Chapter 8: She's my daughter!
Wichita, Kansas City at 11 p.m...
Brandon Smith's POV
I took a sip of wine after the previous five glasses. "Aghh..." I grinned, feeling a stinging sensation and a delicious taste, at least this was better than continuing to think about those two girls.
"Bro… enough ….You'll get drunk, I won't take you home!" Criss took the bottle and glass from in front of me and took them somewhere.
I exhaled a rough breath and rested my head on the black couch, closed, but the image of Victoria and her little daughter came back to haunt my mind and always took me to our beautiful past.
Her smile and the color of her eyes are similar to mine, so having my last name makes me always believe that she is my daughter. But why was Victoria avoided? It feels very strange if she doesn't want to be with me but lets her daughter have my last name.
"What happened to you? I heard that today you went to Canada but now you're here again." Criss patted my shoulder and sat back down next to me.
"Victoria... I saw her last night," I said lazily. "I didn't let her get away from me so I asked my assistant to follow and investigate her. Finally, I found out she had a daughter who had the same eye color as mine and even had my last name."
"Really?"
"Yeah... But she said it wasn't my daughter." I glanced at my fingers, remembering how I shook hands with that little girl. "She said her pregnancy was very accidental because she had sex with one of her college friends after prom night. That was also the reason she left me..."
"Do you believe that?"
"I don't know." I shook my head. "This statement from hee really broke me... And I don't understand why she always wants to leave me, even the possibility of her going to Canada is to avoid me... She went there after seeing me at the party. She rushed like a fugitive... She shouldn't have to do that if she doesn't feel connected to me. Why is she running away? Maybe she thinks I'm going to cause problems in her life?"
"I think you are indeed a problem in her life, that's why she left you and doesn't want you to chase her," said Criss, making me immediately glance at him. "If her initial reason for leaving you was because she was pregnant with another man's child, she shouldn't need to avoid you now, especially since that happened five years ago."
I sneered, still feeling confused.
"Aren't you trying to get her back together?"
"I did... But she rejected me because she was worried that she wouldn't get our parents' approval, but when I convinced her..." I sighed. "She said she has a boyfriend."
"Really?" Chris was shocked.
I just nodded.
"If she already has a boyfriend, and is at peace with her current life, she shouldn't need to avoid you," said Criss again then looked forward. "Maybe she's lying... The right reasons for her to avoid you are because she still loves you, then because you still have a bond with her, then she feels threatened, or she's lazy about bringing up the past...But it's very doubtful that someone is too lazy to bring up the past until they decide to move... I think you have to investigate everything that is explained... Investigate the truth," he continued then looked at me again.
I paused anxiously, doubtfully, remembering Victoria's explanations.
"She said that she got pregnant accidentally because she had sexual relations with her college friend on prom night, that's very impossible whereas before she always had sexual relations with you, right?" Criss' question again distracted me. "To me, it would be very plausible that the little girl is your daughter because she has your eye color... And maybe Victoria knew that so she used your last name as her last name...So the conclusion is that she left not because she was pregnant with her friend's child but because she was pregnant with your child but didn't dare tell you..."
"But why didn't she just tell me?" I asked irritably.
"I'm of two minds." Criss saw that I was serious. "The first is because she is worried that if she tells you, you will immediately want to marry her, whereas at that time your relationship was still a secret and your family didn't know about it and she also felt inferior because her status was the daughter of a housekeeper ..and the second possibility is, when she was pregnant, her mother immediately found out and then her mother was angry and maybe she didn't dare tell her that the baby's father was you... it's not easy, to be honest, if previously your relationship felt like something that was forbidden in your house."
I frowned, confused, wondering how Victoria and I had a relationship without the people at home knowing.
"And there is one more theory," said Criss making me glance at him again.
"What?"
"Maybe when she was pregnant, your mother found out about it….and then kicked her out because that could be something your mother doesn't like her... Or maybe your mother knows that you are the father of the baby and then she doesn't like it because she is the housekeeper's daughter... Maybe your mother thinks it's a bad thing embarrassing… Like a scandal….and could damage your family's reputation. That's a very reasonable thing!" he explained with confidence. "I'm sure, the last theory is the most reasonable, and that's why until now she still avoids you... Because she knows your mother doesn't like her!" He continued, pushing my shoulder.
I was a little shaken, but my mind was all over the place.
'Could my mother possibly have the heart to do that? Isn't that something cruel, driving away a girl who is pregnant with her grandchild?'.I clenched my fists, became inflamed, my blood seemed to boil, heated me, and brought me into uncontrollable emotions until my hands hit the table without realizing it.
"To hell with all this!" I immediately stood up, my breath was ragged.
"Bro..." Criss pulled me to sit back down.
"Your theory makes perfect sense!" I confirmed, remembering my conversation with Victoria today. "When I asked her to come back to me and said I would accept her daughter even though it was another man's child, she immediately refused and mentioned a little about how my mother would behave. That seemed to indicate that my mother was someone she was very afraid of!"
"I know, I expected that!" Criss hissed.
I was silent, my gaze remained forward but my thoughts continued to drift to Victoria and her little daughter. I can't imagine what if it was my daughter, that means I have neglected them all this time, and maybe they are in a situation of financial or mental difficulty.
"You have to be wise in responding to this problem...Don't go straight to the point when you meet her and tell her about this theory, let alone go to your mother and get angry with her... Everything won't end with anger!" Criss emphasized, making me immediately glance at him.
"What should I do? I feel so stupid right now….I want to embrace them back in my life!"
"It will be difficult because Victoria is avoiding you... You have to find a way to make her unable to avoid you and admit that her little daughter is yours!" Criss explained again, and suddenly I was lost in thought, thinking about things that would make Victoria unable to run away from me, or even want to run. But what? What should I do?
"Oh my God, I'm so dizzy!" I leaned my head on the shoulder of the couch, massaged the bridge of my nose, and closed my eyes. "I just want to be with them... That little girl... She's so cute, beautiful... She even teased me just for a new iPad..that means she felt lacking all this time, whereas I... I have everything. What kind of father am I!"
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone