Chapter 16
“… I have a daughter!” Mia disclosed amid tears. Everyone was quiet. When she received no response, she continued ” that year when I went to Florence City for research, I got pregnant and gave birth to a baby girl…”.
The contents of her information was too much to absorb at a time.
Mia had a daughter? Her mother stared at her for a long time that it seemed like eternity.
She remembered back then, that Mia was supposed to spend ten months but ended up spending thirteen months instead.
She had told them that the research was to be detailed and she needed to spend more time getting it done. They believed her back then.
Now she realized that Mia was only trying to buy more time to enable her to deliver her baby.
At that time when Mia returned she looked thin and pale. And often she gets absent minded. Only now did her mother get answers to that weird behavior of her daughter.
Everyone seated exchanged glances and finally turned to Mia looking at her angrily. How can a child of the Rowan’s be raised outside their mansion?
To say the least, she’s even in another country, far away from them. If the truth of that reality was discovered by an outsider, it could be used against them, ruining the reputation the ancestors of the Rowan’s family had fought to protect all their lives.
“Mia, you have a daughter and you hid her away from your own family all these years?”her mother asked as her eyes were becoming moist.
Mia shook her head in tears. She didn’t mean to hide her away from her own family. She was afraid then to ruin her father’s political ambition.
“How can you hide something so important from us all these years Mia? did you even know the implications of what you did?”grandfather Rowan rebuked her.
It was her grandfather’s shaking voice that made her completely broken. She started sobbing uncontrollably.
“Where’s the child now?” Her father finally spoke up. He was also shocked by his daughter’s revelation.
He had watched her grow before him over forty years now but never thought she could conceal such a secret in her heart.
If someone had told him this secret, he would have made the person realize the price of scheming against his daughter. But now what could he possibly do?.
” I left her in swaddling clothes at the entrance of an orphanage at dawn on the day I returned to St Petersburg” Mia replied.
Her entire family scolded her for her inhuman behavior to her own child. Her mother scolded her more saying she was not supposed to be born a woman because she had no heart of a mother.
Her brothers couldn’t scold her because she was their elder sister, but they were definitely unhappy with her. They stared at her coldly.
They would have dealt with her especially Eli, he would have dished her a slap if she wasn’t his elder sister.
Her grandfather’s complexion Suddenly became pale and his eyes were growing dizzy. His breathing was becoming difficult with some slight sharp pains in the left side of his chest.
Grandpa Rowan suddenly placed his hand on his left side of the chest and he gnashed his teeth.
It was Mile Rowan’s quick observation that saved grandfather Rowan’s life. He laid him flat on the cushion and gave him a cardiovascular massage to resuscitate him before taking him to his room.
Everyone had momentarily forgotten about Mia.
When grandfather Rowan opened his eyes again, he was Surrounded by his family. He smiled wryly but remembered what led to his fainting.
His heart couldn’t take the pain it felt at Mia’s words before he went dizzy. He reached forth his hand and held his Son’s ” Luke, please find my great granddaughter. Whatever it will take you” his voice was thin like a whisper.
Mia stood behind. She almost caused her grandfather a heart attack. Perhaps she shouldn’t have told them if she had known it would put grandfather in this deadly condition.
She should have searched and found her, then brought her to introduce them. That is what she should have done, she thought. She had been crying and her eyes had become swollen and red.
“Leave that to me, grandfather. I will Surely bring her to you” Eli Rowan promised his grandfather.
He had been quiet all along. He had been thinking why Mia would do that. Was she trying to protect the reputation of their family? Or was she afraid of tarnishing her image? He thinks the former was likely the reason.
Grandfather Rowan smiled. He nodded. He was confident of his grandson, if he promised to bring his great granddaughter to him, then he would.
He cannot afford to die without setting his eyes on any of his children, either grand or great-grandchildren.
Luke Rowan glared at his daughter with hostility. He requested her to give him the address of where last she left the baby.
Twenty years and more had passed. That address might not lead them to exactly where she could be, but they had to start from somewhere.
It might eventually lead them to where they would find her.
Mia gave the address of the orphanage and the date she left her baby to her father.
In reality she had not stopped thinking about her daughter but lacked the courage to tell others about her mistakes.
She had tried telling Nicolas several times but timidity had made her keep it a secret till he died.
In Florence City, Days passed and it was just a week to grandfather Axel’s 70th birthday. Palmer Axel had been preparing for her father in law’s birthday.
Santiago’s younger sister will be returning back from abroad. She’s in London school of business and has graduated. She’s coming back to assist her brother in the Axel group. She’s Mira Axel.
Aurora went home early that day to celebrate her brother’s graduation. Grey Logan was now a graduate and there’s a party organized to celebrate him.Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.
Now, her struggles were going to be minimized. As soon as Grey gets a good job, he would support her and their mother as much as they’ve always supported each other.
She had told Santiago to employ him and he already agreed.
Today, she was going to give her family what she wanted to give them for a long time ago. What she would have given her mother had she known that Julian Brabra had no brain in his skull.
She packed her belongings and went to her mom’s room and did the same. She moved their things into her car and told her they were going to meet Grey at the venue of the party. She drove until they arrived at a beautiful bungalow.
Millie Logan was wondering why the party was going to be held in someone else’s house.
But when she entered, and saw that the house was new with its interior well decorated and a large photo of her and her two children hung on the wall she shivered. Grey was dressed in a Suit with his friends cheering together.
“Aurora?” Millie Logan called her daughter. She couldn’t contain her curiosity any more. Aurora understands her mother too much and knows that she wants to know more about the house.
“This is our new home, mother. We’ll be living here henceforth” Aurora told her what she was eager to know. She smiled at her mother beautifully.
Millie Logan was tongue tied.
She couldn’t say anything to what Aurora just said. When she wanted to talk, she felt her voice choking as tears streamed down her cheeks. Her only reaction was to hug Aurora and shed more tears of joy on her shoulder.
That party was fabulous and when it ended, Millie Logan wanted to know how Aurora was able to save money to buy Such a beautiful house.
Aurora told her she had been saving all her salaries and incentives since she started working at the Axel group . Santiago had forbidden her from spending her own money saying he was more than enough to take care of her. He said she’s his responsibility.
Millie Logan’s joy knew no bounds. At last they are now owners of their own house. They were free from renting apartments.
All these years, she had dreamed of owning her own house but today, her daughter Aurora had made that dream a reality.
She checked the various rooms and felt satisfied. It was not a manor nor a villa, it’s a bungalow and it Suits them the most.
Days passed and it was two days to grandfather Axel’s birthday. Santiago seems to be too involved in his work that he didn’t observe the changes in Aurora. Aurora discovered she hasn’t been too well these days and can’t remember when she last menstruated. She had to go to the hospital.
During the lunch hour, Aurora went for a check up in the hospital. She waited for a while until she was called over to have her result.
When she saw it, her guesses were right. She had a feeling of satisfaction. She smiled and folded the result into her bag and went away.
As she stepped out, she saw Julian Brabra and his mother coming into the hospital. When they saw her, they paused.
When Aurora saw them, she frowned and thought if perhaps, Anna had given birth.
Julian Brabra’s mother was the first to talk ” Aurora, I haven’t seen you in months but I guessed it wasn’t your fault” .
She threw a glance at her Son before taking some steps closer to Aurora ” I knew what my Son did to you was wrong. I never Supported him. But when Anna became pregnant, I wasn’t able to do anything to stop them” her eyes were moist.
She owed her life today to Aurora. She would have died if it wasn’t for Aurora’s quick intervention that raised money for her heart surgery. She felt really hurt when her Son married Anna.
She is not an ungrateful wretch, but she found herself in a position where her hands were tied.
Aurora only nodded and tried to walk past them when Julian Brabra said ” Anna had given birth”.
Aurora nodded and said ” Congratulations” and walked away. She had not forgotten about that slap nor had she stopped thinking about what she went through because of Anna and Julian Brabra.
As Aurora got to her car, she saw Eve Diego resting her hip on it. She narrowed her brows and tried to ignore her but Diego sneered and said…