You Have To Give Me A Child

Viona woke up when the sun was already high. She was feeling hungry. Her body felt fatigued as she walked to the table and took her wallet to buy food at the convenience store at the end of the road.

On foot, Viona walked along the streets full of fallen maple leaves because it had entered October, which means it had entered autumn. Viona didn't really like autumn because the air started to get cold before winter.

She preferred the summer where the sun shone beautifully and brought warmth. For some people, autumn in Canada was the most beautiful, where the maple tree changed color from green to yellow, then orange.

Autumn provided a lovely color blend and was perfect for romantic photos like pre-wedding. And on the way to the convenience store, Viona several couples do their pre-wedding photo sessions under the beautiful trees.

The fallen maple leaves gave out a very romantic impression. Viona slowed her steps when she saw several small children cheerfully playing with their pet dogs among the pile of maple leaves.

Suddenly her eyes were filled with tears because she remembered her foster siblings who had been adopted by their new parents. It had been more than six years that she has lost contact with them. She didn't know how to find them because the data were at Fernando's house when she worked there to take care of Zevanya.

"I have a lot of homework here. I have to find the address of Mrs Lily's new home, ake the files left at Fernando's home and visit Zeze's grave," Viona muttered to herself as she walked slowly.

Before shopping for groceries, she stopped by a fast-food restaurant. She enjoyed burgers and french fries complete with a glass of soda while watching the people passing by. Office hours just ended, and many workers looked busy to return to their respective homes.

After nearly thirty minutes at the restaurant, Viona then continued her journey to buy groceries. When she activated her cellphone, there were many incoming messages, and one of them was a message from Jenni and Amina in London, who reported the shop's profit this month.

"You are too kind, my sisters," Viona said softly when she saw the incoming money in her account. She then put her cellphone back into her bag and was busy shopping.

SLAM

"I'm sorry I'm not careful. Are you okay—"

Viona could not finish her words when she saw the figure she had just bumped into. The man stood firmly, staring at her. A sweet smile appeared on his thin red lips.

"Fernando," Viona said softly.

"Yes, it's me, Viona. It's so hard to find you!! How long do you plan to play cat and mouse with me?" asked Fernando in a whisper to Viona, who looked very shocked.

"What do you want ?? Why do you keep bothering me?" blurted Viona, pretending to be tough in front of the man she was afraid of.

"You!! Why do you have to ask again?" Fernando replied with a smile. "You better come with me and have a good talk with me before I lose control like yesterday."

The man pulled Viona's hand to walk following his steps to a room in the convenience store. Her shopping cart was taken over by Fernando's bodyguard, who had been standing beside Viona to keep her from escaping under Fernando's orders.

Viona could only give in when she was forced by Fernando. She was sure that Fernando would not go berserk in a public place like this, so Viona just complied when asked by Fernando.

They entered a room owned by the shop manager. The man sat on a sofa while Viona chose to sit on a chair near the door because she didn't want to get close to him.

"Why are you avoiding me vio?" asked Fernando to open the conversation as he lit his cigarette.

"I'm not avoiding you. I just want to stay away from problems," Viona replied without looking at Fernando.

"So, do you mean I'm the source of the problem?" shouted Fernando in a rising tone at Viona's harsh words.

"I didn't say that," said Viona quickly, trying to look tough in front of the man.

"Then, why did you refuse my offer yesterday?" asked Fernando as he tossed the document he had signed in front of Viona. It was the marriage contract between Fernando and her.

Viona paused to see that the document that she had thrown away yesterday turned up before her again. Apparently, Fernando had already made many copies.

"I'm not a prostitute!!" Viona snapped and then stood up from her chair, prepared to leave Fernando, but her steps were blocked by Fernando's bodyguards, who were already at the door.

"You can make agreements like that with other people but not with me!" Viona added with a shout. She was frustrated and angry because she felt really humiliated by Fernando.

"I make you a good offer. You will not be able to find a man wealthier than me in this city," said Fernando.

Hearing Fernando's words broke Viona's laughter. It made Fernando feel confused and annoyed.

"After all, don't you also have to be responsible for Zeze's death? You caused my daughter to die because you couldn't protect her!" said Fernando coldly.

"Everyone knows that the culprit is Natasya. You have punished her. Then, why are you blaming me?" asked Viona irritably. She didn't like being blamed by Fernando for Zeze's death, moreover she also loved little Zeze.

"Because you're careless, you don't take good care of Zeze," said Fernando dryly.

"The incident occurred during school hours. I was in the waiting room with other nannies. And when the incident happened, Natasya called me. She asked me to come out through the school's side door. After that, I couldn't remember anything anymore," said Viona in her defense.

"So, it was true that Viona was lured out by that bitch at that time," Fernando thought to himself.

Fernando already knew that Viona was also kidnapped by two masked men when the police checked the CCTVs around Zevanya's school. After he heard about Zevanya's accident, Fernando immediately contacted his subordinates to secure the CCTV footages at Zevanya's school so that evidence would not be destroyed.

He was sad because he had lost his daughter. His heart also felt pain again when he saw the footage showing that Viona was kidnapped. He immediately mobilized his men to look for Viona. Unfortunately, none of his men managed to find the girl, until suddenly, Viona appeared again in front of him last month.

"Then why didn't you come back to my house at that time, Vio?!" scolded Fernando irritably.

"Because I have no more obligations there," Viona replied curtly.

"You can't do this... You have to be responsible for my wounds for these six years," said Fernando as he got up from his chair and walked toward the door.

When walking past Viona, who was standing by the door, Fernando could feel that Viona was afraid of him. He could see from the cold sweat on her forehead, even though the room was very cold with the air conditioner on.

"You have to give me a child in exchange for Zevanya ..." whispered Fernando quietly as he walked past Viona with a sweet smile.