A Wrong Surrogate for the CEO-Chapter 119: Hope; was all she had left

"Mum. We need to help Curtis," Laura said as soon as she walked into her parents house. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Lisa looked up. She had been trying to bake before her daughter came in, and the words Laura said made her stop kneading the dough before her.

Her brows creased into a frown.

"What are you talking about?" Lisa asked.

Laura dropped her bag on the kitchen island and moved closer to her mother.

"Curtis...I can’t say he is in trouble, per say. It’s just that something happened. And he needs our help," she stated firmly.

Lisa cleaned her hand on a rag sitting next to her before she spoke.

"Curtis doesn’t want anything to do with me, and you know it. He won’t even pick up my calls. Do you know how many times I’ve called him today? If he’s in trouble, you know he won’t want my help," she responded.

Laura sighed, slightly frustrated.

"This is not the time to dwell on your issues with Curtis, mother. I am serious. He needs us to help him," Laura insisted.

Her entire face was scrunched up with concern, and Lisa stared at her daughter for a long moment before she spoke again.

"What happened?" she asked.

Laura took a deep breath before she spoke. "Lara left."

Lisa gasped. She could not believe her ears.

"What did you just say?" the words came out as a whisper, and Laura pinched the bridge of her nose before responding.

"She left Curtis. That’s why he hasn’t been picking up the phone. Or even talking to anyone. He’s in a terrible state," she said.

A great deal of worry squeezed into Lisa’s chest, and her heart started to pound slightly.

Lisa knew that at this point, Lara could not have left her son because she didn’t love him. No, Lisa had seen the proof of love between Curtis and Lara, and she knew that whatever had made Lara leave had to be something big.

"What happened?" Lisa asked her daughter. And without wasting anymore time, Laura told her mother everything Curtis had explained to her.

When Laura was done with the explanation, Lisa ran a hand through her hair.

Damn that fucking memory loss.

"How’s Curtis faring? Is he...is he okay?" Lisa asked, swallowing past a lump in her throat.

Laura shook her head. "No, he’s not. But he will be. Right now though, he needs our help."

Lisa took a deep breath and held her daughter’s gaze.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked.

"I need you to talk to Lara."

Lisa froze. "You can’t possibly mean that."

Laura’s eyes was blazing with determination. "I mean it. You are going to go to Lara, and you’re going to talk to her. I know where she is, and I’ll drive you there. But you need to convince her. Her memories are still incomplete, and we don’t know how long it is going to take for her to remember. So you are going to ask her to come back."

Laura’s words was stated firmly and with a strong determination that made Lisa’s heart ricochet in her chest.

"But...she probably hates me. I’ve been so terrible to her. Lara won’t listen to me," she countered.

Laura shook her head fiercely. "Then you have to make her listen. You want Curtis to forgive you? You want him to stop ignoring your calls? You want to visit and spend some time with your grandchildren? Do this. Bring Lara back to Curtis, and use it as a chance to redeem yourself."

Lisa was hardly breathing. Her daughter’s words stirred something in her chest, and she knew Laura was right.

This was her chance to bridge the gap between herself and Curtis. This was her chance to atone for all she had done.

"I’ll do it," she agreed. Laura beamed at her mother.

Something occured to Lisa. "Hold on. If I am doing all that, what are you going to do?" she asked her daughter.

Laura rolled her eyes. "Come on, mum. Don’t be dramatic. I am going to help Curtis with the kids, of course. You think I’m going to leave him with the twins all by himself?"

Lisa nodded. Right. That made sense.

"What are we waiting for, Laura? Let’s go find my son’s wife," she declared.

Laura smiled as she watched her mother wash the flour off her hands with steely determination.

She could only hope that Lisa would be able to convince Lara to go back home.

Hope. That was all Laura had.

But it would have to be enough, at least for the moment.

~~

Laura pulled over at Kayla’s house. Lisa glanced at her daughter.

"You’re sure this is where Lara is?" she asked. Laura groaned at the question.

"You’ve asked me that damn question about twenty times now. Yes, this is where she is. I am very sure. Kayla is her friend, and Lara has no where else to go. Her coming to stay with her friend is the only sensible option."

Lisa narrowed her eyes at those words. "But she could have easily gone to an hotel. There’s nothing stopping her, and I think that makes sense than staying with a friend," she countered.

Laura shook her head.

"You know what? Fine. For all we know, I may be wrong, and you may be right. No one can tell. But the only way of knowing if she’s here is to check, right?" she raised her eyebrows.

Lisa shook her head at her daughter. "Fine. But if this visit turns out to be a waste of time, you are going to make it up to me!"

Laura smiled but nodded her agreement. They got out of the car and walked to Kayla’s door.

"Here goes nothing," Lisa muttered as Laura reached out to press the doorbell.

It rang for a while. Lisa raised smug eyebrows to her daughter and was about to speak when the door opened.

Lara stared at them, surprised. They stared back.

And before either Laura or her mother could say anything, Lara slammed the door in their faces and left them standing outside.