SECOND CHANCES - Forgiving Isn't Always Easy

Chapter ten: Who is she?

" The most precious jewel you'll have around your neck are your children's arms "

Alex PoV:

He pressed his finger against the button and the sign flashed red, letting him know his lift was coming. Instinctively his other hand rose to his cheek and he started rubbing it to ease the stinging pain. He had a high threshold for pain, so he was naturally surprised a woman's slap could hurt so much. He could feel the burn it was emitting and he knew it was blood red by now, with five fingers printed on it.

Alex was having contradictory thoughts and emotions. Her slap hit him hard but somehow he was pleased. Told him she was the strong, willed woman he had envisioned her to be and would stand for herself whenever and against whoever. However it hurt him too, and not the slap as much as the act. That slap was her way of telling him to stay the hell away from her , and though his mind rationalized  it to be the best decision for both, his heart disagreed hard. His heart beat harder than a horses who's been starved for weeks when he was near her; not that a horse could be starved for weeks, or that he had any idea how long the animal could actually be starved. And why would one starve them in the first place? Anyway, He was a magnate when it came to doing business, taking risks and placing assets but living creatures were a puzzle to him, women specially; which didn’t help his case at all.

Stepping inside the elevator, he couldn’t help but think what the hell was wrong with him. During his 34 years long life he had always been a man who abhorred and despised treason; who despised the men who betrayed their wives trust and love, and he was now finding himself in the verge of doing so himself. What the hell had happened to him? The man who was know for his morals, rigidness and high concept of loyalty, had not only been unfaithful to  his fiancée, but was now about to be an unfaithful husband as well??

"Selen Heartfelt what have you done to me?"- he found himself talking in thin air as the elevator doors sprung open and he stepped out. Through out all the lift he had been in thoughts but none about what to tell her when they met, and they eventually would since she was his assistant.

"Damn!"- another self talk. He wasn’t prepared to do that yet, but he owed her an apology and explanation and he wasn’t one to shy away from his behavior’s consequences.

Slowly yet steadily he approached her office and he noticed she wasn’t in her place, which didn’t surprise him. She probably needed time to gather her thoughts. Alex then went for his door and stepped in. He threw him self in the chair and elbows on the desk, head between them he stood.

After several minutes a door knock was heard and heels walked in.

"S.."- his words got caught up in his throat as the woman that had just entered his premises was none other than his wife. She looked stunning as ever but right now Alex wished any and he meant anyone else to be standing there, looking at him.

"Vivian what are you doing here?"

"Came to visit my lovely husband... "- smiley face.
"What happened?"- she then inquired and he could tell it was genuine; his wife was genuinely curious.

"What do you mean?"

"With Selen, I saw her running out crying,"- she said and his heart sipped like 100 beats. Had his action hurt her that much?

"W-What?"- he uttered, frozen by her words.

"You don’t know? How rude! I get you need to run to the hospital, but at least inform your boss..."- Vivian rambled on while he stopped hearing after 'hospital was mouthed.

"H-Hospital?"

"Yes, she was distraught&& and so shaken up and all she could manage to say was hospital. Why so affected?"- now this was his usual wife-self speaking.

"I was surprised, that’s all,"- that part was true, seeing how he thought he was the one to have made her cry.

"A little too surp...

" Vivian enough! I'm really not in the mood today. Find another time for your games."- and with that he opened a file, which to be honest he had absolutely no idea as to what it was, but if it gave Vivian the right notion, he was all for it.

She however, completely dismissed his actions and sat in front of him, tapping her index fingers on the table, and swinging slowly from side to side. Now this he knew full well; this was her trying to be sweet and afterwards pop up an innocent question that last time got them in South Africa.

"What?"- Alex inquired, knowing look in his eyes.

"Nothing,"- she faked as much innocence as she possibly could; in another moment he would have found her amusing, but not today. Today he was plagued by the facts she had just imprinted on his head; Selen crying and hospital. He only hopped everything was all right.

"I know that look from miles away Vivian. What do you want?"

"Lets have a second honey moon."- she blurred out casually, but he knew better.

"What?"

"Please!"

"Vivian we had a honeymoon."- he simply stated.

"That’s why I said second honeymoon,"- she tried to play it cool.

"Ou how stupid of me, I didn’t hear the word second. Well now we can go,"- he said sarcastically, blank look in his face

"Baby please, Its been too long since we had a breakaway... And we have been fighting and distant lately and I don’t like that. Lets go away for two weeks or so . Please!”
“ Firstly, with you its never two weeks, its two months or so. And I’m aware that we have been distant and I want to make it up to you, I really do, but I cant right now. There is the annual conference in just a few weeks and I cant go anywhere that isn’t related to it. You know how important this is for the company."

"I know,"- and then she pouted her lower lip, mimicking a sad baby who didn’t get her candy.

"Well, since we cant go away, can we go to my mothers dinner party?".."- she faked sad again buy he wasn’t fooled.

"That’s what you wanted from the very start isn’t it? you just made that whole second honeymoon story up,  to get me to agree to the dinner with your mum. Where did you learn it? At manipulate your husband dot com?(manipulateyourhusband.com)"- he asked harshly.

"Why are you so mad? Its just a dinner party!"

"Its not the dinner I’m mad at, its you thinking you can manipulate me!"

"You leave me no choice! Why won’t you ever go to one with me?"

"Its not the dinner, or you,"- he spoke truths.

"What is it then?? Ever since the first month we married you haven’t willingly met my mother ever. Only when she comes to visit and even then you merely acknowledge her presence and leave the room. What is it that you have against her?"- she interrogated and rightfully so, however he had wanted to keep the real reason hidden from her, in an attempt to preserve her from pain. Seemed now was time for truth to came to light. 

"Look Viv, I really don’t want to do this, specially today when I'm not in the mood."- he spoke with an exasperated look in his face.

"Sorry but you have to! This has been going on for two long!"- Vivian was being persistent as always but he honestly wished she did this another day.

Sigh!

"Alright Viv, I’ll tell you but not now. I have two meetings scheduled and since Selen isn’t here I have a lot more work to do. So we’ll talk home, okay?"

"Fine, but this talk is happening today!"- she said and getting up, she leaned in the table and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

Vivian had been gone for minutes and he was supposedly preparing for the meetings, so how come his mind was nowhere near the files he had in front. His mind was running inside mazes, spinning around her.

"What happened Selen?"- he whispered.  Making up his mind, he reached down his pocked and picked up the phone, dialing the number he knew by heart, seeing how he had dialed  it so many times.

"Hello,"- the voice on the other line answered.

"Bill, need you to run a background check, deep one."- Alex spoke into the phone.

"Always! Who?"

"Selen Heartfelt. She is in the hospital today, check out why and let me know. Meanwhile I want the file in my desk by Friday. You have less than 24 hours."

"By Friday it is. I'll call just as soon as I figure out this hospital thing."- and he hung up. Alex leaned back in his chair, wondering if he had done right. He was about to uncover her whole life and though he knew peeping into other peoples lives wasn’t the way to go about at it, he couldn’t help it. Something had bugged him ever since the first time he had seen her in his office. A bizarre feeling had taken over his body and he wanted, needed to know why.

Moreover? Bill was definitely the most adequate man for the job. Alex had relied on him to investigate whoever he did business with and he had never been let down. If anyone could discover until the last time Selen had changed her underwear was him, though Alex didn’t dare go that far; the mere thought sent his blood running.

He had attended the meeting for more than 45 minutes though he had lost interest in the first two. Luckily, his second in charge was attending too, so discarding all the weight onto him, Alex stood there merely physically. Soon though, his silence was disturbed by a vibration in his phone, signaling a message was received. Carefully pulling it out of his pocket, he made sure no one saw this unprecedented act on his part. It read as follows:

“Subject: Hospital

Patient’s name: Hope Heartfelt
Gender: Female
Born: January, 25-fth, 2013.
Admitted for: Abdominal pain
Suspected: Abdomen Cancer (Long medical name removed by me)
Cure: Uncertain due to ongoing diagnosis

That’s all they could tell me. Will let know if more.’

As he read the message, his hands went numb and so did his mind. Not only had he found out she had a daughter, but the kid was sick. Instantly he felt his heart ache for her pain, yet a terrible feeling had stuck by him ever since this message came.
“ Hope Heartfelt”- he muttered, not taking his eyes from her birth date. She had been born 7 months after he and Selen had met… Blood drained off his face as realization smacked him hard in the gut. Hope was… his daughter!

Alex bolted out of the room faster than he had thought humanly possible and headed for the elevator. Only one thought in his head: find out it she was really his baby, though he had no doubt in his mind and do the impossible to save her; praying Bill had got the info wrong. As he ran towards the lift, he heard his employees call him, but he didn’t care.

“Damn elevator! What’s taking so long!”- he shouted. Impatient, he took the stairs, racing to get to his car. In his haste, he spared no second thought to the height he had to climb down. Reaching his daughter was imperial!

-----A/N-----

Thought I'd do an Alex special :) Hope you enjoy!!
Let me know in the comments.

-X-O-