Chapter 003

~KATERINA~

" Monalisa?" I asked in surprise, trying to jog my memory. I couldn't remember talking to Monalisa or telling her anything before her wedding. Even though four years have passed by, I still remember every tiny detail as if it happened yesterday.

" I'm happy for you, Monalisa. I wish you all the best in your marriage with Lucas." Those were the words that I told her with tears in my eyes. I couldn't remember telling her anything else.

" You thought I would never find out about it? Monalisa showed me the message that you sent to her. Threatening her that if she gets married to me, you would harm our baby. That's why she ran away to protect our son just like any woman out there would do in case someone threatened the life of their baby." My eyes popped out when I heard Luca's accusations.

" Surprised? You thought I would never find out?" He asked, the corner of his lips curving into a bitter smile.

" I never sent a text message to Monalisa the night of her wedding. She told you that and you believed her?" I asked, desperately trying to defend myself from Monalisa's false accusations.

I tried to refresh my mind but I didn't remember sending her any text. The only thing that I recalled was Monalisa borrowing my phone to make a call. When I asked her where her phone was, she told me that the battery had died.

Does this mean…

" Of course I didn't believe her at first. I defended you because I thought you would never do something like that but when she showed me the proof of the message…" He paused then heaved a deep sigh as if he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.

" I didn't know what to believe anymore. I did the investigation myself because I wanted to prove it and it's true the message came from your phone." He explained. The disappointment in his voice mirrored in his eyes.

" I can't believe you have been making a fool outta me for four years, Katerina. Now it makes sense why you didn't protest when your father asked you to marry me in the place of your sister. It makes sense why you always asked me if I was in touch with Monalisa. It's because you were afraid that I would find out about your little secret." He nodded to his words, realisation sinking in.

I wanted to protest and tell him that none of it was true. I wanted to explain to Lucas that I agreed to marry him because I loved him so much and I couldn't stand the sight of seeing him get hurt. I wanted to tell him that I always asked about Monalisa because I was worried about her just like anyone would be worried about her sister if she disappeared on her wedding day without a trace.

The truth is that I was worried about Monalisa and the reason why I never stopped inquiring about her whereabouts was because I was worried something happened to her. However, I didn't know how to explain it to Lucas because it was clear that he had chosen to believe Monalisa without hearing the side of my story…

________

" How could you be so cruel Katerina? How were you able to sleep peacefully at night for the past four years knowing damn well that you were living someone else's life? You snatched my life from me, Katerina. You stole four years from me! The years that I was supposed to spend with my son. You made my son suffer without a father." I could feel the pain in his voice with every word that escaped his mouth. I don't think I have ever seen Lucas this hungry in my entire life. His eyes were blazing with fury. If looks could kill, I would be dead by now.

" I don't know how all this happened, Lucas. I would never do such a thing. I know deep down you know that I would never do anything to harm you. I would never separate a child from his father. In fact I didn't know Monalisa was pregnant when she ran away that night." I tried to explain to Lucas as calmly as possible, hoping that he would understand and chose to believe me this time.

" But you did it, Katerina!" The corner of his lips curved into a smile, as though that was the funniest joke of the year and I could tell that he didn't believe any word that came from my mouth.

" I thought that…" He paused then heaved a deep sigh, " You of all the people would understand me because we grew up together and you always saw the hardships that I went through when my mother left when I was seven years old and my dad became workaholic as an escapist. You were always there, watching me celebrate my birthdays alone and other holidays." His words brought back memories from years ago.

" I promised myself that if I ever get a chance to have a family. I would never want my child to go through what I went through. I wanted to give my child a complete family. I wanted to be there for him whenever he needed me. To spend every free single minute that I have with him but…I already failed. I failed just like how my parents failed me. I wasn't there when he was born and I haven't been in his life for the past four fucking years!" The corner of his lips curved into a sad smile. All I did was listen to him since he didn't believe me when I told him that I wasn't involved.

" Do you know what was the first question that he asked me?" He looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I didn't know how to respond to his question so I just kept quiet as silent tears flowed down my cheeks.

" Where have you been daddy? Why did you leave mommy and I?Do you hate me? That's why you never visited us?" He chuckled bitterly.

" That's what my son asked me and for the first time in my entire life, I was speechless. I didn't know what to tell him because I didn't even know he existed." It was quiet for a while. I could feel the pain that he was going through but…I didn't know what to do to lessen it because that made the two of us. I was hurting too. My heart was bleeding inside but no one could see it…

" If you have any humanity left in you Katerina. You'll do a decent thing and sign the divorce papers. I would like to give my son something that he has been lacking for the past four years. A complete family." Lucas left the room after saying those words and didn't care to give me another glance.

I remained standing at the same spot, tears rolling down my cheeks. His words were like sharp daggers which pierced my heart mercilessly. What about our baby? I couldn't help but wonder about the fate that was awaiting us.

It was clear that Lucas didn't want to hear anything that I had to say. He was bitter and resentful towards me. He looked at me as if I'm the worst creature that has ever existed in the entire universe. I don't think anything I do or say would change his mind.

Again, Monalisa had managed to destroy my life like she always did. Everything between Lucas and I was perfectly fine before Monalisa came into our lives. Lucas and I were best friends and we shared a lot of things in common. We found comfort in each other because we all lost our mothers when we were young. I was five years old when my mother died and Lucas was seven years when his mother left.

We were family friends, our fathers were friends and businesses partners. Sometimes my dad would take me with him to visit Luca's father for business, while the two talked about business stuff, Locas and I would play together. That's how Lucas and I became best friends. However, everything changed when my father married and Monalisa became a part of our family. She came between Lucas and I, that's how we began to fall apart. She always made me look bad in Lucas' eyes and slowly, Lucas started to become distant from me…

This wasn't new to me, history was repeating itself. My heart twisted painfully inside my chest, suddenly becoming hard for me to breathe. What did I ever do to Monalisa for her to treat me like this? I have always been nice to her even though she always treated me badly and made me look bad in the eyes of everyone. I always treated her like a sister that I never had, always coming to her aid whenever she needed me.

I wiped tears from the corners of my eyes using the back of my hand. I wanted the pain to go away because it hurt so fucking bad. I stared at the brown envelope in my hand that was wet with my tears.

' Maybe this is for the best.' The painful thoughts echoed in my head, shutting my mind.

I wanted to fight for the sake of my baby. However, I knew how it would end because Lucas had made it crystal clear.

With shaky hands, I pulled out the divorce papers and looked at it for a second. The words written in bold made my heart ache inside my chest. Taking a deep breath, I reached for a pen on the side bed table and signed on the empty space that was left for me to sign…