His Baby, Her Life

Chapter 4

Natalia stared at the ceiling as she laid on her bed that night. For some reason sleep had decided to escape her, no matter the number of times she closed her eyes. Her thoughts kept going back to a few hours earlier, back in the office and the sight of Cassandra and Christian. 

She did not want to believe what her heart knew. It had taken her three years to get over him, three years of building a wall around her heart and now after all that time, a simple kiss from another woman threatened to crumble those walls. 

She sighed and turned to her side, glancing at her bedside clock. The red display flicked at 2am. Groaning she closed her eyes, willing for sleep to take her. She had known that he had been with over four women over the course of the years, she read about it in the tabloids like everyone else. So, what was the difference now? 

You saw them, her mind replied. You were in denial all these years but now you saw him with another woman right in front of you it is sinking in! She sat up and pushed her hair back. This was not supposed to happen! She was supposed to be immune to Christian, especially after how he broke up with her. She flopped back on the pillow and groaned out loud. 'Why are you complicating my life? What am I going to do?' she looked up as though waiting for an answer, knowing that it was not going to come. 

Getting she walked to the adjoined bathroom for a glass of water. After downing it, she simply stared at the girl on the other side. 'Do not let him hurt you again, Nat,' she mumbled to herself. Taking a deep breath, she walked back to her bed and closed her eyes, sleep finally taking her over.

The next morning, true to his word his driver was waiting for her at exactly six-thirty, with Christian in the car. Seeing him in the morning after the rough night she had gritted on her nerves but she was thankful he was not in a talkative mood either.  After the drive to the airport and check-in, they were off.

 Christian looked over to where Natalia was sitting in the plane. She had chosen to sit on the far side of the plane, her laptop opened on her laps. She had a concentrated look on her face, probably going through figures and facts from the office. She had been quiet when she got into the car, that morning. 

She is always quiet, he reminded himself. But there was something else today. It seemed as though she was trying to put more distance between them. He looked down at the file that had been lying open on his lap for the past thirty minutes and frowned. Did he want more distance between them? 

His eyes strayed back to the woman in front of him. She has changed from the girl he knew a while back. She seemed more mature now, more mature than her years actually. And her carefree manner, what had attracted him that first time they met seemed to have been replaced with reservation. Her eyes dim, the light and laughter that he once knew seemed to have disappeared. Could it have been that the relationships that she had after him were to blame? 

Christian had tried to track her down after that night he broke up with her, but she was an elusive one. He had lost her when she got to the airport. Instead of getting the ticket that he had already purchased for her, she had bought a different one, heading to a totally different country. He did, however, make sure that she boarded the plane and left the city, even it was from afar. From there, she had disappeared out of the face of the earth. He could not track her anywhere. 

You did not want to, his subconscious reminded him. And that was the truth. With all the money he had, he could find anyone, anywhere. With Natalia he had just wanted to forget her. Something he found hard to do, because it was him and not her who did the wrong. 

Deep in thought, he did not notice when his flight attendant brought a phone to him. 

'Sir?' the soft-spoken lady with warm brown eyes called. 'Your mother really wants to talk to you.' 

Christian looked up and took the phone, 'Thank you, Sam' 

With a nod, Samantha looked at Natalia, 'anything I can get for you, Miss Natalia?' 

'Just water will be fine, thanks,' Natalia smiled. Samantha was back within minutes with the water.  

Samantha smiled, her teeth white on her caramel face, 'if you need anything else let me know.' 

Christian watched the exchange between his private assistant and his flight attendant. For the first time since coming back into her life, he saw the smile that used to be a constant on Natalia's face. Frowning he tried  listening to what his mother was saying. 

'Slow down, mother,' he breathed. 'So, what is going on?' 

'You know that I am part Greek, darling. Well, you have reached and passed, according to your uncles, the age when you were supposed to be married. That said, they are giving you a month to find a woman and marry, or else you lose your inheritance.' 

Christian closed his eyes and leaned back, 'what inheritance, mother? Not saying that I need it and that I am going to do what my uncles want from me. I have already taken over my father's companies, I don't need anything else.' 

His mother spoke in rapid Greek, something that she did when she was upset. 

'Calm down, mother,' he sat forward and placed the file down. 'What would you like me to do about this situation?' 

'Get married, Christiano! Take one of those women you always go around with but never bring home. This is from your grandfather, my cultural inheritance to you. It is not a business or company or whatever. Besides, I am not getting any younger and I want grandchildren!' 

There it was his mother's ace card. Being the oldest child of three had its piques and low points. This was one of them. His mother wanted grandchildren, his children to be exact. She did not care that his sister was married or that he was far too busy to start a family at the moment. 'Ariadne is ready to provide you with grandkids, mother. She already gave you one.' 

'I want yours, and don't argue with me!' his mother retaliated. 'Now, you have a month to do so or I will look for one for you. How about that blonde one that was recently in the newspapers with you? She might do!' 

Cassandra, he thought. 'No, mother. We will talk about this when I come and visit you next week. I have to go now,' he hung up before she could say anything more. Throwing the phone on the empty seat opposite him he leaned back and ran his fingers through his thick hair. Taking a deep breath he reached for the file and flipped it open. 

Natalia prided herself for her concentration. Well, until Samantha walked in and disturbed her vibes. She was busy on her laptop, finishing work that was due next morning, anything to keep herself occupied and away from Christian. When Samantha walked in she had made a mistake of looking at Christian. Finding his eyes on her, she had quickly returned her attention to the screen though her mind was no longer concentrated there. Even though his voice was low, she could sense that the conversation with his mother was annoying him.  

Natalia stole a look at Christian as he hung up and threw the phone down. She remembered Christian's mother, Chara, from the first time she met him. It was a chance meeting. They were both on holiday, Natalia with a group of friends while Christian with his mother and sister. She had not known who he was then, only finding out who he was after he broke up with her. Chara had settled down under an umbrella when a young boy had thrown his ball her way, hitting on the umbrella. It was Natalia who had replaced it for her and got talking to her before even talking to Christian. She could still remember the soft grey eyes and long raven hair on the woman. She smiled at the memory.

'That smile,' Christian drawled. Natalia looked up and gasped. She was deep in thought that she did not notice that Christian was standing right in front of her. 'Are you thinking about your man?' Before she could reply, Christian leaned forward. Natalia felt frozen. His face was so close to her that she could see the black specks in his eyes, so close that she only needed to move an inch for their lips to touch. Holding her breath, she watched as he reached out and fastened her belt. 'We are about to land.' 

With that, he straightened back up and walked back to his own seat, leaving Natalia feeling flustered.