Irvin sneered, "I don't care!"
I got up, suppressed my emotions, looked at him calmly and said, "You know what, all of this is fair. You erased any hope of my child's survival and Hendrix destroyed your career. It's all fair. As for the favor I owe you for saving my life, I will repay you for that."
He grabbed my wrist and said, "Don't be in a hurry to leave. Sit back with me for a while longer."
I frowned because I really didn't want to.
Exerting a little more force, he pushed me back into my seat and said, "I know you hate me and might not be willing to even see me but Arianna, but I'm lonely. The members of the company have left. That day, I stood on the top floor and stayed there for a long time. I watched the lights of the thousands of homes below, but my heart was empty and lonely. I've lived like this all these years. I am someone who doesn't like to remember or reminisce about the dead, but I keep on seeing my parents in my dreams. In the dreams, it would be New Year's Eve, and they would prepare a lot of dishes and always urge me to come home quickly."
"However, every time I woke up, I found myself facing and staring into an empty room. Then, I thought, maybe I would look for you and when I saw you, I would feel better. So, I would drive to the villa in the eastern suburbs and stand outside the gate, watching you with your bright lights and listening to your laughter. There, for a few seconds, I'd get the strong urge to go in and whisk you away, but then seeing Hendrix smile as he held you in his arms, was too blinding. That kind of happiness was something I had never possessed."
I had no way of replying to that. Instead, I looked at him with my face schooled expressionless. After a moment of silence, I said, "It's getting late.
I should head back."
He didn't stop me, but said, "Arianna, have you thought about it? You're infertile now, and Anne is not your own child. No matter how much Hendrix loves you, he has to consider the Roberts family line. You respected Dalton, and you of all people know best what his greatest wish was when he was still alive. If Nerissa knows that you won't be able to get pregnant, do you think she will still let you live your life with him? Arianna, this is real life, not some movie script. No one is that broadminded and generous."
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