Chapter 9 - Begging on Broken Knees
"Lena... oh God, Lena..." Preston gasped, tears welling in his eyes. He didn't care that dozens of high-society onlookers were watching. "Please... please talk to me."
Lena stood still, her arms folded gracefully in front of her. "You shouldn't be here, Preston."
"I know! I know I’m a fool! I know I destroyed everything!" Preston dropped down onto one knee right there on the polished marble floor, sobbing openly. "I was blind, Lena! Brielle lied to me, my brother set me up, my mother pushed me... but I miss my girls! I miss Maya and Lily! Please, let me see my daughters! Let me be their father!"
The crowd whispered around them, but Lena’s face remained an unreadable mask of calm stone.
"Your daughters?" Lena asked softly, her voice cool and light. "Preston, do you remember what day it is?"
Preston looked up, blinking tears from his eyes. "What?"
"It has been exactly seven months since 10:16 a.m. on the day we signed our papers," Lena said quietly. "On that morning, you didn't ask how Maya was doing with her asthma. You didn't ask if Lily would miss her school. You looked me in the eye and told me to take the girls because you had a son coming."
"I was wrong! I didn't mean it!" he pleaded, reaching out to touch the hem of her gown, but her guard stepped in front of him.
"You meant every word," Lena continued gently. "You meant it because in your heart, you viewed human beings as commodities. Daughters were worthless to you compared to an 'heir.' You threw them away like old papers."
"I am their biological father!" Preston cried out, his voice cracking.
"You were a donor who abandoned them," Lena corrected smoothly. "Three months ago, a UK court granted full legal adoption rights to my family trust. Maya and Lily have officially taken the surname Hartwell. When I asked Maya last week if she wanted to send a birthday card to New York, do you know what she told me?"
May you like
Preston held his breath, trembling.
"She said, 'Mommy, why would I send a card to a stranger who didn't want us?'" Lena leaned down slightly, looking into Preston’s hollow eyes. "They have forgotten you, Preston. And they are happier than they have ever been."
