Chapter 394: The Past (3)
Chapter 394: The Past (3)
It was safe to say that Aaron’s world had come crashing down around him when he read that letter. His life never remained the same after that experience.
Disregarding all she had said in the letter, he tried to find her in the weeks and months that followed, but all his effort had been futile. It was as though she had disappeared into thin air.
He had later found out from one of the models Sara had been close to that she had pleaded with one of the supermodels who often came to his studio to hook her up with her agent some months earlier, and they had agreed that she move to Milan after she puts to birth.
Regardless of his discovery he had found a way to reach her through the supermodel and when he did, he begged her desperately not to abandon him and their baby. He had assured her that she could be married to him and still pursue her career, that he would support her in every way even if it meant moving to wherever she was.
She had told him plainly that she wasn’t interested in him or the baby. She was never coming back, so he should move on and never bother her again.
That had been the eyeopener he needed to understand that Sara had been using him the whole time. And she had only agreed to keep the pregnancy so that she would not be stranded.
He had wept, not for the loss of his money or for the trust she had broken along with his heart which was now completely shattered beyond repair. He had wept instead for his newborn child, who had lost his twin sister and had now lost his mother.
He had wept for his newborn son, who had been unfortunate enough to come through a stupid father like him. A father who had been dumb enough to have blindly fallen for someone like Sara and had chosen such a mother for him.
He would have been devastated had she stolen all he had and taken Harry with her when she left, but he still would have preferred she had done that instead of leaving behind such a fragile baby who not only needed his mother’s love and affection but also needed to suckle on his mother’s breast.
Growing up, he had always believed that growing up without a loving mother was way more difficult on a child than growing up without a father. He had always thought that every child needed a mother’s love.
Having lost his own mother at an early age, not because she died, but because she had abandoned him so she could get married without her partner knowing she was a single mother, he knew and understood what it felt like to be abandoned by one’s own mother.
He knew what it felt like to be picked on by other kids and how painful it had been for him to grow up with the knowledge that his own mother had not loved him enough to want him. She had been ashamed of him. And now he was broken because he had just subjected his own son to the same fate as he had faced.
How stupid could he have been not to have seen all the signs? He should have known that someone like Sara could never give up on her ambition. How could he have let himself be blinded by love?
Aaron wept as he looked down at his innocent baby boy, who was sleeping peacefully in his cot. He told himself that there was no time for regrets or to mourn. Sara had made her decision, and now he needed to step up to the responsibility he now had.
He resolved within himself to never let Harry be affected by his mother’s absence. He promised both himself and the sleeping infant that he would love him more than enough for two so that never in his life would he feel unloved or unwanted.
He promised himself that he would show Harry both the love of a father and a mother and would never let him know that his mother had abandoned him. That was the only way he believed his boy could grow into a happy and confident young man.
Having made that decision, he shut down his studio and sold off all he had. Taking the baby with him, he moved to a different place to start his life afresh.
A place where no one knew about him or Sara. And when anyone asked about his baby’s mother, he simply told them he was a widower who lost his wife while she was delivering their baby.
After being rejected by his mother and the one woman he had loved enough to get married to, Aaron had been unable to bring himself to get involved with another woman, so he had decided to raise his son himself.
*******
Lucy, who was still seated on the bed beside Aaron, watched with concern as he continued to move uncomfortably in his sleep while muttering Sara’s name at intervals.
Her eyes widened in alarm when he suddenly began to groan like he was in severe pain, and just as she got off the bed, wanting to go and get Harry, Aaron started speaking.
“Why Sara? Please don’t do this to us,” He cried, tears rolling down the side of his face, and she paused when she realized that his pain was more emotional than physical.
Us? Was he talking about himself and Harry? Did that mean Sara was Harry’s late mom too, and they had a daughter together? What happened to Harry’s sister? Lucy wondered as she returned to sit beside him.
Tears gathered in her eyes as she watched the sweet, cheerful man she had spoken with just the previous day cry in his sleep like a baby. Was he still so devastated by the loss of his wife? Was that why he never remarried? Was Harry aware of this?
She sat back, wondering what to do since she couldn’t possibly go and call Harry just because his father was crying and talking in his sleep.
“Harry, I’m sorry!” Aaron cried, and unable to bear his anguish anymore, Lucy rose from the bed and walked out of the bedroom. Seeing him this way was making her feel deeply sad, and she didn’t want her mood to be affected more than it already was.
As Lucy approached the living room, her steps faltered when she overheard Tom speaking, and she heard what he was saying, “I still think it’s best you find out who this Sara lady is that keeps calling him. Your father doesn’t need to know about it. If you feel too guilty about doing it, you don’t have to get involved, I could help you do it,” Tom offered, and Harry sighed as he shook his head.
“I don’t think I should do that. It would be the same as deceiving him or lying to him,” Harry said, and Tom raised a brow.
“Where is the lie in it? It’s not like he’s going to know anything about it. It’s only a lie if he asks you,” Tom pointed out, but Harry shook his head.
;
“It’s the same thing. Although it’s hard to ignore it, I really want to trust him that he will tell me about whatever is bothering him, so I will wait. I can only hope that I won’t regret the wait,” Harry said, making Lucy’s brows pull together in confusion.
Were they talking about the same Sara his father had been talking about in his sleep or was it someone else? She wondered. Deciding not to eavesdrop anymore, she made her presence known as she joined them.
“How is Aaron doing?” Tom asked as he glanced at his wristwatch.
“He is still asleep,” Lucy said without giving any details, and neither did she meet their gaze as she returned to her seat.
“We should leave now if we want to have dinner with Jamal,” Tom said, and Lucy almost sighed in relief as she quickly grabbed her handbag.
“Give my regards to Aaron when he wakes up. And if you change your mind, let me know,” Tom told Harry as he picked up his wineglass and gulped down the content.
“Don’t bother yourself about it. I won’t change my mind,” Harry said as he escorted them to the door.
“Thanks for coming, LuLu,” Harry said as he embraced Lucy after she slid her feet into her shoes, and she forced a smile.
“Give my love to Aaron, and tell him I will visit him another time,” Lucy said, and Harry gave her a nod.
“I will. By the way, Tom told me you overheard some employees insulting us. What are their names? And what department do they work in?” Harry asked, and Lucy glared at Tom, who was still putting on his shoes.
“I handled it already, so you don’t need to know their names. If it repeats itself, then I will personally submit their names to you,” Lucy promised, but Harry wasn’t having that.
“Rumors like that do not only harm you, they also harm the image of the company, and we have to make an example out of anyone that spreads such rumors for others to learn from it. If you won’t give me their names, I can as well check the security footage of the passageway and find out those who went into the restroom at the same time as you,” Harry said, and Lucy looked at Tom with pleading eyes before turning them to Harry.
“Please don’t do that. Tom already fired an employee last week. If you fire those two as well this week, it’s going to put me in a difficult position as everyone would think I’m the reason you’re both doing this. No one is going to really care about what they did wrong. Please let it go just this once.”
Harry exchanged a look with Tom before looking at her, “What difference is it going to make if we let it go this once and then discipline another set later when they speak ill of us in the future? I don’t have to handle this myself. I could relay it to the human resource department and have them take care of it,” Harry said, but Lucy shook her head.
“It’s not necessary. Let’s not concern ourselves with things like that. We have more important things to worry about,” Lucy pleaded.
“Just let it go,” Tom told Harry as he slapped his arm, “We will stop by after work tomorrow if you’re unable to make it to the office. Goodnight,” Tom said before leading Lucy away.
Once they got into the car and had strapped their seatbelts, Tom turned to her, “Are you going to tell me what is wrong?” He asked, looking at her with curious concern.
“Did I say anything was wrong?” Lucy asked as she reached into her handbag for her phone, and once she took it out, she was surprised to see that she had two missed call notifications and a text.
“You don’t have to say anything. You looked sad and uncomfortable when you returned from Aaron’s bedroom,” Tom pointed out, but Lucy’s gaze was focused on her phone.
“Lucas called. I forgot that I placed my phone on silence during the meeting at the factory,” Lucy said as she clicked on Lucas’ text.
‘I’m on my way to the airport. I’m stopping by Ludus to see you before leaving for my vacation. I will be at the hotel I stayed at the last time with dad.”
“He is on his way to Ludus,” Lucy informed Tom as she dialed Lucas’ line, but the call did not connect.
“Really? Is everything alright?” Tom asked, and Lucy gave him a nod.
“He said he wants to see me before leaving for his vacation,” she explained.
“That’s good then,” Tom said as he turned on the car’s ignition and drove off.
Lucy fell silent and glanced out the window as she pondered on all she had heard in Aaron’s bedroom and tried to reconcile it with what she had overheard Tom and Harry talk about. She had a lot of questions to ask, but there was nobody to ask.
She contemplated whether or not she should tell Tom about what she had heard or just keep it to herself.
Although she felt that she should probably tell Tom about it, but at the same time, she wasn’t sure it was right to tell him all she had heard. This was Aaron’s private business which he had let out during a moment of vulnerability, and she had just been there by chance to hear it. It wasn’t her place to tell Tom or anyone else about it. She knew for a fact that she wouldn’t like anyone to do that to her.
She also knew that Tom and Harry would probably not be happy with her if they learned that she had seen Aaron in that state or got to know all she had heard him say, yet had kept it to herself.
Tom noticed her silence but said nothing as he continued to drive, believing that she would tell him what was on her mind when she was ready to do so. He had done his part by asking, making it clear that he noticed something was wrong. All he could do now was wait for her.
Unable to hold back her curiosity anymore, Lucy turned to Tom, “Why did Aaron never remarry?” She asked out of the blues, and Tom turned to look at her, surprised by her question.
He shrugged, “It’s understandable. According to Harry, his father deeply loved his mother, and he was devastated by her death. He didn’t want anyone else, so he devoted his life to loving and taking care of their love son. Why do you ask?” Tom asked, and Lucy shrugged.
“I’m just curious. It must have been tough for him,” she said with a sad sigh, and Tom looked at her in confusion before returning his attention to the road.
What was going on in her mind? Why was she suddenly thinking about Aaron and feeling sad that he had raised Harry alone? Tom wondered. &n
bsp;
Before Tom could say anything, she spoke again, “I guess Harry was an only child? He doesn’t have siblings, does he?” She asked, wanting to know about the daughter Aaron had mentioned.
Tom spared her another glance, “No. Harry is an only child.”
“Do you know the name of Harry’s mother?”
“What is going on? Did something happen while you were in his bedroom?” Tom asked, wanting to understand exactly what was going on in her head. If there was one thing he knew about Lucy, she wasn’t a busybody that got involved in other people’s business unless it affected her, and something told him she wasn’t asking merely to satisfy her curiosity.