Unexpected Encounter: A Second Chance at Love

When Elizabeth did not say anything, Owen frowned, "You have already divorced him, why do you keep letting him in again and again?"

"Things are not that simple, it's very complicated." She gestured Owen to rest his head on her lap.  "Your father's family is into bad business."

Without saying anything, he carefully listened to what his mother was saying. This was the first time she was talking about his father's family.

She gently caressed his hair. "They are very dangerous people. If I try to stop your father from coming here, he will take you and Elsa away from me."

"I am not going anywhere," he frowned. "And I won't let him take Elsa too. We both will always stay with you."

He sat up straight. "Can't we tell the police? They will punish him and he won't be able to torture you anywhere."

"There are things that the police can't solve," Elizabeth remarked. "Your father's family is so powerful that even the involvement of the police is useless."

She sighed and cupped his cheeks. "Listen to me very carefully Owen, your father and grandfather's main aim is to take you away and make you just like them. And I don't want you to be one of them. I don't want you to be like your father."

"You are a very good boy, you are my son," she added. "You should never be like them, okay?"

"Mom, why are you saying such things? You are not going anywhere, right?" His mothers condition and the things she was suddenly telling him was making him panic. He couldn't imagine his life without her. She was the only source of guidance he has ever had.

Owen knew from the very beginning that his father wasn't a good man and he resented him from all his heart. The man had never done anything that a father should. He would just show up from time to time and tirture his mother before disappearing for weeks.

All these years, it was his mother who had raised him and Elsa all by herself.

Elizabeth gave him a weak smile. "Mom can't be around all the time, right? You might have to start taking care of yourself and your sister."

She then grabbed his hand. "Owen, your father is making preparations to take you with him. I will try to stop him as long as I can but I don't think I can hold on any longer. My body is very weak now, I can't fight with him anymore."

"Mom—"

"When he takes you with him, you will be forced to be a part of something that you don't want to. But you will not have a choice," she added. "But I don't want you to be like your father, okay? I want you to be Owen, the kind hearted and caring boy I have raised."

"You will alway be mommy's good boy, right?" When he nodded, she smiled and kissed his forehead. "Good boy, mommy loves you so much."

"I love you too mom." Owen gave her a hug.

...

[Next Day]

"Owen, wake up—" Elsa patted her brother's shoulder.

Rubbing his eyes, he slowly opened his eyes. "What happened?"

"Dad came and he is fighting with mom again," Elsa answered. "I think I heard her cry."

Owen frowned and quickly got down from the bed. "Stay in the room—"

"But I wanna go to mommy too," she insisted.

"Elsa, be good and stay in the room, I will be back soon." Without waiting for her reply, he stepped out of the room.

…..

When Owen stepped out of the room, he heard sobbing noises coming from his mother's room. Without making any sound, he slowly walked towards the slightly ajar door and peeped inside.

"You are already so weak, why are you still being so stubborn Eliza?" Javier sighed and squatted in front of her. "When you know you can't stop me, why are you even trying?"

He then ran his finger through the fresh bleeding wound in her forehead. "I don't like hurting you but you leave me with no other choice."

Elizabeth hissed in pain and jerked his hand away before moving away from him. But because of the intense pain, she couldn't move a muscle.

"Eliza, why don't you understand? I need to take Owen with me," he remarked. "Dad will be happy and appreciate me if I give him my son."

He grabbed her hand. "He wants to train Owen and make him his successor. Our son will be great, he will have the power to do whatever he wants. Don't you want our son to be great?"

"He is a kid Javier, he is just thirteen," Elizabeth remarked. "Why are you doing this to him?"

"He has no other choice Eliza, he is Javier Volkov's son," Javier stated. "He cannot run away from his fate. He is a Volkov and he has to do what everyone in my family does."

"How can you willingly push our son into that hell hole?" She grabbed his collar. "How can you do this to your son?"

"Why do you think I insisted on having a son in the first place?" He gently caressed her cheeks and smiled. "I wanted a son because dad wanted a grandson."

"And do you know how important daughters are in our world?" he added. "Elsa is also very beneficial to our family."

When Elizabeth frowned, Javeier explained, "Dad already has plans of using her to expand our business. When she turns eighteen, we will fix her marriage with one of our business partners' sons. And she will help us gain more power."

"My father had similar plans with my sister but she ran away with her lover and ruined everything. But I will make sure my daughter doesn't repeat the same mistake."

"You are sick Javier." She tightened her grip on his collar. "I won't let you take them away and ruin their lives. You can only take them away over my dead body."

Javier sighed and helplessly shook his head. "Why are you so stubborn? I never day that I will only take our kids with me, I want to take you too. You are my wife and I love you, I don't want to leave you behind. But you never listen to me."

"There is still time, come with me," he grabbed her hand. "Come with me to Russia, we will live happily there with everyone."

"Never, I will never come with you." Elizabeth knew if she went with Javier to live with his family, her life would be a living hell. She wouldn't be able to do anything but helplessly watch them ruin her kids' life. She would rather fight until her last breath for her kids than to helplessly submit herself to them.

"Then you leave me with no other choice." He sighed and took out a pistol from his pocket. He then placed it on her chest. "Just give up Eliza, I don't wanna do this to you. I love you."

Elizabeth looked straight into his eyes and mockingly scoffed. "Meeting you and then falling in love with you was the biggest mistake of my life. You don't love me Javier, you never did. You just wanted to prove yourself to your father so desperately that you used me. You used me to validate yourself in front of your father who doesn't give a fuck about you. And now you are using our kids to get a little acknowledgement from him."

"Remember one thing Javier, your father doesn't care about you because you are a coward," she added. "Imagine, even though you are alive and healthy, yet he wants my son to be his successor and not you. This proves where you stand in his eyes."

Javier pursed his lips and tightened his grip around the pistol. Elizabeth had touched his sore part. He knew his father didn't think he was capable of handling the family business by himself. And the worst part was, his father had always believed in his sister more than him.

When Lisa Volkov, his sister, ran away with her lover, Fredrick Collins, Javier had thought that the reign of the household would fall in his hands. He would be the successor but that never happened.

Instead, Semion insisted Javier to bring his son home when the right time comes so that he could train him to be his successor.

Though this was a big blow to his ego, Javier still agreed to fulfil his fathers wishes with a hope that he would be appreciated and acknowledged by him.

All his life, his father had treated him inferior to Lisa. Even though he was the first born son, he was never appreciated like he should have. This had always bothered him.

"You asked for his Elizabeth—" Javier was about to pull the trigger but he stopped when Owen dashed into the room.

"What are you doing?" Owen yelled. "Leave my mother alone."

When Elizabether saw Owen, she widened her eyes in shock. "Owen, go from here."

...