Mid-Afternoon at The Fortress"What did you call me here for?" Daniel sat down at the bar next to his brother. A few minutes ago, he received a text message from his brother who rarely calls him for some drinks and not one especially at that time of day. And when he got there, Liam was already on his third shot of whiskey. "It"s three o"clock in the afternoon, Liam. What are we doing here?"
Liam remained quiet. He was obviously not himself and his brother noticed it. Growing up with his little brother, Daniel had always found him as a rather cheerful person but the person sitting next to him was a dismal one. Just what happened to this guy that he became like this?
Sighing, Daniel guessed that it must be something serious. He signaled the bartender and ordered a shot for him as well.
"Danny," Liam called, a name that he only called his brother when he was still a little boy.
Surprised, Daniel turned to look at Liam and was able to finally see some expression on his face. Liam"s eyes were misty and sad, the corners of his mouth curled downwards. It was a face that big brother Daniel did not like to see. Placing his big hand on his little brother"s shoulder, he asked, "What"s going on, Li?"
"For the first time… for the first time, I think I"m feeling heartbroken." Liam raised his gla.s.s to his mouth and downed his drink. He only had to push it forward and the bartender refilled his gla.s.s again. "Have you ever wanted something but couldn"t have it?" He turned to Daniel and smiled, though his smile did not reach his eyes.
Daniel did not answer. Instead, he waited for Liam to continue.
"I don"t mean temporary. Something that you want but you can"t have forever?" He looked at his gla.s.s again and played his finger along the rim. "Coz I have… and I didn"t even know that I have wanted it so much until now."
Daniel could not understand what he was talking about but he remained patient. "Do you want to talk about it?" he took a sip of his own drink.
A couple of minutes pa.s.sed before Liam started, "What is it like?"
"Hmm?"
"What is it like to have Ash?"
Daniel now started to feel his heart race after hearing his brother ask the question. What does his brother"s problem have to do with his son?
"I don"t know… Before I knew I had a son, I"ve really just wanted to be with Samantha again. She and I talked about having kids before but it was different when it was just the two of us. Now that I met my son, it"s… strange. It"s another feeling of affection that I can"t explain. I love Samantha very much... more than anything. But I"m surprised at how much I feel for my own son. I didn"t know that it was possible to have… separate love. It"s as if I"m in love with him… but it"s just a different kind of in love."
Daniel got lost with himself for a little there as he tried to explain his thoughts.
"It must be nice…" Liam commented with a small smile.
"Why do you ask?"
After finis.h.i.+ng his fourth drink, Liam turned to his brother and though he did not realize it, a single tear escaped from his eye when he said, "Becca doesn"t want to have kids."
As soon as Daniel heard his younger brother say those words, he swore that he felt his own heart shatter for him. "Sh*t," he uttered as he suddenly imagined his life without Ashton in it but he dared not to.
He clamped his hand on his brother"s shoulder. Daniel knew how much Liam wanted to have his own kids one day. So he knew that whatever comforting words there is that he thought he should say, he could only swallow it all. Those words were useless for a man who was actually hurting like his brother was. The best thing that Daniel could do at that moment was to be with his brother.
…
Meanwhile, Becca called Samantha.
"Hi, Sam. I heard about what happened. I just wanted to know if you"re okay."
"Yes, I"m safe. Why do you sound weird? Is everything alright?" Samantha asked in a low voice as Ashton was sleeping nearby.
Becca hesitated for a bit before she replied, "Actually… I wanted to talk to you about something. Is it okay if I drop by?"
An hour later, Becca arrived at the Kim Family"s Estate. She and Samantha were out in the gazebo talking while Ashton was already awake and playing on the floor.
Becca had just told Samantha about what happened earlier that day about her conversation with Liam.
"That must be tough. I"m surprised you two have only talked about it now," said Samantha.
"I guess we didn"t really think much about it before. It"s just… when you came back, we have been seeing Ashton. And Liam has been also excited about getting to know his nephew. So he has mentioned it a couple of times lately. But… I suddenly realized what I didn"t want."
Nodding, Samantha smiled at Becca. "It"s okay, Becs. It"s not wrong not to want to have kids. It"s your choice. Don"t feel bad that you don"t have the same thoughts or wants like other people do."
"Hmmm. Really? Why do I feel like I"m such a bad person for thinking like this?" Becca sighed heavily and leaned on the couch.
"You"re not a bad person, Becs. Motherhood isn"t for everyone so you shouldn"t feel bad about it. You"re not alone too, there are plenty of women out there who don"t want to have kids."
"There"s a "but"… huh?" Becca revealed a small smile and so did Samantha.
"It"s not really a "but". I"m saying this not because I"m convincing you. I just want you to listen to what I think and it will still be your decision in the end. However, I want you to know that I understand why you"re afraid." Taking Becca"s hand in hers, Samantha patted it gently. "Liam is right, Becs. It"s not only going to be yours. It will be yours and his… both of your flesh.
"Look, you may think that your childhood wasn"t great but look at what you"ve grown into. You"re a beautiful, carefree and kind woman. And you have a man who loves you and wants to share his future with you. You already know what love is Becca. Also, you won"t be alone if ever one day, you"ll become a mother. I"m not an expert but you have me and you have my mom and Liam"s too. You"re already family… you"re not alone."
Listening to Samantha, Becca felt better. She thought that talking to Samantha was definitely the right choice. She understood what her friend meant and so she squeezed her hand as if she was letting her know that she got the message. But this didn"t mean that she had already changed her mind. In fact, even after their conversation, Becca still believed that she didn"t want to become a mother.
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Later that night.
It was eight in the evening and Becca was suffering from food poisoning. She had been throwing up for the past few minutes, cursing that she shouldn"t have tried new food from that countryside the day before. She had learned her lesson – when in doubt, don"t eat strange-looking food.
Hearing the sound of the main door unlocking, Becca knew that Liam was already home. She quickly cleaned herself up and went out of the bathroom only to find Daniel helping his brother walk to their bedroom.
"What happened? Is he drunk?" she immediately walked over and a.s.sisted them.
"There she is, look bro... it"s my girlfriend." Liam formed a smile on his drunk face as he pointed at Becca.
"Sober up and get some rest. I"ll see you tomorrow." Daniel turned to Becca and they greeted each other with a nod before he left their apartment.
"Why did you drink?" Becca started to help Liam change his clothes but Liam stopped her and pulled her to sit next to him.
"I"m sorry about earlier." Sighing heavily, Liam cupped her chin and tried his best to look at her in the eyes. "If you really don"t want kids, it"s fine. You"re more important to me."
"Liam…"
"It"s okay… I"m okay. You know I love you, right?"
Becca nodded. Her heart hurt for the man she loves. "And I do too," she said before kissing him on the lips.
The corner of Liam"s mouth curled upwards. Touching her cheek, he added, "Then that"s all that matters."