Their union was never consummated and they claimed to be married? How did Elsie come about then? Who’s responsible for Elsie and who is her father?
Looks like this banquet was going to reveal things that were never known, things that Aurora never said to anyone in years, now it was ripe to be known to the ears of every one of them.
“We’re having a banquet. I think this is not necessary” Simon Blake interrupted them. This is getting beyond what he planned. He was going to use another approach but it appeared Jimmy and Aurora were getting faster than him.
“No uncle. I am not interested in having a banquet with your family. I came here purposely to talk to Aurora about my daughter. But I respected you not to be too forward. I think we should talk about the most important thing first” Adrian suggested, his eyes darting to Elsie again.
Their eyes locked and her eyes watered. It pains him that Aurora wouldn’t listen to him to let Elsie be taken away. He doesn’t want anything that would traumatise her.
“Okay, Charlotte, take Elsie away”Simon Blake instructed. That way, Elsie was taken away and Adrian sighed.
“Let’s all be seated then” Simon Blake instructed and they all sat down. Jimmy couldn’t sit comfortably, he removed his pistol and placed it on the arm of the sofa he sat on.
“I really want us to talk about other matters before talking about the custody of Elsie. But things are taking a different turn of events…”Simon Blake started but Jimmy raised his hand.
“Dad, don’t treat this dude like a celebrity. He’s not someone to be respected by the Blake’s. He’s not worth half of our fortune and his reign is in New Jersey not there.
Tell him directly that he’s an asshole. Who married a woman for two years and never consummated the union? Which man sends his wife to jail innocently and comfortably sleeps at night with his eyes closed?
Tell him to free Aurora from that yoke he still calls marriage. I am 100% behind Aurora’s decision. He has no right to Elsie in any way. She’s not his daughter” Jimmy stuttered.
“Jimmy, you were not there when Adrian and Ava were married. You have only listened to your sister’s words. Do you care to know why their marriage went that way?” Santiago snapped at him.
“What explanation does he have to make, huh? Oh, he’d brain washed you too that you now take sides with this idiot against your own sister?
Need I to explain every single thing to all of you to know the height of humiliation this scoundrel made me go through? From him and his family?
His Mom hits me at will, these cheeks of mine can attest to it. I was less than a maid in preference and treatment. I was talked down and insulted by his family. What else can they say about a poor tramp like me if it isn’t humiliation?
We were married but I was never allowed to spend a night in his room. He practically pushed me away and our union was never consummated. No one should ask me how I conceived Elsie, but she’s not his daughter.
He flirts around with his mistress and doesn’t care how I feel about it. Rather than being with me, he’s with her. I almost died in the storm….” Aurora went on.
“That’s enough. We want to hear from Adrian” Simon Blake said. He listened and watched as Aurora talked. Adrian didn’t try to stop her but stayed calm.
“She said the truth. Everything she said is true. But I am sorry that I treated her that way then. It was too late when I realised my mistake…” Adrian apologised.
“Let’s leave the past where it should be, Aurora. He apologised, forgive him” Nancy added. She’s fed up with this son of hers. Jimmy is instigating Aurora, he’d been doing it for days now.
“I’ve forgiven him mom. But I’m not interested in returning to be his wife. He should sign the divorce paper and we’ll go our separate ways”Aurora requested.
“Exactly my opinion. He should free her and let her be with someone else. That’s not too difficult, right?” Jimmy chipped in.
“Do you know I’m getting really upset with your interference. Let the couple sort themselves out” Santiago cautioned. Being in the military doesn’t mean he should interfere with every aspect of other people’s lives.
“He’s not interfering. He’s speaking my mind” Aurora defended. Jimmy is giving her a strong backbone to stay strong in this hard time.
“If getting divorced is what you want, I won’t give you that. I won’t sign the divorce paper with you. I just want to talk about my daughter….” Adrian Lester responded.
Simon and Nancy Blake exchanged glances. Adrian is head bent on not giving a divorce. Is he going to let Aurora live her life without interfering in it?
“Then get a restraining order against him, Aurora. He shouldn’t be seen anywhere around you nor your daughter, fifty metres away from you. I can help you.
I don’t know when marriage becomes a thing of compulsion. Especially a horrible one at that. Aurora would have died and he would have moved on with his mistress and gotten married to her. I’ll help you effect a restraining order” Jimmy seethed.
“I don’t want to hear a word from you until this discussion is over. It’s an order” Simon ordered authoritatively.
“But dad..” Jimmy wants to defend but his father thundered “You should obey the last command” and Jimmy went silent.
“Aurora, what do you have to say about Elsie?” Simon Blake asked. Adrian is like a son to them. He is Santiago’s friend and they’ve known him for years before Aurora came back to their lives.
“I do not owe Adrian anything dad. Elsie is not his daughter. He’s so annoying, dad. He’s not the father of my daughter and I do not owe him an explanation about that.
If he could sleep around with other women, why couldn’t I? As for Elsie, she’s not his daughter” Aurora concluded.
Adrian furrowed his brow. His eyes went reddened. She’s taking his daughter away from him. She’s lying. He might have mistaken her for Lola but he knew he took her virginity, he got her pregnant and Alice knows about it.
Even his grandfather knows about it? But now, she denied him his fatherly right. He would let her be. Maybe in the future, she would have a change of mind.
“If you insist on saying Elsie is not my daughter, I won’t pursue it further. I won’t request for DNA, it’s of no use. But you’re a different person, Aurora.
When your identity changes, your personality changes. You’re not the woman I used to know” Adrian stuttered. That sweetness, calmness, Innocence, we’re all gone.
This woman here, is a clone of Ava Leon but her personality is different. He stood up, “I don’t have a business being here anymore, I’ll leave” he announced.
“Aurora, think through what you just said. Are you denying Adrian his fatherly right over Elsie or he’s indeed not her father?” Nancy asked. Both scenarios are different.
“He’s not her dad, Elsie is not Adrian’s daughter” Aurora insisted, shutting down the screams coming from her conscience. The last thing she would ever do was let him be Elsie’s father.
“You hate him that much?” Nancy demanded. This is not a pleasant experience for any parent, being separated from one’s child? She already told them that he’s Elsie’s father but she denied it before him.
“Mom, Adrian was so mean back then, that whenever he saw me, he could take a pistol, and pull the trigger” Aurora responded and picked up Jimmy’s pistol by her side to demonstrate it when suddenly, loud cracking noises were heard.
“Bang!!” Another followed instantly”Bang!”