at least knew how to feel. Now I am at a complete loss.
“Do you want to go into the study and have a drink, Dad?”
He shook his head slowly. Finally he looked up at me and he said, “Your mother and I know that we were wrong. We know that we cheated you… we just didn’t know how else to deal with it. It was a protective mechanism, I suppose. I threw myself into work and your mother withdrew and you were left out there to flutter in the wind all alone. We were terrible parents and nothing I can say now can make that better.”
I got up and went over to the chair next to him. I sat down and said, “We can’t change the past, you’re right, but now that I know about Christopher I can at least understand what happened. I feel so bad for you and Mom. I’m sorry, Dad.”
My father did something then that I can’t ever remember him doing before. He reached out and hugged me. He pulled me in so tightly that he cut off my air, but that was okay, for the first time in my life I felt safe and loved in my father’s arms.
VICTORIA
When I left the dining room, I really thought that I was going to be sick. I couldn’t even imagine going through what Alex’s parents have been through and surviving it. I went up to Michael’s room and even though I had the monitor in my pocket and I could hear his even, unlabored breaths, I was still in panic mode until I saw him. He looked so peaceful and perfect and I was tempted to pick him up and hold him. I wanted to feel him in my arms, make sure that he’s real. I knew that was me being selfish, so I pet his soft little head and sat down next to the crib instead. I sat there and watched him sleep and I wondered what my life would be like if he was taken away from me now. I shivered and realized that was the only thing that could ever possibly convince me to take my own life. I sat there for close to an hour with those depressing thoughts running through my head and by the time Alex found me there, the sun had gone down around us and the room was dark.
He did the same thing I had done first; he put his hand gently on Michael’s back to feel the rise and fall of his chest and then he pet his soft hair. He knelt down next to me and laid his head in my lap. I stroked his hair gently wondering what he must feel like to find all of this out after so long.
“Are you okay?” he asked me after a while.
“I’m good baby. How about you?”
“I’m okay. It’s hard to mourn someone that you never knew. I feel so bad for my parents, and really guilty for all of the things I thought about them in the interim.”
“But like you said, you didn’t know. So, their behavior rightly felt strange to you, and wrong. But I keep looking at our little angel and trying to imagine their pain and I can’t even come close.”
“You’ll never have to feel that kind of pain… I’m going to make sure of it.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
VICTORIA
When I woke up the next morning, Alex was gone and there was a note on his pillow. It said , “I have to work for a few hours and then meetings with lawyers. Call me if you need ANYTHING and take one of the security men with you if you go anywhere. I love you!”
“I love you too,” I said aloud to the room. I missed him already. I got up and picked up the baby monitor. There was no noise coming from Michael’s room at all. I grabbed my robe and when I pulled open the bedroom door, Karen was there talking to the new upstairs maid.
“Good morning, Victoria.”
“Good morning,” I said quickly, turning towards Michael’s room.
“He’s not in there.”
“What? Oh my God! Where is he?” That quickly I could feel my blood pressure go up and my heart race.
Karen’s face fell and she said, “Oh dear, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you. Mr. Reigns has him down in the sunroom.”
“Alex?”
“No, James.” I had to take several