Chapter 335: GOING HOME
"W-what are you saying?" Erika asked, not sure if she was hearing what she thought she was hearing or if her ears were playing tricks on her. "Please repeat what you just said," she pleaded as a smile tried to break loose on her face.
Viper sighed, the words harder for him to say now than the first time he’d said it.
"I’m taking you back to your family," he repeated and gulped down his saliva for no good reason.
Viper stood up from the bed and added, "I will be waiting for you at the dining table." Without waiting for her to reply, he walked towards the door and closed the door behind him.
Erika sat on the bed, completely frozen and unable to speak anymore. She still couldn’t believe what she heard from him but to not waste time and make him change his mind, she quickly jumped down from the bed and rushed toward the babies and started getting them ready.
Beatrice walked inside the room and helped Erika prepare the bath while they got the babies ready. In less than half an hour, Erika was ready and she rushed inside the dining room.
Seeing her so happy at the mention that he was going to take her back to her family, viper didn’t know if he should be happy or sad. He was happy that she was finally happy about something but he was sad because she was happy she wasn’t going to see him anymore.
Ignoring his feelings and mixed emotions, he continued to munch on his breakfast when Erika took a seat from across him with the brightest smile he’d ever seen on her face.
"Go ahead and eat. We will be leaving as soon as you are done," he said and Erika nodded immediately. He shared a glance with Beatrice and she nodded at him with a smile.
—
"Where is Erika?" Viper asked as soon as he stepped foot into the house. He dropped his jacket and started to lose his tie.
"She’s in her room, sleeping," she replied while wiping the dining table clean.
Viper checked his wristwatch before he replied. "It’s just 8 pm. How can she sleep that early?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"I don’t know. Maybe it’s because she’s depressed." She replied while she continued to wipe the dining table without sparing Viper a single look.
"What do you mean by she’s depressed?" He asked.
Beatrice paused her actions and looked up at Viper.
"What do you mean by that? Don’t you know you are the reason she’s acting like this? For the past three months, Erika rarely talks. And even if she does, it’s only when I ask her a question. She rarely eats too. If you look at her, you will see clearly that she has lost a lot of weight. And if it’s not for her babies, I’m sure that would have been fully depressed by now." Beatrice explained, hoping that Viper would under everything that she was saying.
When Viper didn’t reply to her immediately, she continued.
"That girl has been through a lot. She’s hurting a lot. Please don’t make it escalate even more than it already is. Take her back to her family. She needs to be around them else, I promise you this, she’s either going to kill herself or hate you more than she does."
Viper’s eyes widened slightly at Beatrice.
"You need to take Erika back to her family now. Forget about your selfish goals. If you love her like you said you did, then you would do what’s best for her."
—
"Let’s go," Viper urged Erika after she was done with her meal and helped her to push the stroller towards the car.
She followed him after hugging Beatrice goodbye. Everything still felt like a dream and she didn’t want to wake up only to find herself in that room, alone and far from home.
Getting into the car, Luke zoomed away, heading to the airport.
"How’s Ethan doing?" Erika suddenly asked, turning to look at him.
Viper cleared his throat before he replied. "Ethan has been looking for you. Him and your brothers. You are really lucky to have such a family that cares about you so much."
Erika parted her lips, wanting to ask a question but wasn’t sure if it was a good idea so she zipped her lips.
They got to the airport faster than they thought and entered a private jet. On the way, Erika noticed how so many people had tried to avoid making eye contact with Viper but she was too happy to want to ask that question. She glanced at Luca and John, then smiled.
’We are going back to your father.’
"Your family is back in New York so we are not going to Spain anymore," he told her before she could ask and she nodded in understanding.
"Are you going to turn yourself in after you let me go?" She asked him.
"I’m not sure if I should do that. But either way, you are going to do that right? You will tell your family it was me who kidnapped you all along," he said.
"They don’t know it’s you?" She asked, confused.
Viper sighed before he replied. "After Adrian and Felicia escaped, I blamed them. But your family didn’t believe me when I told them that my hands were clean." When Erika didn’t ask anything anymore, he asked her,
"Will you tell them I was the one that kidnapped you all this while?"
He watched Erika lick her lips before she replied.
"It would be the right thing to do. They need to know about it and if I don’t tell them, they might misunderstand things."
Viper nodded in understanding. "I deserve that. I deserve to be punished. I didn’t know what I was thinking when I had you kidnapped. I want you to know that I’m sorry for my actions which I why I will turn myself in."
