Chapter 126: YOU ARE A FRUIT OF DECEIT

Chapter 128

LUMI

Theo’s little hand is wrapped around two of my fingers as we walk towards the exit.

He keeps looking up at me, then at Ren, as though he’s checking that we’re both still there. Every few steps, he gives my hand a little tug, and I look down to find him smiling at something only he understands.

I can’t stop looking at him.

His hair needs trimming, and there’s a little mark on his shirt, probably from whatever he’s been eating. His cheeks are fuller than I remember, and I keep wondering whether he’s grown this much in the few days we’ve been apart or whether I’m only noticing it now because I’ve missed so much.

"What’s that?" I ask when he points towards the glass doors.

"Car!"

"Yes, sweetheart. That’s a car." He looks at me proudly, as though he’s just taught me something important.

Ren walks on my other side, one hand resting against my back. Darren is a few steps ahead, speaking to someone on his phone, while the woman who has been looking after Theo follows behind us.

I should be happy. I am happy. But there’s a part of me that still hasn’t caught up with what’s happening.

A few hours ago, I was sitting in a courtroom wondering whether I would be allowed to keep my son, and now he’s holding my hand and calling me Mummy as though nothing has changed.

I squeeze his fingers. "Are you hungry, baby?" He nods.

"Want something to eat?"

"Chips."

I laugh. "Of course you want chips."

"Chips!" he repeats, sounding more certain this time.

"All right. We’ll get you some." We are almost at the exit when I notice the woman standing near the entrance.

At first, I don’t recognise her. She’s wearing a long coat, and her hair falls around her face, but there’s something about the way she’s looking at us that makes me slow down. Then she steps forward.

Sienna.

My smile disappears.

I don’t even need to hear her speak. The sight of her is enough to make the happiness I’ve been holding onto begin to slip away.

What is she doing here dressed like this? When did she change? Why is she still here?

I look at Ren. He has noticed her too, and his hand moves from my back to my waist.

"Keep walking," he says quietly.

But Sienna isn’t alone.

There’s another woman standing beside her, younger than I expect, with a small handbag hanging from her shoulder.

She looks uncomfortable, her eyes moving between Sienna and us as though she isn’t sure she wants to be here.

Sienna takes a step towards us. "Well, look at that."

I stop. Ren’s hand presses gently against my waist, but I can’t move. Not when she’s looking at Theo like that.

"What do you want, Sienna?" I ask.

She ignores me. Instead, she turns towards the young woman beside her and points directly at Theo.

"That’s him." The woman looks at Theo.

"That’s your child." For a moment, I genuinely don’t understand what she’s saying.

I look at the woman, then at Sienna, waiting for one of them to explain. Perhaps I’ve heard her wrongly. Perhaps there’s something I’m missing.

"What?" Sienna gives me a smile that makes my skin crawl.

"You heard me, Lumi. That’s the child." I look down at Theo.

He’s busy trying to pull a loose thread from his sleeve, completely unaware of the conversation happening above his head.

Then I look back at Sienna. "I don’t understand."

"Of course you don’t." She folds her arms. "You’ve been so busy playing mummy that you never bothered to ask the right questions."

Ren steps forward. "Choose your next words carefully."

Sienna barely acknowledges him. She’s like someone who knows they’ve lost but wants to drag everyone down with her.

She looks at the young woman again. "Go on. Tell her."

The girl shifts her weight. I notice her fingers gripping the strap of her handbag. She looks like she would rather be anywhere else.

"Look Sienna, I do not have time for your games. You already lost, accept it."

"Yes I accept that I’ve lost but won’t you like to hear from her." She says pointing at the stranger beside her.

"What’s your name?" I ask her.

She opens her mouth, but Sienna answers first.

"That doesn’t matter. What matters is that she’s Theo’s biological mother." My stomach drops.

I look at Ren, then back at Sienna. "That’s not possible."

"Why not?"

"Because Theo is your son." A strange expression crosses her face.

"Is he?" I stare at her.

"Yes, Sienna. Do you have like a mental condition or what? Weren’t you the one that told me few months ago that you and Callum are Theo’s parents?."

"And you believed me, how’s that my fault that you’re so gullible?." The words come out so casually that I almost miss their meaning.

I take a step towards her. "What are you saying?"

Sienna tilts her head. "I’m saying you’ve been raising a child that was never mine or yours or Callum’s." My fingers go cold.

Ren moves closer, his body almost shielding Theo from the conversation.

"Enough," he says. "If you have something to say, say it clearly." Sienna laughs.

"You’re all so serious. I thought Lumi would be happy to meet the woman who actually gave birth to her precious little boy." I look at the young woman again.

She hasn’t said anything. She doesn’t look like someone who has come to claim a child. If anything, she looks frightened by the attention.

"Is she telling the truth?" I ask her.

The girl glances at Sienna. Sienna’s expression hardens.

"Tell her."

"I..." The girl looks down. "I had a baby."

My mouth goes dry. "Was it Theo?"

She nods slowly. I feel Ren’s hand tighten around mine.

"No," I whisper.

The girl looks at me, and something in her expression makes my chest hurt.

"I’m sorry." I shake my head.

"No. Wait. I need you to explain what you’re saying because I don’t understand how this is possible." Sienna makes an impatient sound.

"She gave birth to him. I didn’t. Happy now?" I turn towards her so quickly that Theo looks up.

"Why would you do this?"

"Do what?"

"Why would you pretend to be pregnant? Why would you take someone’s baby and tell everyone he was yours?" Her smile widens.

"Because I wanted Callum." I stare at her.

She says it as though that explains everything.

"That’s all?"

"What did you expect? A complicated story?" My voice comes out quieter than I intend.

"You made me believe my husband had gotten you pregnant and that the both of your are his parents." Sienna shrugs.

"And you believed it." Something inside me gives way.

I can hear the sound of Theo playing with Ren’s fingers, and I hate that he’s standing here while this woman speaks about him like an object she once borrowed.

"You took someone’s child," I say.

Sienna’s smile disappears. "Don’t act like you care so much. You got what you wanted, didn’t you? You have him now."

"I wanted my son!"

"And you have him. So why are you complaining?" I look at her, unable to believe what I’m hearing.

She has brought this young woman here, pointed at Theo and announced that he belongs to her, and she expects me to accept it as though she’s telling me the weather.

Ren steps between us. "You’re not having this conversation in front of the child."

Sienna laughs again. "Still protecting her, I see. You really think you’re going to keep everything she wants?"

"Move away from us, Sienna."

"No." She looks directly at me.

"You think you’ve won because the judge dismissed my application? You think this is over? You will never have anything, Lumi. I’ll make sure you suffer for the rest of your life." I feel Theo’s fingers tighten around mine.

I look down at him. He is staring up at me now, his little face confused by the raised voices.

That is enough.

"Stop it," I tell her.

She ignores me. "You don’t have your mother. Do don’t have your father. You don’t have Callum anymore. You don’t have the life you wanted, and you won’t have this child either. I’ll make sure of it." I move closer before Ren can stop me.

"Why do you hate me so much?" Sienna’s eyes narrow.

"Because you always get what you want." I stare at her.

"What have I ever done to you?"

"Everything!" Her voice rises, and she points at me.

"Your mom stole my dad. She made my mom train me on her own for years. She took my dad because she had money. And you? You had Callum. You had the house, the money, the life. Everybody loved you. Everybody thought you were so wonderful, so innocent. And even when I finally got what I wanted, you still had to take it away from me."

I look at her, trying to find something in her face that resembles the girl I once knew.

There is nothing. Just hatred. It is so obvious that I almost wonder how I missed it for so many years.

"You and your mom stole my dad. You stole Callum. I’m not surprised, when you are a fruit of deceit, how then can you yield something other than that?"