Chapter 65

~Alistair~

I had been biting my fingers all the way to Carrie’s clinic. Fuck! I knew I had messed up big time, with the way I had spoken to Eliana. I should never have brought about the issue of going to court just like that. I had just been annoyed by the fact that my own son saw me as a monster, and obviously did not want to have anything to do with me.

I had blurted out trash, and that was only going to fuel his hatred towards me all the more. I was in deep regrets, and I kept on wishing I hadn’t let my emotions get the best of me. I should have just been calm even when he said those things, since it was also glaring that Eliana wasn’t happy with what he had said.

All these years, I knew my life had been incomplete, and I had thought it was just because Eliana wasn’t around; I had no idea that I was also missing another part of me – my own flesh and blood, my offspring, my son.

I could understand why she had vanished into thin air, without even letting me know that she was pregnant with my child. Perhaps, she was right, and I may have probably rejected the child thinking it was another one of her deceptions, and if I hadn’t realised Jenny’s evil deeds early enough, she may have been subjected to further public disgrace if she had given birth to the boy in Los Angeles.

She was right though; I needed to stop blaming Jenny or what I thought she had done. Only me was to blame for hurting her so badly. After all, if I had truly loved her, it should have exceeded the anger I had felt. No matter what she had done, I had gone too far in order to execute my revenge. However, I didn’t care so much about what her family had gone through. Revenge had been the plan all along for what they had done to my parents, and even though her siblings hadn’t been a part of it, they deserved what they had gotten...except for maybe Elvira, since the rest were assholes who had been awful to Eliana.

There was a traffic on the road, and all the vehicles were at a standstill, as we waited for whatever was causing the traffic to be cleared off, so, we could move and go about our various affairs.

I needed to speak to Garrett, and since it was a Saturday, I was sure as hell that he was definitely in his wife’s clinic. They had gotten married three years ago, and they had been trying to have a child of their own. Medical reports showed that there was an issue with Carrie, but she had been undergoing treatment, and while they hoped for a child, they made sure to still have time for each other.

I admired their relationship, and whenever I remembered that it was because of Eliana and I that they had met, I felt happy, and at the same time, a little bit sad. We could have been going on double dates, and having a couple’s hangout every now and then, but while Eliana and I had been split, they still maintained the love they had for each other.

The traffic had slightly cleared, and Mr Coleman used that opportunity to swerve the car into the street by the right, where Carrie’s veterinarian clinic was located.

He parked in front of the clinic, and after telling him not to bother to open the door for me, I opened it, and stepped down from the car. If Garrett was not inside, I’d have to go to their house, which was not far from the clinic, thankfully.

I barged into the clinic, where I saw Carrie jotting down some things. She looked up, upon hearing me come in.

“Alistair, what a pleasant surprise,” She said, shooting a warm smile in my direction.

“Good afternoon,” I said, walking towards her.

The last time I had seen her was about seven months ago at a baby shower of one of the company’s shareholders, which I had felt obligated to attend. I hardly went for events or came to her clinic, so, it was always a pleasant surprise whenever we saw each other.

“To what do I owe this pleasure?” Carrie asked, offering me a seat.

“Thanks, but I don’t think I will be staying for long. Is Garrett around?” I inquired.

“Yeah. He just stepped out to get something. I hope everything is okay with you,” She said.

“I hope, too. I was meaning to ask you a question. Did you know Eliana is back?” I asked.

She looked surprised. “Eliana is back?” She asked.

Apparently, she didn’t know that Eliana had come back. I had been trying to find out if she and her husband had known about it, but had withheld the information from me. If it had been so, Garrett would have regretted making me go out on a date with someone like Gina, when the sweet and gentle Eliana was back in the city.

“Alistair, what are you doing here?” Garrett asked, as he opened the door and stepped inside.

“Can’t I decide to visit my friend?” I retorted.

“No, you can’t. What is it that you want?” He asked, looking at me suspiciously.

“Something happened,” I told him.

“Yeah, I know,” Garrett said.

“You do?” I asked, shocked to the bone.

“Trust me, I do. Gina Leblanc just tweeted that you’re not her type, and I’m sorry that your first date had to be a with a woman that isn’t interested in you. Listen, it doesn’t always have to work out the first time. Not everyone is like Carrie and I. I’ll just set you up with someone else,” Garrett said.

“I’m not interested in anyone else, and for the record, Gina was into me, and had already started fantasising about our engagement and me meeting her mother. I am the one who doesn’t fancy her, and it’s not only because she looks like the opposite of her pictures on Instagram, it’s also because she has a nasty attitude,” I said.

“Oh, really? I guess I’ll have to get you someone who isn’t a social media freak, and doesn’t use filters to enhance her pictures. How does that sound?” He asked.

“I already have someone like that, Garrett. I don’t need your help,” I told him.

“You don’t? Are you sure?” He asked.

“Positive,” I replied.

“Well, who is she?” Garrett inquired.

“Eliana,” I responded.

Garrett gave a broken laughter. “It’s funny how you keep warning me not to mention her name, and you go ahead and do it anyway. Anyways, we both know that Eliana left this city a long time ago, and is never coming back,” He said.

A sly smile appeared on my face. “That’s where you’re wrong, G. Eliana will come back, and she has already come back,” I told him.

He shook with laughter, and kept on laughing hard, till he saw the serious look, which was written clearly on my face.

“Wait, are you serious?” He asked.

“Of course, I am serious. I saw Eliana with both of my eyes today, while having a milkshake with Gina Leblanc,” I told him.

He looked at me, with disbelief clearly written all over his face. “Are you sure of what you’re saying? Are you sure it’s Eliana Venator you laid eyes on?” He asked.

“Of course, I am. I spoke to her,” I said.

“And what did she say?” Carrie asked.

“I tried to apologise to her, but she didn’t want to hear any of it. I don’t think I can ever get her to forgive me,” I said.

“No, Alistair, don’t say that. If you’re certain that all you’re saying right now is neither a prank nor a dream, and that you actually saw and spoke to Eliana, then, you must keep trying hard to get her to forgive you. What you did was terrible, but it’s not above forgiveness,” Carrie said.

“She’s right. You may still have a shot at forgiveness,” Garrett agreed.

I shrugged, and raked my hands through my hair. “I’m sure that I’ve ruined my only shot at forgiveness,” I said.

“What are you talking about? Did you do something stupid again?” Garrett asked.

“I guess so. Listen, Eliana was with a little boy...”

“Little boy?” Carrie asked, interrupting my sentence.

I nodded my head, in the affirmative. “Yes, and trust me when I say that child looks exactly like me, save for the brown eyes he inherited from Eliana,” I explained.

“Does he look like a six-year-old?” Carrie asked, getting the point I was trying to make.

“He does, Carrie, and she didn’t even lie or try to hide the fact that she had my child six years ago,” I said.

“OMG! That’s huge,” Carrie exclaimed.

“Wait, I am not following. You mean that when Eliana left Los Angeles six years ago, she was carrying your child in her womb?” Garrett asked, with his eyes wide open in surprise.

I nodded my head. “Exactly,” I replied.

“And she’s back now with the child?” Garrett inquired.

“Yes, G. I saw the child, and he was so perfect. I was apologising to Eliana, and when I saw that little boy, all I wanted was to just have him back, as if I ever had him,” I explained.

“And what happened after that?” Garrett asked.

“I should have kept on trying to make Eliana reason with me, but I was too forward with things. I wanted to be a part of my son’s life, but I lost it and messed up, when the boy said that I was a bad man, and he doesn’t want to have anything to do with me,” I told them.

“What did you say when he told you that?” Carrie asked.

“I knew that he had been told a whole lot of stuff by Eliana’s family, and I threatened Eliana that I was going to take her to court in order to have access to my child,” I said.

“I’d give you a tight slap, but then again, you’re older than I am. You just met Eliana after six years, and you just discovered you had a son. Instead of you to have calmed down and tried to think of ways to get back the mother of your child, along with your son, you had to go and make matters worse,” Garrett said.

“Threatening her with the issue of custody according to the court was a really stupid thing to do, Alistair, but it doesn’t mean that there’s no hope of getting your woman and child back,” Carrie said.

“Are you sure about that, honey?” Garrett asked.

“Yes, I am sure. He just needs to try a different approach. Did you see a wedding ring on Eliana’s finger?” Carrie asked.

“No, I didn’t,” I replied.

“Okay. That’s a good sign. Here’s what you’re going to do. Go to their house, and once again, say you’re sorry. I know you didn’t mean the court thing, but you let your emotions get the best of you. Be cool and collected, and this time around, don’t mess things up with your words, even if she yells at you or hits you,” Carrie said.

“You’re telling me to endure physical abuse?” I asked, looking from Garrett to his wife.

“I am telling you to give your all into fighting for the only woman you claim to have ever loved. Are you sorry for what you did to her? Do you want her back in your life? Are you interested in being a father to your son? It is time to answer those questions,” Carrie said.

I heaved a deep and thoughtful sigh, thinking of what to do. Carrie hadn’t given me a straightforward advice, and had made the whole thing seem like a puzzle, but I kind of had an idea on what I was to do, in order to earn Eliana’s love and trust once again, as well as that of our child.

Garrett placed his hand on my shoulder, and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “You have to do everything in your power to get Eliana and your son back, and don’t try to do so rashly. The universe has given you a second chance to make things right; don’t mess it up,” He said.

“Thank you...both of you,” I said, heaving another deep sigh.

After saying something that could further get me away from Eliana’s life today, my friends had told me that I still had a chance to make things right. This was why my late mother had once told me that “everybody needs somebody". If it were only me, I would have just threw my hands in the air, and concluded that it was all over, and that the story of Eliana and I had come to a tragic end.

No way! Brace yourself, Eliana. Our chapter isn’t even close to being over yet. I’ll make sure to give our own story a happy ending. After all that we’ve been through, you and I deserved to be happy, and I knew that I had made a mistake once again today, but I was willing to try to make up for all the mistakes that I had ever made.

I wanted to make amends, and I was going to do everything I could possibly do to salvage our broken bond.