by S. G. Sonysa
“Good morning,” I said to him.
But he stayed silent, and it pained my heart.
His rigid and unemotional state scared me. I started thinking what I had done wrong this time. Before my wandering thoughts led me too far, he brought me back to reality.
“Hailey I uh… I want you to sign these papers,” he said.
Hesitantly, I took the papers from him and read them.
After reading those papers, my legs turned weak, making it impossible for me to stand on them any longer. I shook my head not believing it and took a step back. Tears brimmed in my eyes turning everything around me blurry. I blinked them and took deep breaths to calm myself before I would break down in front him.
I looked at him, and his face was emotionless like before. There was no guilt, no regret, and pain in his eyes.
I tried to say something to him, anything and opened my mouth, but I couldn’t speak. I felt crushed. The emotions were clogging my throat making it impossible for me to speak. The tears were burning my eyes, but I blinked them back.
“Chase, do you want me to sign them?” I asked him.
“Yes, Hailey. I want you to sign them.” His voice was hollow of any emotions.
“But these are divorce papers. I thought you wanted me,” I said in pain.
“Hailey, I want you to understand this. I will still support you and Noah financially. You don’t have to worry about that. It’s just… I don’t want to stay wedded to you. I cannot play the role of a husband and help you with the baby. Our marriage was a mistake from the start. You were not meant to be mine, and I was not meant to be yours. If we want to stay happy, we need to stop playing this charade of a happy couple. You can take your son with you because I don’t want to play his dad’s role.”
Did my heart bleed at his words? It did bleed.
“I have already booked your tickets back to Oakland. Your flight is in the evening. Amy will help you with packing,” he said.
When it finally dawned on me, I became numb and stopped breathing. His words played around my head like a broken record. I was shocked. I was not expecting this after all these months we had spent together planning our future.
He was the one who gave me hope that I could be loved, that I could be important in someone’s life. He was the one who made me feel special, and now he was snatching everything away. He was breaking me, ruining me and my dreams.
I never thought that this man who I had fallen in love with could be this cruel. He proved me wrong today. He was the cruelest person I had met.
The bullies, my stepmom, and Emily broke my pride, my confidence, and my will to live, but this man broke my heart, which I blindly gave him. I never expected anything from Kate, Emily, my mom, and his mom, but I expected the world from him, and he let me down.
Suddenly everything started to fade. My surroundings turned black, and then my world came crashing down.
***
Chase
In the morning, I got a call from the hospital where Noah was born. They asked me to come to the hospital to collect the reports of some tests they did to make sure my son is healthy.
I went to the hospital to fetch those reports.
I naturally felt concerned about the results of the test and decided to discuss it with the doctor. I was assisted by the nurse to the doctor’s office.
“Hi, I’m Noah’s father. I just want to make sure the reports of my son are fine.” I took a seat and handed him the reports
“He is your son,” the doctor said.
“Yes, he is my son.”
“Sir, the DNA results confirm that you’re the father. I mean you don’t have to worry. Noah Edwards is your son.”
“Excuse me? What DNA results?” I was bewildered.
“Yes, this report contains DNA results,” the doctor said.
“What do you mean? I didn’t ask this hospital to run a DNA test on my son so why would you run a DNA test? I know he is my son. I don’t want any evidence to make me believe it,” I yelled and stood up from the chair.
The doctor did as well
“But you signed these papers,” the doctor said.
I read the papers, and there was my signature. I recalled my mom bringing some papers and asking me to sign them. To confirm my suspicions, I asked the doctor.
“Who exactly asked you to run this test?”
“Sir, it was your mother. She asked me to run this test because you don’t believe that the baby was yours. She told me you want this as evidence,” the doctor said, looking scared.
I was beyond shocked at the revelation. Thousands of times, I had told her that the baby was mine.
Why had she done this? Why was she so adamant about proving that Noah was not mine?
For God sakes, my son even looked exactly like me, and she didn’t need any evidence to see that.
His face, his eyes, his hair, and almost everything else looked like mine. Even his pictures were so similar to mine that anyone from a mile could guess that he was my son. Then why wouldn’t my own mom believe it?
Snatching the damn reports from doctor’s hand, I left the hospital.
I went straight home. My mom was sitting in the living room with Kate and an unfamiliar man and woman. Their head turned my way when I stormed inside in anger.
I slapped the reports on the center of the table.
“Why did you ask the doctor to perform DNA test? Why did you feel the need to do this, mom?” I asked her.
“Chase, I just wanted to make sure he is your son.” She was looking at me like whatever she had done was right.
“You know what, Mom? Now you have these reports to make you believe he is my son because you clearly did not trust me when I said that he is my son,” I yelled.
“That’s great. I’m happy if he is your son. He is now our family member, and I don’t wish him any harm. Look, Mr. and Mrs. Raves are the best attorneys. They are here to guide us as to how we can claim sole custody of Noah, and you can get rid of Hailey without much effort.”
I was beyond shocked after hearing her.
“Who said that I want to divorce her?” I asked her.
“Why don’t you want to divorce her?”
“She is the mother of my child, Mom.”
“I know. But you need to divorce her and start your life again. I want you to focus on your goals and business. I will take care of your son.”
“Mom, Hailey is his mother. She can take care of him pretty well.”
“Chase if you don’t divorce that girl and throw her away from this house then I will ruin your dad’s company.”
“How will you do that Mom?”
“She owns fifty-five percent of shares of your father’s company. She’ll sell the shares to me,” Mr. Raves said, handing me the papers.
I read them, and it was true. She owns fifty-five percent of Dad’s company, and if she sells them to Mr. Raves, we will lose our company.
“Mom, you cannot do this to Dad,” I said.
I couldn’t believe my mom would do something like this.
“I will not sign these papers if you don’t want me to,” Mom said.
“I don’t want you to do that Mom.”
“Then divorce her.”
I did not want Mom to betray my dad. He loved her and trusted her. If he found out what she planned to do with the company that he built with his hard work, I couldn’t even imagine what he would feel.
I knew what I wanted to do and what was best for my family.
“I will divorce her, Mom. You don’t have to worry. I never liked her, so it’s not a problem for me,” I said to her.
She smiled at me.
“I knew you would make the right decision. Mr. Raves, I think you just lost a great deal,” she said looking at the couple.
They got up and stormed out of the house.
“I’m proud of you, Chase,” she said and left the room.
“Chase, I want to tell you something,” Kate said.
“Kate,
shut up. I don’t want to hear a word from you. I don’t think you are the same sister who I have spent twenty-one years of my life with. You have changed. Mom has changed you.” With that, I left her.
I went to my room to think about this. If I told my dad about this, their relationship would be in danger. Mom could make an issue out of this, and our family would be ruined.
And if I divorced Hailey, we would be the only ones affected. After all this, I thought about Hailey and my son. They wouldn’t be safe here. Mom would do anything to drive us apart, and I had no other choice except to divorce her.
Hailey deserved a life with that baby more than me. She was the one who knew how to take care of that small bundle of joy. I had seen how my son slept peacefully in her arms. I cannot separate them ever. I knew what it felt to crave for your mother’s attention and I didn’t want my son to feel the same.
I knew a baby who was barely a week old wouldn’t survive without his mother’s care. Hailey could live without me, but she wouldn’t be able to live without Noah. She accepted him and fell in love with him. He was her life support to keep her going in this life.
He belonged to her completely. He was her family. How could I snatch that from her?
I couldn’t.
I felt the need to talk to Hailey and inform her about my mother’s cruel plan. When the night rolled in, I went to her room, but she was in the shower.
I thought of leaving, but my son caught my attention. He was looking so cute while sleeping in his crib. I stared at him in amazement. It was still hard to believe that this little boy was mine. I was so deep in my own thoughts that I didn’t realize she was out from the washroom.
When I turned, my eyes landed on her, and they widened. She was standing there wrapped in a small white towel. Unintentionally my eyes followed the beads of water running down from her neck to her chest then disappearing inside the towel.
I averted my eyes before I could go and kiss her. That would only lead us to do something stupid. Her hands were shaking when she picked the nightgown from the bed and ran back inside the washroom.
I waited for her to come out but when she did, I forgot how to speak. She looked mesmerizing. I had to control myself from kissing her. Her knee-length silk white nightgown wasn’t helping in any way.
I bid her a hasty goodnight and left her room in a hurry.
Next morning, I received the papers that I requested my dad’s attorney to prepare. Before I chickened out again, I went into Hailey’s room.
“Hailey, I uh, I want you to sign these papers,” I said.
She took the papers from my hand and read them.
After reading them, she looked shocked. Her eyes brimmed with tears, but I couldn’t do anything to make her smile.
“Chase, do you want me to sign them?” she asked me.
“Yes, Hailey, I want you to sign them.” My voice was hollow of any emotions.
“But these are divorce papers? I thought you wanted me,” she said in pain filled voice.
“Hailey, I want you to understand this. I will still support you and Noah financially. You don’t have to worry about that. It’s just…I don’t want to stay wedded to you. I cannot play the role of a husband and help you with the baby. Our marriage was a mistake from the start. You were not meant to be mine, and I was not meant to be yours. If we want to stay happy, we need to stop playing this charade of a happy couple. You can take your son with you because I don’t want to play his dad’s role.”
She was staring at me like I had ripped her heart out by saying that.
“I have already booked your tickets back to Oakland. Your flight is in the evening. Amy will help you with the packing,” I said.
After hearing my bullshit, her face turned paler like she had just seen a ghost. Fat tears started rolling down from her eyes making my heart ache. She looked so broken and distraught at that moment making me thought of telling her the truth. I was already regretting my decision, but the thought of her and Noah’s safety forced me to keep up the pretense.
Suddenly, she blinked her eyes then they started to roll back. She started falling back as her eyes shut. I ran towards her and caught her in my arms before she hit the floor.
Her body was limp in my arms. Her face was tears stained. I cursed myself for breaking her heart and her trust and giving her agonizing pain.
Picking her up bridal style, I placed her on the bed and kissed her head before leaving her room.
I went to my room and slumped down on my bed. I ran my hands through my hair in frustration that was when I heard my phone ring. I took a glance at the screen of my cell phone and found an email notification. I opened the e-mail and read it.
It was from the Carrington Enterprises, which was the largest company in the US offering internships programs this year. My best friend Kyle forced me to apply for the internship last month, and I applied there.
Mr. Chase Edwards, we have looked at your records and documents you have submitted. Your grades seem to show how talented you are in the business field. We have carefully chosen you as one of the interns in our company. You will need to move to Boston as all the interns would be working in the Boston branch of Carrington Enterprises. Contact us for further discussion and details.
I couldn’t believe I got selected as an intern in the largest company in the US. I called Kyle to share the news with him.
“Hey! I just received an e-mail from Carrington Enterprises,” I informed him.
“Chase, that’s great man! I received an e-mail from them informing me that I got selected as well. We need to move to Boston. Chase, it’s awesome! My uncle has an apartment in Boston, which he doesn’t use. He told me if I want to move to Boston he will give me that apartment. If you have decided to work in Carrington, then we can share the apartment. What do you say?” He was so excited.
He just gave me hope that there was a possibility for a better future.
“Yes. You are right. I’ll call you later,” I said and ended the call.
I thought about the whole idea. It seemed like a great opportunity to gain some experience in the real business world without my dad’s support.
I could work on my own and build from the bottom. Just like my granddad. He didn’t have his father’s support when he started the business.
Then I would be able to provide a good future for my son.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Going Back to My Old Life
Hailey
I opened my eyes, but the bright lights made me shut them. I groaned and tried to open them again. I looked around my room and everything that happened earlier played in my head.
I shot up from the bed and looked inside the crib. My son was staring at the wall. I smiled at him, and he did the same. I picked up the divorce papers that were spread on my bed and read them.
I thought with exasperation, “He left the divorce papers in my room so I would sign them when I woke up.”
I felt rage building inside me, and my hands started to shake. I looked for a pen inside the bedside drawer, and when I found the pen, I signed those papers.
He wanted me to leave him. He didn’t want to be Noah’s father, and he didn’t want us in his life. Then guess what? He was going to have what he wanted.
I didn’t need him anymore in my life. I was not the weak girl that I used to be. I would not let people push me anymore now that I was a mother, and I had a son to look after. I would show Chase that I could very well take care of my son without him. I would show him how strong I was. And he could not break me.
I could do anything I wanted to. He didn’t even know half about me, and he was going to regret leaving my son and me. I would make sure of it.
I held the papers tightly in my hands and left my room to give him those signed papers. I pushed the door open and stormed into his room.
Chase was talking to someone on the cell phone when he saw me enter. He ended the call.
Before he could say anything to me, I threw the divorce pape
rs on the floor and said, “I have signed these papers. Now, you are free to live your life like you wanted. I don’t want your money to make Noah a better man than you.”
He was just staring at me with his mouth hanging open.
I was ready to leave, but stopped and said, “I understand you, Chase. I’m really sorry for coming into your life when you didn’t want me. I didn’t want you either and never wished to be a part of your life. I too think this is best for us.”
Then I left his room without giving him a glance. He lost the respect and love I had in my heart for him.
I went to my room and pulled out my suitcases from the closet and started packing my things. Amy came in my room that time and stopped me.
“Please, dear don’t go. There has to be some misunderstanding.” Amy tried stopping me from putting my things in the suitcases.
“There is no misunderstanding between us, Amy. He hated me from the start, and he never liked me. Now, he doesn’t want me and my son after asking me for another chance. It’s really easy for him to throw my son and me away,” I said to Amy.
She stared at me with sadness in her eyes.
The tears were rolling down from my eyes while I was packing my and Noah’s things. Amy helped in packing without saying anything again. I found the bracelet that Chase gave me on my seventeenth birthday and placed it on the bedside table.
I got changed into my denim jeans and cream-colored off-shoulder long sleeves sweatshirt then I changed Noah into his cute blue romper.
Amy came back with breakfast.
“At least eat something,” she said.
“I’m not hungry.”
“Even if you are not hungry, you have to eat, Hailey. You are a mother who is feeding, and it means you need to keep yourself healthy.”
Her words brought tears to my eyes, and I realized by leaving this house I would be leaving Amy too. I hugged her and started to cry. I didn’t know how long I cried while hugging Amy, but she pulled away and made me eat some toast and milk then she left.
I scooped Noah in my arms and kissed him on the forehead.
