Chapter 92

"I'm sorry" he repeated softly, patting her arms.

She sniffed and looked up to the door across her. "I gave birth to beautiful kids" she announced, wearing a smile.

"They are all mine?" He asked excitedly.

She nodded. "Adrian, Aryan, and Adriana, I know you can hear me come out now" she shouted.

Hesitantly, Adrian pushed open the door.

Chester and Olivia chuckled.

"Oh, my! Look how cute they look" he exclaimed as they walked out.

"President Chester?" Adrian whispered.

Olivia and Chester roared in laughter. "Oh my God!"

"He's your father, Adrian"

"Daddy!" Adriana exclaimed, running into his open arms.

"You believe him?" Aryan asked.

Olivia smiled. "I do. I got it all wrong. Chester is innocent, Harlow is the criminal here"

He scoffed. "We've always known that but so far, spending some time with him, Chester has never given a different vibe from Harlow. How can you trust him?"

"Come here," she said to him. While his siblings busied with Chester, Aryan was cautious and worried for her. She was to be blamed. She fed them with so many stories about Chester and they read a lot about him themselves. It was expected of Aryan not to accept him so easily.

She held his chin and smiled. "I will show you something" she whispered and took Chester's phone away from him. She replayed the recording for Aryan to listen to. "This is what Harlow used. I understand you are a child so I play only play this for....."

"I know what this is" Aryan cut in.

She smiled. "I cannot be surprised, you read a lot of stuff"

"Mom"

"Aryan, you've got to trust me on this"

He looked at her passionately as he stroked her hair. "Chester might not be the murderer but there are other ways he can hurt you. Remember, we did not come this far just to kill who slept with your husband and Chester. Chester may not have killed you but......"

"Ssssshhh. You're thinking too much, Aryan. I know you're worried about me but let momma handle this"

"Have I told you how much I hate to see you cry?"

She nodded cutely. "I heard that a lot of times"

"Do you also know that if this turns out to be a mess, our relationship will be distant?"

"Aryan...." She whispered. "Where is this coming from?"

"Are you aware that we literally put everything in the line just for your sake? We could possibly not have given a fuck about Chester until we grew into adults but we did. You took us away from Guyana, we left our school, our home, and our life. I may be smart, but we had to double our efforts every night so that we could be supportive of you. What? Do you think I'm not human because I don't act like one? Do you think I enjoy letting my brain take the best of me all the time? Mom, we sacrificed so much for your sake! Did you pause to realize that your son was becoming a bot? We risked Adriana's life for your sake. We...."

"Aryan!" She shouted, cutting him short. "Where is this coming from? Didn't we talk about this? Why are you suddenly playing the victim card, yeah? I put everything in line as well"

"Nope, you chased your dream" he responded.

"Mom, what Aryan is trying to say in essence is that we hope this is worth giving a try and you won't sit in our room every night, crying your life out. We want to be sure you are making the right decision and you are not being led by your emotions because we're tired already. Look at us, in a different city, a new place. Who knows what might happen next? We are worried for you but we also want you to remember that we are your children and maybe, you should give our needs some priority" Adrian explained.

She broke down in tears.

"There she goes again" Aryan whispered and walked away.

*******

"I think you have very amazing kids. Gosh, I'm jealous" Chester complimented as they took a walk that evening around the garden.

She smiled. "You saw what happened today. This is what a lot of people do not see. Yes, they are amazing and they can be arrogant to their mom too"

Both Chester and Olivia laughed at that.

"How so? I think they were so cute. Look at how they worried for you, I felt so jealous. I haven't gotten that for a long while until Adriana came"

"Really?"

"Yeah. Adriana is a sweet soul. More reasons I didn't let go of her even though I had no idea if she was truly my daughter or not. Her aura is very therapeutic and her voice? Always reassuring"

Olivia blushed.

"You are a great mom, Olivia. You raised them well"

"Yeah, I think it's high time I give myself those flowers, I'm a great mom"

"So.... what now? You forgive me?"

She chuckled. "I'm big on forgiveness, Chester. I will forgive you even if you almost killed me. Don't get it twisted, it doesn't guarantee you a place in my life"

He paused and held her hand. "I am so sorry, Olivia"

"Aryan is right. It's beyond whoever ordered my death, a lot of things need to be considered. Chester, you lost your wife and you moved on like nothing happened. Did you care to investigate my death? Yes, I know the Doctors said it was suicide but I was not married to the Doctors, I married you. What did you think happened to your wife? Your body was not yet found, yet you didn't care. 5 days after my demise, you were in Bangkok for a meeting, really?"

"Olivia.... I...."

"I feel like a fool for loving you with all of my heart and nothing can change the fact that my love was one-sided. Chester, I loved you!"

"I love you, Olivia. Do you have any idea how heartbreaking and troubling it was trying to survive these years without you? Do you know how many times I stood before the basement and watched her memories fade like the break of a day? I was broken, unlike you who had beautiful kids around to give you hope and show your expression, I was left to myself because I am President Chester Perkins and no one freaking cared about what happened? Everyone wanted President Chester and not a widower. In my closest I find patches of my soul, I try to gather them all but life is not complete without you, Olivia. It doesn't make sense without you"

She held his chin and moved him closer to her face, locking her lips into his and they repeated the actions.

"I have loved you even in the times I wasn't sure if it was right to do that but I'm sorry, Chester. We cannot go back to how we were before I died"