Cruel Grandfather

Oblivious to everything that had occurred, Laura was at that moment receiving her son and grandmother, welcoming them warmly.

"Grandma!"

"My girl, thank God you haven't been delayed."

"It was only a few days, but I was dying to see him."

"What happened to you?" the woman exclaimed, shocked at the sight of the bandage on Laura's head.

"It's nothing, just a minor accident, of no importance."

"Daughter, you must be more careful, remember that little Luke needs you, I am old and there's no guarantee that I can take care of him later on."

"I'm fine, you don't need to worry."

Laura smiled and took her son into her arms; it was the image of a happy family, despite everything that was happening.

"Will we be staying here?" asked the grandmother.

"Yes, Dimitri has decided," the grandmother was about to say something, but a shrill voice sounding from the door prevented her from doing so.

"Wow! I looked for you at Petrov's house, but they told me you weren't there, it was lucky I thought you might be here."

"What do you want, Sarah?" Laura asked wearily.

"Dear little sister, I assure you I have no desire to see you, but grandfather insisted, he's very ill and wants to see you."

The grandmother's face turned pale upon hearing that; the grandfather must indeed be very ill to want to see them.

"Let's go there right now," Laura immediately worried, of course, she wanted to see her grandfather, but she didn't know if Dimitri would allow her to do so.

"Sure, grandma, I'll just call Dimitri and then we'll go."

Hearing her mention Dimitri so familiarly, Sarah grimaced in disgust. Laura was a fool; he had married her only to make her pay for what she had done to Luke, nothing more.

Laura moved away to call from the study, so Sarah wouldn't have the chance to mock her upon realizing she would have to beg for the man to allow her to leave the mansion.

"Hello," Dimitri answered, back in his office, where he would spend the night, not wishing to see Laura.

"Dimitri, Sarah is here, my grandfather is ill and wants to see me, and my grandmother. I want to go right now, you can't say no."

He was tempted to punish her by not letting her go, but he wasn't a monster.

"I'll talk to the bodyguards; they will take you to see him, and Laura, woe betide you if you try to escape, I'll find you wherever you are."

"I won't," she answered, thinking it would have been a great opportunity to escape if it weren't for the bodyguards.

She left the office and went upstairs to prepare a bag with some things for her son, within her heart, the hope of being forgiven by her grandfather had settled, forgiven for something she hadn't actually done.

"I'm ready, let's go," she said, taking her son in her arms. Only then did Sarah fix her attention on the child; he was identical to his father, that she couldn't deny.

"Well, as I can see, your bastard is just like his father, the genes of that criminal have prevailed."

"Don't you dare touch my son, Sarah, I warn you, I've tried to be patient with you, but if you mess with my son, I will gouge your eyes out."

Laura's eyes were reddened with fury; Sarah stepped back upon seeing her, preferring not to continue bothering her in the face of the threat she believed was real.

The grandmother just shook her head in disbelief upon hearing Sarah, not understanding where all that malice had come from, given they were raised the same as Laura. They left the mansion; Dimitri had called, so a van was already waiting for them. As soon as they boarded, they set off for the Cassini mansion, followed by two vans with bodyguards. The Cassini mansion was a bit removed from where they were, so it took several minutes to arrive. The grandmother felt nervous, wondering how ill her husband was.

Upon arrival, they immediately went up to the room where the grandfather was. Opening the door, the smell of medication and sickness was intense. The room was dim, the grandmother turned on the light, and the grandfather, lying in bed with endless cables connected to his body leading to machines, opened his eyes.

"You're here," he said, extending his hand towards his wife.

"Yes, I'm here, and Laura is here too," the grandfather's face changed immediately.

"Sarah!" he shouted with fury, straining.

"Here I am, grandfather."

"I made it very clear I wanted to see only your grandmother."

"I'm sorry, grandfather, I understood you also wanted to see Laura," a malevolent glint appeared in Sarah's eyes.

"How dare you bring that bastard here to my house," he said upon noticing the baby in Laura's arms.

"My son is no bastard, I can't believe, grandfather, that you would be so harsh on a defenseless being."

"I think I made it clear last time that I didn't want you ever to set foot in my house again, so get out of here immediately, get out."

The machine monitoring the grandfather's heart rate began to emit a strange sound, a clear indication that something was happening. A couple of doctors who were in the adjacent room immediately came in, asking the three women to wait outside.

"If anything happens to grandfather, it will be your fault, Laura," Sarah seized every opportunity to attack.

"Quiet, Sarah, this is not the time to seek conflict. Let's wait patiently for the doctors to come out," the grandmother said, tears wetting her face as she spoke.

They waited outside the room, in the hallway, and minutes later a doctor emerged.

"We managed to revive him; it was a mild heart attack. The patient needs to remain calm, avoid anything that might disturb him."

Sarah made a theatrical gesture with her hands, pointing at Laura, indicating she was what disturbed the grandfather.

"Miss, if your presence upsets the patient, I think it's best if you leave."

Laura lowered her gaze; the grandfather had been like a father to her, and even though he despised her, she loved him dearly.

"It's better you go back to Dimitri, daughter. I'm sorry I can't accompany you, but your grandfather needs me."

"I understand, grandma, please call me to inform me about grandfather's condition."

"Count on it, my girl, you know I love you."

Laura gave her grandmother a warm kiss on the cheek to say goodbye, then she left to get into the van that was waiting for her and return to the mansion. She hoped Dimitri hadn't arrived; she felt exhausted.

Her little one started babbling at that moment, then began to suck on his small hand. Laura pulled him close to her chest, sighed deeply; her son was the anchor that kept her from getting lost in this vast sea of intrigues and contempt.

Dimitri did not come home to sleep that night, nor the following days. He visited his parents daily, looking for any excuse to do so, also not wanting to see Laura, knowing he could hurt her, so he decided not to see her until he felt better.

The grandmother kept Laura informed about her grandfather's condition. Apparently, her presence was very beneficial to him; he was getting stronger.

Boris could no longer stand Yulia's constant visits; the girl didn't know where her fiancé was, and not seeing Laura, she imagined he was with her, so Petrov decided to look for him.

He headed to the mansion where he had found him the previous time, together with Laura.

"Mr. Petrov," Laura was surprised to see him.

"Good morning, young lady. I figured that fool of my son had brought you here again. Where is he? I want to see him."

"I don't know, I haven't seen him for days."

"Uhmmm, that son of mine never changes. What have you thought about my proposal?"

Laura was silent for a moment but knew it was now or never; she might not get another chance to speak with Boris alone.

"I accept," she said without further thought.

"Perfect, then let's go."

"Now?" she thought it was hasty; they would need to devise a detailed plan.

"Yes, let's go."

"The bodyguards won't let me leave."

"Leave that to me; I'll handle it."

"I'll get my things."

"No, they'll suspect if you take luggage, just grab a bag with what's necessary for your son, something you'd take for a short outing, and bring your documents."

Laura hurried to do so. As they were leaving, Dimitri's bodyguards approached to stop Laura.

"I'm going out to eat with my daughter-in-law. Is that a sin?"

"It's the boss's orders," one of the men said.

"Well, I couldn't care less. Get in the van, daughter, and woe betide you if you dare stop us."

The bodyguards accompanying Boris surrounded the men trying to detain Laura. Upon getting in the van, Boris ordered to head quickly to the airport and immediately called an old friend.

"Bernard, I need to borrow your plane right now. I have an emergency, but my son must not know about this... thank you, friend."

The man agreed, Boris took Laura to his friend's private hangar, knowing that if he used his plane, Dimitri would know Laura's destination.

"Take this check, it will settle you for a good while."

"I can't accept it, getting me out of the country is enough."

"Take it, don't be foolish, do it for your son." Laura thanked him as she took the check, saying she would pay it back as soon as she could, Boris also gave her some cash.

Laura would have liked to take her grandmother with her, but she was sure this opportunity would not present itself again; she would send for her once her grandfather recovered.

Even though her grandfather was cruel to her, she loved him and wished for his recovery. Boris said goodbye to her and the little one; he would have loved for the little one to be his grandson.

As the plane took off, Laura sighed deeply, leaving behind her life and her dreams, but if Luke wasn't there, she was indifferent to starting anew anywhere. She had no idea what her destination was but accepted it as long as she had her son with her.