CHAPTER FOUR
“I can’t do this,” Chloe moaned.
“This is your second time,” Victor reminded her, standing at the foot of the bed, his arms crossed over his chest. “You’ll no doubt survive.”
Chloe glared up at him. “I don’t mean the labor.”
Victor sighed. “I’m not going to fish whatever the hell you’re trying to say out of you.”
“Why are you even in here?” Chloe asked.
“Maggie needed towels. How the hell am I supposed to know where Henderson keeps towels?”
Chloe frowned. “That doesn’t explain why you’re in my room.”
“Philip’s room,” Victor corrected.
“Whatever,” she groaned. “I can’t keep up this banter with you, Victor. It takes too much concentration to listen to the crap you’re saying.”
“Maggie doesn’t want you to be alone, so I’m on Chloe duty until she finds whatever the hell she needs to do whatever it is she has to do to keep you from ruining this bed by having a baby on it.”
Chloe reached for a glass of water on the bedside table, struggling to grasp it. “Wow, Victor, that makes me feel so much better.”
Victor watched her struggling to reach the glass. “I don’t give a damn how you feel.”
“That’s obvious,” Chloe mumbled, wrapping her hand around the glass and taking little sips of the water. “I wish Philip were here.”
“As do I,” Victor agreed.
Chloe groaned. “It could be worse, I suppose. I could be doing this with Kate.” Victor frowned at her. “That was a compliment, you know.”
“Didn’t sound like one.”
Chloe felt another contraction coming. “Seriously, Victor, I can’t do this with you right now.”
“You keep saying that…”
“Just shut up!” she snapped.
Victor watched her as the contraction hit. He clearly had no clue what to do other than to stand there and watch her.
“This has to stop,” Chloe panted, catching her breath.
“It looks like it’s over now.”
“I meant us.”
“Us?” Victor scoffed. “There is no ‘us’.”
“This baby is your grandchild.”
“Allegedly.”
Chloe clutched the sheet in her fists. “Damn it, Victor. I’m being serious.”
“As am I,” he stated.
Chloe shook her head, releasing her hold on the sheet and smoothing it out with her palms. She propped herself up on her elbows. “You’re always going to hate me, aren’t you?”
Victor leaned against the footboard. “Can you blame me?”
“No, I can’t,” Chloe answered honestly. “But this child should never suffer just because we can’t get along. I know how important family is to you. If you want this baby to be here for the holidays and any other family events, you’re going to have to learn to accept that I am part of the package.”
He stared down at her. “Or you’ll do what? Keep Philip and my grandchild from me?”
“I would never do that and you know it,” she told him. “You and Maggie were always welcome to come see Parker after he was born. I never turned you away.”
“Obviously we still make things work for Parker.”
“This situation is not the same and you know it,” Chloe pointed out.
“You’re right,” he agreed.
“Did you just admit that I’m right?” Chloe laughed.
“If you tell anyone, I’ll deny it.”
Chloe laughed again, looking up at him, surprised that he hadn’t snapped at her yet. She sat up and rested against the headboard, hoping that Victor would listen to her. “I know you have every reason to doubt me, Victor. I get that. But I’m not the person I used to be.” She regarded him for a moment. He did seem to be listening to her. “Maybe you’ll always hate me. Or maybe one day you’ll see that we both want the same thing.”
“And what is that?” Victor asked.
“For Philip to be happy.”
“That’s all I’ve ever wanted,” he informed her, still standing at the end of the bed.
“Just not with me,” Chloe added, noticing that Victor didn’t seem as tense as he had a few minutes earlier.
“It’d be preferable if it were without you,” he admitted.
“Well, I’m not going anywhere. And before you say ‘for now’ or some other smart remark, I’m telling you now that I’m going to be a Kiriakis for the rest of my life. You can either learn to accept my place in Philip’s life and that I’m the mother of your grandchildren or-”
“Or what?” Victor countered, obviously expecting her to be threatening him.
“Or you’re just going to hurt Philip. He’s torn between us. I know he wants a closer relationship with you.”
“All he has to do is come home more,” Victor pointed out.
Grateful that Victor was actually engaging in a conversation with her, Chloe continued, “but why would he do that if every conversation he has with you ends with you insulting his wife?”
“Not everything has to be about you, Chloe.”
“But it is, Victor. Life revolves around family. If Philip is worried that at any moment you’re going to judge his life choices, he’s going to just stay away. He didn’t want to come here this weekend, even though his division at Titan was being recognized for a major accomplishment. I had to force him to come.”
“That’s very thoughtful of you,” Victor scoffed.
“Will you stop being defensive and just listen to me for a minute?” she exclaimed, exasperated. “If someone told you that they wanted you to come visit them, but they didn’t want you to bring Maggie and any time you mentioned her or even made a reference to your life with her they’d say something disrespectful, how would that make you feel?”
Victor was silent.
“That’s how Philip feels,” she continued. “I don’t want him to have to choose between us. But that is what’s happening.”
Victor nodded, but didn’t speak.
“This is my last chance, Victor. I’ve blown my chances at happiness so many times already. This isn’t how I imagined my life would play out when I was sixteen. I thought we’d graduate from high school, I’d go to Juilliard and become a famous opera singer, and then Philip and I would get married and live happily ever after. It didn’t happen like that, but somehow Philip and I managed to find our way back to one another. I’m not going to do anything to lose him again because I know that I won’t get another chance.”
Victor seemed to be considering her words. “Well, as you said, only time will tell if you’re right,” he finally spoke.
“I guess we will just have to wait for that day to come. Or until you die,” Chloe added, hoping that her attempt to lighten the mood wouldn’t spark his anger.
Victor begrudgingly laughed and then looked towards the bedroom door. “You can stop eaves dropping and come in now, Maggie.”
Maggie stepped into view, smiling at both of them. “I wasn’t eavesdropping. I didn’t want to interrupt your conversation, but I’m not stupid enough to leave you two alone for more than ninety seconds.”
“How long have you been there?” Chloe asked.
“I don’t know,” she shrugged, “a few minutes.”
“You knew she was there?” Chloe asked Victor.
He nodded. “I know everything that goes on in this house.”
Chloe looked to Maggie as she stepped beside her husband. “I can’t believe you made her fall in love with you. It just proves anything is possible.”
“Truer words have never been spoken,” Maggie agreed.
Victor looked down at his wife. “I didn’t have to make you fall in love with me. You were unable to resist my charm.”
Maggie rolled her eyes in response.
“Can we table the joyous reminiscence?” Chloe asked, feeling a contraction.
A minute later, after it had passed, Maggie sat down next to Chloe. “Did you have a contraction while I was gone?”
“Yes,” Chloe answered, breathless.
“How far apart are they now?” Maggie asked.
“I don’t know,” Chloe shook her head.
“Five and a half minutes,” Victor answered.
“I can’t believe you were paying attention,” Chloe mused, still panting.
“As you pointed out, this is my grandchild.”
“Granddaughter,” Chloe corrected, rubbing her stomach.
“It’s a girl?!” Maggie exclaimed.
Chloe nodded. “We were going to wait and tell you guys together, but I have a feeling she is going to be born in this bedroom. You might as well know ahead of time that it’s a girl.”
