The Sheikh's American Daughter (16 page)

Joseph felt anxious as he stared at the little boy before him. A thousand thoughts raced through his mind. Was that little boy his? What would life be like if that boy was actually his? It worried him what Olivia’s reaction was going to be like. What if she left him?

Joseph had demanded a DNA test. He wasn’t just going to be in that boy’s life without solid proof that he was the father. So the next morning Joseph and Hudah along with her son had gone to Joseph’s doctor for a DNA test. It had to be Joseph’s doctor. It had to be under his terms.

“Please come in,” said Dr. Amari. They walked into her office and sat at her desk.

“Thank you for seeing us at such short notice,” Joseph said to her. He trusted her because she had been his doctor since birth, and she had signed a non-disclosure agreement. She could not sell his stories to the press or anything like that.

“It is no problem, Sheikh Boutros,” she replied. She put on gloves and opened a plastic packet. She pulled out a swab and swabbed the little boy’s mouth, then put the swab in a clear plastic bag. She did the same for Joseph. Then she also took blood samples.

“When can we expect the results?” Joseph asked her.

“I can have them later today,” she replied. Joseph nodded. The sooner, the better. He did not like waiting around for things. He looked at the little boy sitting on Hudah’s lap.

“Say hi,” Hudah said to her son.

“Hi,” her son said to Joseph. He felt so many mixed emotions. He could not even respond. He just rose to his feet and left the room.

Joseph got in his car and went to Sheikh Solomon’s house. Olivia was the only person he wanted to see at that moment. As he arrived, he ran into Rania at the front door. She must have been on her way out because she was all dressed up in expensive clothes and a lot of makeup.

“Sheikh Boutros,” she breathed.

“Hi Rania,” he said. She approached him and wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body against him. Joseph felt a shiver running down his spine.

“What are you doing?” he asked her.

“Isn’t it obvious? I am hugging you.”

“Why?”

“I want you to feel the embrace of a true woman.”

Joseph gently pushed her away from him. He was in no mood for games. “Please, don’t do that ever again,” he said to her. He wanted to be as polite as he could be.

“Why would you want to marry Olivia?” she spat out. “She is a nobody!”

“That is no polite way to speak of your older sister.”

“She is not my sister! She is nothing but an illegitimate child. She came into our lives and destroyed everything. Now she has taken what is mine.”

“What of yours did she take?”

“You.”

Joseph raised his eyebrows. He was never hers. He was never going to marry her. It was crazy but not surprising to learn that she thought of him as hers.

“I am not yours,” he said quietly.

“Please, Joseph.” She took his hand and put it on her breast. “Come to me.”

Joseph immediately yanked his hand back.

“I do not appreciate you talking negatively about Olivia, nor do I appreciate you acting like you work in a brothel,” he said. He was already annoyed about Hudah’s sudden appearance and now Rania was making it worse. He walked into the house but then he stopped. “One more thing, never call me by my first name,” he said to her and then walked off. 

“Hello, Sheikh Boutros,” a blushing maid greeted him as he walked in.

“Hi, where is Olivia?” he asked.

“She is in her room. Shall I call her down for you?”

“No, take me to her room.”

“Yes sir.”

Joseph followed the maid upstairs. He had been to Sheikh Solomon’s house many times but he had never been upstairs. The maid looked back at him and smiled. Then she looked forward. Joseph shook his head. Even though she knew that he was betrothed to Olivia, she was still trying to get his attention.

They finally came to a halt in front of a white door with a golden knob. The maid knocked on the door. “I’ll take it from here,” he said to her. She nodded before she walked off.

“Come in!” Olivia shouted. Joseph turned the golden knob and then walked in. Olivia was sitting in tiny shorts and a T-shirt on her bed. She turned her head and gasped when she saw him. “Joseph!” she breathed.

“Hi,” he said softly. Olivia put her laptop on her nightstand and sat up. Joseph sat on the bed next to her.

“This is a surprise,” she said with a smile. 

“I wanted to see you.”

Olivia took his face into her hands and searched his eyes. “What is the matter?” she asked.

“Nothing,” he replied.

“No, there is something definitely going on with you,” she said. Joseph raised an eyebrow. She was able to tell there was something wrong. No one else could because he was so good at putting on a poker face.

“A woman from my past,” he said.

“Okay, what about her?”

“If I tell you, promise me that you will not leave me.”

Olivia jerked her head backwards a little. “Surely, it is not that bad,” she said.

“I don’t know how you will take it.” He sighed.

Olivia leaned forward and pressed a small kiss against his lips. “You can tell me anything,” she said to him.

“I was in a relationship with a woman named Hudah a few years ago.”

“Okay, go on.”

“I just found out that she has a son and I might be the father.”

Olivia raised her eyebrows. “Whoa,” she said. She looked so shocked. There was silence for a moment. Joseph felt nervous. He wondered what she was thinking. “You might be or you are definitely the father?” she asked him.

“Might. We went for a DNA test today,” he said to her. She nodded quietly. “I’m sorry,” he added. Those were the only words that came to mind. He did not know what to say or do.

Olivia leaned towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Don’t apologize to me,” she said gently. “This is something that happened before we knew each other.”

Joseph looked at her and searched her eyes. He had not expected such a warm reaction from her. “I did not expect you to react this way,” he said.

She smiled.

“You thought I’d get mad?” she asked.

“Honestly, I did not know what to expect.”

She kissed his forehead and then his cheek. “Don’t ever feel like you can’t tell me anything. No matter what it is, you must tell me,” she said.

He cleared his throat. “There is one more thing,” he said.

Olivia released him from her embrace. “What?” she asked. He told her about Rania. Olivia frowned. “Remind me to slap her later,” she said.

Joseph chuckled a little. “You want to slap her?” he asked.

“Of course! How dare she?”

Joseph smiled and pressed a small kiss against her lips. She was so adorable. Olivia pulled him closer and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly as they kissed. He felt so sane and relaxed in her arms. Only she could lighten his mood so easily. 

***

“The DNA test showed a 97% match,” Joseph said to his parents the following day at the breakfast table. His parents both stopped eating and looked at him.

“Joseph, how many more surprises are you going to throw at us?” Esther asked him.

“I did not plan this. It is a surprise to me also,” he replied.

“You should have been careful,” his father said to him.

“I know; I regret not taking extra precautions.” Joseph was not pleased about the entire situation. Just when things were going great with Olivia, Hudah had to come along. It angered him that he had not been careful when he was with her. He was also angry that she had not told him about it until now.

“What is the point regretting it now?” his mother asked him. “You have no other choice but to right your wrongs.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You must marry her of course.”

“What?” Joseph spat out. He whipped his head in his father’s direction. “Father!” he said.

“I am sorry, son, but I am with your mother on this one,” his father replied.

Joseph dropped his fork onto his plate.

“I can’t marry Hudah. I will not marry her!”

“So you want your son, my grandson, to grow up as an illegitimate child. I will not allow that to happen,” said his father.

Joseph was trying to stay calm but it was not working. His hands started shaking with anger.

“I cannot lose Olivia all because the two of you care about your reputation more than my happiness,” he said as he rose from the table.

“You will not speak to me like that,” said his father. Joseph had never been disrespectful to his father but he was furious. “I will not force you into anything. It’s your choice,” he added.

“Habibi, what are you saying?” Esther said to her husband.

“Thank you,” said Joseph.

“Let me finish.” Joseph’s father paused for a moment. “If you marry Hudah, you will inherit my oil company. If you marry Olivia, you will inherit nothing.”

Esther gasped loudly and placed her hand over her mouth. She looked like she was going to pass out in shock.

Joseph raised his eyebrows. After everything he had done for the company, he wondered how his father could give him such an ultimatum. “Expect my resignation on your desk later today,” he said.

“Joseph!” his mother screamed. Joseph stormed out of the room. The company wasn’t worth it if he had to give up the only person he had ever fallen in love with.

Olivia was at Joseph’s house cooking for him. Even though he had a chef and maids, she liked cooking for him and doing small things for him like that. She especially now wanted to do things for him because she knew that he was going through a hard time with Hudah. Finding out that he had a son was not easy. She had seen her father go through it when he found out about her.

“What are you doing here?” a voice sounded from behind Olivia. She recognized the icy voice immediately. She turned around.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Boutros,” said Olivia. She forced herself to smile.

“I said what are you doing here?”

“I came to cook for Joseph.”

“He has a chef.”

“I like cooking for him, and he likes me cooking for him,” she said. Mrs. Boutros slightly frowned.

“Where is my son?” she asked.

“He is at work.”

“No, he is not. I was just there.”

“Maybe he is at a meeting,” said Olivia. She wondered why his mother was looking for him in the middle of the day.

“I doubt that,” his mother spat out. “He handed in his resignation.”

Olivia almost burst into laughter. “How can he hand in a resignation to his own father?” It made no sense to her. Joseph loved his job. Why would he quit?

“It’s all because of you,” said Esther.

“Me?”

“I am sure you know about Luke, his son.”

“Yes.”

“Joseph’s father and I do not want our grandson to grow up without his father,” she said.

Olivia understood what she was saying. However, she wondered what it had to do with her. Why would that make Joseph quit his job?

“Of course. I understand what it’s like,” said Olivia.

“I want him to marry Hudah.”

That’s when it hit her. Joseph’s mother wanted Joseph to marry Hudah but Joseph had refused. That was why Joseph’s mother was blaming her.

“How does he feel about that?” Olivia asked.

“He refused.”

“But why did he quit?”

“Because his father gave him an ultimatum. He was to either marry Hudah and inherit the company or marry you and inherit nothing.”

Olivia gasped. She placed her hand on her heart. That was something too big to give up. She most certainly did not want him to give up his rightful place because of her.

“Joseph,” she whispered. She felt so bad for him.

“You have ruined my son’s life. Please stop now and just go back to America,” said Mrs. Boutros.

“The only thing I did was fall in love with your son,” Olivia said honestly. Mrs. Boutros was being too unfair to her. She had not ruined his life. She had not forced him into anything.

“Love?” said Mrs. Boutros.

“Yes, I love Joseph so much. I would never want him to give up anything for me.”

Mrs. Boutros stared at the teary-eyed Olivia for a moment. She held her by her shoulders. “I may have misjudged you,” she said.

“I did not fit the part you wanted your daughter-in-law to play,” she said.

“No, you did not.” Mrs. Boutros sighed. She slowly got down on her knees. Olivia’s eyes flew open.

“What are you doing?” she asked her.

“Joseph is my only child. Only he can inherit the company, and his son needs a father. Please go back to Atlanta. This is the only way he can give up on you,” she said. Olivia felt incredibly uncomfortable seeing Joseph’s mother on her knees begging her to leave her son. She thought Joseph’s mother was being a bit too dramatic but Joseph had worked hard to inherit that company. She understood that his mother would not want him to throw all of that away.

“I love him so much; I don’t want to leave him,” said Olivia. A tear rolled down from her eye. History was repeating itself. Twenty-three years ago, her mother was faced with a similar decision. When she found out that Sheikh Solomon’s mother had asked her mother to leave, she thought that if she was ever in that situation she would not leave. She thought she would stay and fight for the man she loved. However, now that it was happening to her, she completely understood her mother’s decisions.

“I don’t want him to lose his rightful position,” said Olivia. She closed her eyes as the tears streamed down her face.

“I’m sorry. I have to do what is best for my son.”

It was funny how many times Olivia had heard that. However, everyone that was saying it, was only doing what was best for themselves. Olivia wiped the tears from her face.

“Goodbye, Mrs. Boutros,” she said. It was not a pleasure to meet her. Olivia quickly walked off.

She returned to Sheikh Solomon’s house and packed her things. It was best for her to leave as soon as possible. If she saw Joseph once more, she was not going to be able to leave.

Jacob drove her to the airport. He had failed to convince Olivia to stay. However, she agreed to stay in touch with him and Sheikh Solomon.

“It’s nice having an older sister,” Jacob said to Olivia before she got on the plane. Olivia smiled. She was happy that Jacob considered her his older sister unlike Rania and Marina. They treated Olivia horribly.

“It’s nice to have a sibling. It was not always fun being an only child,” she replied.

“Take care of yourself.” Jacob pulled Olivia into his arms and rubbed her head.

“I will,” she said with a smile. A tear rolled down her cheek. She pulled out of his embrace and wiped the tear from her cheek. She waved at him and went to board her flight.

The flight to Atlanta was very long and sad for Olivia. All she could think about was Joseph. She remembered the first time she had seen him and how she had felt. She had never fallen so fast and hard for any man before. She knew that she was never going to experience love like that ever again. Love like that came once in a lifetime.

When Olivia arrived at her apartment in Atlanta, she immediately called Daya over.