Takedown (16 page)

Chapter 20

Meg leaned forward on the table and whispered, “Alec, I can’t see you again.”

Alec froze and looked into her eyes. When he recuperated, he cleared his throat and lowered his glass on the table. “Care to explain?”

She didn’t want to, but it wouldn’t be fair if she’d just turn away from him without explanation. Alec was a great man, regardless of their past. “I’m pregnant.”

His jaw dropped, but he recovered almost instantly and forced out a laugh. “Mine?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she mumbled. Although they had been dating for a few days now, they never even came close to having sex.

He nodded. “I’m kidding. So whose is it?”

She trusted him, but she could not answer that question. “It happened before I met you. Didn’t expect it.”

“Don’t worry. I’m not angry.”

“You’re not?”

“No. Why should I be?”

Meg wasn’t sure what to say. For some reasons, she felt disappointed. All the while she thought he was serious about her, but if he were, her confession should have infuriated him.

“Does the father know?” he asked.

She shook her head. “I don’t want him to know.”

“Why not?”

“He’s not the man I want to spend my whole life with.”

“I see,” he nodded and paused. “I can take the child as my own, if you want.”

Stunned, she stared at him with open mouth. “You serious?!”

“I am serious,” he promptly and positively replied.

Still, she found it hard to believe, but he kept a straight face. “Why not have your own?”

He sighed, and then leaned forward and spoke softly. “You want to know a secret?” he asked.

She nodded.

He glanced sideways to make sure no one was listening. “I have a very low sperm count. When my fiancée was still alive, we tried everything. Nothing worked. So it would be a good idea if I married a woman who already had a child of her own, and even better if the baby is still not born. That way, the baby will grow up knowing me as his or her father.”

For a long moment, she was dumbfounded. “That can’t be true.”

“Which one?”

“All of it.”

“It’s true, Meg. So if you don’t like the father of your child, I am willing to take his place. That is if you allow me.”

Her eyes were moist. This came to her as a surprise, and she honestly was not sure what to do or say.

She shook her head. “I don’t know, Alec. I’m really confused right now.”

He nodded. “You can think about it. I can wait.”

*****

“Josh?” She wrinkled her brows when she found her brother slouching on the couch, watching TV.

Josh just glanced at her and did not say anything.

“It’s almost midnight,” she said and closed the door. “Is Deborah not looking for you?”

“No,” was his simple answer.

“Did you fight?”

He sighed and shook his head.

“What’s wrong?” She noticed his indifference. Her brother would not be acting in such a way if he had no problem. She happened to see a check sitting on the table. “What’s that?” she asked.

When he did not answer, she approached the table and picked up the check. It was worth twenty thousand dollars.

“Who gave you this?” she asked.

Using the remote controller, Josh changed the channel. “Ryder gave it to me.”

“Why?”

He glanced at her in a way which conveyed a message
as if you still don’t know
.

She returned the check on the table and sat on the couch across him. So that was the reason why he looked depressed, and the check was probably a compensation for the trouble.

“The fight’s cancelled,” Josh said before she could say anything. “Blaze’s stepped up to take my place.”

She knew that. She actually cried when Candace informed her about it, but she didn’t want to let him see just how relieved she was. “Sorry,” she said, to which he did not respond. “Is it final?” she asked a moment later. “Travis told me they haven’t signed the agreement yet.”

“They just did this morning. Ryder has confirmed it in the news a while ago.”

Although she was glad, her heart was breaking as she stared at her brother. Any words she’d say would not probably make him feel any better.

Her gaze lingered around the living room and she happened to spot a suitcase sitting beside the couch. “You brought your stuff with you,” she said.

“I’m staying here for a while until I find an apartment.”

“What happened?” she asked. “Did Deborah kick you out of her apartment?”

“I left. We broke up.”

Her jaw dropped. That should be another thing for her to be happy about, but it pained her to see the sadness on her brother’s face. “Is it because the fight is cancelled?” she suspected.

“Maybe, but that’s not the main reason.”

“What’s the main reason?”

It took a while before he answered. “Because she was rude to you.”

Her lips parted, touched that somehow, her brother still chose to be on her side. “Honestly, Josh, I’m glad,” she said. “She does not deserve you.”

He stopped changing channels and fixed his eyes on the TV. She glanced at the screen and saw a bar fight scene. “You don’t have to look for an apartment. This house is yours.”

Josh looked at her. “And you?”

“I’m moving out of here. This place is not for me.”

“Where are you going?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “To New Orleans. I’ll go visit mom.”

“And what about the wedding?”

She frowned. “Wedding?”

“Ryder told me you and Travis are getting married.”

Her frown deepened. She had no idea what he was talking about. “What?”

“It’s a condition given by Blaze before he signed the contract. I thought Travis told you about it.”

For a few seconds, she remained staring at her brother, paralyzed.

“Blaze wanted me to marry Travis?” she asked a long moment later, still horrified at the thought of it.

Josh nodded his head.

“Oh, dammit.” She stood up and stormed up the stairs. She couldn’t remember a time when she was as angry as she was right now. “Fuck those bastards.”

Right after she entered her room, she dialed Travis’ number, but he was not answering.

She tossed the phone aside and lay on the bed. Tears suddenly rolled down her face and she started sobbing.

“That son of a bitch,” she wailed.

She could not believe Blaze could do something like that to her. If he cared about her, why did he ask Travis to marry her? Just because Travis claimed the child as his?

Fuck him!

Chapter 21

Meg knocked on Travis’ door twice, but no one answered. The maid downstairs told her this was the room and Travis was still sleeping.

When her third knock was not answered, she opened the door and found Travis lying on his stomach on the bed. He was still snoring.

She shook his shoulders. “Hey.”

“W-what?” he drawled and cracked open his left eye. “Oh, my fiancée’s here?”

“I’m not your fiancée?”

“You’re not?” He slowly turned to lie on his side. “Then what are you doing in my room?”

“It’s ten o’clock in the morning. Wake up.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s ten in the morning.”

He yawned. “That’s why I don’t want to get married. I don’t like a wife barging into my room and waking me up for no reason.”

“Travis, I am not marrying you.”

“Did you get the mail?” he asked, as if he did not hear what she just said.

“I said I’m not marrying you,” she replied, ignoring his question. Yes, she did get the mail containing the application form for a marriage license.

“You don’t have a choice?”

“What do you mean I don’t have a choice?”

“Because that asshole asked me to.”

“You should have said no.”

“He gave it as a condition before he signed the contract. I had no choice. Neither do you.”

“I’m not a party to that contract. I am not bound by whatever agreement you had with your brother.”

“He’s not my brother.”

“You should have asked me first before you agreed.”

“What’s the big deal? I wouldn’t mind marrying you.”

“Well, I do.”

“You should be flattered.”

“Flattered!” she squealed. “You killed my boyfriend! Why should I be flattered?”

He froze, staring at her in shock.

She stepped back. Why did she say that? “You didn’t know that, did you?” she asked a moment later.

“I did,” he replied with a sigh, much to her surprise. “I learned about it a few weeks ago. I’m not any good in expressing my feelings, but I regret what I’ve done. I, too, suffered. I didn’t know how to say sorry to you… to his family.” His voice trailed off. “I’m sorry.”

She compressed her lips. It was the first time she had heard this man speak with such sincerity. He didn’t look like a monster anymore. He looked more like a boy begging for forgiveness.

It softened her heart. She feared she was about to forgive him, and she didn’t want to. Not yet.

But she had to put that behind her now. She was so tired of hating.

She ran her hand over her hair and dropped the tabloid on his chest. “Read that.”

Unsuspectingly, he picked up the paper and blinked his moist eyes dry. “Early morning gossip, huh.”

“Page three.”

He opened the paper to the said page and read it for half a minute. “How did this shit get in here?” He didn’t even seem surprised.

“Someone must have taken that shit in there.”

“Who?”

“Why don’t you answer that?”

He looked at her. “I never told anyone.”

“You didn’t?” she asked sarcastically. “I heard you’ve announced it in the gym when Blaze went there to see you.”

He squinted, as if recalling the event, and then he sighed. “Didn’t mean to.”

“Now, look what happened.”

“So what happened?”

She clenched her knuckles, itching to give this jerk a good kick in the face. “You’re worthless. I shouldn’t have wasted my time coming here.”

Yawning again, he pulled himself to a sitting position. “So what do you want me to say?”

“Have you forgotten?” she exclaimed. “Bryan was my ex, and you happened to be the man who killed him.”

“Hey, I told you I didn’t mean to. It was an accident.”

“Whatever it is. Don’t you see how this makes me look in the eyes of those who know about my relationship with Bryan?”

“It’s not like everyone knows about it.”

“It is revealed there in the paper. Read the whole story.”

Uninterested, he shoved the paper aside. “If I were you, I wouldn’t worry too much about it.”

“Not worry? Do you know what happened? Bryan’s aunt just called me earlier and called me names. His family despises me.”

“Oh, fuck them. They can say whatever they want to say.”

“You don’t care because you’re not the one in my situation.”

“Don’t think you’re the only one taking the damage here. I am too.”

“Oh, really? So what damage are you getting so far?”

“I’d rather not tell you.”

“Why not?”

“Because you will get mad.”

“Try me.” She crossed her arms and shot him a daring gaze.

He grinned. “Alright, here’s your answer. I was dating this girl, and she dumped me after the rumor broke out. She wouldn’t listen to my explanation, and she accused me of scavenging the leftover of another man.”

She clenched her teeth. The nerve of that woman. “Who is she?”

“Leslie Adams.”

“Leslie Adams!” she exclaimed. “Fuck! Of all women. She is more of a leftover than I am.”

“I like her boobs.”

She growled, clasping her head. “You’re just like your brother. You slobber like a dog over a pair of big boobs.”

“What kind of a man doesn’t?”

“That is exactly why this world is running out of sensible men.”

He scratched his head. “I’m hungry. You mind stepping out for a while? I’ll just take a shower.”

“I’m leaving right now, but before that, I want you to promise me.”

“Promise what?”

“If the press asks about us, don’t say anything.”

He shrugged. “Done. What else?”

“That’s all.”

“Geez, why didn’t you just call?”

“I tried. You weren’t answering.”

“Alright, from now on, my lips are sealed about the issue.”

“Good,” she nodded and glanced at her wrist watch. “I have to go back to work.”

“It’s Saturday.”

“A part time job,” she said and turned towards the door.

“Don’t forget to fill up the forms.”

“You wish.”

“I’m serious.”

She stopped before the door and turned to look at him. “Travis, you know that I’m pregnant.”

“So what? I don’t mind raising a child not my own.”

“Why would you want this child? It’s not yours. It’s from the man you hate with all your soul.”

“I hate him,” he admitted. “It doesn’t mean I should hate the child.”

“What kind of crap is getting into your head?”

“He’d taken everything away from me, so it’s only fair that I take something from him in return, and that would be you and your child… his child.”

“I’m not his and this child is not his. He wouldn’t give a damn.”

He smiled sarcastically. “You don’t know him, Meg. You have no idea.”

“You think you know him? You haven’t even talked to him for ten fucking years.”

He chuckled and turned away.

She stepped out of the room and forcefully expelled air out of her lungs. Things had gone really crazy. She needed to get away from all of these as soon as she can, but that two week-notice requirement would keep her in this hell for a little while.