Chapter Ten

Kane continued visiting Sultan at school and in such a short time, they became really close and Sultan became so fond of him.

He always called him 'daddy' and Kane felt like he had finally bonded with his son. The teacher that had been secretly watching them, Mrs Nicole finally decided to tell Caitlin about the handsome stranger that always came during recess to play with her son. She called Caitlin for a meeting in her office. Caitlin was worried that her son had been up to some mischief at school, but Mrs Nicole assured her that he was in his best behavior.

"I was worried that Sultan had done something wrong."

"Oh no dear. Sultan is just fine. It's something else."

Caitlin grew worried.

"What's that?"

"It's about a certain young man that always comes here to see your son. He's been coming for almost a month now."

"A man? Who's that?"

"I was going to ask you my dear. He's very tall and incredibly good looking, and he always comes during playtime to spend time with your son. At first I thought the two of you were…you know....together, but I realized that you weren't even aware of it, so I decided to tell you."

Caitlin was red with rage when she heard this. She already knew who it was and didn't need to be told. The fact that Kane always came to see her son behind her back annoyed her even more, so she decided to wait in the headmistress's office until play time so she could teach him a lesson.

During play time, Kane visited as usual. Sultan always waited in the school garden for him and they would spend quality time there throughout the recess.

"Daddy!" he squealed excitedly as he rushed to hug him. Caitlin was so furious that Sultan called him that. She quickly rushed to him and grabbed him, pulling him behind her. The head mistress and some other teachers came to the scene as well. Kane was perplexed and Sultan grew afraid. He feared that his mother would hit him again.

"How dare you?! How dare you come here to see my son?!" she fired in rage.

"Mummy…mummy please don't hit daddy again…"

"That's enough Sultan! He's not your father! He never was!" she yelled at him and his eyes became wet with tears. His mother had never yelled at him before. For the first time ever, she seemed so terrifying.

"Why did you yell at him? He's just a little kid. Why don't you just let out all your anger on me and leave the boy alone?!" Kane said, clenching his jaw in anger.

He was now fed up on how difficult Caitlin had been.

She felt guilty now, but she was still upset at how he had been seeing her son behind her back.

"I told you to stay away from my son!" she yelled.

"He's also my son!" Kane yelled back. Everyone was shocked.

"I know that….i know that what I did to you was wrong! I know that I shouldn't have taken advantage of you, and I've pleaded with you so many times but yet you've been so difficult! You have no idea how bad I felt when I found out you got pregnant! You have no idea how it feels to see my own child but I cannot be with him, or even touch him! You have no idea how it feels!" he was breathing hard now.

The teachers could only stare in shock. He sighed deeply.

"Listen, Caitlin. I'm very sorry for what I did to you four years ago. I was wrong and…and I deserve a thousand slaps from you for that! you don't have to forgive me if you don't want to, but please….please don't keep me away from him. Please."

Caitlin was quiet for a while. She didn't know what to say anymore. She didn't want Kane in her son's life. She wanted to be his only guardian, the one that would always be there for him. Tears welled up in her eyes and Nichole placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Please Caitlin… Please listen to him…he's right you know…you should forgive him…he admitted his mistakes… and confessed in front of everyone. Not every man would put his ego aside to do that…"

"No! You have no idea how much suffering I faced in the past! You have no idea the pain I went through when giving birth to him! You weren't there…so you'd never understand. I had to do everything in my power to be able to take care of him...and you weren't even there! So why should I forgive you?! Why?!" she cried, staring into his eyes. Kane returned the stare.

There was so much bitterness in them. For a moment he felt so much care and affection towards her. He wanted to console her and make her feel happy, after all she had suffered because of him.

"Now listen, Kane Esmond," she pointed at him and everyone was shocked to find out who he was.

"Kane? The Kane Esmond of Holton Empire?!" they whispered to each other in shock.

"I will never forgive you and I will never let you come three feet close to my son…never!"

With that, she left, pulling Sultan along. He turned to look at Kane sadly who also returned the sad stare and she left the school with him even though it wasn't closed for the day.

She would have to put Sultan in a new school but Kane would find out the new location, so the only choice left was to move to another city and she would have to do this secretly.

She didn't want Kane interfering with her peaceful life with Sultan, and she certainly didn't want him to nurse the idea that he was his biological father.

Kane drove home feeling so angry and depressed. He wasn't angry at Caitlin for being so difficult, but at himself for being such an idiot. It was his fault that all this was happening to him and now he was paying the price for all his crimes.

He knew that Caitlin would move Sultan to another school because she would do anything in her power to get rid of him. These thoughts saddened him even more. It was his fault that she had become so bittered. Four years ago when he first met her, she was such a gentle and bubbly waitress. She was so sweet and innocent and he took advantage of that for his own selfish desires. For a second he wished he would take her pain away forever. She deserved happiness again, and she didn't have to live with so much bitterness and insecurity in her heart.

As he stepped out of his car and walked into his mansion, he realized that he had been making the wrong move all these time. Now he had a new mission, to fix the mistakes he made and the only way to do this was to win Caitlin's heart. It would definitely be difficult, but he was determined to do it. She needed love and care, and he was determined to give it to her.