Tristan’s POV
Walking down this familiar hallway of the hospital, reminded me of the time when Elona was rushed in and had her surgery. It drove me insane to wait until she was okay. She still didn’t reply to me. I was a bit calmer than I was. Cris stayed out of my way, she was trying to be nice, but I needed time after everything she had done. I knocked on the door of Doctor Peters’ office. I heard him call out for me to enter and I did.
“So, what can I help you with?” he asked as I approached his desk.
“Cut the bullshit.” I hissed. “You accepted money from Maggie to send me false paternity results. You have known me and my family for years. Why did you do this to us?” I asked as calmly as I could.
He ran his fingers through his hair. “Look, I don’t know what to say, but I took that money. I made a mistake, she was persistent. She also threatened to tell my wife that I was having an affair with her, which is untrue. I took the money because I needed it too. I’m busy expanding a clinic that people who cannot afford to pay to be helped.” he let out a heavy breath.
“You caused so much in my life. I lost the young woman that I love. My daughter shared everything with Maggie, and now I don’t know who to trust. I lost my friend too because I broke his daughter’s heart, all because of this one fucked up mess.” I paced the small space in the doctor’s office.
“I’m sorry. I wish that I could turn back time and not accept anything from her.”
I stopped my pacing and glared at him, “You do know that you won’t be getting money from her anymore, right? You are no longer keeping a secret for her, so why would she pay you? I hope that whatever she paid you was worth it for the clinic. But it will not change the fact that my life is ruined because of you, Maggie, and my daughter. I hope you lose your license. I will report you for this,” I hissed before walking out of the door.
All that money was used for a good cause but at the expense of someone else’s life and happiness. My next mission is to see Elona, hoping that she will hear me out.
****
I knocked on the front door to Elona’s house, David’s car was in the driveway and I knew this would be difficult. The door opened, and I was met with David not looking impressed with me.
“What do you want?” he asked.
“I want to speak to Elona, please.”
“No. That won’t happen. Thank you for keeping an eye on her, but you won’t be talking to her about anything else,” he said. He started to close the door, but I stopped it from shutting closed. He opened the door wider and continued to glare at me.
“If I cannot talk to her, then allow me to speak to you,” I pleaded.
“There is nothing to talk about,” he replied.
“There is a lot, Maggie lied and things are chaos. Hear me out, please.”
He let out a sigh, “Let me grab my keys and we will go somewhere. I don’t want you anywhere near Elona unless she is in some sort of trouble,” he said as he moved away from the door. I didn’t see Elona, and then he appeared, stepping out of the house, closing the door behind him, and then we got inside his car.
The ride to the bar was silent. It was even awkward. We got to the bar and stepped inside. It was partially empty at this time in the late afternoon. He chose a table in the far corner, and we sat across from each other.
He signaled for the bartender, and then we ordered our drinks. “So, what is it?” he pressed.
“Maggie lied about being pregnant with my baby. She paid huge amounts into Doctor Peters’ account to lie about the paternity results. I broke up with Elona because I wanted to give someone else’s child a better life. What would’ve happened if I didn’t know that I was raising another man’s child?” I looked at David. The bartender came back with our drinks, placing them on the table before leaving.
He shook his head before taking a sip of his beer. “It sucks to be you. That woman always wanted you. I thought that she was a good match for you, but I was wrong. It’s a tough situation but that doesn’t mean that things are back to normal with Elona. She deserves better.” he stared at the table as if something was bothering him. “It’s a good thing that things happened the way that they have with you. I know you don’t want any kids. So, hearing that you wanted to give that kid a better life speaks differently to me. No matter how much you don’t want to be a father again, you will still do anything for your child.”
A lump formed in my throat as I thought back to Cris and the nasty words I said to her in the heat of anger. Those are the words that I never meant. I will never disown my daughter. Her beauty is a reminder of her mother, but this time Cris pushed me over the edge, I will never cut her off from my life or anything else.
“Cris told her everything. Cris also said mean things to Elona… that Elona cannot give a family and that crushed me.” I said, his expression changed, and he shifted in his seat. “Elona must’ve been hurt.”
“She was. The thing is… No matter who says what to her, she will always come out strong. I am putting myself in the position that you and Elona were in, and I understand it more. I can only say that much.” he took a sip of his beer.
“You did say that you were attracted to someone around Elona’s age, is it that same person?” I asked.
He nodded, “Yeah. The thing is, she is dating someone else, but things are not going the way she wanted with him, and she is hanging out with me now and then.”
“So, you understand me,” I stated.
“Yes, I do. I don’t think that Elona will forgive you easily. I am trying to forgive you, but it’s difficult. Just respect her and what she wants. She lost so much, and she lost…” he sucked in a deep breath.
“I know… she lost me,” I took a sip of my Scotch. “I just want to talk to her and explain everything.”
“If I allow you to speak to her, and if she doesn’t want that, then respect her, or you will have to deal with me,” he warned me.
“Got it. How is she doing since I left?” I asked.
“She is resting, but she is doing okay,” he replied.
“How is the endometriosis? Any flare-ups?” I asked. I was still concerned about her.
“Not at the moment. She handles it well. She just needs to be consistent with her pills. She cannot miss them. She has been through a lot at once since the breakup, and it wasn’t only the endometriosis but something else she had to come to terms with. I hate to see her suffer with everything that is going on. If she is ready to talk to you about everything, then she will,” he was being more lenient with me.
He wasn’t really shutting me out of their world. It seemed like old times again when he trusted me with information and problems. This is something that I will hang onto because it is a start. Perhaps there is more that she is going through that I’m not quite aware of. So, I hope she will hear me out and talk to me.