by Linda Verji
“Hey,” Femi yelped.
“Is that her?” Damián said over the noise. “Let me say hi myself.”
Aiko handed the phone to her sister who was glaring daggers at her. The glare transformed into a smile as soon as Femi cradled the phone to her ear, “Hi, in-law.”
After a few minutes of laughing and chatting, Femi handed the phone back to Aiko before following her kids and husband into the house. Aiko stayed behind to finish her conversation with Damián.
“So what’s your plan for this evening?” she asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe catch a football game or something then head to bed.”
“Wanna Facetime with me later?”
“Only if you’ll be naked.”
“Boy, you’re nasty.” Aiko laughed. “I wish I could but Seraphina and I are sharing Will’s room and I don’t want her to wake up and find me butt naked.”
That drew a laugh from Damián. “Okay, but you’ll have to make it up to me when you get home tomorrow.”
“I will. I promise.” Biting her lip, she said, “You’ll still Facetime with me at eleven though, right?”
“Yeah,” he agreed.
“Yay.” She grinned. “I’ll see you then. I love you.”
“Love you too.”
Once the phone call ended, Aiko headed back into the house. Everyone was in the dining room setting up for the dinner she’d already cooked. Despite being a guest, Lincoln was doing his part by arranging the silverware next to plates.
“Let me do that for you,” Aiko said as she came to a stop beside him.
“No, it’s okay.” Lincoln said. He turned his head to study her. “That was a long conversation, huh?.”
“Yeah, I was just talking to-” She paused, realizing that if she said Damián then she’d need to explain who he was. Sneaking a glance at Femi who’d just arrived with a bowl of steaming rice, she improvised, “I was talking to my housemate.”
“I didn’t know you had a housemate.” He gave her a curious look.
“Yeah, well-”
“Auntie, where are the veggies?” Cara, her niece, cut into the conversation.
Aiko had never been so glad for an interruption and she jumped on it eagerly. “It’s on the top shelf in the fridge. Let me go get it.”
She hurried out of the dining room, acutely aware of Lincoln watching her. Once in the kitchen, she took a second to heave a sigh of relief before walking to the fridge to extract the salad. Femi found her tossing it with the mayonnaise and mustard dressing.
Aiko wasn’t surprised when the first thing her sister asked was, “Housemate? Is that what we’re calling Damián now?”
“What did you want me to say?” Aiko said, even as she kept her gaze on the salad.
“How about the truth?” Femi suggested.
Aiko met the suggestion with silence. It was so easy for Femi to be self-righteous in this situation; she wasn’t in Aiko’s shoes. She didn’t have to tell the father of her child - the man who’d saved her life - that she’d found another man. She didn’t have to break his heart.
“I know you’re afraid of hurting Lincoln,” Femi said softly, surprising Aiko with her perceptiveness. “But trust me, it’s going to be worse if he finds out from someone else. What if one of the kids tells him? What if Seraphina blurts out something?”
Aiko hadn’t even thought of that. Her heart jerked in immediate alarm.
Femi crossed the room to come to a stop beside her sister. “You didn’t do anything wrong by falling in love with Damián.”
“I know,” Aiko murmured even though deep inside she still felt like she’d betrayed Lincoln.
“Just tell him about Damián then deal with the consequen-” Femi’s words came to an abrupt halt when Will strode into the kitchen.
“We don’t have enough serving spoons.” The young man’s announcement brought the intense conversation to an end. However, Femi’s words haunted Aiko for most of the evening. By the time bedtime came, she’d made her decision. Instead of going upstairs to Will’s room, she left the main house with Lincoln.
“You look like you have something on your mind,” Lincoln said as they climbed the stairs to her old apartment.
“I do,” Aiko said. “But we should be seated for it.”
Lincoln watched her for a disquieting moment before nodding brusquely and pushing the door open. Once they were inside the apartment, he headed straight for the settee.
Aiko lowered herself onto the bed before getting right to the point. “I lied earlier… well, more like half-lied when I told you I was speaking to my housemate.” Her eyes fixed on her fingers she confessed, “He isn’t my housemate.”
“He?”
Aiko lifted her gaze to the suddenly very still Lincoln before nodding. “He’s my fiancé.”
She expected him to say something but all he did was stare at her in silence.
“I should’ve told you earlier, but I wasn’t… I…” Her gaze lowered to her hands on her lap. “I’m sorry. Falling for someone else wasn’t something I planned for, or even expected to happen. It’s just that you were dead, and I needed to move on, and... I- I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize.” Lincoln reached for her hand, squeezing her fingers with his. “You did nothing wrong.”
Then why did it feel like she had.
They were both quiet for a long moment before he asked, “Are you in love with him?”
She didn’t even have to think about it. She nodded.
Lincoln released a long gush of air that drew her gaze to him. She found him staring morosely at their joined hands, and a lump jumped to the back of her throat.
Swallowing hard, she murmured, “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.” Lincoln looked up at her. He smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I stayed away too long.”
“If I’d known you were alive, I would’ve waited.” A tear spilled from Aiko’s eye. “I should have waited.”
“No, you shouldn’t.” Lincoln reached to wipe the tear away with his palm. “In fact I’m mad that you didn’t move on sooner than this. Five years is too long to mourn someone.”
“Not when you love them as much as I loved you.” She dashed away another tear with her hand “I didn’t want to hurt you.”
Lincoln watched her for a long moment before asking, “Does he treat you well?”
She nodded. “He does.”
“Then how can I be anything but happy for you.” He smiled. “I just want you to be happy, Aiko. Even if it’s with another man.”
She couldn’t believe that he was being so understanding of the situation. Any other man if confronted with a situation like this would’ve thrown around accusations of betrayal. But not Lincoln. Even in heartbreak, his first concern was her and whether she was happy. Her guilt ballooned until it almost felt like it was swallowing her up. Lincoln was such a good man. He deserved better than this. Why couldn’t she have waited?
FIANCÉ? LINCOLN FELT deflated – like all the air had been taken out of him. He’d been insulted, beaten, tortured, yet none of it had hurt him quite as effectively as the news that Aiko had another man had. Everything he’d said about not being upset about her moving on was just bullshit. Yes, he was upset… actually goddamn mad. He just didn’t want her feeling any guiltier than she already did. How could the woman he’d loved all these years - the woman he’d lived for - be engaged to another man? It felt like she’d stabbed him then cut a hole into his heart.
Fiancé. The word taunted Lincoln as he stared up at the ceiling. Despite it being almost three in the morning, he was fully awake and the room was fully lit. The wakefulness was because he couldn’t stop thinking of the bombshell Aiko had dropped on him. The lights were on because ever since he’d come back from North Korea he couldn’t handle darkness. It reminded him too much of his little cell – a cell that still haunted him.
On his first night back he’d discovered that his body refused to accept that he
was now safe. He kept seeing Ryang and his guards whenever he closed his eyes. He couldn’t sleep because darkness brought on panic attacks that were so severe sometimes he thought that his lungs were just going to stop taking in air. He’d only survived that first night because he didn’t want to show weakness in front of Aiko. But the last two nights he’d hardly slept a wink for fear of being caught off-guard by Ryang and his men.
He closed his eyes and tried to sleep but visions of Aiko telling him that she was engaged to someone else mingled with those of Ryang’s cruel smiles as he tortured Lincoln.
Yes, Lincoln still remembered every single thing about that man, about that place, about his incarceration. How they’d kept him locked in the dank, solitary cell the first year only bringing him out so they could try to torture information out of it.
A fist squeezed around Lincoln’s lungs at the memory and he broke out in a cold sweat. His breaths coming in fast gushes and his limbs trembling in fear, he quickly sat up. Pressing his fist to his racing heart, he tried to calm himself, remind himself that he was not in North Korea anymore. But that was hard to do especially when he could still hear his own screams of pain when Ryang had cut off his fingers one by one to get him to tell them his name. How he’d managed to lie through his teeth and tell them that he was Frank, a mere soldier, was a miracle.
He still remembered how after that first year they’d started to allow him outside during the day, but it was only to work the fields with other political prisoners. During one of those work assignments, he’d attempted an escape. A sharp stab of pain seared from Lincoln’s knee to the rest of his body at the memory of how Ryang had broken his leg in retaliation. Reveling in Lincoln’s pain, the monster had ordered the doctor to fix it just so he could break it again. Lincoln winced and squeezed the knee to ease the pain. Whether that pain was physical or emotion remained up for debate.
He didn’t know why he’d been released or who’d orchestrated it, but he still remembered every detail of that release. How after leaving Ryang’s office the guards had shoved him into that truck. How they’d driven for a while before that truck had stopped again and he was handed over to another set of people. From their speech, he could tell that they were South Korean. But they didn’t remove the hood from his head, not on the truck-ride afterwards and certainly not on the car ride thereafter.
Hours later, he was dumped on a street in Jeju City only for a kind, elderly couple to find him. He could’ve stayed there, hidden away to lick his wounds, become the adopted son the elderly couple were looking for. But everything in him kept screaming for Aiko. With the help of some savvy natives and a wily ship captain, he’d found himself on American soil again, in Montgomery, in front of Aiko’s childhood home.
He remembered it all.
But what would’ve been the point of recounting all these horrors to Aiko? What would it gain to tell her of the panic attacks that hit him every time he thought of his incarceration and Ryang? What good would it do to tell her how scared he was that they were going to come back for him? All it would earn him was pity – and Lincoln didn’t want it. Especially not from her. What he wanted from her was love – but apparently that was off the table now. She’d found herself someone else to love.
Was it possible for the heart to hurt? Because his did. It felt like there was a tight fist around the organ squeezing it. Lincoln felt his eyes mist and a lump grow at the back of his throat. Swallowing hard to keep the tears at bay, he lay back on the bed and turned to his side only to find himself staring at the picture of Seraphina propped on the bedside table.
He picked it up so he could better see her. Despite the sadness threatening to overwhelm him, he found himself smiling. He traced Seraphina’s features, marveling at how beautiful she was – just like her mother. Knowing that he and Aiko had created her made this whole situation bearable. He couldn’t bear it if she too were taken away from him.
CHAPTER 8
On Monday as Aiko was preparing to leave the office so she could pick Zoe from school, Damián’s mother walked into Heart Connections.
“Carmen!” Aiko stood up to greet the older lady, genuine surprise and delight in her voice. “I didn’t know you were coming by.”
Carmen looked especially elegant today. She was wearing a cream trench-coat over a white shirt, black cigarette pants and silver stilettos. To complete the Olivia Pope-esque look, she’d drawn up her hair into a chignon. She said, “I’m sorry I didn’t make an appointment, cariño.”
The term of endearment sent warmth through Aiko. It was good to know that she was on good terms with at least one her future parents in-law. Aiko had only recently met her mother-in-law but she already liked her. Carmen had turned out to be nice and easy to talk to. And bonus points, she hadn’t tried to pay Aiko off like Damián’s father had.
“You never need to make an appointment.” Aiko leaned forward to give the woman a brief hug before adding, “You’re family.”
“Damián talks so much about this place that I had to come and see it for myself.” The woman swiveled around the room, taking in the reception area. Her gaze swept over the pristine white walls, the pictures and paintings hanging on them, the large windows, and the wicker furniture complimented by accessories in shades of blue, green and white. Twirling back to face Aiko, Carmen nodded in approval. “Mm, muy linda. Very, very nice.”
“Thank you. Glad you like it.” Aiko laughed lightly. “Actually, you caught me just as I was about to lock up so I could go pick Zoe from school.”
“Oh.” The older lady’s face fell in disappointment. “I was hoping you had a little time for me.”
Resisting the urge to check her watch, Aiko said, “I can spare a few minutes.”
Her expression sheepish, Carmen confessed, “I lied about my real reason for being here.”
Aiko’s heart bump against her ribcage at that confession. Was Carmen here to talk about the whole Lincoln debacle?
“Damián says that you’re amazing at what you do.” Carmen met Aiko’s eyes as she added, “I wondered if I could take advantage of your services.”
Aiko’s eyes widened. “My dating services?”
Carmen nodded, then let out a small laugh. “I know. It’s embarrassing for an old woman like myself to ask you to set me up. And you probably don’t even know anyone who’d want someone like me but-”
“Nonsense.” Aiko’s face lit up in a smile. “You’re not an old woman and I can definitely set you up. With your looks and your charm, I bet our phones will be ringing off the hook.”
Carmen’s eyes glittered with excitement. “You think so?”
“Of course.” Aiko had been in this business long enough to know a little something about people, and Carmen was an easy sell. In fact she already someone in mind. “But we’ll need to do an interview and evaluation first.”
“Yes, of course. We can do it now if-” Carmen touched her fingers to her forehead. “Ah, I forgot. You’re on your way to pick the kids from school. Why don’t I make an appointment for tomorrow?”
“Just a minute.” Aiko circled the reception desk to grab the appointment book. A few pages later, she discovered that the day was fully booked. “Ugh! I’ve got meetings the whole day.” She turned the page to find an open slot on Wednesday. She lifted her gaze to meet her mother-in-law’s. “Is Wednesday okay for you?”
The older woman smiled. “Wednesday is very okay.”
Minutes later, Aiko closed up shop and she and Carmen descended the stairs. A car was waiting outside for Carmen. As soon as she’d seen her mother-in-law off, Aiko sped off to pick Zoe from school. Zoe was flatteringly excited to see Aiko. The tight hug she blessed Aiko with was enough to make any mother’s heart swell, and her excited chatter kept Aiko smiling all through the car ride.
Since Seraphina was still at the Vaughn home, Aiko headed there first. The moment the car came to a stop, Zoe jumped out to go and talk to Jayceon who was throwing hoops on the court by the garage. Aiko knew that Zoe h
ad a mega-crush on her fourteen year-old nephew but she wasn’t really worried. Jay was a good boy. Besides that, he knew that if he so much as touched Zoe both Aiko and Femi would hang him up by his briefs. Aiko went in search of Seraphina and found her with Lincoln in the living room.
“Do you have to take her back today?” Lincoln asked quietly as they watched Seraphina playing Miss Mary Mack with Samuel on the other couch.
Aiko nodded. “We haven’t been home this whole weekend. It’s time.”
“Will you be back?”
“Of course.” Aiko squeezed his hand. “We pass by almost every other day to see Daddy, and I can always bring her over the weekend for a sleepover.”
“Okay.” Lincoln lifted from the seat. “I’ll walk you out.”
“Phia, time to go home,” Aiko called out as she also stood. The extended weekend had melted Seraphina’s fear of her father and she immediately latched onto his hand as they left the living room. Aiko crossed the room to kiss her father’s cheek and say goodbye before she followed them outside. By the time she exited the house it was to find that she didn’t need to introduce Lincoln and Zoe. Jay had already done it for her, and the youngsters were now crowded around Lincoln.
“But why did they think you were dead?” Zoe stared at Lincoln in wide-eyed wonder. “Were you like injected with those poisons that make you look dead but you’re not really dead?”
“Could be,” Lincoln said, a faint smile crossing his features.
“Wow, that is so cool,” Zoe gasped.
“He’s like a superhero. Only cooler,” Jay added in knowledgeably. His brow suddenly creased in thought. “You don’t have any superpowers, do you, Uncle Linc?”
Lincoln, who was obviously amused, said, “I don’t think so.”
“You could have some,” Jay mused, giving Lincoln a searching look. “You know Spiderman didn’t know he had superpowers until he had to use them. Maybe we could put you in danger and see-”
“Okay. Okay.” Aiko chose to interrupt at that moment. “Y’all have been reading too many comic books. No one is putting Uncle Linc in danger, and we have to head home.”
