Forever My Love

Forever my Love Ch. 04

Comments, critiques and tips are welcome!

***

David was standing outside the villa, moving from side to side and staring at his watch like his life depended on it. He had been at it for almost an hour and the workers were wondering what had caused their boss to act like that. The man was looking presentable in a black designer shirt that was halfway buttoned up, showing off his beautiful hairy, muscular chest. It was tucked in a white designer trouser with pitch black shoes. He was smelling nice except his mood was a little off.

After what felt like hours and almost giving up, he saw a white ford ranger coming to the villa and he was really, really hoping that it was him. The machine packed near him and the driver quickly got out and opened the back door. It wasn't long before the boy got out and boy did he look so cute.

He had a white see-through shirt that showed off his body and a black skinny jean with brown sneakers on his feet. His hair was made into braids, his cute face possessing a smile that seemed to warm David's heart. He was just so beautiful.

"Were you waiting for me, David?" Ben asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Errr..." He chuckled nervously as he moved closer. "No!" He lied. "I was just signing something off and I happened to have seen your car."

Ben knew the man was lying. "Is that so? Well, sorry for the delay. I was a bit held up in a meeting."

"It's okay." He said with a beautiful smile, shaking the boy's hand powerfully. "The important thing is that you're here. Are you ready to start the tour or would you like something to drink or eat first?"

"Who's giving the tour?" He asked curiously. "I don't see anyone here apart from you?"

David laughed sheepishly. "You didn't think I would let you drive for close to two hours only to give you someone else to show you around, did you? I will personally give you the tour. Besides, it will give me an opportunity to thank you for allowing me to be part of the chocolate company."

"Lucky me!" He gasped in astonishment but made it look so cute. "The great David Paola wants to give me a tour himself."

David smiled and gestured with his arm. "Shall we?"

Ben nodded and they headed inside the villa. It was very beautiful, very modern and very luxurious. It was the perfect place for a vacation, just to get away from it. It had 45 air-conditioned bedrooms, a large garden with a huge pool, jacuzzi/spa, terraces and everything you need for a pleasant vacation. The location was also beautiful as it was near the sea.

Ben enjoyed the tour he was given. He was introduced to the workers at the villas and some of the guests were so thrilled to meet him. David explained to him about how he came to possess the villa from his grandfather and how much had changed in the past years. It was a beautiful story. As they walked around, they enjoyed their champagne and when they were done with the tour, they visited the beach.

*

"I must say that this is a very nice place you have acquired here." Ben commented. He couldn't lose the smile on his face. "And the fact that you already had this since childhood is crazy."

"Yeah!" He sighed, staring at the boy. "But I wasn't managing it until 18, I think, that was when mom legally gave it to me. But I'm pretty sure that someone like you has something like this, maybe even more."

"No!" he shook his head. "I wish I did but I don't think I own anything as beautiful as this to my name."

"Really?" David raised an eyebrow. "How come?"

"Well..." He paused and took a deep breath. "Life hasn't always been as luxurious as it is right now. Yes, I grew up in a very well to do home, but somehow, I always felt like I was not part of the family."

Ben's smile started fading, especially when he remembered about his father's visit. He knew that if he thought much about it, it would bring tears to him.

"How come?"

Ben tried his best to smile but failed miserably. "I was born out of wedlock. My mother and father were not married. She was... was his mistress." Although he said that with a smile, David could see the pain behind it. Somehow, he felt it, like he was one with him. "She died when I was 6 and my father brought me to his house with his true family there. Let's just say, life was unbearable for me, especially since my step-mother did everything she could to make sure I felt out of place."

He became quiet afterwards and just looked away. He wasn't as strong as he thought he was. Memories danced on the precipice of his thoughts, teetering between cherished moments and painful reminders, threading a delicate line between solace and sorrow.

"I am sorry to hear that. I can't even imagine how life should have been." His voice was so low, filled with loads of emotion.

"Yeah!" Ben cleared his throat and smiled. "But I survived and here I am. Every pain is a blessing in disguise but some pains are so hard to forget. But I am here." He took a deep breath and looked at the man.

David didn't know why he felt the way he did. He felt like wrapping his arms around the boy, to hug him tightly and tell him that he didn't deserve to go through what he went through. But he didn't know how to do it.

"The restaurant, some days back, before your launch."

"What?" Ben gasped, a frown appearing on his face.

"I think I saw you at a restaurant before I met you at the party the other night." He said, his voice shaky and anxious. "You were ordering coffee and your voice..." He took a step closer to the boy, staring into those beautiful eyes. "...I could have sworn it was you. Your voice sounded so familiar, like I've heard it before in the past, even now. I know this sounds crazy, but have we met before that night at the party? Did you know me before?"

Ben's pulse throbbed in his ears, a relentless drumbeat that drowned out all other sound.

"What do you mean?"

"I... I was in an accident six years ago and I lost all the memories 5 years before the accident." He sighed, rubbing his temples. "Whenever I tried to remember, I got this severe headache that almost left me unconscious."

"I... I am sorry." Ben apologized.

"It's okay. When I came out of the coma that I had been for 2 months, my family was beside me and someone new, my husband, Jim." He added. "It was really difficulty for me as I had no knowledge of when I had gotten married or when we met. According to the pictures, we got married in a church. I forgot about everything and concentrated on my new life until that day in the restaurant when I heard your voice."

Ben's heart began racing and his hands began shaking.

"Your voice sounded so familiar and even when I followed you, I got flashbacks of a similar incident where I followed someone." He was so nervous he sounded like a scared kid. "I couldn't remember any of it so... that's why I was asking. Have we met before all this? Did you and I ever had an encounter?"

Ben's thoughts spiraled in a dizzying whirlwind, a cacophony of anxious whispers that drowned out reason, leaving him adrift in a sea of uncertainty. He was staring at the man and the harsh breaths on his face made things worse for him.

"David... I..."

"Baby!"

Suddenly, there was a loud voice just near them, interrupting the moment. Ben quickly moved away and looked in the direction of the voice, seeing Jim coming towards them with a smile on his face. He could tell the man was mad. David on the other hand was shocked to see his husband there.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" He asked in a surprised voice.

Without saying a word, Jim rushed to his husband, locked his arms around him and smashed his lips on him, kissing him so erotically. He didn't forget to moan. Ben on the other hand took a deep breath and just looked away, feeling a dull aching feeling in his chest. Why did he feel like that, he thought as he tried to ignore the moans coming from Jim?

"I missed you, baby." Jim said happily as he broke from those sweet lips. He didn't forget to rub on those gorgeous lips. "Besides, my place is by your side. You're my husband and... I don't want evil eyes prying on you. Isn't that right, Mr. Ben?"

Ben clenched his fist when he heard his name. He slightly closed his eyes and turned, smiling at Jim.

"Nice to see you too, Jim." He commented. "If I am not mistaken, I would say that your husband might be misinterpreting my intentions, David."

"No!" David shook his head abruptly. "I don't think that's the case. Jim didn't mean to say that? I am pretty sure he was just joking, weren't you Jim?"

Jim giggled and shrugged. He completely ignored Ben and faced his husband again.

"Come on, baby, I missed you so much and just wanted to be with you." He sighed. "Besides, there's someone who wants to talk to you so badly."

A frown appeared on David's face.

"Our son, silly." He laughed, pinching his cheek lovingly. "He kept asking about you when I was talking to him. I told him that you were gonna call as soon I found you."

David smiled brightly. "Wow! I completely forgot." He hit his head. "I will call him as soon as possible. He's probably wondering when daddy is gonna be home." He looked at Ben who was minding his business. "Would you excuse me for just a second, Ben? I have to call my son quickly."

Ben's heart sunk. "You have a son?" He gasped.

"Yes!" David nodded. "He's five years old and we usually have our father-son afternoon talk whenever I am not home to be with him. Just a second, I will be back."

Without getting an answer, David moved a distance from them to call Michael. Ben on the other just turned his back to Jim. His misery was back and the hurt in his heart escalated from a dull throb to burning, glaring pain- faster than a lightning bolt. A single tear traced a path down his cheek as he felt suffocated and felt like something heavy was sitting on his chest. His eyes robotically moved to where David was on the phone call and the smile on his face said it all, he was happy and he loved his son so much.

"David is such a good father and husband, you know." Jim chuckled mockingly as he got closer to the boy in pain. "When he married me, he didn't wanna waste time to start a family. It was like today we're married and a month later, he was asking us to have a child and how could I have refused that. He is such a good husband."

Ben quickly rubbed his tears but not his pain.

'Leah!' A voiced echoed in his head.

"He regretted so many things that he did to hurt me, one of them being cheating on me with you." He added fuel to the fire that was burning Ben. "Must hurt to see the man you gave everything for so happy, but just not with you. What belongs to Caesar will always come back to him no matter how many hoes try to seduce him. That's how life goes. The same goes for my husband, dear, dear Ben."

He rested his hand on Ben's shoulder and laughed.

"You're only wasting your time if you think that you'll seduce David again." He said with warning in his voice. "He moved on from you a long time ago. He felt disgusted by the mention of your name. As far as he was concerned, you were dead to him. You should have just died in that hospital and never returned here. Nobody needs you here and I don't need to warn you to stay away from my husband because the consequences will be grave. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Ben didn't move and neither did he say anything. He was feeling so much pain that his vision blurred. He didn't know how long he stood there but it felt like forever and like he was standing on hot coals. That was the worst pain he felt yet.

"Sorry for that." He heard David's voice, getting him out of his thoughts. "Sometimes I get a little too excited when I am talking to my son. So..."

"I have to go." His voice cracked, emotions cracking through the facades of strengths.

He began rushing out of there like the hounds of hell were after him.

"Ben, wait!"

"Let him go!" Jim gripped him arm and pulled him back. "The man probably has a lot of things to do. Besides, he's already seen the whole villa. What else is there to show him?"

David was about to say something when he got hazy images in his head, like a flashback. He was in the men's room and there was a boy that was running out of there. The emotions that he felt at that moment was something that he couldn't explain, pain, yearning and misery. He couldn't understand why he felt like he had a similar experience before.

"What?" He sighed, rubbing his temples as the headache settled in. "What are you talking about?" He turned and looked at Jim. "What did you say to him? He didn't sound okay."

Jim shrugged. "Nothing! We just stood here without saying a word. Perhaps he just feels threatened by my presence."

David didn't say any word. He felt Jim coiling his hand with him and leaning sweetly on his shoulder.

"Come on, baby." He moaned, kissing his shoulder. "You should be happy that I am here with you. When last did we come to this villa? Let's take advantage of it while we're here."

But David wasn't in the mood. Even when he walked with Jim along the sea, his mind was somewhere else. This was the second flashback he had gotten in just a matter of days and it didn't make any sense to him. What was going on?

***

Ben slowly entered the beautiful mansion, walking in like he had no strength left. He had a terrible headache that felt like someone pounded on it with a wrecking ball and a heartache that felt like it was being pierced by something hot.

'I have a five-year-old son.' Those words echoed on repeat, each hurting more than the last one. 'We usually have our father-son afternoon talk whenever I am not home to be with him.'

He sat on the couch slowly and put his face between his hands, hoping those memories would shut down but they couldn't. They kept on replaying, hurting him even more. He felt like he was going crazy with all those memories. After what felt like hours, he heard footsteps coming towards him.

"There you are." He heard Carlos say happily. "It's good thing you are here so that you can help me make a decision."

But when Carlos saw the way he sat, he sat beside him and rested his hand on his shoulder, squeezing it.

"Hey! Are you okay?"

Ben raised his head slowly and Carlos didn't miss that look in his eyes. He had been crying. His eyes were red and a bit swollen.

"What's wrong?" He asked, losing the smile on his face. "Why am I even asking? It's pretty obvious that idiot made you cry. This is the reason why I didn't want him anywhere near you." He wrapped an arm around him and brought him closer. "What did he do this time?"

Ben stared at Carlos and tears began rolling. As memories flooded his mind, Ben's cries intensified.

"You know, I didn't think I could feel more pain than I have already felt until today." He said in between sobs. "I just found that David and Jim have a child, a 5-year-old son. While I was suffering in the hospital, going through all the pain, David was also busy planning for a family. While my child died, their survived."

Carlos' eyes widened in understanding, his heart aching.

"I'm so sorry, Ben. I really wanted to protect you from this." He said sincerely. "Even if it was for the longest possible time."

"What?" He gasped, staring at Carlos.

"Dad and I actually found out about the child that day at the restaurant." He sighed. "He said he's the reason why he wanted to enter the company because his son loves chocolate and it would mean the world to him." He cupped his cheeks and tried to wipe Ben's tears but it was all in vain. "I didn't wanna hurt you with this information because.... Because..." Carlos paused and wiped away a tear from his own cheek, empathizing with Ben's pain. "...because I was scared of this same thing. You loved him a lot and knowing he moved on so easily would have hurt you."

"I thought he was the one, Lucy. We had plans, dreams... and everything shattered." He sniveled. "It hurts so much, Carlos. I don't know how to heal this broken heart." He said in between sobs. "I am back to square one. I don't know what to do. My plans have been ruined."

"What are you talking about?" Carlos frowned. "Those people ruined your life and left you for dead. They need to pay for what they did and I am all the way with you."

"How can I continue with that?" He rose from the couch, gripping his hair. "My plan was to make sure that I ruin their happiness like they ruined mine but how do you expect me to continue?"

"What's stopping you from that?" Carlos rose furiously. "Are you that emotionally weak? Right now, more than ever, you need to be strong. I watched you, each and every day as you died bit by bit." He said with tears decorating his face. "As much as I don't want you anywhere near them, they don't deserve to be happy. They need to feel how you felt."

"There's a child involved!" He hollered, shaking his head. "An innocent child that deserves the love of both parents. All his life, he's grown up with them. He loves them and...." He paused and sniveled. "...and how can I separate that? As a parent and someone who grew up without the love of a mother, I know how it feels to grow up yearning for love from both parents."

"What are you saying?" Carlos' voice was so low.

"It means I... I am done." He gave a gloomy sigh. "I can't take away what they have because I don't think my daughter would ever forgive me. At this point, it's better if I stay away from them. Maybe.... I should have listened to you and not accepted the business proposal."

Carlos walked to Ben and wrapped an arm around him.

"I understand your point. And I'll support whatever decision you make. At this point, there's no need regretting something you already made."

"Thank you so much, Carlos. I am grateful to have you by my side."

Carlos pulled Ben into a warm embrace, holding him tightly as they both cried, the weight of Ben's broken heart shared between them.

***

David was sitting on a swing in the garden, gazing off into the distance, visibly troubled. He had his son in his arms who was sleeping soundly and snoring lightly. They had had so much fun after he had returned and now the boy was tired. David wanted to take to him to bed but there was just so much in his mind.

He was lost that he didn't even see Amber come to him. She didn't miss the look on his face.

"Hey! Are you okay?" She asked, sitting close to him. "You seem worried."

"No!" He shook his head. "There's something wrong somewhere. I need answers."

Amber placed a hand on his shoulder. "You can talk to me. I am here for you."

David took a deep breath, struggling to find the right words.

"While I was with Ben at the Villa, I had another flashback." He sighed gloomily. "There was a boy, though I couldn't see his face, we were together in the bathroom and he seemed so hurt. He was running away from me while I was calling him. Weird thing is, this happened at the exact moment when Ben was rushing out of there."

"What?" Amber gasped. "Why? What happened?"

"I am not sure. I left him with Jim and when I came back, he couldn't even turn to look at me." He said with a raised eyebrow. "He just said that he had to get out of there. But his voice sounded different, like he was hurt."

"Am I shocked?" Amber shrugged. "You left him with Jim and I can bet my life he had something to do with it. You know how insecure Jim is. I am sure he said something nasty to him. He can't stand any guy coming close to you."

"I don't know, Amber. I am so confused. This is the second flashback I am having and both have happened when I am around him. My fear started when I started feeling pain, like I could feel what he was feeling... or the boy in my memory..." He sighed, massaging his temple. ".... it's so confusing. I have a feeling that this boy is connected to my past but I can't figure it out. I can't get my answers from anyone."