The Perfect Gentleman ✔

13: Forgotten past

"How do you know Lucas Caspian-Asiegbu?"

Donald came right over after she had called him to find a sobbing mess greet him at the door. He managed to calm her down enough to get her to talk, seeing it was obvious she had a lot on her plate. And because the last time he had been invited into her apartment, the beer had relaxed her enough to tell him about her childhood days, he opted for the same, making sure she had a can of beer with her always.

He studied her, watching as her eyes got glassy at the memory. Even in the dim light, he could tell the memory still brought her pain. He was almost about to lose hope, thinking she wasn't going to reply him when she spoke up.

"I was married to him Seven years ago. It was a fairytale dream with my very own Prince. We were so happy then everything went wrong because of her."

He frowned at her words. "Because of who?"

"Karen Thomas. The former beauty queen," she answered simply, then silence echoed throughout the apartment for a few minutes.

She took a sip of her beer before she resumed speaking.

"My name is Lucas. That's what he said the first time we met. Nothing was added, nothing in his behavior to make me think we were from two different worlds. He was a charmer, witty, intelligent and completely impulsive. Funnily enough, I was more of a slowpoke like he used to call me cos I'll never agree to do anything or go anywhere until I was sure it was safe." She paused to smile at the memory before continuing.

"He swept me off my feet within the first month of our meeting. My friends were envious of me, it was obvious that my life would never be the same again and it wasn't. He made sure I did all the things I ever wanted to do, and go to all the places I ever wanted to see. He was my whole world. I suppose it was my own fairytale story when his family accepted our relationship without hassle. His mother doted on me, his grandfather prodded me to hurry up and get pregnant. His father, on the other hand, wasn't exactly thrilled about us. He was of the opinion that we were too young to know what we actually wanted and I guess that he was right in a way. I was 21, barely out of school and he was 24 and had just made his first billions.

"I had fallen in love with the image of a charming young man without grasping the fact that he was a well-known playboy. He was rich, handsome, young and successful. He ran his own branch of the family business, hence he was bound to get cocky at some point. Within four months of our first meeting, we were married in this completely grand ceremony with a very expensive wedding gown, exquisitely decorated wedding ceremony and reception and a breathtakingly beautiful honeymoon. I was in paradise." She smiled mistily at the memory causing a infectious smile to grace Donald's lips.

"It never bothered me about his reputation. Mainly because if he was having an affair, he was very discreet about it. He did promise me right before we got married that he was going to stay faithful to me all the days of our married life. I'll admit I was curious but there was nothing to indicate otherwise. Then I fell pregnant and my whole life revolved around the bundle of joy growing inside of me. I guess everyone else's too. I remember giving Lucas a pair of blue baby shoes as a birthday present when I found out and he had been so ecstatic he had practically gone everywhere with them. I was pampered silly because of my pregnancy. Then everything went wrong."

She sniffed and took a gulp of her beer before continuing.

"CAPPEL had extended operations in the east, precisely in Enugu and Lucas was in charge of the project. I didn't see him for two months roughly and the worrying was obviously not good for the baby. Then there were rumors about him being too friendly with the female folks. Despite my doctor's warnings, I had travelled to go see him and was calmed down when he didn't look like he was with female company. That had been my ultimate mistake. Believing his lie.

"A girl had shown up at our house two weeks later demanding to see him, claiming she was in love with him. Her attitude irked me and we had gotten into a fight, then I fainted and was rushed into surgery. The doctors saying something along the lines of forced labor. After 20 hours of surgery with doctors fighting to save both our lives, I woke up to the horrible news about his cheating scandal on the television."

She swiped away at the tears that had spilled and Donald scooted over to her side to cuddle her.

"I remember crying. I remember being in pain, the feeling of being lost, of being stabbed over and over in your chest. It hurt more than it should cos it was in Enugu, the same place he swore he didn't have past lovers, and with the same girl he ended a six year relationship with right before we met. With the same girl he swore he felt nothing for. The same girl he said held no claim to his heart anymore!"

She was crying loudly now, barely holding it in, barely hiding the pain she felt. The pain hadn't healed, not yet. It still ran very deep and Donald wondered if that was a good thing that will favor his plans or not.

A few minutes later, the cries quietened into sobs as the aftershocks rocked her body. She sniffed, rubbing her eyes.

"I've not cried about this since they took my son away. I didn't think I still had it in me. I filed for divorce a month later and luckily it was processed pretty fast. I got the house in V.I and I gave it to my mom, the cars went to my mom and my sisters as I was mentally and emotionally drained at the time. I got a few millions but my family are terrible at money management that you won't believe I was once married to a billionaire." She laughed at the memory and that brought a smile to his face.

"He left right after the conditions of the divorce was met to go stay with his grandfather in Abuja. And I've not heard anything about him since. I didn't even know he would come back here or that he was back," she finished, taking the last gulp of her beer.

Donald mimicked her action, taking a deep gulp too. He adjusted his arm, so she could snuggle better, but she sat up instead.

"You said they took your son away? Why?" He asked suddenly.

She stood up and strolled to the dining area. She then paused to give him a sad smile. "Yeah. They did. I was unfit to be his mother so I let Lucas take him away. The scandal had affected me more than I wanted to and I feared hating him as much as I hated his father. I suppose that makes me a horrible mother."

Donald stood up and strolled to where she was standing. Cupping her face, he said. "You're not a horrible mother. You're actually brave for admitting you were not fit to take care of him and we know why. You would have certainly blamed yourself if you raised him up knowing you hated his father, and then inadvertently hating him too. That situation would make you a horrible person."

She looked into his eyes and saw the sincerity in them.

Nodding at his words, she admitted "You're right. I did what was best for him at that point... But I'm not sure anymore." She sighed with regret, before pulling away.

Cupping her face in his hands again, he forced her to look into his eyes. "Don't despair, Sara. I'm here to help, if you ever feel like you can change the course of what happened all those years ago. I'll be your friend, staying as your pillar, not judging."

Sara nodded, grateful for the support. Before she could lean into his arms, she looked at him fully and questioned.

"Why are you being nice to me? Why are you being all friendly when we barely know each other?"

He removed his hands to sigh audibly with a grim look on his features.

"Let's just say, I have a few issues to settle with Mr. Lucas and you have a grievance too against him. I think we can help each other if we work together."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, I did say Donald was going to set the ball rolling a lot in this book.

What do you think is his plan to help Sara? Any random thoughts?

Let's continue voting and commenting as usual.

Thank you😍😘