Captivation: Want Nothing But You

Chapter 125 Someone To Redeem You

The shiny black Maybach pulled to a steady stop outside the Crown Club.
The doorman just about fell over himself to open the car door for Victor. Since his last visit here, in which he'd revealed his identity, the restaurant staff had been on high alert.
The manager was so terrified of accidentally neglecting him that they wanted to know he had arrived before he even set foot in the door.

"Mr. Sullivan," the manager greeted him with a respectful bow. He'd received word of his coming that morning and had prepared himself.
Victor didn't immediately get out the car. He took his time fastening the cuffs and putting on his jacket. When he did step out the car, he was silent and brooding - into the stoic mode that closely followed Ivan and the manager.
As they approached the elevator, the manager nodded minutely to one of the employees, signaling them to call the elevator. The employee pressed one of the buttons and then hurried away. "Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Fletcher from Eoyal Group is waiting for you," the manager said. Victor didn't immediately respond.
Silence fell around the three men and then finally, the elevator arrived.
Only then did Victor nod to what the manager had said and stepped in. The manager pushed a button that took them straight to the western restaurant on the third floor.
They stepped out of the elevator and were shown towards a private room by one of the waiters.
The waiter stood aside respectfully and pushed the door to the room open for them.
The sounds of voices rose as soon as the door was opened. Victor could hear the clear sounds of conversation. Wanting to know more, he stepped quietly into the room.

"Are you tired? If you are, I'm sure I could ask Garry to arrange a guest room for you. There are plenty upstairs. You could go and take a nap while I attend to a few things, and I could call you when I'm finished, okay?" the man said in concern to the woman sitting beside him.
"Alright, that sounds nice. Thank you. I must admit, I am feeling a little tired. And anyway, what use am I in your business discussion?" the woman said with a yawn. "I'm already sure you know it's your fault I'm tired. I would have had a decent rest if it wasn't for you dragging me out so early in the morning to go shopping for baby goods. I was sleeping so soundly."
"I guess I get a little overexcited when I heard our baby's heartbeat. And... we have to get things sorted out at some stage." The man smiled at the woman with all the love and affection in the world.
"I'm only three months along. I've still got another six to go. There is no reason to rush; we still have plenty of time. Also, don't you think we bought way too many clothes? Babies grow fast, you know. Before you know it, the little one is going to outgrow everything I don't even know how this baby is going to fit in half of the things we've bought," the woman complained with a pout.

The man reached out and gently took hold of the woman's shoulder. He gave her a comforting squeeze, then leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. "I'll admit, it was probably a bit of an oversight on my part. Just go to take a nap, okay?"
The woman nodded and slowly started getting to her feet. The man immediately sprung up and helped her.
The woman clicked her tongue mockingly at the man. "Really now. I'm only three months pregnant, I'm sure I can stand on my own. You don't need to help me."
"I'm just being cautious. One can never be too careful when it comes to one's pregnant wife and baby." Mr. Fletcher turned around as he finished speaking. He wanted to give his pregnant secretary, Gary, a list of instructions on what to do for his wife, but instead, saw Victor and Ivan standing at the door. His eyebrows rose in surprise.
"Mr. Sullivan," the man, Elian Flecher, said, quickly masking his surprise with good manners.
The woman turned at the sound of his name and smiled in greeting. "Mr. Sullivan."
Victor glanced at the woman and nodded in acknowledgement.
"I'm going to take a nap," the woman said to Elian in a low voice. "You get on with your work, okay?"
"Gary, take good care of her," Elian said.
Garry gave a single nod, then escorted Mrs. Flecher out the room. Victor had mostly ignored the exchange and sat down. He noticed a couple of bags on the floor near Elian's feet, and sticking out the top he could see the labels of famous baby products.
Elian followed Victor's gaze down to the bags, then looked up at him and said, "My wife and I went to the hospital this morning for her prenatal checkup. On our way here, we saw a shop selling baby products, so we stopped and bought some."
"I thought you said you didn't want children," Victor said in the lilting voice.
Elian and Victor were old friends. They'd met in university when the two of them had been studying abroad. They knew each other well, well enough to know each other's family history. In fact, Elian and Victor shared much the same family background; just like Victor, Elian was an illegitimate child and was not welcomed by his family.

But of course, the two of them also had their differences.
One of the most prominent of these differences were their means of obtaining their positions of power. While Victor had taken his position as head of the Sullivan Group by besting his enemies, Elian had inherited Royal Group.
While he was a bastard child and technically unwelcome in the family, he was also the only child of the Flecher family.
During a drunken night out during their university days, Elian had once said to Victor, "Bro, if I ever get married, I swear I'm never having children."
Later, when Elian's grandfather had fallen seriously ill, he'd left his studies to return home and take over the family business.
That was the last they had seen of each other, until now. Victor still remembered Elian in university when he had said he wanted nothing to do with children... And now here he was, surrounded by baby products, excited beyond belief for the birth of his baby.
Victor didn't know what could have happened that could have changed Elian's mind.
The conversation he'd overheard between Elian and his wife had made his heart ache in a way he couldn't describe. Unbidden, Rachel's eyes had appeared in his mind.
And they were full of hatred for him.
"I used to think that anyone born into this family was destined for an arranged marriage. I always believed that if there was no love between two people, there could be no happiness. And a child certainly wouldn't change that. Not to mention that I'm a Flecher. The men in my family have a reputation for being absolutely despicable. I didn't want to follow in my father's footsteps. I didn't want to father a bastard child with just some mistress," Elian said.
"I didn't want a child because it felt like I had to."
Victor leaned forward and picked up his glass of red wine. He sipped it elegantly as he asked, "And now?"

"Now?" A small smile appeared on Elian's face at the thought of his wife. "Now I believe in something I didn't before."
"And... that is?" Victor raised an eyebrow in question.
"That there is always someone out there who can redeem you," Elian said with a warm smile. "My wife and I married with no emotional attachment to each other. We felt nothing for each other. It was just like living with another person. Even after we were married, I didn't touch her. Not for an entire year. Until one day when I got drunk..."
Elian trailed off and averted his eyes. While he didn't say it explicitly, it was obvious that the two of them had shared a night together.
"Well, to say the least, she got pregnant. At first, she wanted to have the baby in secret without telling me anything. Obviously, I found out. It gave me something to think about; and trust me, I thought long and hard about it. There was just something about seeing such a refined, delicate lady throwing up, unable to eat anything, because of my child. She never complained or blamed the child. She just bore it with grace and dignity. I think the resentment I held towards the arranged marriage softened. I decided I wanted to at least try and accept the marriage, and the child."
Victor's hand tightened on the wine glass. He narrowed his eyes as his thoughts went wild, but he managed to keep his emotions off his face as he listened to Elian.
"I pushed past those prejudices I had about arranged marriages and started trying when it came to the relationship. I felt that I'd started to change my views, and I realized that I was starting to like the woman I'd married. Now... Now I think this baby might be a blessing. When I went with her to that prenatal checkup this morning and heard the baby's heartbeat...

Something changed in me. Suddenly, I found myself looking forward to meeting my child."
Elian's wife and child were constantly on his mind. He spoke about them at every given opportunity.
While Elian spoke, Victor kept glancing down at the bags at his feet.
Victor and Elian didn't eat much during their meeting, but they did drink half a bottle of red wine between them.

They said their goodbyes later, and Victor returned to the Maybach waiting outside for him. He got in and stared out the window as the car slowly pulled away from the club to head back to the Sullivan Group.

Victor relaxed in the backseat of the car. He rolled down the window to let in the cool autumn breeze. It was nice and refreshing after being inside.Text © owned by NôvelDrama.Org.

He was silent for a while, until he suddenly sat forward and said, "Turn the car around. I want to go to the Sue Garden."