Chapter Six

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…