The Next Day
Sebastian came back from a meeting at the conference room and met a white sealed envelope on his desk with the print 'Saunders and co' on it.
He called his Secretary via the intercom and requested her presence. Jessica came in immediately.
"When did this get here?" He asked, gesturing to the envelope on his desk.
"Maria said it was delivered this morning by an intern from Saunders and Co."
"Did the intern tell Maria the person that sent him or her to deliver this?" He asked curiously because he has never had anything to do with anybody from Saunders and Co.
"No sir,"
Sebastian sighed, "Okay, you can go."
Seb removed his suit jacket, rolled up both sides of his sleeves to his elbow, then settled down on the chair behind his desk.
He reached for the envelope and opened it. He came across some papers which were directly addressed to him. Sebastian took pains to go through the papers. He was shocked after figuring out what they were all about.
The papers required him to tender his signatures which automatically meant he has waived his parental rights, giving the Mother of the baby the full custody of the child.
And the last paper among the documents was a restraining order against him, not to ever come close to Jayda, the mother of his child and also not to come close to the child when he or she is born.
"What the hell???" Sebastian said in horror as he went through the papers again, wondering if he read the wrong thing.
"Is she doing this to humiliate me or get a fortune from me indirectly?" He mumbled as he reached for his phone and dialled his Lawyer who picked up almost immediately.
"Yes, Seb." His lawyer said from the other side.
"Dan, please I need you to come to my office immediately. It's very urgent. Can you come right now?"
"I'm on my way," Dan said and then ended the call.
Sebastian spent his time going through the documents again and wondering if this was all true or Jayda was playing some sort of expensive joke on him."
Soon enough, Sebastian's lawyer, Daniel walked in.
Daniel was in his late forties and was Sebastian's personal lawyer. Miller's Inc had its own lawyer.
"This better be very important, " Daniel said before taking a seat opposite Sebastian.
Sebastian gave him the documents and he went through them.
"The papers are very clear, Sebastian. The mother is indirectly asking for full custody of the child. If you sign these papers, you automatically waive your parental rights and responsibilities. You have no say over the child, and neither are you to come near him or her. Basically, you will be a stranger to the child."
"And in the second document, a restraining order has been filed against you. You're not to go close to the mother of the child and to the child when he or she is born."
"I know what the papers are all about, I called you here so you can tell me what to do," Sebastian said, clearly frustrated.
"I can't tell you what to do, Seb. The decision is yours. It's either you sign the papers and give up your parental rights and become a stranger to the child or you don't sign it and take the case to court if you want to be in the child's life."
"I'm really surprised that there are no clauses attached to this. The mother doesn't want any money for child support whatsoever. She just wants full custody." Dan mumbled, his eyes not leaving the papers. "So do you want to be in your child's life or not?" He looked at Sebastian.
Seb could not believe his whole world was falling apart before him. He now knew he was in some deep shit.
"There is a probability that I am the father of the child. How does she expect me to give up my rights and not be in my child's life?"
"Did the mother approach you to tell you about the child?" Daniel asked, Sebastian nodded.
"What was your reply?" Daniel asked, giving him that 'you better don't lie to me so I can save your ass look'
Sebastian sighed, "I told her she was lying, the baby was not mine and she was making up stories to get a fortune from me."
Daniel shook his head in disbelief. "Then she had the right to file these papers."
"Look, Daniel, I've been deceived by other ladies, some claim to be pregnant with my child and it's either they were lying about being pregnant or the baby turned out to be someone else's. That was why I reacted that way to Jayda. But if the child she's carrying is mine, I would love to be in the child's life."
"Wait, did you just say Jayda? As in the person who is pregnant with your child is Jayda?" He asked. Sebastian replied with a nod.
Daniel went over the papers again and looked at Sebastian with pity. "You've messed with the wrong person, Sebastian."
"What do you mean?" Seb asked, confused.
"Your baby mama according to this document is Jayda Wright. She is the same person who filed these papers." Daniel said but Sebastian still looked confused, he was trying to make sense out of Dan's statement.
Then it clicked to Sebastian. "Jayda is a lawyer?" He asked, extremely shocked.
"She is not just any lawyer but a very brilliant and respected one. She is one of the best in the country and she has never lost any case. Unfortunately for us, Family law is one of her specializations and to be honest with you, if we take this case to court, there is no way we would win against Jayda Wright. She is simply the best." Daniel said in all honesty.
Sebastian buried his face in his hands in defeat. Could his life be any worse? He thought she was after his money when she was almost as rich as he was. He had an amazing Jayda on a platter of gold and now due to fear, lack of trust and ego, he had lost her and probably, his child too.
Sebastian raised his head and asked Daniel in defeat. "So what now?"
"Since you're interested in being in your child's life, I'll suggest you locate Jayda, apologize to her and perhaps try to fix things with her."
..............................
Sebastian could not believe he ruined himself with his actions. He was no longer in contact with Caleb who refused to pick up any of his calls or reply to his messages. He looked down on Jayda and now he had lost her and his child due to his stupidity.
Sebastian managed to occupy himself with some work and attended his meetings. Even though he did all of that, his mind was elsewhere.
His last meeting ended a few minutes past 6 pm and after that, he made his way to his parents' home.
"Good evening Sir." One of the maids greeted as soon as she opened the door for him.
"Where are my parents?" He asked the young servant.
"Your Dad went out but your Mom is in her room." He nodded to the maid's reply then proceeded to his parents' room.
Normally, Caleb would have been the first person Sebastian would seek for advice but he and Caleb were not on good terms.
Honestly, he didn't know what he was looking for in his parents' home. All he knew was that he needed a shoulder to cry on.
"After two knocks, his mother asked him to come in"
Vanessa was seated on the left-hand side of the king-size bed she shared with her husband. Her head was against the headboard and a laptop was settled on her lap.
Sebastian approached his mother, removed the laptop from her lap and placed it on the nightstand. He took a seat beside his mom, buried his face in her lap and sobbed.
All the tears he had been holding back throughout the day rolled down his cheeks with immediate effect, his sobs got louder when he remembered all that he said and put Jayda through and now he had lost her, his child and best friend. Never had he felt so lonely in his life.
He thought he was protecting himself from getting hurt again but he ended up destroying himself and his friendship with Caleb.
The last time Vanessa saw her son this way was when he discovered Susan's true colour. So she couldn't tell if Sebastian's reaction was a good or bad thing. She was a bit surprised that he came to her for comfort but that did not stop her from calming him down.
"Cry it all out my son, I'll always be here for you." She assured as she gently ran her fingers through his hair.