41

Lauren Hart
It had been three days since that drama at Sean’s parent’s house. I had been staying with Sean since Ryan didn’t want to detach himself from me. Sean, though he was enjoying spending time with Ryan and was looking forward to the day when the court officially announces him Ryan’s father, he was worried.
Official notice from the court was already sent to Samantha, thankfully she didn’t get to come near Ryan or she would have harmed him. But she did blow Sean’s ears over phonecall. Since then I had been watching Sean losing himself in thoughts, even while having meals.
And when I confronted him about what had been bothering him, I was taken aback. Because I honestly could have never guessed that he wanted his parents to show their support by coming to the court. He wanted his parents to take part in one of the most important decisions he had ever made. I did not blame him; though his parents had always ignored him, he still needed them.
Now, one day was left for the trial, and I was about to do something stupidest I had ever done. The results may not be in my favor, but I had to do it. Sean could not voice it put to his parents, but I could do it; for him.
With sweaty palms, racing heart, and trembling legs, I stood at the entrance of Sean’s parent’s house. The most surprising thing about this was that Sean had no idea that I was here.
I lied to him by involving Christy; I told him I was going to spend the day with her as she needed some help. And only I knew how hard it was to convince him not to send bodyguards with me, but I succeeded.
I had involved grandma in my plan, basically to know the whereabouts of Sean’s parents, Levi, and Samantha.
Exhaling a few times to muster up the courage, I went inside and was welcomed by grandma’s motherly hug.
“I hope you know what you are doing, Lauren.” Her voice was full of concern. “I don’t want them to think wrong of you.”
“I won’t say much grandma. Just what’s needed.” I assured her with a forceful yet cheering smile.
“Well, then, I wish you succeed in doing what no one has ever able to do.” She smiled and led me to a waiting room which was specially designed for Mr. Peterson’s guests. Grandma accompanied me till Mr. And Mrs. Peterson arrived and when they did, she left the room.
The aura of the room changed from warm and gentle to formal when the well-dressed couple stood before me in a stiff posture. I gulped when they made their way towards the sofa I had been sitting with grandma before they arrived. Their pointed eyes scanned my slightly trembling body. I was on the verge of dying. Well, I would be if the meeting failed.
Mr. Peterson’s formal aura suited him. A to be Senator has to wear the rigidness, but he could show some warmness to comfort someone who almost lost her soul just by his look, right?
Mrs. Peterson, a gorgeous lady wore a gentle smile but I could not fathom whether the smile was genuine or was a reminder of soon to be failing meeting.
“I hope whatever you have to say is worth the time we spared to talk to you from our packed schedule.”
I visibly flinched at Mr. Peterson’s rigid voice. I cleared my throat and mentally reminded myself that I had nothing to be scared of. I had been in the worst situations before.
Giving up my nervousness, I held my chin high and gave a polite smile. “Yes, sir, it’s important.”
“Well then, have a seat.” He gestured me to sit but I waited for them to sit first, then only I sat on the single-seat sofa.
It was getting awkward. I decided to introduce myself first. “Uh, I am-” But I was cut off by Mrs. Peterson.
“We know who you are, Miss Hart.” Unlike Mr. Peterson, her voice had a tone of gentleness. “Mother has already enlightened us about you and Sean and I do remember seeing you at the party.”
I mentally thanked grandma for saving me from an awkward introduction.
“Oh, okay. Well then please call me Lauren and I…I’ll come to the point.” I mumbled.
“That’s what we want to hear.” Mr. Peterson commented, I heard a slight disinterest in his voice.
“I…um…” I pushed my hair at the back of my ear and shifted in my position. “It’s about the trial tomorrow.”
As soon as I said that, they both went stiffer than usual. “What about it?” Mr. Peterson asked gruffly.
I sighed. I would be doing a favor to myself if I say everything directly.
“Mr. And Mrs. Peterson, I am here to request you to come for the trial tomorrow,” I said. They both raised their eyebrows at me.
Before they could take it wrong, I quickly elaborated. “Sean wishes to see you there, at the court. I mean, it’s a huge day for both Sean and Ryan and it’d be a moment to cherish for Sean if you showed up at the court. Your support is highly required.”
I quietly observed both of them. Mrs. Peterson had acquired an expression of understanding, but Mr. Peterson remained poker-faced. I didn’t know why he was being so rigid. Could not he show a bit of emotion for his children? Was his work and fame really that much important for him than his family?
Mr. Peterson leaned forward, donning an intimidating aura. “Who said we are against Sean’s decision? He has our full support. And why are you here to say this? If Sean wanted us at court, he would have said it when he called to inform us about his decision.”
“How could he when you never showed up at any of the big achievements of his life?”
I abruptly jerked when I realized what I just said. “Shit, Lauren! You weren’t supposed to say that!” I scolded myself.
“How dare you say that!” I flinched at his harsh voice. “You think we do not care about our son? We sent him to the best school out there, we gave him a luxurious life. We gave him everything money could buy! And you, who I assume don’t know much about our family are accusing us of neglecting our son?”
“Darling, calm down. I am sure she doesn’t mean that.” Mrs. Peterson tried calming her husband by rubbing his arm. “You don’t mean that, do you, Lauren?” She asked me calmly. I could hear the shakiness in her voice.
The situation was taking the exact turn I was scared of. How could they be delusional? How could they not see their faults?
I was exasperated! I knew Sean would never say it and they would never understand that’s why I decided to stand my ground and show them the mirror of reality. I had a feeling that they would hate me for life but I could not back out.
I raised my chin and stared at them confidently. “Mrs. Peterson, I am afraid to say, I meant every word I said.”
I saw her expressions changing to horrified ones as she gasped out loud while Mr. Peterson shot me deathly glares.
“You-” He snapped but I cut him off.
“With due respect sir, I am not here to put on a fight. I could never do that.” I sighed. “All I have to is you gave him everything except your time. No one can question the luxurious life you gave to your children, but you failed to give him one thing money can’t buy; your time.” I paused, observing them. When I realized they weren’t going to interrupt me, I continued.
“He has always yearned to be with you, play with you. He has always waited for you to pat his back in pride, he still does. He still waits for you to talk to him as parents. He may be a grown-up man, but he needs parents too.”
Mr. Peterson scoffed distastefully. “This all sums up that you have come here to teach us parenting!”
“No. Not at all.” I replied quickly. “I am no one to teach you parenting. I can only ask you to spare some time for your son and your grandchild.” My eyes flicked to now misty-eyed Mrs. Peterson. At least she had a realization of what wrong they had been doing.
“I don’t understand why you are taking so much interest in this matter? What are you gaining from it?” Mr. Peterson snapped then chuckled mockingly. “I get it now. You too are after Sean and Ryan’s money. You are no different than Samantha. You already know that Sean will adopt Ryan which will entitle him to his property as well, and you are waiting for Sean to rain money on you. Am I right?”
That’s it! I had had enough of him. I gritted my teeth and stood up on my feet. “No. You are wrong, Mr. Peterson. I am not a gold digger and please do not compare me with Samantha. If I were a gold digger, I would have trapped your son four years ago when I started working for him. If I had any wrong intention, it would not have taken four years for Sean to notice me.”
My chest was heaving in anger, my hands curled into a fist. My outburst caused both of their eyes to widen and I sighed. I brushed my hair back from and face and averted my eyes.
“I…I am sorry for my outburst but I had to stand for myself because whatever you accused me of is completely wrong.” I then lowered my eyes. “I don’t care about money. It’s Sean and Ryan I genuinely care about. I can’t see Sean in a miserable state that’s why I came here to talk to you because I knew he could not say it to you.”
“We care for our children too, Lauren.” Mrs. Peterson spoke quietly. “We will do anything in our power to keep Samantha away from our grandson.” She stood and approached me. And when she stood a hand away from me only then I saw a tear that slipped her eye.
She studied me for a while then spoke. “Sean has always been a brilliant child. He’s a son parents dream to have. And we are proud of him.” She smiled proudly then turned her back to me and walked back to her husband.
“Martha.” Mr. Peterson looked at her differently, as if conversing through eyes. I remained standing there, confused. Mrs. Peterson then again faced me.
“Yes, we were busy building the empire and our image and I accept that we were wrong. The time we should have given to our family, we gave it to materialistic things. I realized my mistake when Shane left us and Sean stopped meeting us completely.”
“Then why didn’t you reached for Sean? Why you never talked to Sean about this?” I asked in disbelief, tilting my head. Mr. Peterson now had his eyes trained at his wife.
Mrs. Peterson smiled bitterly, shrugging her shoulders. “Communication gap which I created. I couldn’t bring myself to talk to him after whatever I did…we did.” She muttered the last part by looking at her husband.
Communication gap! A deadly gap that destroys relationships. A lethal hole that consumes the trust and understanding of people, lethal than a black hole. But it could be fixed, all one has to do is let go of the ego and communicate.
What could I say now? I had nothing left to say. They both knew about their mistakes but were proud enough to talk to their own son as if it would tarnish their precious image.
“Does Sean know about your visit?” Mr. Peterson’s voice broke my reverie.
“No, he doesn’t,” I muttered, lowering my eyes. “I know you must be upset with me and will inform this to Sean, but this was important to be said.”
“You know what, Miss Hart?” He stood up and buttoning up the suit jacket he took slow steps towards me. He stopped in front of me and stuffed his hands in his pant pockets. “You are a brave woman.”
My eyes abruptly flicked to him in surprise. Shock consumed me. Had I heard him right or were my ears playing tricks with me?
“Without caring about the consequences of your relationship with Sean after this conversation, you came to us… for him, not for yourself. You were ready to fight us for Sean.” He chuckled. “I like people who are hard-headed and stand their ground, no matter what.”
I blinked a few times to register what just happened. Did he smile at me? No, it wasn’t true; it couldn’t be. He was not a good person…or was he? And did he indirectly said that he liked me?
“It took me long enough to create the image I have and I intend to keep it clear, which means I will do anything to protect my family from evil eyes. I know Sean doesn’t like me and I honestly don’t blame him but rest assured, I support him in whatever he does.”
“Why don’t you say all this to Sean? It will only improve your relationship.” I muttered. He just smiled in response. They knew they were guilty but damn their ego!
I sighed. It was waste of time and energy to convince them to come to trial. Well, at least I was glad that I became Sean’s voice and now his parents knew what he felt about them.
“Well, I think I have said whatever I wanted to say. I must leave. Thank you for sparing time from your busy schedule to listen to me.”
He nodded his head and I walked past him. Mrs. Peterson passed a smile to me and smiled back. I reached for the doorknob but before pulling it, I turned back, my hand still on the knob.
“Mr. Peterson, Mr. Peterson,” I called for them, gaining their attention.
“It’s still not late to mend your broken relationship with your son.”
With that, I walked out hoping to see them at the court.
Sean Peterson
“Don’t worry, Sean, the decision will be taken in your support. One of the best lawyers has undertaken your case.” Daniel said as he patted my back, sitting beside me.
“I am not worried about the decision since I know I will win. It’s just I am skeptical of what Samantha and Levi might do after the trial.” I muttered absent-mindedly while looking in the void.
I had brought Ryan to Daniel’s home as I wanted to talk to my friends. Xavier and Ariana were here too. Lauren had gone to meet her friend. At first, I was skeptical of sending her alone but she needed space too, she had given up her own time to be with us. She deserved this much.
“Nothing will happen, stay assured,” Xavier said. “By the way, tell me one thing, how did Lauren take the news of adoption?”
“Positive. She’s the one who assured me that my decision of adopting Ryan is not wrong. She is more ecstatic than me.” I chuckled and shook my head. “She’s the mother Ryan never had.”
“That’s Lauren for you! Sweet, lovely, and bold.” Ariana commented and Eloise agreed. Yes, we were on speaking terms again.
“Mother huh?” Daniel nudged me, wiggling his eyebrows.
“I am talking about Ryan, Daniel.” I groaned, rolling my eyes.
“You will be his father so…” He shrugged off his shoulder. “You know what I mean,” He smirked and earned a slap from me on his arm.
“Shut up!” I snapped.
“Aww, someone is blushing.” Everyone laughed at Eloise’s comment on me. I ignored them and trained my eyes at the kids who were playing at the back. Had I really been blushing? No!
“What about your parents, are they coming?” Xavier asked.
“I have never expected anything from them, I am not doing it now either.” I shrugged my shoulders and sighed. I didn’t expect anything from them but I wanted them to show up at the court, which however was not going to happen. Their image will be tarnished if they get caught by the media at the court.
“Anyway, I shall leave now. It’s already evening, Lauren must be on her way back home.” I stood up.
“Oww, can’t wait to see her?” Daniel teased.
“You are whipped, man.” Xavier laughed too and I scowled.
“Mind your own business. You both are whipped too. Concentrate on pleasing your wives, not my love life.”
“We know we are whipped, Sean babe. It’s you we are talking about. The one who used to say he can’t fall in love and can’t settle with one woman for life can’t stay away from his ladylove even for a day.” Daniel exclaimed.
“Okay, that’s enough. I am leaving. Come on Ryan, we have to leave.”
Ryan came running to me and jumped in my arms. Then only I saw a scowl on his face.
“What happened?” I asked him.
“I don’t like playing with her. She is annoying.” He frowned, looking at Amara. Kids! I shook my head in amusement.
Ignoring the adults, I bid goodbye to the kids and left.
I ordered Chinese take out for dinner and drove back home. Lauren too came back within a few minutes and Ryan threw himself on her. She talked to him for a while then threw herself on me.
“I missed you.” She mumbled against my chest.
“I missed you too,” I said while rubbing her back. “How was your day? Is your friend alright?” I asked.
She pulled away and nervously looked here and there. “Yeah, she is alright. Nothing to worry about. Uh, I am starving. Can we order food?”
“Lucky you, I already bought take out and it’s Chinese.” I flicked her nose.
“And that’s why you are the best.” She kissed my cheek and ran inside the kitchen with Ryan.
We ate dinner and after a night walk, Lauren tucked Ryan in bed in her room. He had developed a habit of sleeping with her because of which I couldn’t get much night to spend with her.
I had been standing on the balcony, looking at the silent night sky when I felt a presence behind me.
A small smile tugged my lips. “Done putting Ryan to sleep?” I asked without turning to her.
She encircled her arms around me from behind and pressed her cheek against my back. “Yes, and now I have to put this big kid to sleep.”
I tugged her wrist and whirled her in front of me. “Kid huh?” I raised my eyebrows playfully.
“Yep!” She laughed.
“Do you know this big kid can do things no kid can do? Want me to show you?” I wiggled my eyebrows and pecked her lips.
“Nope, not interested.” Laughing, she pushed me back and ran inside the room but I caught her and dumped her on the bed. I hovered over and tickled her until she couldn’t breathe.
We laid there, cuddling. I knew she had to go give company to Ryan, but I could keep her with me for a while longer. Ryan won’t know.
She raised her head from my chest and placed her chin there, looking at me with those beautiful big eyes.
“Ready for tomorrow?” She asked.
Was I? Yes, I was. My life was going to take a new turn the next morning and I couldn’t be more excited about it.
“Yes, I am ready!”