All Chapters of You Left Me At The Altar, Now You Beg Me: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

 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

 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

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 I’m barely out of the office door, still shaking from everything just said between us, when my phone buzzes in my hand. A notification. But beneath it is a message from an unknown number. My stomach drops before I have even opened it. Even if he knows, don’t confirm Luna’s paternity. Not yet. Not ever, if you want to keep her safe.  I check the timestamp: forty minutes ago. Meaning the message was sent immediately after I entered Damian’s office, though I didn’t notice it. I stop dead in the hallway, staring at the screen, the words dancing before my eyes. I look around me; everywhere, the only people I see are staff moving up and down, going about their business. Nobody seems to be watching. Nobody. Yet, there is someone who monitors my movements, even my thoughts. This same person knew I was walking

 ARIA I pick up my bag for the second time and want to walk out. I have had enough; I have heard enough. But what I truly never expected was the display of shock by Damian. I sincerely believed he knew, or at least had an idea of the true identity of Victoria. Sitting here to watch his lips part in awe, and his body tremble, was never part of what I envisaged. He believed them. The pains, sorrows, hardships and struggles I passed through alone could have been avoided if he listened to me. But he never did. And now, he wants forgiveness. Just like that. I drop my bag on the table and stare at him. “Can you remember when I walked into this same office that day, telling you my father developed a stroke?” He doesn’t respond. His head is bowed, pressed into his hands. “Can you also remember how I walked in