you getting hurt. That was why he did what he did. Kenneth, Zavier did love you as a brother. Why would he ever blame you for this?” Natasha asked.

“Really?” Kenneth asked, looking at Natasha as if she were a beam of light in the dark.

“Yes. Isn't this letter pure proof of that?” she asked.

He was beginning to understand, but after so many years of wallowing in self-doubt, guilt, and regret, it was hard for him to convince himself that it wasn't his fault.

If he hadn't seen the note himself, he might have thought that they had come up with a plot to get him out of his rut.

Kenneth immediately picked up the note and began studying it.

The note was written in Zavier's handwriting for sure, and because of how long it had been rolled up inside the pen barrel, the wrinkles in it were already practically permanent.

“It's him! It's really his handwriting. So he doesn't blame me after all?” Kenneth asked.

Natasha smiled at the sound of his enthusiasm. “Yeah! Not only does he not blame you, he even specifically left a note for you so that you wouldn't blame yourself. That's something a true best friend would do,” she said.

He looked up at her. Her words were gentle yet powerful, and the warmth of what she had just said began to melt the icy weight on his shoulders away. The pain he had been holding onto deep inside him was beginning to fade away too.

He smiled and hugged her back. “Thank you, Nat.

“Thank you for telling me all that. Thank you for finding his note, too, and thank you for finally lifting this weight I've been carrying for years off my shoulders,” Kenneth said. “You truly are the best.”

She chuckled at his words. “I remember a certain someone forbidding me to say the words 'thank you' to him. Have the tables turned?”

“No... I love you. I love you so, so much,” Kenneth murmured as he pulled her into another tight embrace, lightly nuzzling his chiseled jaw to the top of her head. He hugged her tightly, almost as if he wanted to fuse and become one with her.

But no matter how much he said “I love you” and “thank you,” the most important thing was that Natasha could sense the burden on his shoulders slowly lifting. He no longer seemed as depressed as before.

“You must remember that the people who truly love you would never want to hurt you. It applies to everyone, whether it is romantic, platonic, or familial,” she said.

In a soft voice, he whispered, “Okay”, while holding onto her tightly.

Natasha said, “No matter what happens, don't give up so easily. You have to be more positive about things.” She patted him on the back lightly.

Kenneth suddenly stiffened at her advice.

He could hear the implications behind her words.

He let her go slowly as his inky black gaze fixed on her small face. Natasha still smiled brightly as if she didn't have a care in the world.