Page 65 of Doctor Billionaire's Surprise Baby

"Listen, man, I need to talk to her. I need to make things right," I pleaded, desperation creeping into my tone.

Seth sighed heavily, clearly torn between loyalty to his sister and his friendship with me.

"Fine," he conceded at last. "She's not here, but I know where she is. Come by my place, and we'll talk first."

"Thank you, Seth," I said sincerely, relief washing over me. "I'll be there right away."

Hanging up the phone, I grabbed my keys and headed for the door, my heart aching with every step. I didn't know if Simone would forgive me, or even if she could, but I had to try. I owed it to her, and to our unborn child, to face the consequences, and fight for the love that might be lost. By me. By the emotionally-stunted me.

I arrived at Seth's place, my heart rate racing as I knocked on the door. It swung open to reveal Seth, his face red with fury and his eyes ablaze.

"Jesus, Hugo. What the hell?" he snarled, his hands clenched into fists by his sides.

"Look, Seth, I'm sorry, alright? I fucked up, and I need to find Simone," I said, my hands up in surrender, my voice trembling with the weight of my own guilt.

"Sorry? You think sorry is going to cut it after what you did? What you said?" Seth stepped forward; his anger was palpable. "I’ll skip over the fact that you slept with my sister. I’m mostly pissed that you abandoned her when it became inconvenient for you. That was the biggest asshole move ever. And I never expected it from you."

"Believe me, man, I know I messed up," I admitted, my eyes stinging with tears threatening to bust the dam of my attempt at composure. "But I'm here now, and I want to make things right."

"Make things right?" Seth scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief. "Simone trusted you, and you just threw her aside like she meant nothing to you. Do you have any idea how much you've hurt her? You're a fucking doctor and you don't understand that it takes two people to make a baby and that those two people should take the responsibility? You just said, 'Fuck you, you don't fit into what I want', and tossed her aside. Man, I can't tell you how fucked up that is. I don't even know if I know who you really are. Maybe youarejust like your family."

His words were like a dagger to my gut, twisting painfully as the truth of them hit home. I had acted like my own family would act. The Barones take care of themselves. Only themselves. It's what I had been taught and what I witnessed every day of my fucking life. And I wasn't able to rise above it. By playing small, I betrayed Simone, the one person who had ever truly loved me, and the reality of that was almost too much to bear.

"Please, Seth," I begged, my voice breaking. "Just tell me where she is. Let me try to fix this."

"Fix this?" He sneered, his gaze cold and unyielding. "You can't just waltz back into her life and play the hero, Hugo. You made your choice, and now you have to live with it."

"Damn it, Seth, I made a mistake!" My frustration boiled over, and I felt like my head was going to explode. "I'm not asking for your forgiveness, but can I please ask for your understanding? You have no clue what shit I have for family. No clue. You think I was raised in a bed of silk sheets, but let me tell you, there were nails poking out of the mattress. Seth. I need to figure this out. I need to think beyond my conditioning. I've never had anyone to support and guide me and show me the way. I'm a fucking loser when it comes to relationships. If you don't know that of all people, I don't know who would."

Seth still looked like he was going to explode and implode at the same time. "Fuck you, Hugo. At least you were raised by a family that had a dad. I didn't have a fucking dad, Hugo. Did you ever think about that? Huh?" He gestured at me with all the anger I have ever seen in his body. "I didn't have anyone to guide me. Period. You have a hell of a nerve to say that shit to me. I suppose I should be playing a violin for you now. Is that what you want? You've had money, status, a family… everything I didn't have. And yet, I know right from wrong. What the fuck is your excuse?" Seth spit out the last words and the truth of what he was saying hit me like a brick wall.

I leaned against the wall and slunk on to the floor. Everything in my life came rushing back. All the times I wished my parents would spend time with me. All the times I was alone in the library. The times I watched my parents and sisters leave the house for their meaningless society appearances. The pitying looks from the house help as I just sat, looking out of the window. All that time I just wanted to belong. To be loved. To be a part of a family.

I hung my head and sobbed, crossing my arms over my head.

Instead of leaving me in anger, Seth came to me, crouched down beside me, and put his hand on my shoulder.

"Hugo," he quietly said. "I'm sorry."

I scrubbed my hand across my wet eyes. "No, Seth. You're completely right. You and Simone have shown me what family truly is, and now I've messed it up." I hung my head again.

His hand stayed on my shoulder, his voice soft but firm. "Hugo. What I've learned is that you have to keep looking forward. You can't help what happened to you when you were young. Nothing that happened to you was your fault. But you have to do better, no matter what cards life deals you. I want to be a man that I can be proud of and that's my north star. Every single fucking day, I focus on the man I want to be. I ask myself, 'What would he do?' and then I do it."

I let a couple of sobs pass through my body. There was no stopping them. I finally looked up at Seth.

"It's that fucking simple, hey?"

"It's that fucking simple."

He stood and extended his hand to me, and pulled me up. "Come on, I think we need a drink of water." I followed him to the kitchen, where he pulled out two glasses and filled them with water from the tap. The long, cold sip of water felt good.

Seth looked at me. "One thing I just thought of, Hugo. You had a dad, but maybe that was harder than I had it. I had ablank slate. You had a guy who made you think a certain way was the right way. It's a way that you're only finding out now is wrong. You have to overcome. I just have to move forward. I can appreciate that now, and I'm sorry for being so hard on you, man."

"I totally deserve it and I know that you, of all people in my life, will tell me the truth. And I want to thank you." We hugged a long hug. Seth was my brother by choice and was the dearest person in my life.

Besides Simone.

"Seth," I said excitedly. "I need to see Simone. I need to make it right. I know what kind of man I want to be. That man is also a father, and I'm going to be the best fucking dad I can be. And you're going to be the best fucking uncle that keeps us all in line."

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