8.35 The Aftermath

Owen didn’t sleep at all that night, but when he got up the next morning, he felt incredible. It was like someone gave him a new pair of glasses, and he now saw everything in HD. He understood life better and every lesson his parents ever tried to teach him. However, he had some heavy decisions to make, and while he was keen on doing what he felt was right, he wasn’t sure if it was the best decision he could make. When he arose that morning, he went for a walk down by the water on the side of the house. He thought being in the quiet would ease his troubled mind, but it only helped slightly. Alayna saw him from the kitchen window and went out to meet him.

“Good morning. Are you all right?”

“I am great.”

“Really? Do tell!”

“Well…I am the father, as they say on TV,” he chuckled. “Actually, I am the father of Ryan and his sister Kiara.”

Alayna had to sit down on that one.

“[gasp] Twins?! You have twins, Owen?”

“Yes. I invited them to come over after school, just so you know.”

“Great! I’ll cook up something extra special then. So…what’s their story? Why are they just now showing up?”

“Alayna,” he said hesitantly, “one day, when I’m old and happy and don’t have a care in the world, I will tell you the entire story. But, honestly…I don’t care to relive it right now. All you need to know right now is that one night, shortly after graduation, me and Alexia were hanging out in the rocket, and…well, you know what goes on up there. Anyway, I took her to space, and I never called her back. I didn’t do it on purpose, and you know what I was up to then. I didn’t know she was pregnant, but of course she thought I abandoned her. I guess I kinda did, but at the time I didn’t see it that way. Anyway, she had the babies, but her mom sent them to live with the Gabriels’ because Alexia and her father are both crazy, and her mom hates children. They all went through great lengths to keep them away from me because Alexia wanted to hurt me.”

“Cora, your friend–”

“Ex-friend.”

“Cora, your ex-friend, was in on it this whole time??”

“Yep. I’ll go have a talk with them later if I decide to do what I think I should do.”

“And what’s that?”

“I hope you won’t hate me…”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because you might think I’m failing the family or something.”

“Holy llamas, Owen. What in the world are you thinking about doing?”

“I…I want to give up my heirship and let Brady be the heir.”

“What?! Why? It doesn’t really work that way.”

“Alayna! I have kids now! I have kids that I barely know, and in a week and a half, they’ll be adults! I want my kids with me and spend as much time with them as I can. I don’t want to be distracted by trying to find a lady to woo and marry. I’m fine how I am. I don’t need a wife! My kids are in this predicament because of me. I need to fix it for them. They need me, and I need them. I choose them. I choose them over the legacy.”

Alayna sat back and processed everything he said. While it was very honorable, she couldn’t help but feel a little bit disappointed. But, if he really went through with it, at least the legacy would not end with him.

“You do understand what you would be giving up, right?”

“Yes! And I don’t care! It’s taken all of this for me to finally see the important things in life. I’m not concerned about the house and the money. I just want my kids.”

“Wow,” she said in amazement. “I think…I think I might be proud of you right now. So…you’re going to move out and get a place for you and your kids? That’s the only way this would really work.”

“If that’s what needs to happen, yes. I want them with me as soon as possible.”

“And you know if you leave, you can’t come back.”

“Yes.”

“And if something crazy happens, and you and Ryan fall out, and some kind of way he finds himself here, then he’ll be the heir, and Brady will be out. You got that?”

“Yes ma’am!”

“And just so you know, you technically can’t just give your heirship away. You’re the heir until you die, but because you’re refusing to marry and you’re moving out of the estate, that makes you ineligible. But Ryan will always be eligible and the rightful heir. So, if you’re serious about making Brady’s lineage the new line of heirs, you need to make sure that Ryan understands and agrees with what you’re doing. He and his children and everyone must never move into this house.”

“I got it. There is one thing though. I don’t care about the inheritance, but my children shouldn’t have to go without because of my bonehead decisions, so I’ll make a deal with you.”

“Go on.”

“Let me have the 300k I made from the flowers, and let me take the flowers with me. That way they’ll have a continuous source of income. It’ll be kinda like having an inheritance, don’t you think?”

“Sure you can have your money! Even with you taking that much, we still have more money than we know what to do with! You can’t take the flowers though. They don’t travel well, and they’ll be ruined in the move. I saw them this morning, and they’re ready to harvest. Why don’t you harvest them and then plant as many bulbs as you want at your new place? The bulbs are much easier to transport than the actual flowers.”

“That’s fine. Will you keep the flowers then?”

“We don’t want those ugly flowers, Owen. Sorry. We’ll call a landscaper and have them spruce up the place.”

“Then it’s set then? We have a deal? Are we really doing this?”

“I suppose so! I really can’t come up with a reason to stop you.”

“Excellent! I feel so relieved and free right now. You just don’t know! If you’ll excuse me, I need to go call a real estate agent.”