Savior

Chapter Eighteen

Sole

‘Luna!’ She knocked again. It was Gina, her voice was recognizable. Now was not a good time I wanted to yell but kept mum anyway. Luna broke free from my grasp and pushed me to go to the door. But I met her halfway and stopped her from behind, sliding my arm around her waist.

‘Don’t open the door. We need to talk.’ I whispered.

She tried to remove my hand but I didn’t let her. ‘Sole!’ She whispered loudly, just loud enough for me to hear. ‘She would get suspicious.’

‘If you open the door she definitely would.’

‘Luna, I know you’re not asleep.’ Gina called out but Luna still didn’t answer. ‘C’mon you were just outside my door. I know you’re wide awake.’ Luna looked at me and I slowly shook my head telling her not to reply to her cousin. ‘Being upset about the anklet is totally your right but please let me clarify I did not give it to you purposely. I didn’t even remember it was the one that Sole gave to you until you’d left for the wedding.’ I was still holding Luna hence I could feel she was uneasy with me standing there when Gina was talking about the anklet, her breathing was rapid.

‘Let me tell her to leave or she would keep talking by the door whole night.’ Luna said to me. I thought for a moment and then released her.

She didn’t move, instead replied to her cousin loudly, ‘Gina, let’s talk about this in the morning. I’m tired.’

‘I knew it. If you’re awake then let me inside, I want to see if you’re crying over the matter.’ Gina said.

‘Why would I cry Gina? Just go back to your room.’ Luna said throwing her head back in frustration.

‘Why wouldn’t you? I know because of that anklet you were reminded of old memories.’ Luna sighed but avoided looking at me,

while could look nowhere but her. Was she haunted by our memories just the way I was? Only if she’d not broken things between us, we wouldn’t have been like this now.

She went close to the door and I was ready to hide behind the curtains thinking her cousin might be inside the room any second but it didn’t happen. Luna just stood close by the door and requested Gina again, ‘Cousin, let’s talk tomorrow.’ It sounded more like a warning than a request though.

‘Fine. I’ll see you in the morning. I’m sorry once again. Things might not have worked out in the past but be assured I’m on your side, Luna. You won’t be losing anything this time because of that bastard.’ I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at her words. Why was I a bastard for everyone around here? Well she didn’t stop there and continued, ‘He might be back due to some hidden motive but don’t let that jerk bother you. It’s time for you to move on and what better person than Dave to take that next step with.’ This made me roll my eyes again; I wasn’t alone doing it though.

Luna who looked miffed at the mention of her fiancé, said, ‘Gina, I’m sleepy. Can we please praise Dave tomorrow?’ It made me chuckle and I earned a glare from her.

‘He might not be the best person but he’s not a rascal like Sole.’ That’s it! How can she talk like that about me?

‘Don’t!’ Luna warned and I stared at her. ‘Ignore her.’ I folded my arms in front frustrated from her cousin’s choice of words for me.

‘Gina, if you don’t leave the next second, I’ll be forced to call Aunt Maria and tell her you made me wear Sole’s gift.’ Luna blackmailed.  

Then came a hurried reply from Gina, ‘Sorry, I’m leaving. Don’t call mom, she’ll eat my head off about it. I’m going back to my room. Bye.’ When we heard footsteps both of us sighed but then she came back again, ‘Also, I apologize today itself for you might want to kill me in the morning.’

‘What did you do now?’ Luna asked.

‘I thought you should be done dealing with your pain alone now, so I asked Dave to accompany you tomorrow.’

Luna’s eyes widened in shock. ‘Gina! Who gave you the right?’ She looked angry. Where was she going tomorrow?

‘I knew you would be angry so I held it in but please try to understand I’m doing this to help you.’

‘Call him now and ask him not to come.’ Luna said.

‘It’s middle of the night. How can I call him now?’

‘I don’t care how but do it Gina. No one is allowed to be there with me, not even you. Then how could you think Dave was allowed?’

‘Luna, Dave’s going to be your husband. Shouldn’t he know about your child? He has the right to do so.’ As soon as I heard those words, it was as if life left by body. Paleness I could feel over me and even with the window closed I shivered. Did she say child?

From the corner of my eye I noticed Luna close her eyes. And then she said, ‘It’s my child. No one has the right to meet him except for me. Just call Dave in the morning and ask him not to come.’

I couldn’t understand rest of their conversation for my mind went blank but when Luna shook me holding by my shoulder, I was brought into my senses again.

‘She’d gone. You should do too. Whatever it is that you have to talk about let’s talk about it day after tomorrow.’

‘You have a child?’ Those words barely escaped my lips.

She looked at me in confusion and then scoffed. ‘Are you going to pretend you don’t know now?’ I looked up and saw her accusing eyes.

‘How would I know?’

‘Sole, I don’t know if you’re drunk, or is it memory loss or you’re acting. To be honest I don’t care. Please leave, it’s too late. No one can know you were here.’ She pushed me towards the window and opened it. ‘Go from here.’

‘When did you have a child?’ I asked still in shock.

She stared at me and then her face scrunched up. ‘Sole this is not funny. Stop pretending!’

‘But I’m not!’ I burst out.

‘Are you telling me this is the first time you’ve heard about my child?’ She asked.

‘Well no, but…..’ I wanted to say Ricci had mentioned her having a child which was why I was here but she didn’t let me complete.

‘See you did know about the child before. Then why the pretense Mr. Accardi?’

‘I….’

‘Let’s not waste each other’s time anymore. Leave now!’ Seeing her to have closed off her mind to me, I knew no conversation was going to happen anymore which is why I complied and went down the window. As I got down, I heard her close it loudly. She was angry but so was I. What was happening? Or what had happened that I didn’t know?

Going back to my car where Ricci was waiting for me inside I opened the door and sat asking him right away, ‘Find out everything about her child.’

‘She didn’t tell you?’ He asked and shook my head in denial.

‘Follow her tomorrow. She’s going to meet her child.’ I ordered.

‘Okay.’ He said and pressed the gas.

I couldn’t sleep the whole night thinking about the conversation between her and Gina. What was her cousin blaming me for? If it was something about the child then did she think I abandoned it? If yes then the child was….mine. This thought kept me awake, not just that it kept me feeling this strange feeling inside me that what tomorrow will reveal might not be digestible or worse maybe I would end up being hurt by Luna than ever before.

When I woke up next morning, it wasn’t morning; the day was already nearing to the evening. And that too would’ve passed had Ricci not called me several times.

‘Did the world end? Why did you call me….’ I checked the screen for the number of calls I’d received from him and continued, ‘thirty-six freaking times?’

‘Why didn’t you answer earlier? You didn’t go to office nor did you reply to your house staff. They’d been knocking on your door since morning. All of us thought you died or something.’ He replied.

‘If they thought I died then I better change my staff for none of them tried to break open the door to check what happened to me!’

‘Why are you getting angry on me? If Luna having a child makes you upset then what I found out today will make you livid, that it if you didn’t know already.’

‘What are you going on about?’ I asked sitting up on the bed.

‘Open the door first, information like this need to be revealed face to face.’ And just then I heard the doorbell ring. Staff must’ve let him in for when I got to the living room, Ricci was already making his way towards me. ‘Let’s talk in your study.’

I stared at him and he was staring at me. Something told me he was not happy. Only this guy had the guts to make his disappointment with his boss so obvious.

‘Till when are you planning to stare at me?’

‘Why didn’t you pick up my calls? Are you afraid to face me?’

I blinked trying to understand his stature today. ‘I overslept. Lots of things have been going on in my mind lately. But what’s that got to do with you? And why would I be afraid to face you?’

‘Did you really didn’t know about Miss Agosti’s child?’ He asked.

Nothing was more irritating than this question these days. ‘No. Why do people keep asking me that?’

‘Because Miss Agosti definitely told you about it.’

‘Why would she tell me about it? It’s not like it’s mine….’ When Ricci kept staring at me, I asked, ‘Is it?’

‘It’s yours. According to her it is.’

‘Did she tell this to you herself?’

‘No. I overheard her.’ When I looked confused he explained. ‘I followed her today, as you had asked. She…..she went somewhere and there she was talking to her child and crying and….saying that you abandoned her while she was expecting and now were pretending to not know about his existence.’

‘Where is the child? Where did she go? Let’s get a DNA test done. I want to if I really have a…child.’ The word ‘child’ seemed hard to come out of my mouth. I had a child and didn’t know about it up until now? How could Luna hide this from me? More importantly why did she hide it from me?

‘I’m afraid you might need her permission for that and….’

‘It’s my child too, I don’t need any permission.’

‘The test won’t be easy Sir. You won’t be able to bear it.’

‘Why? It’s not like I’ve to climb a mountain or something.’

‘Digging up your own child’s grave will be much harder than climbing a mountain.’ When he said that with sympathy in his eyes my heart sank to a level where I don’t think I myself could pick it up.

My barely moving lips asked, ‘Grave?’

‘The child died ten days after its birth.’ I didn’t realize when my legs moving back until I hit the desk in my study and some of the books on it feel to the floor. ‘She was visiting her son’s grave since it’s his birth anniversary today.’ Mind wanted to go blank right now but to be honest it was trying to find the right emotion I should feel at the moment. Should I be angry or sad or feel pathetic that not only did I had a child and didn’t know about it but also that he left the world without me having a chance to get a single glimpse of his. ‘I might be over-stepping here but I have to say this. I have absolutely no clue what went wrong between the two of you but Luna never stopped loving you or she wouldn’t have kept your child or given birth to him nor would she have named him after you.’

When I lifted my head he held my gaze and said, ‘His name was Solare.’ I closed my eyes and a single tear rolled down my cheek hearing the name.