Mistake

by Ellen Hutton

  “Mommy has to go for some water.” She said

  As she stood she heard the doorbell ring and she wondered who could be at their door so late. She walked over to the door and flung it home half expecting to see the doorman standing there with some package or other. When she saw Lucas she gasped and tried to slam the door but his hand shot out and stopped it.

  He pushed back the door and stepped in. It seemed as if Cecile had heard the commotion and she walked out of the kitchen with Logan hugging her leg from behind. Lucas’ eyes moved from her to Logan’s and then back.

  “We need to talk.” He said

  She turned and motioned to Cecile.

  “Take him into his room.” She said

  When she turned back to Lucas all she saw was anger on his face.

  “What do you want?” she asked

  “An explanation.” He said stepping into her apartment

  “An explanation of what exactly?” she asked

  “Don’t pretend to be stupid Scarlet” he hissed, “you have a son! My son!”

  She shook her head at his incredulity. Millions of questions ran through her mind, the first of which was how he could have found out about her son.

  “You mean my son Lucas,” she said, “he’s not yours”

  “Then who is his father?” Lucas asked pinning her with an accusatory stare.

  “A one-night stand.” she replied bitterly, “I was very fond of those after you left me at the altar so many years ago.”

  He cringed at the reference to their parting.

  “That’s my son Scarlet,” he said, “how could you keep him from me?”

  Scarlet could scream from the frustration.

  “How could I?” she based, “where have you been for the last five years, Lucas? You told me you loved me, you asked me to marry you and then I waited for you. I waited for ten hours, and you disappeared. I had to hear from your parents that you had decided to go abroad. Don’t you come into my house and talk to me about keeping your son from you.”

  “You could have called, texted, written!” he said much too loud for her

  “I could have huh,” she said

  Without another word she walked across the room towards the bookshelf where she had stashed all the letters, she had sent him, every last one and all the return notices and then the final one his parents had sent her.

  “You mean I could have written these?” she asked

  Tears were streaming from her eyes now. She wanted them to stop but all the pain and hurt and anger that she had built up was finally flowing out of her.

  “I wrote you when you left me at the altar, I wrote you when I got into college, I wrote you when I found out I was pregnant, I wrote you when I had the child, I wrote you when I was broke, homeless and friendless” she spat as she shoved one letter after the other into his hand, “your parents wrote back Lucas, they said they would never acknowledge your bastard and they would never let their son do it either.”

  He looked at her with utter shock.

  “I want my son” he whispered, “I’ve missed out on so much.”

  “We all want things we can never get” she replied, “I wanted you, I needed you and now I don’t.”

  “I’ll get him, Scarlet,” Lucas said, “You know I will.”

  “Well, I would love to see you try.” She replied, “now if you don’t mind I need you to get the hell out of my fucking house”

  The flinched as if her words had scorched him and offended him in some way.

  “You’re nothing like the girl I loved,” he said with bitterness in his voice.

  She began to chuckle.

  “The girl you loved?” she asked, “you mean the girl you left at the altar? The one you promised to love forever, the one who almost died of heartbreak because of you? If you’re referring to that girl, I’m happy I’m no longer her and I would never want to be her.”

  “You’ll be hearing from my lawyers,” he said,

  “And you’ll be hearing from mine” she spat as she walked him to the door, “never come back to my house again.”

  As he left he turned to face her and their eyes met. She would have pitied him, she would have even felt bad for him, but she hated him. Every time she looked at him she saw herself that day. She saw the new white dress she had saved to buy drenched in the rain as she stood outside the chapel waiting for him. Their wedding had been a whirlwind decision, but her parents had been happy for her to marry her childhood friend and she had thought his parents felt the same things. Ten hours she had waited, through the looks of pity, through the rain, through the chills. She had finally broken down and wept when her parents dragged her home. She had half expected him to show up the next day with some explanation but instead, his parents had come to her door. She had died that day and she had buried that girl.

  “Goodbye,” she said one final time before she slammed the door to the past she never wanted to revisit.

  Chapter 18

  Lucas threw back another drink of whiskey and grimaced. He didn’t know how people could drink this so often and not wretch. For now, it was good enough to dull his pain.

  He had a son, a son with Scarlet.

  The thought had been driving him crazy since he first heard of it and then it had been confirmed when he visited her house and saw the little boy. He was so beautiful and exactly as he had seen him in the picture. He frowned as his mind turned to Scarlet who had kept the child from him. She knew he had always wanted children with her, knew he would have loved to have a son and yet she kept it from him.

  There was a knock on his door and Melvin walked in.

  “Dear God, what happened in here?” Melvin asked

  Lucas looked around and realized his friend must have been referring to the broken table and chairs.

  “’I’m frustrated Melvin.” He said sitting up in his chair and trying to focus on his friend.

  “What’s the matter?” Melvin asked

  “I have a son.” He said

  Melvin coughed as if he had choked on something.

  “Wait what?” he asked

  “Scarlet,” he said, “she has my son.”

  Melvin’s eyes widened.

  “You didn’t tell me”

  “I didn’t know” Lucas replied, “Angela did a bit of sleuthing and it turns out I have a son.”

  Melvin walked over to his desk and sat on one of the corners since he had broken everything else in his fit of rage.

  “What does this mean?” Melvin asked

  “I don’t know” he replied, “she won’t acknowledge that I’m the father.”

  “So how can you be sure?” Melvin asked

  “He’s mine” Lucas replied, “he has my, my everything.”

  “Why would she keep this from you?” Melvin asked

  “Turns out she tried to tell me,” he replied, “my parents caught all the messages and returned them without telling me. They told her they wouldn’t recognize the child, and neither would I.”

  Melvin sighed heavily and slumped over a bit.

  “That’s messed up man.” Melvin said, “do you think this is the reason they wanted you to get this company s badly? To get close to the mother of your child.”

  Lucas’ head perked up. How is it that he hadn’t made the connection? His parents had set him up to find her. For what reason? He couldn’t be sure. They had kept it from him and even gone to the point of denouncing his son’s legitimacy and then they put him on the path to finding it out?

  “How did she respond to you finding out?” Melvin asked

  “She doesn’t think I should have him, she doesn’t even seem to feel bad for keeping a child from his father,” Lucas replied bitterly

  “Well can you blame her?” Melvin asked

  “How can you say that?” Lucas asked

  “Lucas, this woman loved you once, your parents kept you apart and told her that her son wouldn’t be acknowledged by you or them and she’s been a single mother since his bi
rth. What right do you have to make any claims to him?” he said,

  “She must have known I wouldn’t reject my child,” he said, “she should have known.”

  “From what I can tell, you ended it badly with this woman” Melvin replied, “you’re not the same to a woman after you break her heart. You claim she should have known better but you broke all the promises you made to her so how can she trust you now?”

  Lucas ignored Melvin. He had already called his lawyers who told him that they met nothing but roadblocks with Scarlet’s lawyers. She had even omitted his name from the birth certificate. She had almost erased him from his son’s life. He needed to talk to his mother and find out what she had to say. Someone had to explain why this had happened and he needed to be with his son even if Scarlet hated him.

  “I have to call my mother,” he said,

  ‘That’s probably a good idea.” Melvin replied,

  “Get out,” Lucas said sourly

  He waited until Melvin was gone before calling his mother. She answered in a cheery voice.

  “Hello son, I didn’t expect you to call so soon.” She said, “if you’re worried about me, I’m doing quite alright.”

  “I have a son.” He said, “you and father knew but you kept it from me.”

  She was silent.

  “How could you do this to me? To Scarlet, our son?” he asked

  “Mother!” he shouted when she didn’t respond.

  “I’m sorry” she whispered,

  “What good is that to me?” he asked, “what good is that to anything or anyone?”

  “We thought it was best for you two. When we intervened at that wedding, we didn’t know she was pregnant. We didn’t even think it was yours.” She said

  “So why send me on this hunt?” he asked, “why set me up to find out like this?”

  “Your father saw the little boy.” She replied, “we were having lunch one day and we saw Scarlet, she didn’t see us, and we did our best to avoid her but then we saw her little boy. Lucas, he looks like a copy of you.”

  Lucas let out an agonized sigh. He wanted this all to end so badly.

  “Your father wanted to patch things up but then he got sick, and he knew he was going to die, so he had her found and made the request in his will.”

  “You should have told me.” He said as he slumped lower in his chair.

  “I’m sorry son.” His mother said,

  “What good is that?” he asked, “what good is any of it?”

  He didn’t wait for her to reply, instead, he put his head on the desk and let out a low groan. How had his life toppled out of control so quickly? He thought for a moment about who he could blame. It wasn’t Angela, she had only revealed the truth. Maybe Scarlet, but she had tried to tell him years ago, and how could he be angry at her after breaking his vow to her and leaving her alone at the altar. He couldn’t blame his parents, they had been a the greatest of the threats to his love, but they had only advised him. He was the one who had made the decision. He was the one who had decided to leave without a word. He was the one who had messed up and lost the only woman he ever loved. The weight of it came crashing into him and he held his breath trying not to cry. He saw no way out, no way to make things right.

  Chapter 19

  Scarlet looked across the table of the conference room on a sad looking Lucas. His eyes were blotching, and his skin had gone pale. She let out a deep sigh as Ethan continued the meeting. Their company had been sold over to Lucas and they were doing the formalities with their stakeholders and lawyers. She tried to focus on the meeting, but her eyes kept moving over to Lucas. It was now over a week since he had barged into her apartment. Aside from the contract he made through his lawyers, he had not contacted her. Her lawyers were maintaining that the child would not be put through any invasive paternity tests, and without his name on the birth certificate, Lucas had no claim to his son. She had felt triumphant when her lawyers explained it to her but now as she looked over at him, she felt an unexplainable sadness. She had won, hadn’t she?

  “So, thank you for meeting here today,” Ethan said closing off the proceedings.

  She was the first to stand and walk out the office.

  Not only did she want to avoid any attempts Lucas made to speak with her, but she also couldn’t stand the aura of hopelessness that followed him around. She was inside her office when Ethan raged in behind her and pinned her with a quizzing glare.

  “What’s going on?” he asked,

  “Nothing.” She replied

  “You were gone the entire meeting.” He said, “you’ve been gone for over a week now.”

  Deciding not to fight it she opened up and told Ethan all that had happened.

  “Wow, that’s some soap opera crap,” he said

  “If only you knew.” She replied

  “You’re going to let him see his son though right?” Ethan asked

  “What now!” she insisted, “why would I do that?”

  Ethan shook his head.

  “I thought you were better than this,” he said

  “You know the story!” she said feeling a bit attacked, “he left me.”

  “He’s not gone anymore Scarlet,” Ethan said, “he was nineteen when that happened, I can hardly imagine he’s the same man.”

  She swallowed hard and turned away from him.

  “You made a mistake when you wren nineteen and your parents still haven’t forgiven you. What would you do to get back into their good graces?” Ethan said,

  “It’s not the same.” She whispered, “I loved him.”

  She looked at Ethan, pleading with him to see her side of the story. She had loved him.

  “If you had truly loved him, you would be able to forgive him,” Ethan said

  “When did you become an expert at forgiveness.” She bit back

  Ethan walked up to her and pulled her in for a hug.

  “You have to realize darling, that forgiving him doesn’t mean you lose your power, it gives you the power to let go of all this hurt you’ve been lugging around like a noose.” He said as he pulled back,

  “I can’t” she replied, “it’s too hard.”

  “But you still love him don’t you.” He said, “you still love him throughout all this.”

  “She shook her head trying to ignore the happiness that filled her at the thought.

  “I can’t love him.” She whispered

  “You don’t choose to love Scarlet, you just love” he replied, “even when you’ve been hurt.”

  “I’ll be fine,” she said, “I don’t need love.”

  “But you love your son,” he said, “and he’s going to need his father.”

  She realized just how right Ethan was. She didn’t want to harbor any feelings for Lucas but she had to realize that she loved Logan and by depriving him of his father, she was continuing a cycle that would only come back to haunt her.

  “You’re right.” She said, “I hate it, but you’re right.”

  “When have I ever been wrong?” he asked

  “Just know that if anything goes wrong you’re going to be my son’s father,” she said

  Before he could say anything, she left her office to find Lucas. He was still in the room chatting a bit with the others. When he saw her walking towards him, he raised a brow.

  “I need to talk to you.” She said

  “What about?” he asked calling all the eyes in the room towards them

  “Outside.” She said

  He didn’t respond but he followed her out into the hallway.

  “I want you to have dinner with Logan and I this evening.” She said

  “Logan,” he said as if the name was a prayer, “you named him after Wolverine?”

  She smiled thinking of the motivation behind her son’s name. It had been the obvious choice when she saw his beautiful little face looking back at her.

  “Yeah, I thought you would like it if you ever came back.”

  She saw the sincer
ity in his eyes as he looked at her.

  “What should I bring?” he asked

  “Nothing,” she replied

  “What should I know?” he asked

  She felt a pinch of happiness as she realized how interested he was in their son. She stopped herself as the thought crossed her mind, it was the first time she had referred to Logan as their son.

  “He wants to become an archaeologist.” She said, “so anything about rocks, bones and digging.”

  “I think I can manage,” he said

  “I won’t tell him you’re his father just yet.” She replied “but I will soon. I’ll reign in my lawyers for negotiations.”

  She saw the way his eyes teared up and she suddenly knew that Ethan had been right. It would be wrong to keep her son from such an amazing father.

  “Thank you.” He said, “I can’t thank you enough.”

  “He’ your son too.” She said, “I can’t deny him his father if I claim to truly love him.”

  They locked eyed for a few more minutes before Lucas turned and walked away. As she watched him, she felt as if she was losing him all over again. He seemed happy enough to be in his son’s life but he didn’t seem to feel anything for her. She tried to push those feelings down. She didn’t need him to feel anything for her and she would control her feelings until they were gone. There was no place in her life to fall in love with the father of her son.

  Chapter 20

  Lucas straightened his tie for the fifth time since he had approached the door. He had never been so nervous his entire life. He wanted to make the best impression on his son, but he had no idea how to do it. Mustering up all his courage, he decided to just go with his best foot forward and hope for a good meeting. He knocked a few times and held his breath as he waited. Not long after, the door open and Scarlet stood there wearing a radiant smile and a burnt orange dress. She looked at his suit and smiled.

  “Thanks for coming on time.” She said