"Where have you been?"

Sounded a voice muffled along with droplets of tears. Her voice slowly faded away and got entangled in her soft sobs. Her little one came running and twined on Raymond's thighs. 

There were tears of joy, in the eyes of the little one too.

Shawn stood there, just a couple of feet away and anyone could tell that he was so moved by this union that tears were just about to flood his eyes too.

Raymond slowly lifted his arm and started patting Kate's head and said,

"I am sorry my love. I know you missed your uncle. I know uncle didn't do the right thing by hiding, but your uncle had to. And uncle promises that he will make it up to you."

Saying that he cupped Kate's chin and slowly caressed Katherine's back to calm down her sobs while Akira stood in the corner, wiping away her tears silently.

A moment later, when Shawn realized that, if he didn't intervene, then probably everyone was going to worsen their condition. So he took a step ahead and slowly embraced Katherine and pulled her towards himself.

"It's ok my love. He is here. Right in front of you. He is here for you now."

"But then why did he leave me?"

"Why did he not come back to me?"

Then turning towards Raymond she said,

"Why did you play with me, Raymond? What wrong did I do to deserve this?"

Saying that she tightly hugged Shawn and started sobbing again.

Raymond took a deep breath to suppress the pain in his heart and then picked up his niece in his arms and said,

"Tell mommy that I never meant to stay away from her. Tell mommy that I was equally hurt when I had to stay in hiding. Tell her that every single time she had cried, I part of me also died from within."

Saying that Raymond looked at Katherine with guilt, filled in his eyes. 

But being a sister who doted on his brother, she could see that apart from guilt there was an unsurmountable pain underneath. She wanted to yell at him, even punch him a one or two. But seeing his eyes, seeing him standing in front of her, broke her apart.

She slumped on the floor.

Raymond put Kate down and rushed to her sister.

Akira, who was standing away from them, trying to give them a bit of space also came in to support her. They all sat on the floor silently next to her, unable to figure out the right thing to say, the right way to console her.

Then after a few seconds, she composed herself and said,

"Well, all of this doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. What matters is you are here."

Saying that she held his brother's face fondly in her palm and kissed on his forehead. 

Then she looked at Akira and said,

"I do not care for what reason you guys tried to hide from me, but from now on I need to know what is going on. Ok?"

Saying that she looked at Akira in a comforting way, because she knew that she was also deep down dying from guilt because of all the deception, all the lies that she had to tell.

That one comforting look of her meant everything for Akira. All that she sought at that moment was her forgiveness and when she found it, she didn't care for anything else in the world.

She inched closer to Katherine and started crying, with her head resting on her shoulder. 

"I am so sorry. I am so sorry Katherine. I really am."

"I know dear."

Saying that Katherine hugged them both together tightly and then said,

"But first explain what is going on. What is all this that I am hearing? Why did you tell that..... "

"Tell what Katherine?"

Katherine hesitated for a moment and then said,

"It's just we saw in the news that..."

"All of that is true. Sebastian isn't my father..."

Saying that Raymond took out his phone and started narrating everything from scratch to her sister. everything that had happened over the last one and a half years.

------

"How could this happen to me?"

"How could she ruin me like this?"

"I should have killed him when I had a chance."

Vikram yelled sitting in the backseat of his car.

Then holding his head in his palms, with a pensive look on his face, he started reflecting back on everything. Every single lie that Akira had told him, every single act that she had pulled to hide the existence of Raymond.

The more he started to dig the past, the more vengeful he started to become. He knew that Raymond definitely had something against him. He couldn't forget the look that he gave him in the main hall when he had unraveled himself. That man didn't forgive his own father, so he was pretty sure that he would show no mercy to him.

So he knew that he had to think smart and act fast.

He knew that he had to up his game and hit back on Raymond in every possible way first so that he would have no room left to destroy him. And then suddenly his face beamed.

He looked at Peter who was sitting in the front seat and said,

"Get me the sale deed of Avenue 52nd Road."

"What do you want to do with that sir?"

Vikram gave out a shady laugh and said,

"I had given it to someone because I wanted to rise in her eyes, but I don't want that anymore. No matter what I do, she is never going to give me that place."

Saying that Vikram went all silent.

-----

"Ring Ring"

"Who is calling you at such an ungodly hour?"

Shawn said and went to pick up Katherine's phone.

"Must be some contractor panicking over something. Gosh... this opening is killing me."

Saying that Katherine stretched her hand to take the phone from Shawn's hand.

Little did she know, what ungodly message she was going to get.

----------

[Author here - I have a new surprise for you guys. A new book - The rise of the saviour

Please give this book some love with your reviews and comments. I sincerely hope you will love this new book as well.]