CHAPTER 4: FIRST TIME MEET AGAIN
1256 Words
AARON.
“They had arrived this morning and lodged into the Swan Villa,” Toby, the private investigator I had hired, says as I flip through the pictures he had given me.
“And Anna, my assistant was with them?”
“Yes. And from the way they acted with each other, they are very comfortable. Good friends if I dare make an inference.”
“Interesting.”
Anna was aware I had been searching for Tessa all these years and she said nothing. She saw the amount of money I had wanted chasing down leads only to get disappointed, again and again.
When did she turncoat?
And why are they so familiar with each other? I wonder as I stare at a picture where they are both hugging while a man smiles at them.
A man carrying a child, while two others play around them.
“Who is he?” I ask, gesturing at the man.
“George Leon. Business partner with Tessa. But from the records I managed to get, they have known each other for longer,” he answers
“How long?”
“Well, the company started three years ago, but his social media status shows that he has been in her life for a while.”
“Is he the father? Of the children? Are they even hers?”
“That, I can't say. There are no records or pictures about the children.”
“So, it is possible they have a quiet marriage.”
“Yes.”
“I see. Thank you for this. Keep watching them.”
“Of course,” he says before walking out.
“Tessa,” I murmur as I stroke her face on the picture.
She has gotten even more beautiful than I remember.
What a stupid mistake I had made with her.
What was I thinking?
I was so sure that I had made the right choice with Camuke when I sent her away, but that relationship quickly soured.
We weren't the same people we were in college. We were both business-oriented people. Wolves. Who had only one goal, to be the Alpha.
It was the jealousy that set in first, then the distrust. We were careful of what we discussed with each other for fear that the other would use it for an advantage.
Things deteriorated quite fast and we thought it best to separate within a year of getting back together.
I was still shocked by the outcome, still raw at the fact that I had made a bad choice, who was known as a savant of the business world when a few months later, I received an alert of three hundred million dollars -the same amount I had given Tessa- from a swiz bank with a note that said f**k you.
That was when the search began.
I acknowledged that I had made a mistake and was determined to correct it, but she was hard to find.
I knew she was tenacious when she made up her mind -it was one of the things that endeared me to her,- not the confused lady like most women, she was sure and dedicated when she knew what she wanted.
And I spat on that.
Spat on her and treated her like a fling.
I admit it, I was wrong.
But I was ready to make it up to her-still am too.
She was hard to find.
It was like she had dropped off the planet.
So, imagine my surprise, when in the middle of a meeting in Peru, I got an email, with pictures of a manifest with her name in it. And now, pictures of her landing in New York with a man and three kids.
Arriving from France.
France of all places.
She knew I didn't like that country, which is probably why she picked it.
She was always so smart about people
And I let her go.
What an i***t.
How fast did she move on from me?
Who the hell is the man?
And how old are those children?
But it doesn't matter now.
I will have all my answers tomorrow.
It is about time we meet again.
†
My eyes catch the moment she steps into the lobby.
She is even more stunning in person, with her head thrown back in laughter and her face lit up with mirth.
She was dressed in a burgundy pants suit, with a cream camisole peeping through it, on her feet are what I call, hooker heels and her hair is wavier now.
Longer too.
I watch as she leans over to hit the same man from yesterday.
George.
And whisper something at him.
He replies and I watch her nod as he walks away with whom I suppose is the kids' nanny.
I make sure that they are both engrossed with the receptionist before making my way to her.
“Tesa,” I call, my voice low and quiet, something that should have been difficult to hear in the din of this crowd but she does.
She picks it out like she was meant to
She freezes for a few seconds before she turns to look at me, her eyes blank and devoid of emotion.
I am surprised about how it hurts.
“Mr. Wentworth. What a surprise to see you here,” she intones, her voice clear and indifferent.
Like she is talking to a stranger.
“Hmm. You look good. Different,” I tell her.
“I am sure I do. But I didn't do it for you.”
Okay.
I deserve that.
There is no point in feeling bad or angry about it.
I treated her like trash, so it is only normal that she is not thrilled to see me.
“Are these your kids?” I ask as I get to my knees to look at them.
“Dont-”
“Hi lovelies, where is your daddy?” I ask, cutting her off.
“We don't have a daddy, Mr. Handsome,” one of the girls says and I nearly stagger from the relief that fluids through me.
She is not married.
Thank goodness.
“Don't talk to my kids!” she snarls as she pulls them behind her.
“Tessa-”
“Don't talk to me either. Don't come near us. I mean it. I will kill you if you do.”
I am started by the viciousness in her tone as well as the murderous gaze in her eyes.
Did she always have this fire or was this a new thing?
“Tess?” a voice calls just as George appears by her side. “Is there a problem?”
“No, there isn't. We were just leaving,” she says as her eyes still stare murder into mine.
I don't say anything as they leave, not completely sure age wouldn't carry out her threat.
“Stunning woman, isn't she?” a voice calls from beside me and I turn to see Malcolm, one of my business associates watching me.
“Hmm.”
“Even more amazing is the fact that she is handling three kids on her own. I remember how my kids were at that age. Five years old is just the beginning of another war.”
“Right,” I say absentmindedly as I watch them disappear before my brain catches up to what he has said. “Did you just say five years old?!”
“Yeah. The kids are five years old.”
Five years.
Are those my kids?!
- Writer
