Lena strolled around the Hospital's parking lot to see Darian where he was seated on the cemented chair, hands wrapped over his chest as his eyes roamed the surroundings. She had been with her husband long enough to know when he was in a mood.
Right now, his lips were curved in a frown, his eyes were harsh and he was repeatedly tapping his feet against the floor. That was a hint that he was worked up about something and she knew what it was.
She smiled and walked up to him. "A penny for your thoughts," she said, sliding next to him. She crouched down on the chair and looked up to meet Darian's eyes. "What's on your mind?" She asked.
"A lot, Lena. A whole lot and I don't even know where to start from." He relaxed his back on the chair, huffing a drained sigh. "How is she? What did she say after I left?"
"Nothing much, she wants to be my friend." She laughed. "She's the jovial type, I think she just needs time to get better and to familiarise herself with us. Tell me, what are your plans for her?"
"That's the problem, I don't have any plans for her. I just came over to see her face. I don't even know if she's my mother." He scratched his head.
"You can't doubt that. You can easily detect that she's your mother from the resemblance between you two, Darian. You are her twin in a male's body." Lena protested against her husband's point.
She wondered why he would even say that when the resemblance between them was glaring.
"Is there another way she can prove that to me?" He looked at Lena.
"She talked about her baby boy being taken away from her. She wasn't clear about it, but I think it has something to do with you, Darian."
"She mentioned Raymond and that's my father's name." He rubbed his face with his palm. "I am truly confused, Lena."
"Darian," she touched his shoulder, pressing it down to soothe him. "Just take your time to think about it. Don't rush it, she's healing too. Spend some time with her to get to know about her and the reason she left you. I know that it is tough to take her back and accept the fact that she's your mother, but…" She took his hands and stroked his fingers. "You can't discard her, she's alone and needs help and just maybe if she sees you around, she will be able to catch up and maybe just get better and let out a few things about her."
Darian chuckled, wiggling his head. "About her? Do you think I care about her?" He laughed and said, "No, I don't."
"You do, Darian. I know you too well to know that you care about her. You wouldn't have come from New York to this place if you didn't care about her." Lena smiled. "Give her time to heal and I am sure the two of you can get to know each other and talk things out."
"And what about the family? What if they find out about her?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "You are the Don of the Dawson family Mafia and whatever you want stands. What would they do if they got to know you reunited with your mother? Dethrone you from being the Don? Kill you? Or kill her?" She clasped her hands together and shook her head. "You don't have to worry about them. Darian, you are the boss."
"I know I am but she's never been accepted and no one from the family ever talked about her to me."
"Darian,"
"It's much more than you think. We have laws in the Mafia. Laws that must be obeyed. We can't relate with the enemies and my mother has been tagged an enemy in our book of law and associating with her can lead to my downfall. Even Gaius never talked about her, they won't hesitate to take action if they know that I am associating with the enemy."
"She's your mother and not an enemy. Darian, wake up. She's your mother and fuck the law!" Lena was angry. "How can they tag the woman who birthed you as an enemy?" Scoffing, she whirled her head and glared at him.
"My father signed it before he died. He signed to the fact that the woman is a sworn enemy of the Dawson family."
"I thought you said he loved her." She blinked her eyes.
"He did, but I guess he was coerced into signing. Something must have been at stake. I didn't know about this until I got to know that my mother is still alive. Aside from you, Jay is the only one who knows about her."
"This is ridiculous, have they always wished her dead?" Lena asked him.
"I don't know what history she has with them. All I know of her is that she worked at the casino at the time she met my dad. They fell in love and she got pregnant with me."
Lena looked up at Darian to see the pain in his eyes. The only time he had had and found true happiness was when he was with her.
Everything about his life was complicated, almost hard to deal with. She kneaded his fingers and leaned forward to kiss his lips to calm his nerves.
She knew what he had on his mind. His mother left him because she was forced to and unaccepted by his family. Now that he had met her again, she couldn't recognise him because she was sick and not in her right state of mind.
Even if she finally recognised Darian as her son, he wouldn't be able to show her off to the world as his mother because he was scared they would harm her if they got to know about her.
"Do you trust Jay so much?" Lena suddenly asked him.
"He's my right-hand man, I trust him." He responded.
"I think I have a solution to the whole problem at hand." She winked at him, smiling.
"What is the solution, Lena?" He asked, glancing at his wife's smiling face.