Chapter 16

SEBASTIAN

^THE NEXT DAY^

Sebastian came back from a meeting in the conference room and found a white, sealed envelope on his desk with the words ~Saunders and Co.~ written on it.

He called for Jessica at once.

“When did this get here?” He gestured to the envelope.

“Maria said it was delivered this morning by an intern from Saunders and Co.”

“Did the intern tell Maria who sent them to deliver this?” He’d never had anything to do with the prominent law firm.

“No, sir.”

Sebastian sighed. “Okay, you can go.”

He removed his suit jacket, rolled up both sides of his sleeves to his elbows, then settled down on the chair behind his desk.

He opened the envelope. The papers were directly addressed to him. Sebastian took pains to go through them all. It took him a few minutes, but then he sat back in his chair, jaw dropping in shock.

The papers ordered him to waive his parental rights, giving the mother of the baby full custody.

The last paper among the documents was a restraining order against him. He was forbidden to ever come close to Jayda or her baby.

No, not hers. ~Their~ baby.

“What the hell?” Sebastian said in horror as he went through the papers again, wondering if he read the wrong thing.

“Is she doing this to humiliate me, or get a fortune from me indirectly?” He reached for his phone and dialed his personal lawyer, who picked up almost immediately.

“Yes, Seb?” His lawyer said.

“Dan, please, I need you to come to my office immediately. It’s very urgent. Can you come right now?”

“I’m on my way.”

Sebastian spent his time going through the documents again and wondering if this was all true, or if Jayda was playing some sort of expensive joke on him.

Too bad for him. Daniel looked over the documents and shook his head.

“The papers are very clear, Sebastian. The mother is asking for full custody of the child. If you sign these papers, you automatically waive your parental rights and responsibilities. You have no say over the child, and neither are you to come near him or her. Basically, you will be a stranger to the child.

“And in the second document, a restraining order has been filed against you. You’re not to go close to the mother of the child and to the child when he or she is born.”

“I know what the papers are all about, I called you here so you can tell me what to do,” Sebastian said, clearly frustrated.

“I can’t tell you what to do, Seb. The decision is yours. It’s either you sign the papers, give up your parental rights, and become a stranger to the child, or you don’t sign and take the case to court if you want to be in the child’s life.”

Daniel looked at the papers again.

“I’m really surprised that there are no clauses attached to this. The mother doesn’t want any money for child support whatsoever. She just wants full custody.”

He looked at Sebastian. “Is the baby yours?”

Sebastian’s whole world was falling apart before him. He was in some deep shit.

“There is a probability that I am the father of the child. How does she expect me to give up my rights and not be in my child’s life?”

“Did the mother approach you to tell you about the child?” Daniel asked.

Sebastian nodded.

“What was your reply?” Daniel’s look said ~you better tell me the truth so I can save your ass~.

Sebastian sighed. “I told her she was lying, the baby was not mine, and she was making up stories to get a fortune from me.”

Daniel grimaced. “Then she had the right to file these papers.”

“Look, Daniel, you know this isn’t the first time a woman tried to claim I made her pregnant but turned out to be lying. That was why I reacted that way to Jayda. But if the child she’s carrying ~is~ mine, I would love to be in the child’s life.”

“Wait, did you just say Jayda? As in the person who is pregnant with your child is Jayda?” he asked.

Sebastian replied with a nod.

Daniel looked at Sebastian with pity. “You’ve messed with the wrong person, Sebastian.”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s a lawyer,” Daniel said but Sebastian still looked confused, like he was trying to make sense out of the statement.

Then it clicked. “Jayda is ~a lawyer~?” he asked, extremely shocked.

“Not just any lawyer, but a very brilliant and respected one. She’s one of the best in the country. Never lost a single case. Unfortunately for us, family law is one of her specializations, and, to be honest with you, if we take this case to court, there is no way we would win against Jayda Wright. She is simply the best,” Daniel said in all honesty.

Sebastian buried his face in his hands in defeat. Could his life be any worse? He thought she was after his money when she was almost as rich as he was.

He had the amazing Jayda on a platter of gold and now due to fear, lack of trust, and ego, he had lost her and probably his child too.

Sebastian raised his head and asked Daniel in defeat. “So, what now?”

“Since you’re interested in being in your child’s life, I’ll suggest you locate Jayda, apologize to her, and perhaps try to fix things with her.”

***

SEBASTIAN

Sebastian had thought Susan had ruined his life, but what he’d done to himself was so much worse. He’d driven away his best friend. He’d treated the only woman who ever had a chance of getting close to him like trash. He’d lost his precious, unborn child. All because of his stupidity.

His last meeting ended a few minutes past 6 p.m., and after that, he made his way to his parents’ home.

“Good evening, sir,” one of the maids greeted as soon as she opened the door for him.

“Where are my parents?”

“Your dad went out, but your mom is in her room.”

He nodded and went to his parents’ room.

Without Caleb, Sebastian had nobody else to turn to. Honestly, he didn’t know what he was looking for in his parents’ home. All he knew was that he needed some advice from someone who wouldn’t judge him too harshly.

Vanessa sat on the left-hand side of the king-size bed she shared with her husband. Her head was against the headboard, and a laptop was settled on her lap.

Sebastian approached his mother, removed the laptop from her lap, and placed it on the nightstand. He buried his face in her lap and sobbed.

All the tears he had been holding back throughout the day rolled down his cheeks. His sobs got louder when he remembered all that he’d said and put Jayda through. He’d never felt so lonely in his life.

He thought he was protecting himself from getting hurt again, but he ended up destroying himself and his friendship with Caleb.

The last time Vanessa saw her son this way was when he discovered Susan’s true colors. She couldn’t tell if Sebastian’s reaction was a good or bad thing. She was a bit surprised that he came to her for comfort, but that did not stop her from calming him down.

“Cry it all out, my son, I’ll always be here for you,” she assured as she gently ran her fingers through his hair. “Nothing could be so bad I’d ever abandon you.”

Caught up in his grief, Sebastian wondered if that was true. What if even his own mother thought he was too horrible because of how he’d behaved? What if she couldn’t love him, either, once she knew the truth?