Unwelcomed

After confirming the safety of her daughter, Amanda relented and began preparing snacks and beverages for their upcoming talk. Despite this rather warm gesture, both of them knew that it was just another reason for Amanda to delay the inevitable.

Fortunately, the man allowed it, understanding and patiently waiting for her to ready herself.

Amanda made iced tea for the hot weather and opened a pack of cookies she was saving for tomorrow's movie night with her little daughter. She would have to refill that later if the man in her living room would permit her to.

She looked at the following items on her countertop with a blank stare, a flurry of thoughts racing in her head. All of it was very loud yet unintelligible, helping further the headache that she had been experiencing since his arrival.

  She spent another moment looking at the snacks. The slow dripping of the water that formed at the side of the pitcher that held the iced tea deluded her into thinking that the object was mocking her for her unfortunate circumstances.

She sighed heavily, there was no point in what she was doing. Best to get over it and find out what he wanted.

Amanda grabbed the tray of snacks and drinks with a slight tremble in her hands. Steadily, she brought it to the living room and carefully placed it on the coffee table before sitting at the opposite end of where the man was.

"For someone that prides himself on being a gentleman, you're quite the natural burglar," Her eyes stared hard at the man in front of her despite the lightheartedness that her tone held.

The man took his time to reply. He opted to reach out and grab a glass to pour himself some iced tea, his time abroad made him unused to the fluctuating temperatures of the Philippines.

Amanda waited. It wasn't like she had anything else to say. She was angry for how rudely he barged in on such short notice, without even contacting her beforehand. It also boggled her mind how he thought that it would be a good idea to let their daughter inhale sleeping gas of all things to make her fall asleep!

He finished his drink with a clank as he settled it on the glass surface of the coffee table. "Forgive me for barging in." He said in English, his accent hinting at the time he had stayed in England for quite a while. "I knew you wouldn't accept if I contacted you normally."

Amanda rolled her eyes, "And why do you think that's the case?" She asked sharply, her ruby eyes staring daggers at the man in front of her, "Isn't it  your fault that our life has turned into a mess in the first place?"

Offense shined in the man's eyes as he leveled her glare toward him, "My fault? After everything I've done for this family, you are still so bent on blaming all the bad things that happened to me?"

"Even so, this family wouldn't have fallen apart if it weren't for your stupid charade of joining that group of hooligans going around commanding Villains around the world to achieve whatever the fuck it is your delusions have made you believe!" Amanda took a deep calming breath, the conversation had just started and she was already getting riled up, "All the good you have done for this family has been nulled with the bullshit you managed to get yourself caught in."

His glare turned icy as he stared at the woman in front of her, "I advise making such remarks against my work. You're lucky to even be alive after knowing about us."

Amanda scoffed at his audacity to threaten her with their daughter sleeping just a short distance away.

"It seemed after all these years, you're still hellbent on our organization's ideals."

"Why are you here, Vincent?" She asked, already tired of this banter that was going nowhere with both parties convinced that their side of the story was right. "I know as hell that you didn't come to visit your daughter after making it clear you didn't want to be a father."

Vincent ignored her insult, happy that they were finally getting back to his original plans. He snapped his fingers and a skinny man appeared on the couch behind him, smiling widely at Amanda who was unfazed on the other side of the table.

He pulled out a brown envelope from his coat before exclaiming, "Amanda! It's been a while. How've you been?"

She pointedly ignored him, her eyes laser-focused on the file that Vincent was taking out of the brown envelope.

Vincent waved for the man to leave, and he did so while complaining under his breath about being ignored and having to use his quirk so frequently without rest since they arrived in the country.

"What is that?"

"Business."

"I've already made my position clear that I won't be joining you. Unlike you, I care for the future and safety of my daughter."

Vincent sighed, "Keep insulting me all you like, but I've heard about the incident that happened in the nearby mall," He said, "You stupidly left our daughter to play hero. If you want to talk about safety, maybe try to show it in a Villain attack of all things."

Amanda grew silent, the incident replaying in her head as shame and guilt crept into her heart. She can't find the words to tell him off because of the pure facts that he laid down. It irked her for him to find a way to silence her, annoyed her to be slapped hard by her stupidity.

"Anyway, back to business, we're technically still married by law. Your presence has brought complications in the businesses I have and will deal with in the Philippines, to put it simply, I'll be filing for divorce."

Amanda raised a suspicious eyebrow, "There's no way you came all this way just to tell me you're filing for a divorce."

He chuckled lowly, "I'm a changed man."

"Bullshit."

He handed the files to her, "I've already signed my part of the papers. When you've finished yours, mail it to this address." He slid a card toward her before standing up and snapping his fingers, the same skinny man appearing by his side, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have other businesses to attend-"

"Ma?"

The two parents turned in the direction of Erika's room to find that the little girl had managed to wake up from the sleeping gas and enter the living room without anyone knowing.

Amanda stood from her seat and kneeled in front of her, "Hi, baby girl."

Erika, however, didn't take her eyes off Vincent as soon as she saw his tall and imposing figure. There was something off about his mana, it was... too restless. It felt like a caged beast waiting to be released to the world, or a ticking time bomb that can explode at any second.

"Who is he?" She asked quietly, her eyes met with the tall man and she saw the disgust that was behind them.

"Nobody, love. He just came by to discuss some businesses with Ma about some adult things."

Erika continued to stare at him despite her mother shaking her to stop, "Ma, there's something wrong about him."

For some reason, that angered the man. He glared at her. A large and intimidating man glared at a little girl before he turned around to leave, gesturing for his companion to leave with him.

Curious about what she meant, Amanda asked, "What do you mean?"

"His quirk is killing him."

Vincent stopped, his companion swerving his head to look back at the girl with eyes that were wider than dinner plates.

When Vincent made a move toward Erika, Amanda was immediately standing in front of her. She grabbed a dagger from under the coffee table and pointed it toward Vincent.

All of them continued to stare at each other in a tense silence.

"I think you should leave. You've overstayed my welcomed patience."

Blue lightning crawled all over the man's body when he heard her words."What's her name." He ordered with a finality in his voice.

Amanda was hesitant. Even when she faced the terrifying lightning that he was using to threaten her, she was hesitant.

Erika watched the scene unfold with interest and hostility to the man. Her mother was afraid of him as soon as he used his quirk. She observed his restless mana that started to calm down as it was being used, her blank expression turned to surprise, however, when she saw it climb to the man's brain without restraint and began to use its affinity to essentially influence him.

If he continued to use his quirk, there was a large chance that his quirk would take over him and make him act akin to a rabid beast.

"My name is Eri-" Her mother cut her off by putting her hand over her mouth.

The older woman glared at the men by the door. "GET OUT!" She screamed, even as her eyes were filled with terror when Vincent fixed his glare toward her she repeated, "GET OUT OR I WILL PUBLISH THAT ARTICLE WHETHER I DIE OR NOT!"

That was enough to convince the skinny man as he grabbed a syringe from his coat and stabbed it into Vincent's shoulder injecting the fluid inside. 

Vincent snapped out of his reverie soon after but he was already being pushed out of the house before he could say more to the mother-daughter duo.

SLAM!

The slamming of the door was the last thing they heard before the house fell into silence.

Erika couldn't handle it after a moment had passed so she prodded for her mother's attention, "Who were they, Ma?"

Amanda sighed and placed a long kiss on Erika's temple, "I'll tell you when you're older," She said, "Anyway, how about we watch some TV and finish these snacks I have prepared? I'll even let you pick the channel this time, how about that?"

Erika understood the underlying message and without any more resistance, she happily agreed and cuddled with her mother on the couch as she flipped the channel to a nature documentary about horses.