~
Lena looked around the house and was greatly surprised.
She had never seen a house that big before. She walked around the living room, admiring every little thing she saw.
"Brianna, sit down," her mother said as she settled into one of the chairs.
A man whom she assumed to be her father walked in with a woman and a little girl.
They sat down, and her mother started talking.
"I am very sorry to disturb your family, and I don't mean to cause any problem in your marriage, but I don't have a choice anymore. Your daughter wants to know her father…"
She was cut short by Morris' wife, Grace.
"What daughter are you talking about? Morris, what is going on?" Grace said to her husband, agitated.
"Calm down, sweetheart. I also can't understand what's going on either," Morris answered and drew his wife closer, putting his arm around her.
"Morris, Grace, what I am trying to say here is that Brianna here is your daughter."
Her mother dropped the bombshell, and Grace instantly stood up, ready to attack.
"Are you sick? Are you that desperate? I have seen a lot of women claiming to have had an affair with my husband, but you are the first to come with a child. Why would you bring a bastard here and claim she is my husband's daughter?" Grace yelled at the top of her voice.
"Grace, wait. Calm down. I am sure there is a mix-up somewhere," Morris said and faced Lena's mother, who seemed calm despite the outburst.
After all, she was the intruder.
"What do you mean? How come?"
"I am sure you remember forcefully sleeping with me then. So why don't you know that the result of a man and a woman sleeping together is pregnancy?" Teresa responded.
Grace turned to look at her husband.
"You slept with another woman? Again? How could you?" she said, unable to continue.
"Grace, let's talk about this later, okay? First, we need to deal with this issue," Morris urged.
"What issue? Are you kidding me? You have a child who is over ten years old, and you want to continue? What issue? Isn't it clear already…"
Grace was cut short by her daughter, Ashley.
"Mum, please can you stop shouting?" she said and faced her father.
"I am not accepting any daughter of yours in this house, and that's it," Grace said with authority and left the room angrily.
The three of them continued talking without minding the other person in the room.
It had always been like this for as long as she could remember.
She had never been noticed by anyone, no matter what.
Her presence had never been acknowledged, and no one had ever cared about her opinion.
...
Lena opened her eyes from the terrible dream and sighed, holding her head.
She couldn't believe she is having that stupid dream again.
It's been thirteen years since that day and yet, these days, the dreams won't stop coming.
She stood up from the bed and checked her clock.
It was nine in the morning.
Good.
It has been a while since she slept that long in three years.
All her schedule has always been about traveling and working.
She had no time to rest or take care of Chris.
She stride out of her room into Chris's room and saw him fast asleep.
She sat down beside him and touched his face, not sure if she should be worried he sleeps too much.
Looking at his peaceful sleeping face made Lena feel a little guilty.
She wished he weren't her child, but born to someone better who would love him as he deserved.
"I'm sorry," she whispered and lay down beside him, careful not to disturb him.
But her movement caused him to wake up. He rubbed his eyes and looked at Lena, who smiled and greeted him.
"Good morning." She carried him from the bed and took him to the bathroom to give him a bath then helped him get dressed.
After that, they went to the kitchen to have something to eat.
Just as they finished eating, Lena received a call from her assistant, informing her that she was waiting for her downstairs.
She got up and went to the bathroom to take a shower and get dressed.
Searching through her closet, she picked a silver spaghetti-strap dress that revealed a bit of her back, with a flowery design on the left side made from the same fabric.
She paired it with wine-colored heels she had recently endorsed.
Being so used to wearing high heels, Lena found them comfortable even around the house.
After applying her makeup,
She went back to her room to pick up her purse and returned to the living room to see Chris still standing where she had left him. She bent down to his height, held his hand, and led him to a seat.
"Dear, I'm going out now, and I will be back in two hours. Your godmother will be here soon to stay with you." She said.
Chris nodded once.
"Good. When I come back, I will take you out to have some fun, okay?" she said slowly so he would understand.
Chris nodded, smiling, obviously surprised that she wanted to take him out.
Sometimes or rather, most of the time Lena ignores him and even sent him away.
At other times, she treated him kindly, which confused him about whether she liked him or not.
But now that she promised to take him out, he knew she must like him.
Lena called Courtney in the elevator to be sure she is almost at the house and stepped out.
" Good morning," her assistant greeted and opened the car door.
" Where is Lola?" She asked.
" She has some things to attend to. She will join us soon." She answered and Lena nods, getting into the car.