"Nikolas?" Luke asked, not getting a clear sight of who was coming
out of the bushes.
"Yeah," Nikolas said quietly.
"What are you doing here?"
"I've been walking around the house, deciding whether to visit my mother and sister. I'll come back another time," Nikolas said, as he started leaving.
Luke ran after Nikolas and stopped him. "You need them now, and I know that they'd be happy to see you."
"I wasn't sure if you were being truthful in your letter, but I guess you were."
"What letter?"
Nikolas stared at the ground, kicking at the grass beneath his feet. "I was at my uncle's grave and found your letter. I didn't think you had it in you to ever get over your hatred for me enough to allow me to see my mother and sister," Nikolas said quietly.
Luke stared at the ground too, wishing that Nikolas had never found that letter. "I made too many mistakes in my life that caused pain to my family. I think it's about time I made up for some of them."
"Were you going to see them?"
"No. I only came by to take care of something, but you're more important right now. Just do me a favor. Take this into Laura and tell her not to open it until she's alone. It's important and it's only for her to see."
Luke handed the envelope to Nikolas, and before Nikolas could respond, Luke was already gone. 'Did I just have a conversation with Luke Spencer?' Nikolas asked himself. He shook it off as just a rare moment and headed into the house to visit his family.
Luke watched Nikolas go inside from behind the bushes. "Goodbye, Angel," he whispered, allowing a single tear to fall before he hit the road.
"What do you mean he's not in his office?" Sonny asked Lucky.
"I just went inside and there's no sign of him. You didn't see him leave?"
"I wouldn't have let him leave if I had seen him. He's in no condition to be driving out there," Sonny said, as he grabbed his cellphone to contact his men to find Luke immediately.
Lucky took that opportunity to leave the club and search for his father himself.
Nikolas walked inside and headed for the living room. Laura and Lesley were both reading to a tired Lulu. Lulu noticed Nikolas first and ran into his arms. "Nikky!"
"Hi, Lesley Lu. How are you?"
"I'm sad. Daddy isn't home."
"I'm sorry." Nikolas put Lulu down and looked at his mother. "Can I talk to you in private?"
Lesley took Lulu upstairs to get ready for bed and finish the story for her as Nikolas took a seat next to Laura. "I saw Luke outside just now and he wanted me to give you this. He said to open it when you were alone," Nikolas said.
"Luke's outside?" Laura asked, running to the back door to see if he was still there.
"Mother, he isn't there anymore. He left before I came inside."
Laura dropped her shoulders in defeat as she walked back over to Nikolas and took the envelope from him. 'Please don't let this be another suicide note,' Laura thought. "Did he tell you why he was here?"
"He just said he needed to take care of something. I'm sorry if he was going to come inside and because I was here, he decided against it."
"Don't be, Nikolas. If Luke's going to be childish then..." Laura was staring at the envelope, wanting to know what was inside, yet scared to open it. She placed it on the table and asked, "How are you handling everything?"
"I'm taking it a second at a time. It's hard, but I have to get through it," Nikolas said quietly.
"I know it's painful. Please know that I'm here for you whenever you need me. I promise to never turn you away again."
"I know you won't. I just really don't feel like talking about it right now, if you don't mind. I'd rather just sit here with you."
"That'd be nice," Laura said, as she started focussing on the envelope again.
"Mother, if you want to open it now, I'll leave you alone to do so."
"No, it's okay. It can wait."
"I don't think it can. Mother, Luke was not anything like himself when I saw him outside. He didn't even have the energy to insult me. I know he tried to kill himself once..."
"He won't try again. I know he won't. I hope he won't," Laura said, trying to hold back her tears.
"Mother, I have to say just how sorry I am to ever tell Lucky about the rape. I never wanted to, and I let my anger get the better of me when I told him. I should have been adult enough not to have hurt Lucky in that way, and to hurt you too. How can you sit here with me knowing what I did to your family?" Nikolas asked.
"I don't blame you. It's something that you never should have known about. It's something that I should have kept to myself. I never should have talked about that moment with Stefan. I never should have given him the ammunition he needed to hate Luke even more. I never thought Stefan would breathe a word of it to you."
"He wanted me to hate you at one time. I hated Luke for taking you away from me, but when he told me about the rape, I learned to hate you for going back to him after what he did. Stefan had a lot of faults, and they came out when dealing with the Spencers. But I should have known better, anyway."
"And Lucky should have known better than calling your father a rapist."
"Was he?" Nikolas asked quietly.
"No, Nikolas. He did try to rape me once, as you know, but I wouldn't call him a rapist. It was my choice to marry your father. I wouldn't have if I wasn't on the island, but it was my choice. He just couldn't handle the fact that I loved another man."
"And now that man isn't here. My wish for Luke Spencer was to lose you, but I wanted it to be your choice and not his. I wanted you to open your eyes and see him as I saw him."
"You don't know him, Nikolas, and if you did know him, you wouldn't hate him. My eyes are wide open when it comes to my husband. It's your eyes that have been seeing only what you've wanted to see."
"Open the envelope before it's too late, Mother. I'll go and give you some privacy."
Nikolas got up to leave, but Laura grabbed his arms gently and said, "Please stay while I open it. If it's what I fear, I'm going to need someone here."
Nikolas sat back down as Laura opened up the envelope. There were documents inside, along with a note.
Angel,
You will always be my angel. You will always be the only woman I'll ever love. There won't be a single minute in the day that I won't think about you. And thinking about you will always bring a smile to my face, if that gives you some comfort. You are the most incredible woman in the world, and I will always cherish the time we spent together.
Enclosed are the papers for the club. I want you to have it. You can do anything you want with it. Sell it. Change it. Whatever you want. Sonny will be receiving a package of his own in a few days with a check for the lump payment I owe him for the other part of the club. He has instructions to sell his portion to you, but if you choose to keep it, he'll also help you run it if you need his help.
I was intending on giving Sonny's part of the club to Lucky when he turned 21, and later to have him inherit the entire thing, but I know he doesn't want anything from me anymore. Maybe some day if he can drop his anger, you can give it to him. I think he'd be great at running a club, but let it be his choice. I've always wanted my son to make his own decisions in his life, and from what I can see, he's doing a good job so far. You raised him right, baby. He's going to turn out to be a fine young man. A good man, despite who his male role model has been.
I have also left a lot of money in the bank for you to use whenever you need it. I have been saving money for a long time now for emergencies, but there's no need for it anymore. It's yours now. Maybe buy Lucky a car when he turns 17 or buy Lulu that swing set she's been dying for. I'll be making some transactions into that bank account from wherever I find myself, so you never have to worry about struggling. It's the least I owe you for everything you have given me.
Also enclosed are letters for Lucky and Lulu. Use your judgement on when to give it to them.
Please don't cry, Angel. This is best for everyone involved. Lulu is not used to having me around, so she'll grow accustomed to this. And now you'll have the Cowboy there with you to see him graduate high school, get married, and raise a family of his own. Tell him that this isn't his fault. I just need to end the pain, and even if it may hurt right now, that pain will go away in time.
One more thing. Go after Nikolas and start a relationship with him. He's your son and you deserve to have him in your life. I never should have made you choose between your son and myself. Don't let too much time pass. He's going to need you now, so make some time for him.
I hope you find some happiness in your life to come. If you find someone you would like to spend the rest of your life with, then let Sonny know. He will get you papers drawn up for a divorce and I promise I'll never contest it. No matter what happens, I'll always consider you my wife, and I will always love you. There will never be anyone else for me but you.
Luke
Laura closed the letter and collapsed in Nikolas' arms.
