Twenty Six

"Do you remember the other day? And you left with the waiter at that restaurant. He looked for you with me. And you know what he said? Why are you supposedly dating during work hours? " I told her.
Pia winced at what I said.
Gianna, that's really how men behave. We just thought they were jealous. But the ending isn't a surprise, so I don't hope anymore. I'm happy with him. He's easy to get along with. " She said to me,
All I can see is the twinkle in Pia's eyes, indicating that she was happy with Augusto.
"I'm happy for you," I told her.
"Thank you, Gianna," she says.
I was outside Winter's house inside my car. I am quiet when I can't talk to Gianna.
And then I noticed Winter approaching my car. She knocked on the car window. I opened it.
"Daddy, what are you doing out here?" She asked me.
"I still want to talk to Gianna." was my answer.
Winter rolled her eyes.
"Go inside the house first. I can't bear to see you outside. Maybe the person who saw you thought I was driving you away. " she said, laughing out loud.
"Lower your voice. You don't look like a woman when your laughing." I said.
"Whatever, Dad," she said, entering the house at once.
I'm not sure if I'll go in or not because I know when Gianna sees me she will hide again.
"You go ahead, Winter, maybe I visit you next time. But for now, I want to go somewhere." I said.
"Okay, Daddy," Winter said and went inside the house.
I drove the car away from Winter's house. Only then will I come back here. I passed through the city first before going home. I don't have anyone at home, so I don't rush home. I was about to turn around when I noticed Luca entering the restaurant. I stopped the car on the side and got out of it after the door closed. I followed Luca inside.
"Luca?" I called her.
"Daddy? Nice to see you here. I'm sorry I didn't even visit you. " She says.
“It's okay, I understand you,” I said.
"Did anyone come here with you?" she asked me, once looking behind me.
“I'm alone. I'm from Winter's house. I visited her." my answer.
"How is she?" She asked me.
"She's okay," I replied as we both sat in the vacant seats inside the restaurant.
"Whom are you waiting for here, sweetheart?" I asked her.
"No, Daddy, since my boyfriend is busy." She says.
I nodded.
She looked at me intently.
"What's wrong, Luca? It's like you want to say something." I said.
"Daddy, when were you to get married again? Mommy is no longer with you. I hope that you can find someone that loves you till the end. I want you to be happy again. I'm so very busy, Dad, I can't be with you all the time. " She said.
"You can't always be alone, Daddy, because you're not young anymore. We won't know when you'll get sick. I'm always worried about you because I can't be with you always. Why don't you try to date Aunt Maureen, Daddy?" She asked me.
Sometimes I don’t want to talk about it. because she always insists on what she wants.
"I only consider Maureen as a friend, Luca. I don't want to rely on her because I can't give her what she wants." I said.
She sighed and leaned back in her chair.
"Just try, Daddy," she says.
"If you're in my position, I'll tell her to divorce your boyfriend. And marry the man I want for you. Will you agree? " I asked her.
"No way, Dad! I love my boyfriend too much to leave him, " she says.
"That's exactly my point, Love. I'd rather choose the person I love." I said.

She frowned at me.
"All right, I won't force you anymore." She says.
"I have my reasons, Luca, why I don't want Maureen. She is like your mom; they leave if they don't want you anymore. I hope you understand me now. " I said.
She fell silent.
"All right, love, I'll have to go." I bid goodbye to her and kissed her cheeks.
"Take care, Daddy. I love you too." She said.
"I love you too, sweetheart." My response.
And go out to the restaurant. Then I'll get in my car and drive away from the restaurant.
An hour had passed when I got home. I got out of the car and opened the gate. I went back inside the car to enter the house. After I entered the car, I closed the gate.
 
I entered the front door. But I was surprised because it wasn’t locked.
 
I pushed the door and entered, and I found Lance sitting in the living room.
"Good evening, Marcus." He said.
“You keep on scaring me. I thought my house was being entered by a thief. Next time, you better call me and inform me that you came home. " I said.
“I'm sorry, I don't have a load. That's why I didn't a phone call you. " He said.
"You have many of reasons, Lance, why do I feel like you deliberately didn't call?" I said.
"I picked up his phone, Uncle because his ex-wife is still calling his number even though we don't have a relationship and we're just married on paper. That's not right, "said Laila.
Why did I feel bitterness in her voice?
“You're the only one who thinks like that, Luca. I don't pay attention to that. You know, we have already done everything. I already moved on to her, "said Lance.
"Whatever," said Luca.
I noticed that the two of them get along well together. I sat on the couch after Laila left.
“How's married life, Lance? I felt like the two of you had a misunderstanding. " I asked him.
“My ex-wife keeps calling me. And Laila would be the one to catch her calling. That's why Laila was pissed off. " He said.
"I don't think Laila and you will last long." I joked with him.
Its forehead was furrowed.
"Don't joke like that, Marcus, because it's not funny anymore," he says.
"Why do I feel like you love my niece?" I said.
"She's not hard to love," he says.
“I'm glad to hear that from you, Lance. It looks like the course of your life is going to change now. " I said.
"I used to not get to the point where my father-in-law would know the truth."
“Whether he knows it or not, he can do nothing,” I said.
"What if he takes Laila away from me?" he asked me.
"Do what you have to do to avoid that thing," I said. It nodded.
"How's the building you built?" I asked.
"It's taking a long time to finish," he replied.
And suddenly, we heard Laila scream in the kitchen.
"Engineer, help me!" She is crying.
Lance and I ran to the kitchen. And we found Laila nauseous near the sink. With her pale face, Lance approached her and stroked her back.
“What happened to you, love? Does it hurt you more? How do you feel? " Lance asked, with a worried face.
“I felt nauseous. I vomited and vomited, but only saliva came out, and I felt bad. If I didn't hold on to the table, I would fall. " Laila responded, then, Later on, she vomited again. I had a hint that Laila was pregnant.
"You should call a doctor, Lance, so she can't be checked," I said. 
Lance led Laila to the guest room. And I followed them afterward. He laid it on the bed as I entered. Lance picked up the phone and called the doctor. After the call, he approached Laila.
"I feel bad," said Sahara.
"You rest first, Love. The doctor is coming." Lance said to Laila once, holding her cheek. She nodded and closed her eyes. I left for a while to wait for the doctor outside the house. A black car pulled up in front of me.
"Good evening, Mr. Marcus," said the man who got out of the car.
I nodded. It looks like this is the doctor Lance called earlier.
"Come in, Doc, they're inside," I said.
It nodded and walked into the house. I followed him after I closed the gate. I walked into the guest room first, and the doctor followed me. He approached Lance, and the two of them hugged. I’m sure, Aldo knows this man. The doctor approached Sahara and checked her up while she was sleeping.
Aldo was then faced with a doctor.
"It's normal for a pregnant woman to feel that way, Brad," said the doctor.
Aldo was stunned and surprised by what the doctor said.
“So take care of her always, give her what she wants to eat. First, avoid things that will make her tired, "said the doctor, once winking at Lance.
Lance laughed out loud at the same time, saying,
"You're stupid." The doctor said with a laugh,
"I'm happy for you, bastard because you're going to be a father."
"Thanks, Brad," said Lance, at once looking at me as if in tears.

We left the guest room after the doctor came home. Lance put a blanket on Laila before we left. I closed the door before we walked into the living room.

"Breath, Lance, so you can't feel suffocated," I said to him once I sat in front of him.

“I'm just happy, Leon, at the number of women who have gone through my life. But only now am I going to have a child. I've lost hope that I might be barren, "he says.

 "I know you're happy. All I want is for you to breathe. Maybe before your baby is born, it won't have a father because you'll die, "I said.

"Damn you, Marcus, you're so insecure," he says.

“Why am I feeling insecure? I already have three children. " I told him, smiling. But you don't have a woman in your life, "he says.

I was suddenly silent at what he said.

“By the way, how are your chasing moments with the woman who was on your one-night stand? "

"Nothing has changed yet. The two of us are still chasing each other."

“Why don't you tie it up? And make her pregnant right away, so she can't get away anymore.” He suggested.

"That's exactly what I thought I would do," I said.

“How many months have you been claiming, and nothing has happened? When have you lost an impact on women? " he asked me.

"I only have one woman, but I haven't claimed her yet," I said, frowning.

He shook his head while looking at me.

"I don't know, she's the kind of woman that's hard to reach," I said.

"It only means one thing, Marcus, she doesn't really like you," said Lance.
“Damn you, Lance, don't tell me that,” I said.

“You're not young enough to be blind to such a thing. Why don't you look for another woman? There's a lot more to her out there, "he says.

"I'll stop later when the two of us talk in depth," I said.

“She’s avoiding you and hiding from you. It only means one thing; she doesn't want to talk to you. "he says.

I gasped.

“Another one, I'm having trouble with right now is Maureen. She seems to have noticed that we have something with her secretary. She might fire Gianna. " I said.

Lance frowned at me.

"Is your woman Maureen's secretary?" he asked me.

I nodded in response to his question.

"That's hard, Marcus because Maureen likes you so much. But there's a solution to that. You can stop Gianna there working with Maureen so she can work for you," said Lance.

Lance's suggestion is right.

"But how?" I asked him.

"That's for you to plan." He said.

I thought about what he said. I looked at the clock. It was ten o'clock at night.

"All right, I'm going to sleep, Lance," I told him.
It nodded, and I left him then, and I went to the bedroom. I put on a nightgown. And I didn't take a bath anymore, as if I was feeling cold. Unfortunately, the air conditioning in my room is not turned on. I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes.
The next day, my head was spinning. I was about to fall. I got out of bed slowly and went out into my room.