Chapter 5
“Go and look again at the roses. You will understand now that yours is unique in all the world.”
—Antoine de Saint-Exupéry – “The Little Prince”.
William
When I arrived home, after giving the phone to the doctor, I was feeling nervous.
That woman had managed to unsettle me. I couldn’t remember the last time a woman had affected me like this.
She was beautiful, sensual, and had a sweetness that enveloped you like a warm blanket on a cold afternoon.
But I knew clearly that I needed to stay away from her.
People who provoke these emotions are very dangerous, and I didn’t want to take any risks.
I had a daughter who was my priority, and I couldn’t allow myself to fall under any woman’s spell.
Besides, the doctor had also won Aurora’s affection, and if they continued seeing each other, it could become very painful for my daughter, and I couldn’t allow that.
Fortunately, the next day I had to travel to New York on business matters, and I was going to take advantage of it to have fun and go out with several women to give free rein to my passion. That would ensure I erased any trace of Devon Dulcet from my mind.
I entered my daughter’s bedroom and sat on her bed watching her.
Aurora had never had a mother. And, as much as I adored her and tried to be both father and mother, I clearly understood that I could never replace everything a mother means in a daughter’s life.
When I had seen her with Devon, I had imagined my daughter with a maternal figure, but it was clear she would never have one because I didn’t want any woman in that place.
I didn’t want any woman permanently in my life.
The only little woman I had and would always have by my side would be her.
I wouldn’t allow anyone to play with our feelings the way Cristina had done.
I kissed her on the forehead and left her bedroom to go to mine.
When I lay down in my enormous bed, for the first time in years, I felt alone.
An overwhelming loneliness invaded me. It was as if suddenly a huge rock was weighing on my sternum, crushing me down to my lungs and preventing me from breathing.
Why the hell was I feeling this way? As if I might crumble at any moment.
Why did I feel this emptiness in my chest?
“For God’s sake!” I exclaimed.
I was tempted to get up and go to some bar to try to hook up with a woman who would appease the irrational desire I felt and that absurd feeling of loneliness, but I thought about it a bit and decided to stay home.
I wanted to get up early to wake Aurora and spend the morning with her because in the afternoon I already had to leave for the airport, and we were going to be several days without seeing each other.
I had a shitty night where all I did was toss and turn in bed. The next day, as soon as I got up, I went straight to my daughter’s bedroom, but the little one was still sleeping.
“Good morning, Mr. Cavaller,” Alba greeted me as she entered Aurora’s bedroom at that moment.
“Good morning, Alba. I remind you that I’m traveling to New York this afternoon.”
“I was aware of that. How many days will you be abroad?” she asked, while opening the curtains to let the sun into the bedroom.
“A week, maybe I can return earlier, but I can’t promise you that.”
“Don’t worry, Aurora will be fine.”
“If anything happens, call the doctor immediately,” I said, because I knew that at Aurora’s age she occasionally caught some virus.
“Which one? Dr. Nur or Dr. Dulcet?” she asked, looking at me with evaluating eyes, because it was a fact that Alba had also been enchanted by Devon, but I had made it very clear to her that the one who would continue treating my daughter was her regular doctor, and I didn’t like being challenged, even if it was Alba, a person for whom I had affection and trust.
“I think I’ve been clear, Alba; but I’ll repeat it so there are no misunderstandings, Aurora’s doctor is Miranda Nur.”
“Very well, sir,” she said, holding my gaze.
I could tell she wasn’t happy about it, but I didn’t care. Since when did I have to explain myself to my employees? It seemed that the sweet doctor had charmed everyone and turned them against me.
“May I ask you a question regarding Dr. Devon Dulcet?”
Damn it! Did she have to keep mentioning her?
Just as I was about to answer her, my daughter’s voice left me paralyzed. Not even she took pity on me.
“Divon, Divon. I want Divon.”
Whaaaat? Just what I needed!
“Good morning, my love. How did the princess of the house sleep?” I said, approaching her as she was sitting up in bed.
“Daddyyy, I want Divon.”
I looked at Alba asking for help, while carrying Aurora in my arms.
“That’s what I wanted to tell you,” said Alba, putting me on alert, “this child asks for Dr. Dulcet every day. You just made it clear that you don’t want that girl to be Aurora’s pediatrician,” she reproached, because that’s how it sounded, “but may I contact Dr. Devon Dulcet so they can see each other?”
“I already said that...”
“Divon, Divon” insisted Aurora. This seemed like a conspiracy.
“Fine,” I huffed, “but only when you consider it necessary because Aurora is insistently asking for her, and first try to distract her with something else to avoid the meeting.”
“It will be done, sir,” she said with a smile, and I sensed that the meeting between my daughter and Devon would be imminent.
I left the bedroom with Aurora in my arms, ready to have breakfast with her and spend some quality time together, but my daughter constantly reminded me that this doctor was already part of her life, she didn’t stop mentioning her or asking for her.
I don’t know what that woman had done with Aurora, but she had completely won her over, and I didn’t like it.
I knew I was being selfish because my refusal was due to the fact that Devon attracted me and I wanted her as far away from me as possible.
If I kept seeing her, I didn’t know if I could contain myself.
I had been in New York for a few days and I already missed my daughter terribly. I called her whenever I could, but as is often the case with children, she didn’t like talking on the phone and preferred to continue with her games. At that moment, I had just left a meeting and decided to call her.
“Mr. Cavaller,” Alba greeted.
“How are you, Alba? How is everything there?”
“Everything is fine, especially Aurora, who has been very happy.”
“That’s good. And what’s the reason for my daughter’s happiness? Is it because her bossy father isn’t there?” I joked, smiling.
“Of course not, she misses you very much, but she has seen Devon, I mean Dr. Dulcet,” she said, and just hearing her name made my heart beat faster.
“The doctor has been kind enough to come see her and Aurora has a wonderful time with her, she doesn’t let her breathe and keeps her playing all the time.
That woman is an angel and they have...”
“Alba, the doctor went to my house?” I asked, surprised, because imagining her there produced a whirlwind of emotions that I didn’t understand.
There was a silence of several seconds.
“I had understood that if Aurora asked for her, I could arrange a meeting.”
“But I never said it should be at my house,” I stated, though clearly aware that I hadn’t said otherwise either.
What if Devon Dulcet was getting close to my daughter out of self-interest?
Interest in whom, you idiot? In you? I asked myself.
To be honest, that woman hadn’t shown any interest in me; rather, it seemed that my presence annoyed her quite a bit, and I had to admit that I had given her reasons for that because I had been less charming than a mannequin with her.
I was fully aware of my seductive power and the effect I had on women and was used to it; they rarely resisted my appearance, but she seemed completely unfazed by it.
In fact, most of the time she challenged me, and her disapproving looks were like daggers, not to mention how she attacked my ego.
“I’m sorry, I thought it was best for Aurora. The doctor also prefers that it not be here; it was I who asked her to come so that I wouldn’t have to take Aurora out. I’m sorry I didn’t understand that you disagreed with that very kind young woman coming to your house.”
In a second, I tried to process everything she had said.
Devon didn’t want to come to my house, and why was that? To avoid running into me? That displeased me.
On the other hand, had Alba said very kind to imply that I was the difficult one?
Women! All against me!
“How many times have they seen each other?” I asked, concerned, because I was also worried that Aurora would create such a close bond with her.
“Only once, and she came because I insisted. I also called her today to invite her to come tomorrow, but she can only come at eight in the evening because after that she has a complicated day at the clinic.”
“Is she going to come?”
“She is very kind and feels a lot of affection for Aurora, which is reciprocated, but she told me that it seems a bit late to pay Aurora a visit.”
That was very sensible, but I don’t know what came over me and I began to devise a plan, which started to take shape with the first words that came out of my mouth. What was my objective? I had no idea, but I had to be there.
“Insist that she come, tell her that Aurora needs to see her.”
Silence.
“Alba, did you hear what I said?” I asked after her silence, surely surprised by my request and my changes of opinion. I was going to drive that woman crazy, and she probably thought I was bipolar.
“As you wish, Mr. Cavaller.”
“Thank you, Alba. Now put my daughter on the phone, I want to talk to her.”