The Shocking News
My wife… when she planned to divorce me, was trying to take me for everything I had. The only thing stopping her from doing that was the great legal advice and maneuverings of my family lawyers. When I found the test,
I consulted one of them about what to do. He told me not to worry about it; they would handle it, so I let them. It all got so out of hand.”
“I’m glad to know that,” I told him. “I’m glad to at least know you don’t believe in your heart that I had any sinister intentions. Alex, all I ever wanted from you was my job. I think you would even have to admit that I was good at it. I will need a way to support my child. If you can find it in your heart to allow me to come back…”
“Victoria, my wife and I are back together.”
That sentence was like a knife slicing straight through my heart. If all I wanted was my job, then it shouldn’t, I know. The truth was, I would probably never stop wanting Alex… but it was never about money. Not even for a second. I could see how me being in his home working every day, pregnant with his child while he was trying to make things work with his wife wouldn’t be okay.
“Oh… okay. Well, I should be going.” I felt embarrassed and ashamed for asking him for my job, yet here I was, pregnant with his child and he was willing to let me do without even that. My head was so confused, bouncing from one emotion to the next. My stomach felt sick and I needed to get out of here. I stood up and so did he.
“Victoria…”
“Yes?”
He took me by the shoulders and then leaned down and pressed his lips to my forehead. That simple kiss sent waves of shock racing through me. “Take care of yourself,” he said. “And the baby.”
I just nodded and took a step back before turning and quickly walking away. I didn’t want him to see the tears in my eyes.
ALEXANDER’s POV
I stood on the pier and watched Vicki go. I had to wonder if I was making the biggest mistake of my life. She’s pregnant with my child, my child… a little boy. I let her step off the end of the pier before I put my hands in my pockets and began walking in the same direction.
The lawyers tell me that there is no way of knowing yet. If I want a relationship with the child, I can have them order a DNA test after the baby is born. If I want a relationship with my child? What kind of man would I be if I didn’t want that? When I say I do want a relationship with my child, they start talking about money again.
What kind of man worries more about money than the woman who is bringing a new life into this world? This was done all wrong and I’m just not sure how to fix it. I know now that what I should have done was talk to Vicki and asked her about the test. I should have kept the lawyers out of it.
I should have followed my gut instincts about her and trusted that she wasn’t out to get anything from me. But I’d trusted my instincts about Cassandra too and look how that turned out. It was an ironic thought, considering that I was going home to her.
About a month after I found out about the baby, Cassie had come to me and said she made a mistake. She said that she loved me and she wanted me back. I suspected that she finally realized that she wasn’t going to get anything more out of me than the original prenup had designated.
Getting back with her was something my lawyers had pushed for because they were worried if she got the right judge, she might. I don’t love her anymore, but I did let her come back. If I analyze them now, I know it was for a few reasons.
The first one was that as a man who ran a multi-national company, I was forced to attend a lot of benefits and dinners and social gatherings. I’m ashamed to admit it, but since Cassie grew up in a similar world as I had she fit in at those things and she knew how she was expected to act. The other reason I took her back was my behavior.
When I was partying and sleeping with different women every night, I knew that it was detrimental to my well-being. But that had been an easy way for me to deal with being alone and the stress of the divorce. Taking Cassie back would solve both of those problems.
The third, and probably the most realistic reason that I allowed her to come back was that I wanted Victoria. I wanted her so badly that I’d lay awake at night thinking about her… I’d catch myself sitting in meetings thinking about her…
I’d look for her everywhere I went. I almost didn’t believe it was her today, I thought I’d seen her so many times before. I’d let my attorneys convince me that she was a gold-digger and I’d convinced myself that she was no good for me. Being with Cassie would be another deterrent to me to keep me from pursuing her.
Seeing her today brought all of those feelings rushing back. I didn’t just want to be a part of my child’s life… I wanted his mother. What I was supposed to do about that, I wasn’t sure.
VICTORIA’s POV
When I got home from the beach, Jason still wasn’t there. I cleaned up the apartment some as I let my talk with Alex run through my mind and then went online to do another job search.
I applied for a few positions in the city and even a few that were far out in the county. The trouble I was having was that before anyone was willing to let you into their multi-million dollar estate as a service person, they wanted to do an extensive background.
If that were done in my case, they would easily find out about Alex and the baby and the court battle. That would make anyone hesitant to let me into their home and their lives and I wouldn’t blame them. I applied anyways. I wasn’t qualified for anything else yet.
I’d taken the semester off of school to see what happened with the baby. It was likely that I wouldn’t be able to go back for more than one. The baby would need me and I would have to work. I clicked off the internet and sighed. I wasn’t quite sure how I got myself into these messes.NôvelDrama.Org owns this.
I made myself a cup of decaffeinated tea and took it out on the balcony of the apartment. I sat there trying to sort out my feelings for Alex. There was no denying that I did have feelings for him.
Someone from the outside looking in might be prone to tell me that I’m crazy… he never cared about me at all. He’s turning his back on both me and his child. But when I look into his eyes I see something real there. I see something that for whatever reason, he’s afraid to admit… he’s afraid to feel. But he was back with his wife, so what could ever come of it?
Nothing. I could accept that, I suppose, but I didn’t want all of this animosity between us nevertheless. I was already tired of fighting. It wasn’t my nature.
I felt a raindrop fall against my skin, and then another and another. I sat there, unmoving, not wanting to go back into the apartment and wait for Jason to decide to come home and admit that this is my life.
I finally moved my chair back so that the rain didn’t hit me directly and I sat there and watched it fall. The moon hung full in the hazy Los Angeles sky and underneath the cloud cover I could almost glimpse an eclipse of blazing stars trying to force their way out and be seen.
That’s what I felt like most of the time. I knew that I had it in me to shine. I knew that I had it in me to succeed. But somehow I kept allowing the clouds to get in the way. I needed to start making some changes in my life and when I heard Jason come in the front door I told myself that right now was as good of a time to start as any.