Scarlet laughed and threw another paper dart across the room at Logan who was catching them and storing them for a counter attack. She had taken the day off to rest and get her bearings after the long weekend. Cecile was in the kitchen preparing dinner and everything was in order.

“I’m going to build an army,” Logan said triumphantly as he caught the last of her paper darts.

She loved moments like these as she watched him plan and strategize. It was so interesting to watch such a tiny boy behave so much like his father; a man he had never met. As soon as her mind went to Lucas, she suddenly felt sad; she didn’t want to think about him. Ethan had notified her that his office called with an offer and that they made plans to negotiate a higher price. In the meantime, he had sent out an email to prepare the staff for the possibility of a buyout.

“Mommy has to go for some water.” She said

As she stood she heard the doorbell ring and she wondered who could be at their door so late. She walked over to the door and flung it home half expecting to see the doorman standing there with some package or other. When she saw Lucas she gasped and tried to slam the door but his hand shot out and stopped it.

He pushed back the door and stepped in. It seemed as if Cecile had heard the commotion and she walked out of the kitchen with Logan hugging her leg from behind. Lucas’ eyes moved from her to Logan’s and then back.

“We need to talk.” He said

She turned and motioned to Cecile.

“Take him into his room.” She said

When she turned back to Lucas all she saw was anger on his face.

“What do you want?” she asked

“An explanation.” He said stepping into her apartment

“An explanation of what exactly?” she asked

“Don’t pretend to be stupid Scarlet” he hissed, “you have a son! My son!”

She shook her head at his incredulity. Millions of questions ran through her mind, the first of which was how he could have found out about her son.

“You mean my son Lucas,” she said, “he’s not yours”

“Then who is his father?” Lucas asked pinning her with an accusatory stare.

“A one-night stand.” she replied bitterly, “I was very fond of those after you left me at the altar so many years ago.”

He cringed at the reference to their parting.

“That’s my son Scarlet,” he said, “how could you keep him from me?”

Scarlet could scream from the frustration.

“How could I?” she based, “where have you been for the last five years, Lucas? You told me you loved me, you asked me to marry you and then I waited for you. I waited for ten hours, and you disappeared. I had to hear from your parents that you had decided to go abroad. Don’t you come into my house and talk to me about keeping your son from you.”

“You could have called, texted, written!” he said much too loud for her

“I could have huh,” she said

Without another word she walked across the room towards the bookshelf where she had stashed all the letters, she had sent him, every last one and all the return notices and then the final one his parents had sent her.

“You mean I could have written these?” she asked

Tears were streaming from her eyes now. She wanted them to stop but all the pain and hurt and anger that she had built up was finally flowing out of her.

“I wrote you when you left me at the altar, I wrote you when I got into college, I wrote you when I found out I was pregnant, I wrote you when I had the child, I wrote you when I was broke, homeless and friendless” she spat as she shoved one letter after the other into his hand, “your parents wrote back Lucas, they said they would never acknowledge your bastard and they would never let their son do it either.”

He looked at her with utter shock.

“I want my son” he whispered, “I’ve missed out on so much.”

“We all want things we can never get” she replied, “I wanted you, I needed you and now I don’t.”

“I’ll get him, Scarlet,” Lucas said, “You know I will.”

“Well, I would love to see you try.” She replied, “now if you don’t mind I need you to get the hell out of my fucking house”

The flinched as if her words had scorched him and offended him in some way.

“You’re nothing like the girl I loved,” he said with bitterness in his voice.

She began to chuckle.

“The girl you loved?” she asked, “you mean the girl you left at the altar? The one you promised to love forever, the one who almost died of heartbreak because of you? If you’re referring to that girl, I’m happy I’m no longer her and I would never want to be her.”

“You’ll be hearing from my lawyers,” he said,

“And you’ll be hearing from mine” she spat as she walked him to the door, “never come back to my house again.”

As he left he turned to face her and their eyes met. She would have pitied him, she would have even felt bad for him, but she hated him. Every time she looked at him she saw herself that day. She saw the new white dress she had saved to buy drenched in the rain as she stood outside the chapel waiting for him. Their wedding had been a whirlwind decision, but her parents had been happy for her to marry her childhood friend and she had thought his parents felt the same things. Ten hours she had waited, through the looks of pity, through the rain, through the chills. She had finally broken down and wept when her parents dragged her home. She had half expected him to show up the next day with some explanation but instead, his parents had come to her door. She had died that day and she had buried that girl.

“Goodbye,” she said one final time before she slammed the door to the past she never wanted to revisit.