The Billionaire's Unknown Offspring

Chapter No.20

I was flooded with emotions as I saw Olivia and the child playing together in the park. Guilt, regret and longing intermingled with the joy of seeing a bond I was missing out on well far too long.

It was a huge shock for me to know Olivia had hidden our child from me all these years. The news had just hit me like a ton of bricks, breaking the fantasy I was living since we broke up. What have I done that I was so blind, deaf to the treasured gift denied me?

Now, seeing Olivia interact with our child—a child I have just found out that I have—I couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret for all the missed moments and the milestones I have failed to witness. I wanted to reach out, to embrace them both and keep them forever, but I understood that I would have to go a lot further to make Olivia forgive me.

I had wounded her critically, broken her faith in such irreparable ways. To think about asking for a second chance was senseless, even futile. How was I to expect her to forgive me after all which I had made her to go through?

And although, I saw Olivia’s smile brighten up the park, a glimmer of hope started up in me. May be there was a possibility to atone, to heal the injuries of the past and start a new journey together.

Before that I must win Olivia trust and attain enough credibility to get one more attempt. I had to prove to her that I had changed. I was dedicated to be the father our child deserved and the partner she always dreamed of.

Just as the sun was setting, airing the park out in a warm yellow light, I was coming towards Olivia, my heart beating in my chest. I lifted my eyes and met them appraisingly, her eyes were full of astonishment and fear, and I knew that this was now my time— the time to lift my mask off and ask the impossible.

"Olivia," I started but my voice betrayed me. " I am aware that I've caused you in a way that can't really be undone. I'm aware that your request for a second chance is an unreachable one. But I want you to know that I'm willing to do anything to get your forgiveness, to make things right."

Olivia’s facial features turned softer and for a while I dared to hope that all this talk about her cheating on me was just a spontaneous behavior. But then she talked and she did so in a quiet voice, but filled with all the determination of a person who has decided that two plus two is four.

"Joel," she said softly, " I appreciate your openness and I see that you really want to make up." And forgiveness ought not to be dispensed easily. It demands time, and it demands effort. However in such cases there is no guarantee.

I nodded my head, burdened with her words. I understood that getting back Olivia’s confidence wouldn’t be a piece of cake, still, I was ready to do what it takes. For her, for our son, and to put right.

Sunset was our companion; my determination grew. I may not have all the answers and I may not know what the future holds, but one thing was definite—I wasn’t going to give up on Olivia or our family without a fight.