ALESSIA
Yes, sure he could be a father to our son, but could he be a good husband to me? He never treated me right, and I was not buying the changed person that he was trying to project now. Besides, Claude’s interest was only in our son, not me. How could we have a peaceful relationship if he was only associating with me to get closer to Adrian? Then, once he gained our son’s trust, he would just disregard me. I would only get hurt again. That was why I didn’t want it. I didn’t want to be with him ever again.
“I don’t believe you, Claude. I know that Adrian is the only important thing to you. I don’t mean anything to you. You’re just tolerating me because of Adrian and your inheritance. You don’t need to live with us, no one is obliging you to do so. Just let Adrian and me be. We’ll give you visiting rights if you really insist on getting involved with Adrian.”
“Sia, it’s not just Adrian, okay? You matter too, I realized that when you left, and having you around right now is an affirmation to that feeling. There was never a single day that I didn’t think of you, so please, consider living with me and being with me again. Five years apart from each other is enough. Let’s not add more to it. All I’m asking for is another chance. I won’t waste it. So please, let’s fix our family. Don’t you want Adrian to experience having a complete family? If we can give that to him, why not?”
I remained silent. I didn’t agree with what Claude wanted to happen. I had been fooled by him once. I didn’t want him to hurt me again like he did in the past. He was being a bit nicer now. But there was no guarantee that he would love me as a wife or as Adrian’s mother.
“Give me a good reason why I should trust your words. It’s easy to say things. But can you live up to them? How can I trust someone who didn’t love me from the start?”
“You can take my word for it. If you don’t believe what I’m saying, let me prove it through my actions. Do I need to pursue you? Do I need to woo you? Just say it, and I’ll do it.”
I grimaced. “Honestly speaking, I’m not interested in what you’re saying. I only approached you because of Adrian’s condition, nothing more. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t want to see or talk to you anymore.”
Claude seemed surprised by my statement. He probably didn’t expect me to say that.
“You can go. I’ll take care of Adrian. I know you still have work,” I dismissed him. “Just come back when you’re done with your work. I don’t want to bother you.”
Claude was about to protest, but I waved my hand.
“Just go. Adrian and I are fine. There are nurses and doctors here. They won’t neglect us.”
“Okay, but I’ll come back later. I’ll just go to work.”
I just nodded to end my conversation with Claude. Once he left, I immediately focused my attention on my son. It was a relief that the operation was over. Somehow, I felt reassured now and not as worried about his health. Hopefully, his recovery will go smoothly so we won’t have to face any more problems.
That evening, Claude fulfilled his promise and returned. He brought us some food along with several paper bags of different supplies.
“What are these? I didn’t ask for anything from you. Why did you bother?” I asked as Claude handed me the paper bags.
“I asked Constance to get some things from the closet. You might need them,” Claude replied.
Curiously, I opened the paper bags. I was surprised to find sleepwear, underwear, and house slippers inside. As far as I could remember, I had never used any of the things Claude brought.
“You shouldn’t have bothered. I brought some clothes here,” I said.
“It’s okay. I instructed Constance to do it. She was even delighted to hear that we met. She said you should visit the mansion. She misses you,” Claude explained.
My heart sank. Another reason I didn’t want to be with Claude again was because I felt embarrassed in front of his parents. I am also sure that Claude’s parents would want to see Adrian once they found out he is their grandson. I didn’t want to deny them their grandchild, but I am embarrassed to be around Claude’s parents. I might feel pressured to forgive and give my husband another chance.
But I was not ready to forgive yet. The memories of what happened between me and Claude still hurt. It was too painful, and I didn’t want to revisit any of it.
“I don’t want to show up at your mansion anymore,” I confessed.
“Why not? Mom would be delighted to see you, especially when she learns about Adrian. She’ll definitely throw a party once she meets her grandson,” Claude said.
I suddenly felt nervous at Claude’s words. “Have you told your parents about Adrian?” I asked.
“Not yet. I plan to do it once he’s discharged from the hospital and we’re together,” Claude replied.
I grimaced bitterly. “Please, don’t tell them about Adrian yet. They might take my son away from me,” I pleaded anxiously.
Claude furrowed his brows at my statement. “Why would they take Adrian? They can’t take care of him. They’re already old. They just want to see my son. That’s why they pressured me to marry you before, so I could give them a grandchild,” Claude reasoned.
I bit my lip. Our conversation kept circling back to the past. “I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again. I don’t want to be with you again. We never really had anything from to begin with. It was just you and me-no us. There was nothing for us to fix. It just so happened that we had a son together. But I’m sure that if it weren’t for Adrian, we wouldn’t be talking now.”
“You really don’t want us to reconcile?”
I simply nodded slowly in response. Claude remained silent for a few minutes. He even avoided eye contact with me. But when he faced me again and spoke, sadness was evident in his expression.
“If you don’t want us to be husband and wife anymore, I’m pleading with you not to divorce me. Even if we’re not living under the same roof, please don’t ruin our marriage as I planned to do before. I can’t bear to see you owned by someone else. I also don’t want to be with other women. I don’t want to dedicate my name to anyone else but you. You may not believe what I’m saying, but that’s the truth. Okay, I agree not to live with you and Adrian under the same roof, but I want to see you every day. Can you grant me that?”
“You want to see us every day?”
“Yes, and to do that, I’ll visit you and our son wherever you choose to live.”
I was speechless for a few seconds. But after thinking for a moment, I questioned Claude.
“What if I choose to live far away from here? How will you see us?”
“I’ll still come there just to see and spend time with you, even if it’s just for a few hours.”
I didn’t know whether to be happy or annoyed with what Claude said. Damn it!