Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 71165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71165 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
“Jessica.” I nodded.
We sat down.
She smiled nervously and played with her fingers.
“Why did you wait all this time to tell me?” I asked. “And why are you telling me now?”
Before she could answer, the waiter came to take our orders.
“Nothing for me,” I said.
“A glass of chardonnay, please,” she said.
She hadn’t been much of a drinker, which meant that the conversation we were about to have was making her very nervous. As it should. You didn’t keep a man’s child a secret from him. The waiter withdrew.
Jessica tried to smile and failed.
“In the beginning I didn’t tell you because I thought you might either try to make me have an abortion or think that I wanted to use the baby to cling to you. I wanted the baby because I fell in love with you and wanted to keep something from you. And believe me when I tell you I would never have told you. We were happy together, Kayden and I. We didn’t have much money, but we were happy.” Her voice broke and she looked down at her tightly clasped hands.
The waiter brought her drink and set it on the table.
“So, what happened?” I probed.
Jessica looked visibly uncomfortable. “I met a man. He’s different from you. He’s not generous and… he… he is not kind to Kayden. He doesn’t want Kayden. Michael wants us to have a clean slate to start from.”
I was stunned. “What kind of sick people are you? What’s wrong with you, Jessica? You’d give up your child to please a man?” I clicked my mouth in disgust.
“You don’t understand. I love him.” She grabbed her wine and drank it all in one long swallow.
I didn’t hide my feelings. A woman choosing a man over a helpless child? Protective feelings rose inside me. I wanted that child away from her new man. A man like that was dangerous. He would make my son’s life difficult. I wanted to take care of my own son.
“I want you to take him,” Jessica continued, speaking in a rush. “I’ve raised him for three years. Now, it’s your turn. Besides, you’re rich. You can give him the life I never could.”
My body felt cold and my voice was chilly. “Are you willing to sign away your rights to Kayden?” Saying his name gave me the oddest sensation. Suddenly I couldn’t wait to see him. Put my arms around his small body.
“Yes,” Jessica whispered.
“Good.” I called for the bill. “Where is Kayden now?”
“He’s upstairs with my friend, Stacie.”
“Does he know about me?”
“Yes, he knows you’re his dad and I’ve shown him photos. He’s excited. You can meet him now, and let me know when you want to take him home.”
It felt almost overwhelming. He was only three years old. I knew nothing about three-year-olds. I didn’t have tiny furniture for him.
She bit her lower lip nervously. “I understand it’s an adjustment, but you’ll manage. If you want, I’ll help you hire a nanny and whatever else you need.”
“Let’s go,” I said.
I followed her out of the bar into the hotel lobby. We didn’t talk again even though we were alone in the elevator. My muscles were tight with tension when Jessica and I stepped out of the elevator.
Jessica stopped in front of a door and shot me a broken smile.
I didn’t bother pretending to smile back. First, she had kept my son from me while it suited her, but now that she had a new man, her own child had become a burden to her and she wanted to foist the responsibility onto me.
She pushed the door open and stepped in. I saw Kayden as soon as I entered the room. He was on the floor playing with a set of trains and making vehicle noises. He looked up and when he saw his mother, a smile lit up his ridiculously cute face. The resemblance was unmistakable.
He looked like a mini me.
He stood up and ran to his mother, and with all the force of an NFL linebacker, wrapped his small legs around hers. A warm feeling spread across my chest and all of my body. I was only able to recognize it after a few seconds. It was love. I already loved the little guy. The love was fierce and protective. God help anyone who tried to hurt him.
“Hey, buddy,” Jessica said in a soft tone that was so full of love it threw me.
I didn’t get it. If she loved him so much, why did she want to give him away? I already knew that I was never going to give him up from that moment onwards. Not for anything or anybody. So, how could she do it?
Jessica unwound his limbs and he looked up at me, his eyes were my eyes. The same color, the same dark eyelashes. Jessica sank down until she was eye level with him. “Do you remember that I said we were going to see your daddy today?”