CHAPTER FIVE: A CALL TO DESTINY

“What happened? How did all this happen?” Mr. Keith asked and then Victoria burst into tears. “What happened?” He asked again.

Jamie saw his mum cry and frowned. He was about to go over when his mother shakes her head telling him not to make him pause at his steps.

“Your son looks like he's going to have my head,” Mr. Keith said, making Victoria laugh before she went back to crying.

“I'm sorry. It's just still a bitter memory for me,” Victoria said as Mr. Keith nodded.

“I understand. Take your time,” Mr. Keith said, folding his arms, waiting patiently for her to get herself together. “Are you ready to talk?” He asked as she nodded. “Okay, I'll be all ears,” he added.

“It happened so many years ago. You know how it was between me and Mark. Our relationship was a forbidden one. I was just his assistant and I wasn't supposed to fall for him but God, I was okay with that and I think he was too until I found out I was pregnant,” Victoria said as Keith turned to her.

“What did you do when you found out that you were pregnant?” Mr. Keith asked.

“I tried so hard to tell Mark but I knew I would just cause problems for myself and I knew if he found out, it would be the end of our relationship. I didn't want that,” Victoria continued as tears rolled down her cheeks. “At some point, I thought of getting rid of my baby,” Victoria said as Mr. Keith quickly turned to face her.

“You did?” He asked as she nodded. “So what happened? What made you change your mind?” He asked.

“I heard the sound of my baby's heartbeat. It was the most beautiful sound I ever heard and at that moment, I decided I was going to tell Mark. He needed to know about the beautiful life we were both creating. So I got to the office and found out that his mom knew about his affair but didn't know who the lady was. I also heard stories about his past lovers, how she forced them to abort his kids just because they were not the women she chose for him. At that moment, all I could think of was my baby.

I couldn't wait for her to find out who I was, so I chickened out, released my resignation letter when he traveled for a business trip and ran away. Far away where I had my son. We have suffered and struggled just to make ends meet. It hasn't been easy but I don't regret it because it was all for my son,” Victoria said as Mr. Keith had a frown etched in his face.

“I had no idea you went through all that. It must have been a really painful experience,” Mr. Keith said as Victoria nodded.

Mr Keith was still in shock about finding out that Jamie is the son of Mark Hankin, his boss, and decides to call his boss about his findings.

“What are you doing?” Victoria asked, watching Mr. Keith pull out his phone.

“I need to call Mr. Mark and tell him about this,” Mr. Keith said as Victoria shook her head continuously.

“No, you can't do that Keith. I didn't tell you this because I wanted you to tell Mark. Mark doesn't need to know about this,” Victoria said, holding Keith's hand.

“Why Victoria? Mark needs to know that he has a grown up son like Jamie. You need to put yourself in his shoes. This is not about you anymore. It is now about Jamie. He needs to know his father so that he can claim what rightfully belongs to him. Don't you want that for your son?” Mr. Keith asked as Victoria turned to look at Jamie who furrowed his eyebrows at her.

“Think about what he could achieve. You've suffered enough. Let his dad take care of him now,” Mr. Keith said as Victoria sighed defeatedly, letting go of Keith's hand.

“Okay,” she said as Mr. Keith nodded, ringing Mark Hankins up. He told Mark everything as Victoria watched him and when he was done, he turned to her

“What did he say?” Victoria asked.

“He said I should bring you and Jamie to the hospital,” Mr. Keith said as Victoria nodded.