Blessed Betrayal

by Livia Grant

  As he collected himself, he apologized. "I'm so sorry I lost it."

  Calista reached up to cup his face, pulling him to face her. He saw her own tears shining, but what surprised him the most was her love shining back at him. "Of course you did. Your world is unraveling."

  "I love you Cali. I'm so glad you're here with me. I can't even think about going through this without you here."

  "Oh Nick, I love you too. I just wish there was more I could do."

  "You're doing it. Just be here with me. Please."

  "I'm not going anywhere."

  Nick and Cali passed the time as best as they could while keeping their watch over the unconscious Andi. They took turns talking to her, telling her stories of the fun things they would be doing together when she got out of the hospital.

  By eleven that night, Nick forced Cali to go home and get some rest. She wouldn't hear of leaving until he asked her to stop by his house to pick up some things for him on the way back to the hospital the next day. He knew that by giving her something to do, it would help her feel less guilty about leaving for a while.

  Nick needed for her to leave so he could put the plan he had been hatching into motion. As soon as she left, he pulled out his phone to look through his contact list. He was relieved to find the name he was looking for.

  He pushed send and waited for an answer. "This is Blackburn."

  "Jason, this is Nicholas Mikos. I'm sorry to disturb you at this hour, but I need your help."

  "Nick, you ought to know I work crazy hours in my job. This is actually a good time. I'm just sitting parked and could use a good distraction. Your firm need some help again?"

  "No. Actually, I have a personal problem I need some help with this time."

  "Shit. I'm sorry to hear that. When people call me with personal problems, that's never a good thing."

  "You're right. It isn't good. It's critical that you are discreet. I honestly don't know how big of a hornet's nest I'm going to be finding, but it is critical that I'm the only one who is aware of your findings."

  "You don't need to lecture me, counselor. Discretion is my middle name. I wouldn't be in business if it wasn't." Nick heard the defensive tone in the private detective's voice and knew he'd insulted him with his warning.

  "Understood and thanks. So how does this work?"

  "Why don't you start from the beginning? What is the problem we're trying to solve? Is it your wife? Stepping out on you?"

  Nick's unwanted manic laughter reminded him how close to the surface his emotions still were. "I don't need your help to prove that. My wife died in a car accident over three months ago. She was riding in a car after midnight with her lover and proceeded to bite his cock off during the impact of their accident. No, she did a good job of hanging herself on that one."

  "Ouch. That's cold. I'm sorry, man. So if not infidelity, how can I help?"

  "My eight year old daughter was in an accident today. She is going to be okay, but she's in the hospital. During testing, her paternity has come into question. The hospital is claiming I couldn't be her biological father based on blood type alone. I obviously can't ask my dead wife who else she was sleeping with at the time Andi was conceived, but I need to know. I need to take measures to make sure no one ever shows up on my doorstep trying to take her away from me. She is my daughter. Do you hear me? No one else is ever going to lay claim to her and I'm not going to live in fear. I need to know the truth."

  Nick hears the low whistle at the other end of the phone. "So let me understand. You want me to find out who else your dead wife was sleeping with over eight years ago?"

  "No. I want you to find out who impregnated her over eight years ago. Based on all of the shit I'm finding since her death, you may find she was fucking an entire football team. I just need to know who is Andrea's biological father and I need you to do it without raising their suspicion. For all I know, they have no idea Andi exists and I want to keep it that way."

  "Well, is that all? I thought you might have something hard for me."

  Nick wasn't in the mood to deal with the PI's attempt at humor. "Listen, can you do the job or not?"

  "Sure. I'm sorry. Email me with all of the details you have. Your wife's name, DOB, social security and the same for your daughter. If you have a copy of the birth certificate, send it along. Anything else you can think of that might help. I'll watch for it and be back in touch."

  "Thanks."

  "Don't thank me yet. You may not like what I dig up."

  Calista forced her voice to be strong despite the lump that kept forming in her throat. Andi needed her to be strong.

  "You came back," the Beast said meekly. "At least I can see you this one time."

  "No!No!" Belle said, sobbing as she kissed the Beast's cheek. "Please don't die... I love you."

  At that moment the spell was broken, and in one magical instant the Beast turned back into his princely self. The enchanted servants returned to their human forms as well. The castle came alive with rejoicing. Mrs. Potts cried human tears of joy as the handsome young prince gathered the beautiful Belle into his arms. Mrs. Potts, Cogsworth and Lumiere had not one doubt that the loving couple would live happily ever after.

  She was just closing the Disney storybook when she heard it. It was barely a whisper. "Cali?"

  Calista shot out of the chair to stand next to the bed. For the first time in two days, the eyes of the beautiful little girl she loved so much were open. Cali forced a comforting smile. "Well hello there, sleepyhead. I can't tell you how happy I am to see you awake."

  "Where am I?" Her voice was scratchy from lack of use.

  Cali held her hand softly. "You're in the hospital, sweetheart. Your school bus was in an accident, but you're going to be just fine. The doctors and nurses have been taking really good care of you."

  The confusion was easy to see on her innocent little face as Andi tried to remember. For her sake, Cali hoped she'd never remember the accident clearly. Some things were best left forgotten, like visits to morgues in the middle of the night.

  "Where's my dad? Is he still on his business trip?"

  Cali was relieved that Andi's memory was intact. "Oh, of course not. He came rushing home the minute he heard about your accident. He has been here at the hospital the entire time since you were brought here. It's just bad luck that he stepped out of the room for some coffee. He'll be back any minute."

  "Who are you talking to, Cali? Are you done reading her The Beauty and the Beast?" His voice behind her startled Cali until she flushed with relief.

  Cali winked at Andi as she leaned over her. Andrea seemed to understand. "She's done, Daddy. I was about to ask her to read The Little Mermaid next."

  Nick was there beside her in an instant. Cali moved aside to let him get closer to his daughter. Her heart melted watching his love for her shining in his eyes. "Oh thank you, God. I've been so worried about you, Andi. How are you feeling?"

  "Tired I guess. My head hurts and I'm really thirsty."

  Cali leaned down to place a soft kiss on Andi's forehead. "You two catch up. I'm going to go let the nurse know you're awake." She squeezed Nick's forearm as she took her leave and he looked up briefly. The relief of Andi waking up was sinking into his pained eyes. He didn't say a word. He didn't need to. Cali understood.

  Calista stepped out into the hall, but didn't go to the nurse's station immediately. She wanted to give Nick and Andi a few minutes to talk before alerting the nurse since she suspected they would be shooed out of the room so they could do some more tests now that their patient was awake.

  As she expected, as soon as she alerted the nurse on duty, the RN picked up the phone to call Dr. Adams and then rushed into Andi's room. Nick came out a few minutes later, a look of relief finally overshadowing the exhaustion that had begun to take its toll on all of them.

  He didn't say a word. He just pulled Cali into his arms and they embraced for several long moments, each saying their thanks for Andrea waking up and appe
aring as if she was on the mend. They both knew she would have a long recovery, but they were ready for it.

  Before they could speak, Nick's cell phone was ringing. He pulled out of their hug to check the caller ID. "I'm sorry, but I need to take this call."

  As she watched him answer the phone as he walked away from the ICU and down the long hallway, it wasn't the first time Cali felt the weight of something she couldn't quite put her finger on. Nick had been making and receiving too many mysterious calls in the last two days they had been camped out at the hospital together. At first she had been angry that Nick thought work was so important that he would need to keep working while is daughter was on her deathbed. Cali had eventually realized that the calls he was taking were not business related and that only made Cali more uncomfortable.

  They hadn't talked about Dr. Adam's revelations regarding Nick's blood type on the day of the accident. In part, Cali didn't have a clue what she could say that would make it better, but it was more than that. Like Nick, she just wanted to forget the terrible words. For both Nick and Andi's sake, she just wanted to sweep the whole revelation under the rug. After all, Roni was dead. No one else ever needed to know but Nick and Cali that Nick was not Andi's biological father.

  "What the hell are you saying? Babies don't just fall out of the sky." Nick had stepped outside the hospital into the spring sunshine that was a lot brighter than he felt. He should be enjoying the good news of Andi's improved condition, not getting more bad news.

  "Listen, I'm just telling you what I've found so far. I tried to tell you yesterday that you'd better be sure you wanted to open up this particular can of worms because there is no telling what you're gonna find. You already know your wife lied to you about a lot of important things in your marriage. Is this really such a surprise to you?"

  "Yes, dammit. When she showed up with the baby she had gained a lot of weight, like she had just given birth. She made a big deal about how upset she was when she had to quit breast-feeding because Andrea wasn't getting enough nutrients according to the pediatrician. We didn't have sex for like three months until her OBGYN gave her the green light to start again after the baby was born."

  "Did you actually see the baby breast feeding?"

  He racked his brains. Blackburn had to be wrong. "Fuck, no."

  "Did you go to the OBGYN with her for her checkups?"

  "No"

  "Did you ever notice any stretch marks on her? My ex-wife is full of them."

  "Dammit. I swear to God, I wish I could bring her back to life just so I could kill her with my bare hands."

  "I understand, but that isn't going to help."

  Nick had only just begun to get his mind wrapped around the fact that Veronica had deceived him about being Andi's father. There had been a small part of him that held out hope it was just a big mistake or at the least, that she too had believed Andi was his since they looked so much alike. Now, to find out that Veronica herself had never given birth to a baby, put a nail in her coffin. His PI had received a copy of the autopsy report and that, combined with other medical records, had confirmed Andrea was not the biological daughter of either Nick or Roni. But where the hell had she come from and more importantly, how long until some stranger showed up on his doorstep wanting to steal his only daughter away from him?

  "Let me keep digging. The trail isn't cold yet. I just wanted to fill you in with the newest information. I'm glad to hear Andrea is awake. Let me worry about this shit. You go back in and take care of your daughter. And Nick?... She is your daughter in every way that counts."

  The private investigator hung up the phone without saying goodbye. It was just as well. Nick had no words for this situation. He sat on a bench in the small garden just outside the hospital entrance trying to sort through the rush of emotions the most recent news evoked. He was lost in thought and missed Calista coming out looking for him until she took a seat next to him. They sat in silence for several minutes, watching people coming and going out of the building.

  Cali broke the awkward silence. "When are you going to tell me what's going on, Nick?"

  He couldn't bear the thought of telling anyone, not even Calista, what he knew. He couldn't risk it. "Nothing is going on."

  "Really? Seriously, if you don't want to talk to me about it, do me a favor and just say so, but don't lie to me. I expected Kevin to lie to me, but not you." He hated the pain in her voice, especially knowing he was responsible for it.

  "I'm sorry, Cali. You're right. I don't want to hurt you, but I have a lot of shit on my plate right now."

  He wasn't prepared for her anger as she turned on the bench to look at him. "And I don't? I thought we were in this together. I thought we were becoming a team."

  Nick's heart rate was spiking. He didn't want to lose Cali, but he didn't have time to balance a new relationship right now when his life was literally falling apart. "We are a team, but there are still a few things I'm gonna have to deal with on my own."

  "Let me in. I know this is about what the doctor told you. We haven't talked about it, but now that Andi is awake, I think we should."

  "There's nothing to talk about. He was mistaken. Andrea is my daughter in every sense of the word. Period."

  He heard her emotional sigh. "Of course she is. Still, you must be a bit freaked out. Talk to me."

  "There is nothing to talk about."

  Her emotions turned to anger as she sprang to her feet. "There you go lying to me again. I can't believe I thought you were different, but you're not. I've got a newsflash for you. Your daughter just woke up from a coma and instead of sitting in there talking to her... comforting her, you're sneaking outside to take yet another private call. You don't want to level with me? That's fine. I'll leave. But you need to get your ass back in there and sit with her. She's afraid and she's asking for her daddy."

  Calista had turned and was already ten feet away when he came to his senses. "Calista, don't go! Please."

  She stopped, but she didn't turn around. Nick pushed to his feet to go to her. Cali refused to turn and look at him so he hugged her from behind, holding onto her as if to prevent her from leaving. He didn't want to lose Cali. Not over this... not ever. But could he trust her enough to tell her the truth? She already knew enough information to compromise him should word ever get out. Should he trust her with more?

  He was glad he couldn't see her eyes. "I've hired a private detective. I need to know the truth. I need to know how to protect myself and Andrea from having someone show up in our lives trying to take her away from me. I can survive losing Roni, but I know for a fact I wouldn't survive losing Andi. She's a part of me, whether she has my blood or not doesn't matter. She's my little girl. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

  Cali turned in his arms, hugging his waist as she looked up into his brown eyes. He was relieved to see her anger had dissipated. "I understand perfectly, Nick. Your secret is safe with me. I would never do anything to endanger you or Andrea."

  He knew she spoke the truth. It helped him tell her everything. "The PI I hired has uncovered that not only am I not Andrea's biological father, but... Veronica never gave birth."

  Cali looked as confused as he felt. "But... how?"

  "Who the hell knows? I feel like a complete idiot. I mean how the hell could she have lied about something like this and I never figured it out?"

  "She was a good actress. And this at least explains a few things."

  "Like what?"

  "Like why she and Andi never really bonded. You told me she would never win a mother-of-the-year award, but maybe it was deeper. I don't think she ever wanted to be a mother. Not really. I think Andi was just a way to trap you into marrying her. Didn't you say you had broken up with her before she showed up with the baby?"

  "Fuck. You're right. In fact, the more I think about it, I bet that's why it was getting worse these last few years. The older Andi got, the more jealous Roni became of the time I'd spend with her."

  "I bet it killed her to
see you loving Andi so much, knowing the truth and never being able to tell you."

  "I hope she is rotting in hell."

  "I agree, and I understand you want to know the truth so you can protect yourself and Andrea, but please. Don't let it consume you or distract you from what's important. If no one has come looking for her by now, chances are very good they never will. You have to have faith."

  In that moment, Nick knew how very lucky he was to have Cali in his life. He felt one hundred times better than he had even fifteen minutes before. "Let's go see my daughter, shall we?"

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  All right, young lady. Let's get you in the house and up to your bed." Cali was as relieved as Nick was to be getting Andrea home from the hospital. It had been a long week of recovery since she'd come out of the coma, but they had finally received the green light from Dr. Adams to bring her home. It would still be another week before she could even think about going back to school. Cali had used her connections with her father-in-law to pressure the firm into giving Nick an extended leave of absence to take care of his daughter.

  Andrea had other ideas about her recovery. "But Dad, can't I lay down on the couch in the living room so I can watch movies with you and Cali?"

  "Maybe tomorrow I'll carry you down, but today you're going right to bed."

  "I've been in bed for over a week!"

  "And you'll be in bed for another week if that's what it takes to get you back to healthy. You heard Dr. Adams. We need to limit your TV and no video games."

  They were just coming into the house through the garage. Nick scooped Andi up into his arms as she squealed with delight.

  Cali called after them as they headed up the stairs. "I'm going to start some supper."

  Andi called back down to her. "I want pizza!"

  Calista could hear Nick telling her she was going to eating soup and crackers. Her heart contracted with love as she listened to their playful banter. At times like this, she almost couldn't believe how happy she was with her new life. As horrific as the accidents had been, there was no denying they had brought Nick and Cali to better places in their lives. She'd send Kevin and Roni thank you notes if she could.