Chapter Thirty-Two

Madeline's POV:

"Bryan, what are you saying?". I shuttered.

He snuggled closer to me and mumbled again "I know you are my mommy not my sister".

I stopped breathing, my mind turned numb at the realization that he finally knows the truth. The tears started rolling down from my face falling on my neck.

I pressed him closer to my chest and his tiny soft hand wiped my tears from my face making me cry harder.

"Oh, Bryan. When did you find out? Who told you this?". I asked him.

"I heard ma and pa talking a few days ago". He said.

"What did you hear?". I asked him scared about what he had heard.

"Ma were saying to Pa that you should tell me the truth that you're my mommy. She said you don't have to hide it anymore" He said.

"Is that all you heard?" He nodded his head.

I asked astonished, "You believed it?".

"Yes". He said snuggling his head in my neck while my hand rubbed his back to comfort him.

"Why?". I asked him.

"I always knew you were my mom". He said surprising me.

"How?". I asked him feeling my voice cracking.

"You told me yourself. Don't you remember?". He said confusing me.

"I never told you". I said making him look upon my face.

"After my birthday, you stayed the night in my room. You thought I was sleeping when you kissed my head and told me how much you love me and miss me. You said you wants to take me with you but you need to keep me safe. You called me son so many times that night." He said shocking me to core.

My hands were shaking when I cupped his face and said, "Bryan, it was last year, honey"

His mass of brown hair bobbed.

The realization dawned on me surprising me. "You knew I was your mommy for so long so why didn't you say anything before?". I asked him.

"I thought it was my dream. But when I heard Ma and Pa talking about you a few days ago, I remembered that night when you called me son. So I know you are my mommy". He replied.

"Baby, are you angry at me for hiding this?". I asked feeling ashamed.

"No, I'm not angry. I just want to call you my mommy. Can I call you mommy?". He asked me with the hopeful face.

"Oh baby!" I said and pulled him closer."Definitely, you can call me your mommy". I showered his cute face with kisses.

"Mommy, stop. You're tickling me". He complained as my fingers touched the sides of his small stomach.

He was really ticklish on the stomach and to change the somber mood, I started tickling his sides making him giggle loudly.

When I stopped tickling, his giggles subsided and he launched himself into my arms laughing.

I was glad that now he knows the truth but at the same time, I was scared that now the truth was out how would I explain to him where is his dad? And who is he?.

He yawned making me notice how sleepy he looks.

"Bryan, baby, go to sleep". I said throwing a comforter on us.

"Goodnight, mommy". He mumbled sleepily.

"Goodnight, son". I whispered, kissing his head.

After an hour, I was sure he was deep in sleep so I slipped out of the bed and made my way to the living-room with my cell phone in my hand. I slumped down on the couch and stared at my phone.

I thought of calling my parents and talk to them about the situation but then they would either come here or force me to tell Bryan the whole truth.

So I dialed Sebastian's number. He picked up my call at the first ring like he usually does.

"Are you checking up one me?" Sebastian asked me.

But I stayed silent. I didn't know where to start and what to say.

"Madeline, is everything alright?". He asked me sounding worried.

"Yeah, I'm sorry for disturbing you this late," I said looking at the wall clock which clearly showed its midnight.

"You and sorry doesn't go along, dear". He snorted making me roll my eyes.

He was silent for few minutes then he asked, "What's wrong?".

"Bryan knows the truth. He knows I am his mom". I told him making him suck in a sharp breath.

"How did he find out?". Sebastian asked.

"He heard mom and dad talking" I replied.

"Did he know anything about the past?" He asked.

"No. He just heard enough to know that I am his mom". I said.

"That's good but it won't be long that he'll start asking questions and you wouldn't be able to avoid them. He's a smart kid, Madeline" Sebastian said.

"I know, Sebastian. I don't plan to hide anything from him anymore. As you said earlier he is a smart kid he will understand" I said hoping that I would be right on this assumption.

"Go get some sleep and stop thinking about everything. I'm sure you are capable of handling this situation" He said instantly making me feel better.

"Thank you, Sebastian. You always make me feel better". I said getting up from the couch.

"Yeah. I know how talented I when it comes to making you feel better" He said in a teasingly.

"Shut up and goodnight". I said.

"There's nothing good about tonight. I am lying on the bed bore out of my mind". He complained.

"Watch the movie, that's what normal people do when they get bored," I said.

"Okay, find" He mumbled and ended the call.

Sighing, I went back to my room and slipped inside the bed again.

I feel contented and didn't find the need to take sleeping pills tonight to fall asleep.

*****

I felt the movement besides me but ignored it. I was deep in sleep. Then later, I felt something wet a brush like poking on my face. I groaned and opened my eyes.

The bright sunlight coming through the window blinded me for a moment. I blinked my eyes and turned my left to see my son sitting on the bed with the painting tray on his lap and paintbrush on his hand.

"Bryan, what were you doing?". I asked him.

"Good morning, mommy. I was painting" He said and gave me the toothy smile. I caught the mischievous glint in his eyes and knew he had done something naughty.

I noticed that he didn't have any paper with him to draw or paint.

"Where is your painting sheet?" I asked him.

"I painted on your face" He said with the wide smile.

"My face". I asked horrified.

He nodded his head again smiling like a cute bunny.

His smile swelled my heart melting me like an ice cream on summer day.

"Okay. Then how does my face look?" I asked him.

"Pretty" He said.

"Let me see," I said picking up my cell phone from the bedside table and opened the front camera.

My breath hitched. I touched my cheek where "Best Mom" was painted in bold strokes with red paint and a small heart on the side.

I stared at his artwork in astonishment and felt the tears brimming in my eyes.

Oh God! My son loves me.

But do I deserve his love?

"Do you like it, mommy?" He asked me innocently.

"I love it". I said.

"Then why do you have tears in your eyes?". He asked me looking confused.

"They are happy tears, son," I said blinking to get rid of them.

"People smile when they are happy. They don't cry". He said with the laugh.

"Sometimes they do". I said pulling him in a hug and kissing his cheeks.

"Now, get up. We have many things to do today" I said picking him up and placing him on his feet on the floor.

"What things?" He asked me following me to the closet.

"Well, I need to go office and you are coming with me. After my work will be done, we would go out for lunch". I said making his eyes widened in excitement.

The reason for his excitement was that my office was his favorite place because it had colorful and different new materials for him to explore.

If I haven't mentioned it before Bryan was little on the artistic side. He loves painting, drawing and making things colorful.

When he was eight months old, I remembered he made his first artwork on the wall near to his crib with the orange color crayon.

After getting showered and dressed Bryan, and I went to the kitchen to fill our hungry stomach. I made his favorite pancakes and cheese omelet.

After we were done having breakfast, we brushed our teeth and left the house.

The drive to the office wasn't long because of less traffic. I entered the building with Bryan following me closely. I bought the single office two years ago and started my small event planning business. With the time the business turned so successful that now I own the top five floors of the building and my working staff quite appropriate the space.

We took the elevator and went to my office.

My secretary smiled at me and looked at Bryan with a scared face.

"Bryan, say hello to Penny" I said to Bryan making him smile mischievously.

"Hello, Penny". He said smiling and scaring her more.

Penny and Bryan had a history. Penny had been working for me for two years and the least to say, Bryan never made her job easy. He had done all the things he could do to make her beg for mercy.

He had played many pranks on her and stole her chocolates many times to make her cry.

Penny feels frightened around Bryan after his last prank that made her lose this job.

For me and all the staff they both are the piece of amusement and laugh.

"Hi, Bryan. I have some extra chocolates... Would you like to have some?" Penny said pulling out the Kitkats and Hershey kisses from her drawer.

Bryan looked at me asking for my permission and I nodded at him.

He hurriedly snatched them and mumbled thank you.

"Bryan, please go inside the office I will be there in a minute". I said and he happily followed my instructions.

"Why did you give him your chocolates?". I asked her.

"So he wouldn't steal them". She said making me laugh.

After talking to Penny for few seconds and checking my planner, I went inside my cabin and started working. Bryan played around looking at everything and asking questions to Caleb.

Caleb was my junior assistant more like a manager. He keeps a tab on the workers and tackles the hellacious matters which needs immediate attention of mine. And sometimes I use him to scare people. Due to his tall height and buffy figure, other male employees in my office seems to work more efficiently.

But in reality, Caleb was a kind-hearted person from heart.

It had been two hours. I had been sitting in the office and working on the new project. Bryan was somewhere in the hall playing with the remote control car under Penny's watch.

Suddenly my office door burst open and Bryan entered looking panic.

I was instantly alert.

He made his way to me and asked, "Mom, is Sebastian my Dad?".

Brandon POV:

I went to the cabin in the West woods of Boston near the lake. It is the first property that I had bought from my own money because the lake reminds me of that when I had my first kiss with Madeline.

The memory of that night is still fresh in my mind because it was one of the best memories of my life with her.

What I regret most in my life until now is the day I reacted like an ass with her after waking up that morning.

That day when I woke up and realized what happened between us I was scared, confused and felt like a bastard for doing this with my best friend.

And then she had to come in my view dressed in my own shirt. It blew my mind making me want to kiss her and devour her like there will be no tomorrow for us.

But I had to control myself by letting my temper get better of me and to prove myself that this thing which went between us was nothing but a big mistake I said hurtful things to her.

Despite all the things I took the chance and kissed her. It was our last kiss. I didn't know that moment that it would be the last time I am able to see her face, feel her beautiful lips and have her this near.

I wish that I didn't have walked out of her room that day. If I was a man enough to realize my feeling and work on it instead of feeling like the worst boyfriend to the girl who never cared for me.

I should have seen Laura's facade before and could have saved myself from this deceit. Her unscrupulous claim of love manipulated me in thinking that maybe she has changed and really loves me.

But I couldn't be more wrong about anything in my life.

I hate her now. I really do. But I can not find the power to push her from my mind.

I stared at the fire that has been burning in the fireplace to keep the cabin warm. It looked furious wanting to burn everything near the space but a concrete wall were doing its best to protect the surrounding.

It reminds me of Laura, she was a fire and have a tendency to burn everything which is near to her but somehow I was working as concrete wall in her life, keeping her at bay not letting her burn anything.

That is why she would always come running back to me after hurting me.

I took the swig from the bottle of chilled Beer but it did nothing to cool down the burn that has been going in my heart after seeing that man and Laura on our bed. On the very same bed where I had my moments with my fiancee and thinking how perfect she is in every way and felt lucky that something so perfect belongs to me.

But she was never a perfect girl for me.

I lost my chances with the perfect girl running after someone who is not made to belong one person.

I lost her and now she also belongs to someone who might deserve her.

I threw the beer bottle forcefully on the wall letting it smash and scatter around in small crystals of glass.

I fell back on the dark brown leather couch and closed my eyes.

I felt the soft fingers running in my hair making me open my eyes to see Madeline beautiful face.

"Brandon". She called me cupping my face between her soft hands.

"Are you really?". I asked her.

"Are you stupid?". She asked me with amuse smile playing on her sensual lips.

"Certified stupid and asshøle for hurting you". I said leaning closer to her.

"You are stupid but not an asshøle". She said softly.

"Then why do I ruin everything?". I asked her confuse.

"You didn't ruin anything". She said squeezing my hand.

I just stared at her mesmerized with her beautiful hazel eyes that were starting at me with love. I leaned closer to her to capture her full lips with mine but she vanished like a haze mixing in the air.

My eyes jerked open and I heard my cellphone blaring making me cringe and shut my eyes back at the bright light in the room.

With closed eyes I patted the table and found my phone. Without checking a caller ID I pressed the phone to my ear.

"Hello. Brandon Edward speaking". I said groggily.

"Hello Sir, I'm Graham from the Rees private investigation company". I heard the boyish voice.

I was scratching my mind to remember the name but nothing came in my mind.

"I know it has been two long years last we talked but I have something important for you that might help you". He said sounding persistent.

"Excuse me, I'm sorry but I couldn't recall who you are?". I said irritated.

"Sir, I'm Graham, you gave me the assignment to search this girl Madeline". He said making me wide awake.

I sat up on the couch in a lightening speed feeling dizziness at the speed.

"Graham! The kid with shaggy blonde hair and with the habit of putting his nose in others business". I said irritated remembering this weird kid.

"Yes sir, you remember me!". He said sounding happy.

"Certainly". I said irritated. "How did you get my number? And what is this Rees private investigation company?". I asked him confuse.

"My full name is Graham Rees thus the Rees investigation company. And I'm a private investigator for a reason sir. That's how I got your number". Graham said sounding proud.

I was silent not getting the motive behind his call after two years.

"I know where is Miss Madeline residing at the moment". He said.

"I know she is in New York, kid." I said.

"You know?". He asked sounding confuse.

"Yes". I said ready to end his call.

"Do you know what happened with her?". He said making me freeze.

"What did you said?". I asked him to repeat.

"Do you know what happened in her past? Do you know what happened in this last six years?". He asked me making my heart beat increasing.

"And you do?. How?". I asked him.

"I can tell you everything if you would meet me in the cafe near downtown". He negotiated.

"Give half an hour ". I said getting up from the couch.

"Okay. I will be waiting for you in the cafe". He said and I ended the call.

_______________________________________

Hello lovelies!

I hope you all enjoy this chapter and leave your comments behind.

Don't forget to Vote if you have enjoyed the chapter.

What do you think happened in Madeline past?

How does this Graham kid know everything about Madeline?

Is Bryan really Brandon's son?

Published date: 09-05-2017

Thanks for reading 😘😘

~S.Sonysa_Ivan❤❤