He didn’t want to believe that Sara had done something as atrocious as that to him. He didn’t want to believe that she had sold their daughter or given her away. He could stand her abandoning him and Harry and carting away with all his money. He could even forgive her for it. But he wasn’t sure he would be able to stand it if he had lived all these years thinking his daughter was dead whereas she was alive somewhere else. He wasn’t sure that was something he would be able to forgive.
“I’m sorry, Aaron. Maybe if you listen to the rest…”
“No. Not anymore. I can’t. I don’t want to,” Aaron said with a shake of his head as he shut his eyes tightly. Unable to stand anymore, Aaron let himself fall to his knees and he covered his face with his hands as he cried like a baby.
Harry just stood there in stunned silence unable to think, speak, or do anything as he watched his father cry.
Benne sighed as he watched the scene before him not knowing what to say or do. Although he was there to give moral support to every one of them in the office, he couldn’t even bring himself to say a word.
The atmosphere in the office was thick with tension, and pain. Raw pain. Every one of them in the office was hurting in different ways.
Tears were running down Celsie’s cheeks as she stood from her seat to meet Aaron, who despite the fact that his eyes were shut, tears were running down his cheeks as he beat his chest, while Harry watched his father with a pained expression.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Celsie cried as she knelt in front of him and embraced him tightly as she cried with him.
Benne stood from his seat and went to Harry. Even though Harry wasn’t crying, his face was red with emotion, and the veins on his temple stood out.
Before Benne could place a hand on his shoulder, Harry turned around and headed for the door. He didn’t know where he was going, but he needed space. Watching his father that way and knowing he couldn’t even bring himself to console him or do anything to help him at that moment, made him feel suffocated. He couldn’t breathe.
“Harry…” Before Benne could call out to him to stop him, Celsie cried out.
“Aaron! Aaron, what is wrong with you?” Celsie cried in alarm, and Harry who had gotten to the door turned around and found his father slumped in Celsie’s arms as he gasped for breath while holding on to his chest tightly.
Immediately, Harry rushed down to where they were and knelt beside his father as he grabbed his shoulders and shook him.
“Dad? Dad, what’s wrong?”
“Get the car, Torn, and let the hospital know we are coming; Harry called out in panic as he immediately tried to carry his father, not minding his weight.
Celsie who was still crying, rushed ahead of them to the door and held it open while Benne hurried past her to take the private elevator in his office to the private parking lot, and Harry did the same carrying his father.
As soon as Benne ran into his office, Jamal who was still seated on his seat and swiveling around, sat up and looked at Benne with alarmed eyes as he watched him run past him to take the elevator.
He was still trying to understand what was happening when Celsie and Harry, who was carrying Aaron hurried into the office, and Celsie quickly tapped the elevator button while Harry’s secretary watched them with a concerned frown wondering what was going on. “Celsie? Jamal called when Celsie started getting into the elevator, and she looked back to see him standing by Benne’s desk and watching them with fearful eyes.
“Come. Hurry,” Celsie said, beckoning to him since there was no need to leave him in the office when they were all going to the hospital.
Immediately, Jamal joined them in the elevator, and they went down to the parking lot where Benne had already parked the car beside by the door waiting for them.
Benne helped Harry get Aaron into the backseat and both Harry and Jamal sat in the backseat, while Celsie took the passenger seat and Benne drove the car.
Jamal had a worried frown on his face as he looked down at Aaron who was now unconscious, while Harry was too worried about his father to take note of the kid who was with them in the car.
Neither of them said a word through the short drive to the hospital, but Benne kept glancing at Harry and Aaron through the rearview mirror while Celsie turned in her seat and held Aaron’s hand as though she feared that something would happen to him if she left his hand.
By the time they arrived at the company’s hospital, a doctor, two nurses, and two orderlies were standing outside with a stretcher waiting for them.
Immediately, Aaron was transfered onto the stretcher, and they all rushed in as the stretcher was rolled into the emergency ward, but before either of them could go in with them, the nurses shut the door.
“I’m sorry, but you will all have to stop here. I will let you know what’s wrong with him as soon as I can,” the doctor said apologetically, and even though Harry wanted to be with his father, he gave him a nod and stepped away from the door.
“Just make sure he is alright. Whatever you do, make sure he is fine,” Harry pleaded, and the doctor gave him a nod before walking into the emergency room.
Benne walked over to where Harry stood and placed his hand on his shoulder, “He will be fine, Harry. Try not to…”
“I believe you already looked into it?” Harry cut in without letting him finish.
They had been friends long enough for him to know that Benne wouldn’t have just stayed still after hearing the conversation between Celsie and Sara. He knew without a doubt that Benne must have looked into it already to confirm what Celsie had said.
Benne on the other hand didn’t need to ask Harry what he was talking. He knew, so he gave him a nod.
“I will give you the details after we know how Aaron…”
He couldn’t wait for that. He needed to know if his father was going to be waking up to a pleasant news or an unpleasant news. He needed to be able to do something about it whichever the answer is.
“Is she still alive? Harry cut in once again. He didn’t need to spell out the ‘she’ he was referring to. Benne knew he was asking about his twin sister. Benne frowned when he realized that Harry wasn’t sounding very worried about his father in that moment. He sounded more like he had something else on his mind. “She is,” Benne said as his gaze shifted from Harry to look at Celsie who was sitting on a waiting chair with Jamal while looking at them curiously. “Do you know who is she? Have you been able to find out where is she?” Harry asked quietly and Torn looked at him for a moment, before taking a deep breath. “It’s Candace.” Harry blinked at Benne in confusion, “Candace? Who is Candace?” He asked with a confused frown, but Benne just gave him a pointed look without saying another word. “Candace.” Harry munnured the name.
It took a moment for the name to sink in and for Benne’s sentence to make sense to Harry. Immediately it did, Harry’s eyes widened as the reality of what Benne said hit him, and he staggered back like he had just been sucker punched.
“Candace? The lady with Jade?” He asked again, looking at Benne like he was waiting for Benne to say he was mistaken, but Benne gave him a nod.
“Jade just put the pieces together, but I already took the DNA samples of your dad and Candace to the lab before coming to the office. We should get the result by tomorrow,” Benne explained, and Harry’s brow furrowed when he figured that was the reason Benne had run late that morning. Even Jade knew about this? He wasn’t sure whether to be grateful or to feel offended at the point that everyone else knew about his family business but him.
“I need to be alone. Can you stay here and ensure everything is okay? Harry asked, and Benne gave him a nod.
“Sure.” “The car key,” Harry asked as he held out his hand for the keys, but Benne shook his head. “I can’t let you drive in this state. Maybe you should go with a cab,” Benne suggested, and without arguing with him Harry turned around to leave. Just as he turned, his gaze met with Jamal’s curious gaze, and his heart skipped a beat as he looked back at the kid. He didn’t need anyone to tell him who the kid was. He knew that was Candace’s son.
They both looked at each other for a moment, until Jamal smiled at Harry and rose from his seat beside Celsie to go to Harry, making all three adults look at him curiously.
Once Jamal stood in front of Harry, he took Harry’s hand and just held on to it without saying a word.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.