Loving A STRANGER

Kylie shrugged, and she said, "It"s highly unlikely, at least for now. We are going for coffee, though, to talk things out further. You can take Pupu home, and Laurence will give me a ride."

Kylie could tell that Laurence was hungry, but she didn"t want to shame him. In order for him to save face, she ordered more than she could eat, and once she was full, she rubbed her belly, pushed the food away, and said, "My eyes are bigger than my stomach. I am stuffed. Have some. I would hate for it to go to waste."

Laurence thanked her and savored every bite that he put into his mouth. Meanwhile, Kylie let him eat in peace. It wasn"t until he"d pushed his plate away and belched twice, that he looked at her and said, "Thank you for the meal. I was much hungrier than I"d realized.

"What do you want to know?" he wondered. "You can ask me anything."

"Why did you divorce my mom?" Kylie asked, straight away.

Laurence frowned and licked his lips. After a moment, he looked at her and said, "I shouldn"t be surprised that that was the first question that you"d ask. Before I do, though, do you have a cigarette?"

Kylie patted the pocket on her shirt, and he could see that it was empty. "I"m sorry," she said, "but I"ve quit."

Laurence looked at her, took a long sip of his coffee, and said, "I suppose that this will have to do…"

"Go on," Kylie said impatiently.

Laurence lowered his head, and he said, "Kylie, you aren"t the daughter of Emily Garcia and me."

"I suspected as much," Kylie said. "Now, tell me something that I don"t already know."

 ***

On the night that Laurence married Alice, his boss" daughter, Emily Garcia, had come to him. She looked him over, and she proposed a deal between them. If he married her, he would live a life of wealth and luxury until the day that he died. 

For a man who was dirt poor, this was quite the proposition. As a young man, though, Laurence was a man of his word, and he always tried to do what was right. Considering this, the proposition was easily dismissed. He rejected the deal and told Emily that he was already married.

Before long, Laurence was called into Emily"s office in order to give a report. When he arrived, there was a mug of coffee waiting for him. He thanked Emily and drank the coffee, not knowing that she had put sleeping pills into it. After a few minutes, he began to feel very sleepy. He pa.s.sed out, and when he woke up, he found himself lying beside Emily on a bed.

Seeing the situation that he was in, Laurence began to panic. He noticed very quickly, though, that she was very calm. Once he calmed down, she said that he had two choices. He could either marry her, or he needed to leave town forever.

Not knowing what to do, he brought his problem to his wife. He said, "I love you very much, and if you are willing to come with me, we could leave town together."

Alice loved Laurence, but she had a life as a singer, which she loved even more than she loved him. She had been a singer in a bar for a long time, but what she had always wanted was to release a CD and be famous – and she saw Emily"s proposition as an opportunity. "Marry her," she"d said, "and get me the money to record my CD!"

Accepting defeat, Laurence married Emily. Much to his astonishment, though, Emily soon told him that she was pregnant. She had become impregnated on the day of his marriage to Emily. Hearing this, Laurence felt more than a little bit used.

His marriage quickly wasted away because there had never been any love between him and Emily. Before she gave birth, though, she asked Laurence to run away with her. She was afraid of what the real father would do when he caught wind of her secret. Laurence refused at first – he was worried about Alice – but Emily threatened to have his parents killed if he didn"t cooperate.

When Alice next came to Laurence for money, he was missing, and she was out of luck. Eventually, she did put out her CD, but it was a disaster. She had no talent.

Emily"s father eventually used his connections to ensure that it would be safe for them to return, which is what they did.

Laurence lowered his head and remained silent.

Kylie filled up his coffee cup and sad, "Whatever happened, happened a long time ago. I still appreciate that you raised me, and I can tell that there is a lot of truth to your story. That being said, I sense holes in your story. In order for me to let you stay at Merlin Villa, you need to tell me everything."

Laurence looked at her curiously and said, "If I stayed at the Merlin Villa, where would you live?"

"I"ll live in the Finch house, "Kylie replied automatically.

Hearing this, Laurence was completely stunned. He knew that the house had been sold, but he hadn"t realized who it had been sold to. "How is this possible?" Laurence whispered.

Kylie smiled and said, "The house bears my name; of course, it is mine. In time, everything that once belonged to my family will come back home. Look at you: you started with nothing, and it is to nothing that you"ve returned. It is not irony. Rather, it is the scales of justice – and they always balance in the end. Now, will you fill in the holes in your story?"

Laurence"s face turned a pale shade of green. "I"ve told you the truth," he said. "Whether you believe me or not, it is up to you..."

"Alright," Kylie nodded. "Can you tell me who my biological father is?"

"I am sorry," Laurence replied, "but I cannot. Your mother once told me that your father was a hoodlum. That is all I know…"

Kylie thought about that for a moment. She had a hard time imagining her mother having a one night stand with a hoodlum. She had fled the city to get away from him, though, which said something about him.

Suddenly Laurence stood up, and he said, "This was a mistake. I won"t stay at your place. I don"t want to cause you any trouble. It was nice to see you, though."

Kylie looked at him and said, "Are you afraid that my natural father is going to find me?"

 ***

Khloe was already waiting for Matthew when he walked through the door. He went straight for her, saw that she was distraught and crying, and gave her a hug. "What"s wrong?" he asked her.

"Sit down," she said, "I will tell you everything.

Once Khloe had told her tale from beginning to end, she looked at Matthew and said, "I don"t know what to do now. Can you tell me what to do?"

Matthew had been chain-smoking the whole time that she"d been talking, but now that she was done, he smashed his cigarette into the ashtray and looked at Khloe to suggest that he had all of the answers to all of her problems.

Khloe took a deep breath, met his eyes, and allowed her heart to be filled with hope. If he sent her away, she would be sleeping on the street. He was a good person, though, and she didn"t think that he would abandon her.

Matthew smiled, and he looked down at her stomach. "Are you really pregnant?" he wondered.

Khloe showed him a doc.u.ment from the hospital, and when she spoke, she almost cried. She said, "I was sick for two days. At first, I didn"t know what was happening, and it seemed to be getting worse. Finally, I went to the hospital. They did some tests and told me that I was pregnant. I am on the medication for morning sickness now, and it helps…"

"Is it mine," he wondered, "or is it Aiden"s."

"You are the only person that I"ve been with," Khloe replied.

Matthew slumped back into his chair as if all of his energy had been sucked out of him. He looked at her and said, "Alright. I will take care of you and your mother."

"What about Aiden?" Khloe wondered. "He is bound to be angry."

"Never mind him," he replied. "Aiden is my son. He will always be subservient to me. It will never be the other way around."

Matthew looked her over and said, "You are too thin to carry a baby; we must get some weight on these bones."

Khloe frowned. "I don"t want to eat," she sighed. "Every time I eat, I throw up."

"We will figure that out," he promised. "Is there anything else that I can do to help."

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