Alva
”If it is some paper you want me to sign, Mr. Sica, I will. I have no intent of groping you with child support or claiming your properties. Samuel and I are fine as we are.” I swallowed. That had to be the reason he was here. His eyes met mine unflinchingly and I could tell he had questions.
He put a finger to his lips as an awkward silence followed. “So you actually believe I am that shallow. So out of the blues, I find out I have a son and the only thing you think runs through my mind is…’” He paused. “…properties and child support? Why do you have this one sided opinion about me?”
I fell silent, weighing his words. If I could have it Alva’s way, I would scream his face that I wasn’t buying his act.
“Years ago,” I began, hating that I had to keep the details a secret. “A woman walked into your office and told you she was pregnant. Do you remember what you told her?” Without waiting for answer, I continued. “You told her to kill him. That child you didn’t want. I wanted him so I kept him and I have managed to raise him until now, All without your help Mr. Sica so I am begging you, please go. Leave us alone and never turn back.”
I watched Nikolas take slow breath, his eyes a bit shadowed so I couldn’t read the thoughts running through his mind. I wiped a tear fleeing my misty eyes and looked back at Samuel who was still very much in the dark about everything going on. He was a young boy, He deserved happiness and rainbow. Heaven spare him the discovery that his father was the cause of his mother’s demise.
“So all you want is for me is to walk out this room pretending this didn’t happen and go on living my daily life?” he demanded, approaching me with intent.
My head fell. I didn’t answer. The sight of him gave me stomach trouble and I could only do so much to hide the look of contempt written all over my face.
“Look at me.” He said. Actually it was an order. In my stupidity, I obeyed, reminding myself that I wasn’t afraid of the man so there was absolutely nothing to fear. “I wish I could do that. But until the DNA results proves I am not his father, I cannot do that.”
“You don’t need a piece of paper to convince you Mr. Sica, your heart knows where it belongs.”
I knew I was right. I could read the fear in his eyes. It was certain that the truth would rip his carefully built life apart and lucky for him, I wasn’t keen of intertwining our lives.
“You are quite right.” he retorted, not quite done with the topic. “I don’t need a piece of paper to convince me. The fact that you are hell bent on getting rid of me after getting the only thing you wanted is more than clear enough Miss Alva. So my heart must be in the right place, I have no doubt that Samuel is my son.”
A strong surge of maternal yearning kicked through me like a drug. There was no way I was letting him win. Samuel was mine! Mine alone. I edged backwards, planning my assault. Telling him I lied couldn’t change this conversation speeding the wrong turn. All my fears were coming to light.
“And that changes what?” my gaze sharpened.
“It changes everything Miss Alva. Samuel is clearly ill. I might be his walking cure and I sure as hell don’t anything happening to him. If its okay with you, I would like him to come stay with me.”
“Never!” I shot back between gritted teeth.
I saw darkness flash in his eyes as he dug his hands into his pocket to retrieve a black card. He handed it to me and I briefly skimmed through it. It was his business card. He drew a deep breath and spoke.
“if you want to work this out, Give me a call and we maybe we can split custody of him without getting legal.”
The mention of a potential court case knocked the wind out of my lungs. There was no way I could risk that. Not after my lies. If the court found out, I would lose Samuel’s custody. Nikolas, in the court eyes had everything a child needed to grow up prim and proper. What did I have? Against my will, I was forced to accept the card and reach a compromise.
***
Nikolas
It wasn’t like me to use dubious means to get what I wanted. The real life was very different from the business world but I was pulled to a breaking point. My eyes went the boy resting on the bed; His expression casting concern. It still felt so unreal. Now that I considered it, The boy did look like me. Almost immediately, My gaze went back to his mother. She was seething red. I could not help but notice the pain and fatigue her cloudy brown eyes had ringed in them. She was thin and clearly malnourished. It had to be the responsibility of being a single mother. She clearly did not want my help but nonetheless I was poking my nose into this business.“I will leave you now. I want you to think thoroughly about your decision before you come to a conclusion.” I wanted my last words to be reassuring to her that I wasn’t the monster. That I was merely misunderstood. I wondered if I would understand things from her point of view, If I had a clearer memory about the incident.
She still gave me a cold shoulder but the magic in her resentment had lost its touch. Her spitfire attitude was now replaced by fear and I knew all too well what she feared. Like an old saying I remembered, “Powerful people always got what they wanted.”
Without a second thought and still ignoring the burning questions playing in my head on a loop, I saw myself out of the hospital. The second the door closed, I heard Alva burst into tears with the little boy rushing to comfort her. The hate she had for me was marvellous, So great that it made her cry. It knifed through my heart that I was that horrible and yet I was unaware of it. On my way back to the car,the phone in my pocket gave a bothersome vibration. Retrieving the mobile from my pocket, I checked who it was. A call from Doria, How convenient! Hesitantly, I picked.
“Nik, I have been trying to get to you all day. Do you know how hard it is to not hear from you in days?”
I didn’t have time for a buttering. I had other pressing matters to attend to than Doria’s sloppy forgiveness tactic. She knew what her choice would cost when she abandoned our future together for a contract. The whole convenient relationship was slowly killing me with all of the latent drama added up.
“Doria, can we not do this now?” I pleaded. “My day has been going really bad so I don’t think this is the greatest time to ask for my forgiveness.”
Despite my cold demeanor to our conversation, Nothing dropped Doria’s high spirits. I arrived at the parking lot, jumped into the back of my car and instructed the driver to leave for Sica Enterprises. I was tardy for work. As the car went on its journey, I got to learn why Doria was so bubbly.
“Well, your sour dough attitude is sure to disappear when you hear this;”
“What?” I inquired, out of bored curiosity.
“I’m back Nik! I’m back in Greece!”
Well, she was right about one thing…
AlvaHis words reechoed in my mind.I wasn’t sure I could do it. The edgy shock of giving Samuel to his father without a fight did not feel quite right. I considered running but without funds and a legal passport, There wasn’t a chance. Plus there was more than a fair chance he would find me. He was an influential man.“Mom, Are you alright?” Samuel intruded on my thoughts.“I am fine.” I assured.Samuel did not seem to buy my response. So to keep his little mind off the complicated topic, I offered him the cold ramen buried in my bag. “I brought noodles. Your favorites.”“Do not worry about it mom. Dad already fed me.”A flush went through me. Did he just refer to Nikolas Sica as his father? That was unexpected an left me weak to the knees. I paused, letting my inner voice remonstrating on wh
NIKOLAS I wished I knew what to tell her. Alva probably already told her everything but for Doria, hearing it from my lips would be the only thing she would consider the truth. The easy way out would be to lie and deny it all but what tale would I weave when Alva arrived at my door with Samuel. There was a slim chance Alva might have rejected my offer though. Still, the look of dread Doria had on her face suggested she had pieced something together. Lying to her would be futile and if I broke her heart, she had to know it was never my intention."Samuel is my son," I confessed."I don't understand," Doria stammered, tears running down her cheeks like trickles from rooftops. "I was in Paris for just four months. How is this possible?""Doria, calm down and let me explain." I tried pacifying her but she had sunk too deep."Calm down! How do you explain that you have
KLAUSLilika stifled a laugh. The growl emanating from her throat continued to grow until she was cackling like a witch. I could tell this was her coping mechanism. She had laughed the same way when the doctor had told her the love of her life; the man who had danced with her at the balcony on her birthday had died from a heart attack the next morning. This was another of those many hollow laughs my mother gave when things were going awry. Soon enough, her laugh relapsed. Honestly, it felt like a Deja-Vu of the morning I lost Dad. Mom looked at Doria who had just returned to the living room playing the role of betrayed dutiful housewife to a fault and then back at me. I saw a drop of tear escape from the crevices of those eyes that always pretended to see all the bright and beautiful things of the universe. Mother was shattered."You are not kidding. You...have a son." I had never remembered her sounding so anxious. This s
ALVA I hoped he understood my plight. Probably not. But a part of me still believed he would come to an agreement with me. I was trusting a man I knew I should not be trusting with the life of my son and ensuring no legal case happened that would cause Samuel to wrenched from me. His pause on the line made me feel like I was fighting a losing battle. My mind would not stop making up scenarios that made my head split open. Had he figured something out? After all, I had cracked so easily when he suggested I reach a compromise if I didn't want him to fight for custody. He was a businessman. He was known to make gambles and oftentimes, they weren't wrong. "Mr. Sica?" I said, flagging down a taxi by the hospital road. "Are you still on the line?" "Of course." He retorted, breaking the static white noise that had almost become familiar. "I understand your perspective. Samuel is going through so much. I
NIKOLAS"You aren't serious." Doria scoffed. "You are really shoving me out of your life for some lowlife prostitute you fucked years ago?"My ears ringed at her assertion. She thought she was better. Oh, Doria had it easy. Every passing second stayed close listening to her spew bullshit made an inferno invite within with me. I had blamed Doria for being rash but heaven knew what I would do if I lost my temper. I pushed past her, returning to the living room only to see my mom prepared to face me with a scowl. Doria had succeeded in pulling her to the dark side. Ignoring the daggers she shot at me, I proceeded to spill the information I had."Alva will be coming here with Samuel."My mom erupted into another bout of laughter like she could not believe what I said. "Lemme guess, Alva is the whore you knocked up?"The blatant use of such a dirty word made me clench my fist.
ALVA The ride to his place was an awkward one. In fact, if there was a word to describe the way I felt, I was pretty sure the term would worse than awkward. The feelings that rushed through me ranged from fear; the fear that Nikolas would figure everything out to disgust; repulsion at myself and the man who drove us. I wanted nothing more but to end this. I just wished I knew how. I hated that I needed him. I hated that I could not figure out a solution that did not have Nikolas Sica in the picture. I pressed my hands on the necklace that graced my neck. The gold necklace was one of the few things I could remember my sister, Charis by. She would have had an idea if she was still around. Why wouldn't she? After all, if there was anyone who hated Nikolas Sica more than I did, it had to be Charis. “So,” Nikolas finally spoke as he continued to drive into the unknown. “Is this how the tension is going
DORIA "What would you like to order for dinner?" Lilika enquired solicitously, strolling into the kitchen where I sat, drinking a glass of warm milk while playing around with Nik's abandoned engagement ring. They were matching ones we had got when he joined me in Paris for a fundraiser project I was involved with. I could not understand how Lilika could be so calm about this. I was disturbed. Nikolas was my beacon. I had been an oddball out of the perfect mannequins of our beauty agency. If Nikolas hadn't found me, I would have remained unnoticed Doria. I could not let such happen. Not when I was so close to taking over the modeling world. "Something light," I said, "But aren't you worried Lilika? Nik's P.A filled me in on the gory details. He's gotten an apartment downtown and has gone to pick that bitch up. We should not just sit down and watch her destroy him." Lilika dropped a pan loudly in the sink
NIKOLASToday was a great day. Mom had called to apologize for how cold and insensitive she had been. She was sure to mention that she wanted to see her grandson. I told myself it had something to do with the results I had gotten concerning Samuel's paternity but I still suspected she was only calling dinner to involve Alva. It was why I had suggested the brunch. It was a cover. I was sure Alva would dress like a nun because I had to face it, she still didn't feel comfortable around me. I had seen how she held her breath when my eyes went her way and what my touch did to her. Telling her we were going shopping would be suicide. If she did dress like a prude which I was certain she would, I was sure it would be easy to convince her to shop. I needed tonight's dinner to go well.I dropped Samuel at the backseat, swiped a seatbelt to keep him in place, and proceeded to the front seat. When I started the engine, I felt Samuel'