CAHPTER 3: THE RETURN.
1185 Words
TESSA.
“Stop shoving your brother Lisa!” I scold my daughter while flipping a page of the documents I am reading.
“Sorry Mommy.”
“That is fine, * I say as I look over at her. “Why don't you go join your sister in the room.?”
“No. I am not sleepy. Lucas is though,” she says in her high-pitched baby voice.
I glance at Lucas and see that he is indeed feeling sleepy, with his eyes drooping with each passing second.
“No, I am not!” he retired with all the indignation he could muster in his five-year-old body. “I am staying with mommy.”
“Yeah, you are.”
“No, I am not.”
“You are.”
“Not.”
“Are too.”
“Not!”
“Enough, you two,” I say with a sigh.
You would think after five years of dealing with my triplets, I would be used to the noise by now.
I am not.
“If you two don't behave yourself I will send you to bed.”
“Sorry, mommy.”
“Sorey.”
After that, they both mellow down and I'm able to focus on the files in my hand that is until a familiar voice breaks through my concentration.
“You have gone through those files over a hundred times. I made sure everything is up to par.” George, my friend and business partner says as he takes a seat opposite me and hands me a glass.
“Still can't hurt to be sure. We wouldn't want a repeat of what happened with the Devlam merger, would we?”
He winces at my statement while giving me a nod.
“No, we wouldn't. Carry on,” he says before looking out the window of the private jet.
It has been five years.
Five years since I was discarded like trash and left to pick up the broken pieces.
But thanks to Anna, and her invaluable support, I managed to survive.
She had helped me with booking a private and fast way of leaving the country, making sure no inkling of what happened got around.
France.
That was where I vanished.
One might wonder why I would go to a country known for its romance, but it was the only place where I was sure Aaron would have no reach, no influence, and no mention.
I needed a fresh start and what place than where he is unknown would work the best?
He already had business and connections with most of the companies in the US, and most of the European countries, except for France.
When I asked him why, he never sought to break into their market, he said it was because they were so relaxed and romanticized everything.
I still don't know why he said that, they seemed normal to me.
George is the first friend I made there.
He had noticed me when I was going for my prenatal checkups alone and had struck up a conversation with me.
Later, when I asked him why he came up to me that day, he revealed that his mother was also single and she had taken everything on her shoulders.
He told me of his regret that she was not able to enjoy the fruits of her labor before passing away from a stroke.
Seeing me had reminded him of her struggle and he just couldn't turn away.
Ever since then, we have been friends and he has been the father figure in my children's life.
I could not have been more grateful to him.
He is also the number one investor in my company.
Thanks to my skills and knowledge of the business world as well as his money and technical know-how, we have managed to start up a consulting company, that boasts of reaches in different sectors.
Instead of a company going through a series of interviews research, and background checks to pick a suitable consultant, all they had to do was submit a file detailing their needs and how much they were willing to pay.
Business boomed and now… now we are heading back to New York, where a client wants to meet.
Honestly, I never thought I would come back here. The urge to refuse the client was strong but George had talked me out of it.
Aaron has not been part of my life for years and u have made sure to block all news about him from reaching me.
Besides, what are the chances we would even meet?
“You know u have got your back right√?” George asks and I look up to see him watching me, his green eyes calm and searching.
He is a handsome man, with beautiful eyes, a well-chiseled face, wavy blonde hair, and a beautiful soul, and for the umpteenth time, I wonder why I don't see him like that.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Don't do that. I know you. And I know you are worried about Aaron.”
“I am not. I just… would prefer if I don't see him for the whole of this trip.”
“You already talked to Anna, and she had assured you, there was no chance of that happening.”
“Yeah, but she didn't tell us why.”
“You are the one who said you wanted no information on his movements or life.”
“Yeah, you are right. Inam sorry, I don't know why I am so stressed.”
“It's normal. You dated him for years and he is the father of your children. Yes, yes,” he calms me as I open my mouth. “I know, he is not the one who raised them but that doesn't change the fact that it is his blood that runs through their veins.
Whether you like it or not, it is the truth.”
“Pfft. Fine. When are we landing?” I ask changing the subject.
“Anytime soon, actually,” he says as he gets up to check with the pilot.
A few minutes later, we are all lighting from the plane, Lisa and Logan each holding one of my hands and George carrying Lyra.
“Hi!” we hear as we alight and see Anna waving at us like a dragged monkey. “Are these my godchildren?* she asks as she gets down to pinch their cheeks.
“Hi, Aunty Anna,” they greet with a full smile and she coos at them for a while before straightening up to look at us.
“Hi, George.”
“How you doing?” he asks with a smile as they exchange hugs.
“Great. Okay, so I have leased a private villa for your stay here and the meeting is set for tomorrow, by three. We just have one slight hiccup.”
“Which is?”
“I just got a call from Aaron.,” she says with a wince. “He is going to be at the meeting.”
“WHAT?”
- Writer
