MasukDAMIAN
I take the service corridor out, the one the maintenance staff use, because the front door means cameras, and I am not willing to face them.
That morning, when Aria comes in, we do not talk to each other. We just mumble greetings as I speak with Luna once more before leaving.
Something tells me the clip at the hospital entrance yesterday has already gone viral, and she has seen it. But I don’t ask her ab
ARIAI text Damian twice in the afternoon. Nothing.I call once, letting it ring through to voicemail, and don’t leave a message, because I don’t trust what would come out of my mouth if I tried.Unlike Damian, who would pick up my call three seconds into the first ring, I get nothing till evening. And that alone confirms that he knows exactly what he is doing.As dusk approaches, the fury in me curls into something closer to dread. I sit at my kitchen table as I prepare Luna’s food, my phone face-up in front of me, watching it stay dark, waiting for it to light up with a ring and his name- nothing.I think maybe he is in a meeting with the board, crisis with the audit, something urgent enough to justify not answering the mother of his daughter after he secretly tested her.None of these explanations satisfy me. All of them ter
ARIA“So, if the improvement we are looking out for is visible by Friday,” the doctor says, flipping through Luna’s chart, “we’re looking at discharge sometime early next—”Her pager buzzes sharply against her hip. She glances at it and stands immediately, reacting to whatever it is.“I’m so sorry, Miss Cole, I have to go. There’s a cardiac arrest case two floors up; they need me now.” She’s already moving. “Please wait here, I’ll be back as soon as I possibly can.”I rub my face. “Alright.”She’s gone before the next second, moving like a flash out of the door as it swings shut behind her. I am left alone in the quiet of her office.I sit for a few minutes, scrolling absently through my phone, trying not to think too hard about the way Damian showed up at our house last night.My eyes drift, unfocused, across the desk, and that’s when I see it.A folder, half open, sitting slightly askew where the doctor left it. A header visible at the top of the topmost page.Genetic Paternity Anal
ARIA“There you are.” My father gestures at the television with his left hand, pride unmistakable in his voice. “My daughter, on every channel. The talk of the town.”I wince at my own face on the screen, composed and professional, addressing the press outside the courthouse on the decision of the mediator and what it means for me.“I look exhausted.”“The exhaustion of a lioness should not be mistaken for weakness,” Father says. “You look formidable.”He goes on and on, complimenting me and saying what a good father should say to his daughter. My mind slowly drifts to the compliments by the mediator and the uproar it caused in the room.For the first time, I didn’t know how to feel or respond to it. I could only say ‘thank you’ with a smile. Damian’s eyes never
DAMIAN“The claimant is awarded the full proposed damages sum,” the mediator says, “as well as the additional claims for long term-care and lost earning capacity, in full.”I can see the dismay on the faces of my legal counsel from where I sit; it is epic. I know exactly what goes on in their mind; if they’ll be retained or sacked by the CEO for losing it all to a lawyer finding her feet in the legal profession.From my seat, I read the silent words on their lips and the distant expressions on their faces.Aria doesn’t gloat; she doesn’t smile or express overt excitement typical of lawyers who just won a multi-million-dollar company, with all damages awarded. She simply bows before the mediator and gathers her files one by one with sleekness.“Thank you,” she says to the mediator and to no one in particular and b
DAMIANSomething about the way Luna talks amuses and amazes me. Each time I look at her face, I see something I am not able to explain.She’s concentrating on a colouring page, tongue caught slightly between her teeth, and it occurs she does that without any form of awareness, two fingers against her knee while she decides which crayon to reach for next.I’m looking at her carefully now, studying her behavioural patterns. That unconscious tapping on the knee is peculiar to me; I remember my father always teasing me about it, saying I have been doing that since I was a child.I am still staring, watching, calculating. Then, she looks up from the page. “Uncle, you’ve been watching me for a long time,” she says with a frown.I force a smile. “Oh, it’s nothing; I am just watching your colouring. It reminds me of when I was a chi
ARIA“When am I going home, Mummy?” Luna asks. “Soon, baby. The doctor says they’re still studying your improvement rate. If you get better, maybe we can be discharged in a few more days.”“A few more days is like forever. I am fine now, I promise.” She grabs her rabbit and hugs it tightly like her solace. “Did Grandpa get his new house yet?”“He is still looking. He wants somewhere close to us and not on the outskirts. The population is growing rapidly; seeing a comfy house almost needs connections.” Luna laughs at a joke I don’t consider funny. “When you grow up, you’ll understand what I mean.”She is still laughing when she suddenly stops. “Mummy,” she calls. “How about Uncle Damian? Am I going to stop seeing him if I get discharged? Will he be







