Temptation (46 page)

Malcolm ignores Viktor and turns to me with a smirk on his face. “He didn’t tell you, did he?” When I don’t say anything he continues. “I borrowed money from him once. Of course, I couldn’t pay it back so I left. And now he still can’t touch me because he knows if he does, his biggest client will stop borrowing his money from his club.” Malcolm turns to me and winks as he adds, “You know, since my dad and Viktor’s biggest client plays golf together.”

Then it all clicks in place for me. The money I found in Malcolm’s car, him mysteriously leaving without a word. I look at Viktor as I realize it wasn’t fate that brought him to me that day on the sidewalk. He knew Malcolm before we ever met me and I don’t even want to know what this means for us. Was he just using me this entire time, just to get back at Malcolm? Viktor won’t even look at me. He’s staring at Malcolm. I start to back away some more when I hear Malcolm start talking again.

“Now as I was saying before. You will stay away from Gabbie. I would hate to get my parent’s involved, making things bad for you and your business.”

“You fucking prick. You think just because mommy and daddy have money and have connections that you can get everything you want?” Viktor is inches from Malcolm’s face as he tells him, “What you don’t know about me, is I have connections too. You think for one second you’re going to keep me away from Gabbie? Guess again. I have the one thing you don’t.” I frown wondering what the fuck he’s talking about. “Gabbie may be yours by blood, but she’s mine legally.”

“What the fuck are you talking about, Viktor?” I can’t stay quiet any longer. I’ve heard about all I can for one day, and hearing Viktor say this, well this is just icing on the cake. Viktor clenches jaw, and looks at me with regret in his eyes. He tries to come closer to me but I shake my head and walk backwards. I can’t be near him.

“Ava, please let me explain,” he says as he holds up his hands.

“Oh please, do explain how you think you have any type of rights to Gabbie.” I look at Malcolm actually agreeing with him for once. I’d love to know what the hell Viktor’s talking about.

Viktor puts his hands on his hips knowing he’s going to have to tell us the truth. “Ava, when I met you, no it wasn’t just fate or a coincidence. I’d been looking for Malcolm for weeks, trying to get my money he borrowed for gambling,” Viktor glares at Malcolm as he tells us both his side of the story. I never knew Malcolm had a gambling problem. I remember him playing poker with his college buddies, but I never knew it was actually a problem for him. I know Viktor’s telling the truth by the way Malcolm looks away from me as if he’s ashamed. “The day I found you, I wanted to see if anyone was at the address I found. I saw you walking down the sidewalk, and you were crying. I had no idea until later that you were the girl Malcolm had gotten pregnant.” He looks away and adds, “Yes, I knew he had a baby on the way. I did my homework on him, getting all the information I could. When I took you to the hospital and you told me you were with a guy named Malcolm, everything seemed to fall into place. I thought since I couldn’t get my money back without losing a huge client, I would …”

“You would what?” I ask him when he stops talking. I have a feeling I already know.

“After you saw the birth certificate, I took it without you realizing and had someone change Malcolm’s name to mine.” Viktor sighs deeply as he rubs his face. “They forged Gabbie’s birth certificate. I thought at the time it was a great idea to get back at him. He took my money, so I was going to take his family.”

“You did what!” Malcolm and I say at the same time.

My hands and voice shake as I say, “So you’re telling us, that you forged my daughter’s birth certificate with your name to get back at Malcolm because he ripped you off?” I cannot believe any of this. Viktor starts to talk again, but I’m through listening. “This whole time,” my voice breaks again and I take a deep breath to get my emotions under control. “You’ve been using me this whole time. I was nothing more than another job to finish with you. How could you do this to me? To Gabbie?” I shake my head and I turn to leave. Viktor grabs my wrist and makes me turn around to face him.

“You know good and damn well it wasn’t like that. Yeah, maybe in the beginning I had plans of using you, but after spending all that time with you and Gabbie, I couldn’t imagine hurting either one of you.”

“Yeah, good job at that asshole. You do realize it wouldn’t matter if you had someone change the name on the certificate. A simple DNA test would show how Gabbie is mine,” Malcolm says sarcastically.

Viktor laughs and I back away from him. He glances at me but I shake my head. I can’t let him touch me. I’m shocked and utterly heartbroken at all the lies. Viktor sighs loudly, turning back to Malcolm. “All I had to do is call in a favor from a dear friend of mine. She would’ve been more than happen to make it change the test for me.” Viktor tells Malcolm with a smug grin.

“Ava, are you hearing any of this? How can you allow Gabbie to be anywhere near this fucking psycho?”

“Shut your fucking mouth!” Viktor yells in Malcolm’s face as I jump from Viktor’s booming voice. “This is all your fault anyways. You should’ve stayed gone. Everything was perfect before you came along and none of this shit would be happening right now if you would’ve done us all a favor and stayed away.”

Malcolm smiles and starts to laugh. I feel my heart breaking even more. Viktor never had any intention of telling me he forged Gabbie’s birth certificate or had planned to fake a blood test. I would’ve never known anything if Malcolm had stayed away. “You know, for a guy so in control, you sure are losing everything right now.” Malcolm says to Viktor.

I can’t take any more of this. “Get out.” Both of them just look at me and I scream at them, “Get out now!”

“Ava, please. We can sit down and talk about this and we can work through it.” Viktor begs but I don’t want to hear anything else.

“I said get the fuck out!” I brush past both of them and I open the door. “Either you leave or I’ll call the cops and let them know both of you are harassing me.” Malcolm is the first to walk out the door. He quietly tells me he’ll call me about seeing Gabbie again, and I have nothing left in me to fight with him about it. Viktor doesn’t move for the longest time. He stares at me, but I can’t look at him. I feel so hurt and used by him. “Just go, Viktor.”

“Can I at least tell Gabbie goodbye?” The way his voice cracks makes me nod my head. I stand by the door as he goes upstairs and tells Gabbie goodbye. After a few minutes and I don’t hear her crying, I start to see what he’s doing up there. But then I see him walking down the stairs, while rubbing his face with is hands. I stand still as he approaches me, hoping he doesn’t try to touch me.

“Ava, please. Let me explain.”

“I think you’ve said enough for the both of us. Now get out.” I turn away when he tries to kiss me. He touches me softly on my cheek, and walks out the door. I slam the door, and I can feel my heart cracking into pieces again. I thought when Malcolm left me and Gabbie, that was heartache, but there’s nothing compared to what I’m feeling in this moment. Viktor made me love him, made me trust him, only to use me and hurt me in the worst possible way. Not only that, but how am I going to explain to Gabbie why Viktor isn’t coming around anymore? How am I going to pretend everything’s fine in front of her? I lean my back against the door, having no idea how I’ll ever get over this. I never thought Viktor would be the one to ultimately rip my heart out.

It’s been two weeks since I’ve seen Viktor. Each day is the same and I feel I’m losing the battle with all the sadness. Gabbie and I left our home a few days after the blow up with Viktor. I knew he would try to come back and talk to me, and I knew I’d eventually give in. I couldn’t let that happen. So, instead of fighting with Viktor, and letting him explain, I’m staying with my parents until I can find another home. I was tempted to take some of the money I’ve been putting in an account for Gabbie, but I couldn’t to do it. That money is for my baby girl’s future and I’ll just have to find another job. I just need to move somewhere away from Nashville, and from the small town my parents live in. I just can’t handle knowing that Viktor might one day show up unannounced. I can’t bear to see him right now. Viktor calls every single day though to talk to Gabbie. I don’t like it, but Gabbie’s constantly asking where he is, or if he’s coming over. He tries every single time to get Gabbie to give me the phone so I can talk to him, but I always hang up on him. I’ve nothing to say to him, and I hope he knows just how much he’s hurt me.

Malcolm still comes by every few days and gets Gabbie. He and I still have yet to talk about what happened that night and I really don’t care to. He doesn’t bring up him getting custody at all anymore, so I see no need to bring up anything else. Gabbie still doesn’t like going with Malcolm, but at least now, she doesn’t scream and try to jump out of his arms. She still cries, which in turn, hurts me even more, but mom helps me on my worst days.

I eventually broke down one day and told her everything. About Viktor’s club, me dancing for money, and the contract. Every lie I ever told her, I purged out of me. I felt better afterwards, but I knew mom was disappointed in me. I hated seeing that look, but she’s the only one I could talk to about it to. We both decided to keep my dad in the dark about me stripping and how things ended with Viktor and I. Dad still asks some times what happened, but I always brush him off and find a way to stir the conversation elsewhere.

Today, I let Malcolm take Gabbie to his mother’s house. Apparently they’re having some sort of company get together, and Malcolm was adamant about bringing Gabbie with him. I finally said yes, but now I wish I would’ve said no. Mom and dad left for the weekend on an antiquing trip, and I don’t like these kind of days. The ones where I have nothing to distract my mind from thoughts of Viktor. I’ve nothing to do these past few weeks. I quit dancing knowing there was no way I could do that anymore. Margo wasn’t thrilled but in the end she wished me the best. Now, I wish more than ever that Mrs. Myrah hadn’t sold her ballet studio. I’ve thought about buying it, but I don’t know the first thing about running a studio. Then there’s the fact that I’m running low on funds. And to be honest, it’s a miracle I still get out of bed every morning. If I didn’t have Gabbie to take care of, I know that’s where I’d be.

I drag my feet as I walk to my old bedroom. I walk in and I feel smothered by Gabbie’s things. I left a lot back at the other house, but I had to bring most of her things. I grab my laptop off the bed, and I shut the door to my room. I go downstairs and sit at the dining room table. I open my laptop, hoping searching for a new home will take my mind off Viktor. But it’s no use. My email was open from the night before and Viktor has flooded my inbox with emails. I don’t even bother to open them. It’s the same on my phone with text messages. I do give him credit for being so persistent, but can’t I go one day without hearing from him?

I shut my laptop harder than necessary, and I move to the living room. Just as I sit down my phone starts ringing. I get up and walk to the counter in the kitchen thinking if it’s Viktor calling me, I’ll block his number. But when I see Malcolm calling, I immediately pick it up.

“Malcolm, what’s wrong?” He never calls unless something’s wrong or if he wants to come get Gabbie.

“I need you to come get Gabbie. I would bring her back to you, but I can’t leave.”

“Why do I need to come get her? What happened?” I hear him mumbling to someone, but I can’t make out what he’s saying.

“She was playing and she fell and now she won’t stop crying. Look, I need you to get her. I can’t deal with this.”

I roll my eyes wondering why in the world he wanted to take her in the first place. “Fine. I’ll be there shortly.”

“Great. You remember how to get here?”

Really? How stupid can he be right now? “Yes, Malcolm. I remember where you’re snobby mother lives.” I hang up the phone, not wanting to hear what he would say. I shake my head as I grab my car keys, wondering how in the world Malcolm functions without his mother being stuck up his ass. I lock my parent’s door and I get in my SUV. I drive the short drive to Malcolm’s mother’s house, wondering the whole time where was everyone when Gabbie fell. Were they not watching her? Most likely not. They were probably too preoccupied with entertaining their guests.