9 The Past is not just in the Past
(15 Years ago)
It was a cold December morning and it had been snowing all day. The lawns and roads were covered with a thick white layer of snow.
"Are you kidding me? You're leaving right now?! It's your son's birthday tomorrow, do you even remember that?", Elian could feel the anger in his mother's voice as he listened to his parents fighting through the door.
"I didn't forget his birthday, alright. It's important, otherwise I wouldn't go", His father's reply was equally exasperated.
"I work too, for the same company and just as much as you. I can tell what's important and what's not". There was a silence for a few seconds,
"You can't sometimes. I'm the CEO. It's different", Damien tried to reason.
Edlyn walked closer towards him, "I have tolerated this for long enough Damien. But now it is affecting my kids. If you don't come back by his birthday, I will come there to see it for myself and we'll have a final chat, you understand?", she said in a firm but low voice and walked away.
Damien just stood there listening to the fading sound of her heels, sighing. He walked to the door adjoining the corridor he was in, twisted the knob to pull it open, and found his son standing right by it, as if he'd been trying to listen to the conversation through the wooden barrier.
Looking at his worried face, he forced a smile on his lips in an attempt to ease his tension. "Look kiddo!", he sat on his knees, holding the boy by his tiny shoulders, "Daddy's gonna try to be back as soon as possible okay? Something important came up but don't worry about it, alright?", he said apologetically. Elian nodded in response.
Damien placed a kiss on his forehead and ruffled his short blonde hair as he got up to leave. Elian stared at him walking away, while he silently stood at the door.
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Edlyn rushed inside the bedroom, slamming the door shut behind her. She took in a deep breath as tears formed in the corners of her eyes.
Thinking about her kids, her family, and more importantly her marriage kept pushing her to break down completely and cry like a baby. It felt like everything was falling apart.
She was aware that her marriage with Damien was nothing more than an arrangement, by her father-in-law for the good of the company, for the good of the name, 'Falk'.
She had liked Damien from the moment they were introduced. His handsome face, his sense of humor, his charming gestures were enough to convince her to agree to this elaborate arrangement. They got married and everything was perfect. Her love for Damien and her passion for her job made her devote herself completely to her family and to the Falk enterprise.
As far she could have remembered, the first few years of their marriage had passed smoothly, no fights, no fuss. But after Elian was born, she began noticing her husband's strange behavior. He always came home late or spent the nights away from home.
When she asked him about it, she could tell he was lying, just by looking in his eyes. But she always kept quiet because since before marriage there was a long list of women her husband had dated. But the company had always been his first priority too, so she assumed he'd get his act together and stop. But ever since then it only got worse.
He would go on business trips more often and for longer. And this time he even refused to be present at his son's birthday. That was inexcusable. The reason she was tolerating the adultery was because she wanted to keep their family together, to keep the image of the company untainted.
But her kids deserved a better father. She decided she's going to make this right for once and for all. She picked up her phone from the bed and made a call. "Follow his car and report back to me", she ordered and cut the call.
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She took her purse and walked to the kids' room. She saw Elian sitting on his bed with legos spread all around him and the older one was on the study table, reading. They both looked at their mother as she walked inside.
"Mom's gonna be back in a few hours and then we'll go shopping for your birthday okay?" she said looking at Elian, who nodded back, "You okay ma?", he asked.
Her eyes welled up with tears, but she nodded back, "Yeah I'm fine sweetie. Everything is fine", Edlyn reassured him. "Irene is in the kitchen making lunch, so if you need anything, talk to her alright. And don't do anything stupid both of you", she said eyeing both her sons.
She placed a kiss on Elian cheek and turned back around to leave. She smiled as she walked out of the door, waving her hand at him.
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Edlyn got inside her car and began to drive. The phone sitting on the adjacent seat rang and she picked it up as she drove.
["He's at this hospital outside the city. He just reached here"], said the man on the other side. "What? A hospital? Okay just text me the address", she replied and cut the call. She wondered why her husband was at the hospital, has she misunderstood the situation this whole time?
But nevertheless he surely had lied about his whereabouts, so if he was hiding something, she had to talk this out with him.
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In an hour she reached the location that was texted to her. She parked the car outside the large white building called public hospital, and looked around the place. It seemed like a small town on the outskirts of the city.
She spotted Damien's car parked nearby. Why on earth would her husband come here? If he'd been feeling sick why not choose the much more comfortable and advanced ones that were in the the city? He wasn't here for himself for sure, she concluded.
She walked into the hospital and asked for the his name at the reception and got no for an answer. The receptionist was possibly asked not to reveal she thought.
"Can I make an appointment for my...uh a health checkup", she made up a reason to go inside. The receptionist nodded and gave her the directions after checking in her details.
As soon as she got inside she asked a nurse for a man who matched the description. The nurse replied politely that she had seen him in the maternity ward upstairs, which shook the ground below her feet, and she rushed upstairs to look for Damien.
She passed by every room, looking through the glass, trying to spot the man she came looking for. He feet came to a sudden halt when she saw her husband, through the glass window, covered partially with blinds.
She walked a little closer towards the glass and saw him standing there, smiling and holding a baby in his hands. Her heart dropped as she felt the shock sinking down her spine. She rushed to the adjacent door and slammed it open.
Damien's head turned towards the door. His eyes, wide open, stared back at Edlyn with shock. He looked like his blood had ran cold. There was long pause of silence, as cold winds gushed through the open door.
"Edlyn?" he said, looking at her.
Edlyn's eyes moved to the man, who looked like an omega, sitting on the bed, and a boy that appeared the same age as that of Elian, was standing next to him.
"Edlyn I can explain", her husband proceeded to place the baby in the omega's lap from his hands. "Let's take this outside", he said, stepping towards the door where his wife was standing.
"Is this...is this why? I thought...it was just some affair...but this is? Are these your kids?", Edlyn's thoughts became incoherent. Her brain couldn't process what she just saw. Even in her worst nightmare she couldn't have thought that her husband had a family in secret.
"Edlyn not here okay?", Damien walked closer towards her. "What do you mean not here?", Edlyn asked furiously. "You bastard! I thought you're just unfaithful, but you don't care about anyone", Edlyn yelled as tears welled up in her eyes.
"Edlyn listen to me, I can explain", Damien held her by her shoulders. "Don't fucking touch me.", she slapped his hands away. "You're gonna get the divorce papers by tomorrow, and you're gonna quit from the position too", Edlyn said leaving the room.
Damien followed her, "Edlyn listen to me at least!!", he shouted as he ran to catch up with her. "Who's going to accept a CEO who has family with an omega, huh? Who's going to accept a man who cheated on his wife with a bloody omega!! You've never cared about the company have you? You are one selfish prick alright? Go fuck yourself and never come around my kids again!", she shouted as she ran the stairs and exited the doors of the building.
Damien was left alone standing on the doorsteps as he watched his wife running to her car.
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That day, Elian and Erik kept waiting for their mother. But she never came back home.
The next day, on Elian's tenth birthday, they got the news that her car slipped on the ice as she was driving too fast and hit a bus. The news about their father's secret family and their mothers' tragic death spread across the news channels like fire.
Damien came forward and gave up his position as the CEO.
After that day their father never came to meet them. They heard from people that he was living with his new family in the town outside and passed over most of his assets to the two of them.
The news about their dad became the scandal of the year. Elian and his brother had to constantly listen to people talk about how unfortunate their father was to be lured in by an omega like that. People told him his father was a weak man to give into an omega's promiscuous pheromones. They said that when their mother found out about him she killed herself.
As if the pain of their mother's death wasn't too much for the two of them, especially Elian, the media kept adding fuel to the fire. For the following few months, thousands of articles circulated around, discussing and arguing about the events of that horrible day. Everyone had come up with their own creative versions.
The ten year old had no option but to believe everything that he was being told. That a simple lowborn omega had managed to singlehandedly destroy his family. That he was to blame for all his misery.
Growing up, he promised to himself that he won't ever even touch an omega. He won't be like his father, he won't be weak.
