One Wild Night



Seeing Kimberly there, different thoughts ran through Tom's mind at the same time, and glancing at his father who was staring at Kimberly in disbelief, Tom suspected that they were having the exact same thought.

It couldn't be coincidence that they had just been informed of Lawrence's daughter who would be visiting and here was Kimberly.

How could Kimberly be his grandfather's daughter? It did not make any sense. Or maybe it was not entirely nonsense seeing how Dawn looked like him. It could that the Hank gene had flowed from her to her daughter, Tom mused as he met her gaze.

"Hello, Thomas! I'm relieved you're here. I'm sorry I'm barging in on your family this way, especially at this time of the evening," Kimberly said politely.

Tom noticed that her face looked plain and puffy as though she had been crying, and he guessed it was because of Lawrence.

"What are you doing here?" Tom asked Kimberly in confusion, not wanting to believe that she was the one Henry had just told his father about.

"I stopped by your office at Ludus earlier and was informed by your assistant that you just traveled home, hence I had to fly down here," Kimberly said to Tom, making him frown.

Evelyn whose gaze was fixed on the little girl, Dawn, looked up at Kimberly, "Your daughter looks pretty exhausted. Couldn't it have waited until morning?" She asked, wondering what was so urgent that Lawrence's goddaughter had to pay them a visit without prior notice.

"I wish it could. But this is urgent. I'm sorry once again," Kimberly said apologetically as she rubbed her daughter's back, who had no idea what was going on.

"Are you saying you are here to see me?" He asked, not understanding what was going on.

"What is this about?" Desmond asked at the same time and Kimberly flashed him an apologetic look.

"Perhaps I could speak with you both in private?" Kimberly asked hopefully and Desmond looked at Evelyn who wanted to protest.

"Take care of the kid," he told Evelyn before signalling to Kimberly to follow him.

"What is going on? Why is she here?" Jade asked Evelyn and Bryan as they all looked at the little girl.

"Jade go prepare a cup of warm chocolate for the kid," Evelyn ordered as she jerked her head to the couch.

"Sit down, dear," Evelyn told Dawn who reminded her very much of Tom at that age.

"Thank you," Dawn said politely as she graciously lowered herself to the couch and sat down like a prim and proper young lady.

Bryan excused himself to go upstairs to check on Sonia, while Evelyn sat down beside the kid who was looking everywhere else but at her.

Inside Desmond's study once they were seated, Desmond fixed his gaze on Kimberly as he waited for her to speak.

"Were you in the country already? There was no way you could have traveled down just after hearing the news," Tom said, giving Kimberly the opening she needed.

"I was in the country. I flew in with Dawn on Saturday morning to attend a wedding in Sogal," Kimberly explained.

"You were in Sogal when I spoke with you on Saturday morning and when we spoke yesterday?" Tom asked, and Kimberly nodded.

"Yes. We were supposed to leave today," Kimberly said and Desmond raised a brow.

"That doesn't explain why you are here," Desmond pointed out, and Kimberly nodded.

"I know what I'm about to say might come as a shock to you and..."

"Are you about to tell us you are my father's daughter? Because that doesn't make any sense. I know your parents," Desmond cut in, and Kimberly frowned as she quickly shook her head.

"No. God, no! I'm not Lawrence's daughter," Kimberly said quickly, and both Tom and Desmond let out the breath they hadn't realized they had been holding.

"However, my daughter is," Kimberly said, and this time both Desmond and Tom looked at her with a dumbfounded expression.

"I know this must come as a shock..."

"You are telling us that little girl is my father's kid?" Desmond cut in, his disbelief evident in his voice.

"This is ridiculous! How do you expect us to believe that? First it was me, now it's my grandfather? Are you saying you had an affair with my old grandfather? He is over eighty for crying out loud!" Tom said, and Kimberly nodded.

"Yeah. I know it sounds outrageous. I know," Kimberly said as she wiped her hands over her face.

"If you know that, then why are you sitting there and saying something so unbelievable to us?" Desmond asked as he rose from his seat.

"Why is it so unbelievable? You don't believe the fact that your father is capable of impregnating a lady, or you just don't believe that my daughter is his? How do you explain the resemblance to your son?" Kimberly asked, and Desmond shook his head.

"The resemblance doesn't mean a thing. People look like people all the time. It's normal..."

"Don't tell me he was actually trying to make me take responsibility for his own daughter and claimed it was all a prank?" Tom said as the idea struck him, and Kimberly frowned.

"Is that how little you think of your grandfather? He would be so disappointed to know that," Kimberly said in a scathing tone.

"For your information, Lawrence never knew about the kid. He wasn't aware that Dawn was his. I didn't say a word of it to him until last night. All this time he thought I had her through artificial insemination, so leave him out of this!" Kimberly said hotly, defending Lawrence.

"How does any of this make sense? You are not making any sense. If he didn't know she was his daughter and you were bent on keeping it a secret why did you tell him about it now? And why are you here now? Is it because he is dead and you are hoping to have part of his wealth transfered to your daughter?" Desmond asked and Kimberly rose from her seat, feeling very offended.

"If I had a choice, I wouldn't have told him about it and I wouldn't be here either! Do not insult me by making my presence here aboit money!" Kimberly said coldly and Tom took a deep breath.

"Okay. Let's all calm down. Dad, please sit down. Kimberly, please sit down and tell us exactly why you are here and what you want," Tom said, knowing they wouldn't get anywhere if they continued with the arguments at the rate they were going.

Desmond reluctantly returned to his seat, and Kimberly took a deep breath to calm herself before doing the same.

"I know I'm not in any position to lose my temper right now. Especially not when I'm here to seek your help. I apologize," Kimberly said to Tom and Desmond.

"Seek our help? What for? Can you tell us exactly what happened? We're you romantically involved with my grandfather? Why did you keep your daughter away from him if truly he is her father, and why are you bringing it all up now?" Tom asked calmly.

"It was a one time thing. Lawrence did not mean for it to happen. He never would have done something like that sober," Kimberly said, and Desmond raised a brow.

"Did my father force himself on you?" He asked cautiously, and she quickly shook her head.

"No. Not at all. It was mostly me. I've always loved and admired him. Even crushed on him growing up. As I told you before I was in a bad state of mind following being jilted by my fiancé. Lawrence helped me to track him down. That happened weeks after we met at your hotel opening. And when Lawrence visited me after dealing with him, we got talking and drinking that night. It was mostly me. I made the move on him," Kimberly admitted.

"You had sex with a man old enough to be your grandfather?" Desmond asked, sounding completely disgusted.

"Yes, I had sex with a man I've always loved and respected. And if Lawrence had been willing for us to have an affair I would have been more than happy to. I'm not ashamed to admit that," Kimberly said, giving Desmond a pointed look.

"I guess he wasn't interested in having an affair with you?" Tom asked, not wanting them to get into another argument.

"Yeah. The next morning he was both ashamed and devastated when he realized what had happened between us. No matter how much I kept trying to assure him it was what I wanted, he blamed himself for taking advantage of me, especially considering his relationship with my father. So, how was I to tell him about the pregnancy when I realized I was pregnant?" Kimberly asked, and Tom took a deep breath, unable to imagine his grandfather doing all of that.

"Why didn't you take necessary precautions? And why did you decide to keep the baby knowing how he would feel about it? What about your family? Are they aware?" Tom asked, and she shook her head.

"They had no idea what had happened. The moment I realized I was pregnant I decided to keep the baby since I had been planning on having a baby through artificial insemination already. I was already seeing a fertility doctor before then to discuss the process, so it was easy to make my family believe I became pregnant that way. I also made the doctor play along," Kimberly explained quietly.

"And he never suspected anything?" Desmond asked with disbelief.

"After what happened between us he didn't visit for a very long time. We talked over the phone sometimes when I called to seek his advise, but that was it. He withdrew from me out of guilt. He didn't know much about Dawn until he visited recently," Kimberly explained.

"Was that why you decided to tell him about her now?" Tom asked, and she shook her head.

"I never planned to tell him. I was going to take the secret to my grave…."

"So, what changed?" Desmond asked curiously.

"The prank. I never should have let him go ahead with the prank. And I never should have been a part of it. My uncle visited in my absence and told my parents about our meeting at the club. They asked me about it and I told them it was a prank, but I guess they didn't believe me seeing checked with the clinic and found out I lied about the artificial insemination. They're mad at me that I've been lying to them all these years," Kimberly explained with a shuddering sigh.

"And I suppose they insisted that Tom was the father?" Desmond asked thoughtfully, and Kimberly nodded.

"Yes. And then my father called Lawrence last night to inform him that his grandson had impregnated me and seemed not to want to take responsibility for the pregnancy," Kimberly explained, gradually letting them understand all that was going on.

"Your grandfather tried to convince them it was a prank, and reminded them I had artificial insemination, but then they told him they found out I lied about that. And that was how Lawrence figured out Dawn was most likely his. He called to ask me about it last night, and I had to tell him the truth," Kimberly finished.

"All this happened while you were in Sogal?" Tom asked, and Kimberly nodded as tears pooled in her eyes.

"Yes. Last night. I didn't imagine what it would do to Lawrence. I'm sure he must have thought about what damage it would do to his reputation if the truth was revealed. I shouldn't have kept the pregnancy. I killed him," Kimberly cried softly and both Tom and his father sighed in resignation.

"I wanted to see you and explain things to you before my parents call or your parents. I don't want them to find out about Lawrence being Dawn's father," Kimberly pleaded and Tom frowned.

"Are you asking me to lie to your parents and claim your daughter is mine?" Tom asked in disbelief as he rose.

"I don't know what else to do. I know I messed up with this whole prank thing, but please I really need your help. Not for my sake but for Lawrence's sake. I have no idea how my parents would react or treat Dawn when they find out she is Lawrence's kid. I don't want them to hate him. He doesn't deserve to be remembered this way for a mistake I made," Kimberly pleaded with a sob.

"Do you have any idea what you are asking me to do? This is ridiculous!" Tom said with a shake of his head as he headed for the door, leaving his father alone with Kimberly.