Swipe Of Love

6

♕ A N T O N I A P O V ♕

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for participating and coming to this meeting. You may leave now," I smiled at my staff.

I watched as my employees got up and leave. I gathered my files and shut down the laptop. I stepped out of the room but not before closing the door. I entered my office and walked up to my desk. Sitting in the chair, I grabbed the office telephone to dial Emily's phone.

'Hello?' she answered.

'Hey, I need you in my office right now,' I ordered.

'On my way,' she replied.

As I waited for her, I grabbed my files and started to read them. Soon, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," I looked up at her from my files, "Have a seat."

"Thank you."

"Is your husband free this evening?" I asked.

"Yes. May I ask why?" She knotted her eyebrows.

"The Sing Industry has invited me to their party. I need someone to look over Omar. Even though he is old enough to take care of himself, I am still worried about him as a mother. I thought if Jacob could look after him while I'm out?" I explained.

"Do you want me to come with you?" She questioned.

"Nah., Emily, there is one thing that you need to know. He is coming back," I announced, rubbing my face in exhaustion. Honestly, what does this man want?

"Yeah, I know that already," Emily rubbed her belly.

"He isn't coming for business purpose only; he is coming for another reason too," I rubbed my forehead.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Are those today's newspaper?" I questioned.

"Yes. I put the newspapers on the table this morning," Emily spoke.

I went to the small round table. I bent down and picked up the newspaper. I handed it to Emily and asked her, "Did you read the first page?"

"No, I only read the sports section," she informed.

"Of course you would," I muttered.

I walked up to her and handed the newspaper to her. She grabbed it and looked at me.

"Read the headline; you will understand everything," I said, taking a seat on the chair.

She started to read it, and her eyes went widened, "he is coming back to get you. He planned this all along. He made an excuse so he can come and meet you! Now, this all makes sense. Now, I understand why he wanted to come to Paris to have 'business' with you when his business is as big as yours."

"Yes! He is trying to be smart with us. We have to do something," I said, clenching my fist in anger. I cannot believe that he is doing something like this. What, did he not have enough destroying my life already?

Emily looked at her phone and said, "Sorry. I cannot do anything. I just got a notice that he has landed."

"Well, we have to think of something. I am not going to let Walid come back in my life anymore," I shook my head.

"Girl, you are strong. You can fight him off. However, remember one thing. Just follow what your heart says," she smiled.

"Thanks. Let my bodyguards know to keep a close eye on Omar. And tell them to let me know as soon as possible if Walid is near my son." I ordered.

"Got that! Anything else?" She asked.

"Yeah, one more thing. Tell Jacob to pick you up," I methodical.

"Yeah, ok- Wait for what!?" She jumped up.

"You heard me," I said.

"But-"

"No buts. Go home and rest. That's an order," I commanded.

"Fine. Drive safely," Emily hugged me.

"Thank you! I will," I smiled.

I watched her leave and returned to my paperwork. As they said, time passes by quickly, and when I looked at my watch, it had already read 5 p.m. Thank the Lord that I finished my work before the party, or else I would have had to do it after the party. I went home, took a quick shower, and got ready for the party.

♕ C R U Z P O V ♕

I stared at the back of Antonia's back as she headed out of the office. I tried my best. I turned to Chris and walked up to him.

"I hate doing this to her," I hugged him.

"I know, baby. I know," He kissed my head.

"I hate that we have to act like we hate each other. I feel the hatred that I have to lie to my best friend. Why can't we tell her everything?" I asked him.

"You know we can't do that. We have to act this way according to the plan. We promised that we would bring those two together. And find out who this 'Osman' guy is," He rubbed my back.

"I can't believe all this happened to her. I mean, she never did anything to hurt anyone. She would always think of others before herself," I muttered into Chir's chest.

"I know, baby. Let's hope that this plan works," he sighed.

♕ A N T O N I A P O V ♕

"Why can't I come with you, Mom?" Omar whined like a baby. This boy has been whining for the past 30 minutes in front of me, begging me to take him. It's annoying me! He is a grown man, for Lord's sake! But I won't do that. There is a 50% chance Walid might be there. I am not taking any risks. The further away he is from my son, the better.

"Are you sure you want to stay there in between the old people, who will talk about business? I know, I sure wouldn't," I raised my eyebrow.

"Never mind then. If I am not going with you, then that means that I get to stay home all by myself. Yes!" He fist-pumped the air.

"No. That does not mean that you get to stay home alone. It means that you will have a responsible adult to look after you," I said, fixing my hijab.

"But Mom. Fine! But please tell me you are not leaving me with a grandma 'babysitter' again," he quoted. I raised one of my eyebrows at him. He stared at me with his cute eyes, hoping to hear me say no.

"Mom! Are you?" he asked when I didn't answer him. My poor baby!

"No! This time Jacob is coming in," I replied.

"Really?" He asked, "That means that I get to go to the gym with him."

"I don't know about that, honey." I looked at him.

"Oh, come on, Mom! Please! Please, Mom," he begged.

"Okay fine." I spoke, putting a pin on the hijab, "your aunt Emily is coming with him too. So if your aunt comes, Jacob has to look after her since she is pregnant."

"Oh, lord. Why does this woman ruin everything," he groaned.

"Now, now, don't say that about your aunt. She is pregnant. And we cannot take any risks," I smiled.

"It's okay then. Mom-you haven't answered my question," Omar looked at me.

"What question?"

"The one where I asked you about Dad," he muttered, looking away from me. Well, I thought that he would have forgotten about the question, but not. It is now or never. It seems like there is no way out of this question.

"Honey..." I placed my hand on his face, turning him to face me, "he is your father. He has every right to come and see you. If he wants to, then he can."

"But Mom. I do not want him to come and see me. He hurt you a lot, Mom. I don't want him to be my father," He spat the word father.

"Omar Kateb, don't you ever say anything like that ever again. If your father wants to see you, then he will. I took you away from him. He was not in your life. I see you look at other kids with their father, and seeing you like this, hurts me. It would be best if you didn't feel alone anymore," I put my hand on his cheek.

"That not the problem, Mom. I do not feel alone because you are here; I do not need him. I have all the love here. I love you, Mom," He hugged me.

"I know, beta, I love you too," I hugged him; I know you don't want to see your father right now, Omar. However, someday you will have to, no matter what. I know you get hurt when you see other kids with their father. I see you trying to hide the pain away. I promise you; I will make you love your father again. I may not be able to be with your father anymore, but you will get the love of a father. And that's a promise from your mother.

The doorbell interrupted our conversation, "that must be them."

I walked up to the door and opened it. Emily quickly came in and hugged me tightly. I looked at her to see Jacob with a big bag on his shoulder. What in the world? She is coming here for a couple of hours, not forever. They packed up like they were going to stay here for the rest of their lives.

I mouthed 'what' to Jacob, and he looked at me with a face saying 'HELP ME, PLEASE!' I let them walk into the house.

"What's up with all the bags?" I asked.

"To be honest, I don't know. But I do know that Emily is making me carry all these bags for no reason, and my shoulder and arms are hurting!" he groaned.

"Oh, shut up! You are just acting like a big baby. A woman needs her stuff," she pointed out.

The next thing you know is that Emily is crying for no reason at all. Omar looked at me with a shocked face. He cautiously took a couple of steps back, between Jacob and me. He watched Emily. I wanted to laugh so badly, but I held it in.

"I want ice cream, Jacob," She cried.

"What the actual heck?!? She was happy a couple of seconds ago, and now she is crying? What is wrong with her?" Omar whispered.

"It's called a mood swing, Son. Women have that when they are pregnant," I explained.

"And, Dude, one thing you should always remember is that you don't want to mess with them either," Jacob warned.

"Jacob, you dumbass! I want my ice cream now!" Emily screamed at the top of her lungs.

"I am going, baby, I'm going. Please tell me you have some ice cream," Jacob begged.

"Yeah, it's in the fridge," I pointed in the direction of the kitchen.

"Thank you so much," he said.

"Why do you have to bring her with you?" Omar complained.

"I heard that you, dumbass," Emily yelled.

"Shut up, man! What are you trying to do; kill us?" Jacob whispered, pulling Omar with him.

I watch them disappear into the kitchen. I turned around and looked at Emily. As she sobbed, she whipped her eyes. I let out a deep breath and grabbed some tissues. I handed it to her, and she took it from me.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"You're welcome. Try to go easy on them, will you?" I smiled.

"I'll try," she looked at me innocently.

"Alright, then. Take care," I laughed.