Chasing

Travis tenses angrily beside me and he makes a move towards Beverly but I stop him, shaking my head. He huffs in annoyance. Beverly isn’t worth it and she is just as shallow as the man who put that baby inside of her. I brush off the accusation because I know that is not who I am. Instead, I turn around to look at Kian who is still standing in the some spot, fint clenched and shoulders sagged.

With a smile I say to him, “Can you get your barking dog out of my way, please?”

Beverly flares up but before she can touch me, Klan holds her by the waist and pulls her out of the way. She continues to fume. I stare Klan dead in the eyes again; he doesn’t look away.

“Not signing those papers won’t change anything Kian but doing it saves us all from situations like this. I hope I don’t run into you in places like this anymore.”

I do not wait for his answer; I leave them both standing, letting Travis lead me out of the corridor to return to the main part of the restaurant. There, we grab our things and leave for his car. I lost my appetite the moment I ran into Kian and I couldn’t care less about the mouth watering food we were served before I went to the bathroom.

The car is silent for the first few minutes until Travis breaks the silence, “This is all my fault, I shouldn’t have convinced you to come here with me. I’m sorry.”

I shake my head to let him know that I don’t blame him for whatever happened today. It is true that he convinced me to come here earlier today. Ever since I learnt the truth about myself and my mother, I have been cooped up in the house, telling myself that I needed to process the truth I just got to know and the fact that I now have a father; a wealthy one at that. One who gave me a card without a spending limit.

It was hard accepting this at first, hard to believe my life can just change in the blink of an eye.

“Leslie, I know how you feel about this sudden change but you deserve it. You have suffered enough, don’t you think this is your chance to change your life? You are your father’s sole heir, so like it or not, everything is still yours at the end of the day. You can’t run away from it forever.”

Those were the words Travis used to convince me to have shot at a life of luxury and comfort. I got myself the kind of dress I have always wanted to own and with my father’s influence, got a reservation at a place that I have only ever dreamed about with Travis offering to be my plus one for dinner. It was going well until the disaster that is Kian.

Do I regret coming here? No. Disturbed and shaken? Yes. But I know I have to get used to it.

“You have nothing to apologize for, Travis. I should be thanking you for everything you have done for me.”

Travis nods and focuses on driving again.

As we fall into silence again, my mind drifts back to that encounter with Kian. He has refused to sign the papers. I fear that he might never do so and Travis must have noticed the change in my mood because he asks if I am okay.

“I am not okay, Travis. Klan has refused to sign the papers and I fear that he might never do so. What do I do then? I can’t be tied to him forever.” My fear stems from the fact that Kian isn’t just any man but a powerful one. He won’t give up without a fight.

“You won’t,” Travis assures me, “You deserve better than that moron and I won’t let that happen so just

relax, Leslie, I promise to find a way around it.”

I thank Travis and his reassurance is what finally eases the burden I feel in my heart. I finally feel light enough to close my eyes to sleep while he drives us back home.