Cilia
Chapter 13						Accueil   Home

51

It was a wonderful summer morning and it seemed that the sun would force the thermometers to new records because it was even hotter than some weeks before. So C.C. had ordered Rosa to serve the breakfast in the garden. C.C. and Sophia were sitting on the table and C.C. was reading in his newspaper while Sophia was lost in her thoughts like usual in the last few weeks, since Cilia came into their lives so much has changed. She remembered how happy she and C.C. were before this girl who claimed to be her daughter, a daughter she couldn't remind, and than her live seemed to be perfect when she met her long lost daughter Eden at Cilia's bed in hospital. But so many things had changed since she had seen Eden for the last time, it was true her beloved daughter was cured of her split personalities, but she didn't seem to be the same person she was before her mental illness. Sophia realized that it wasn't only Eden who had changed within the last years but also C.C. and she had, all right C.C. was always very stubborn, but within the last years, specially since the time Sophia had married Ken Mathis, C.C. had become more stubborn, but Sophia knew that C.C. only wanted to protect the persons he loves. She noticed that she had to talk to C.C. about Eden and how Eden felt because of C.C.'s behavior the day before, when their daughter who had finally found her way home after so many years, told them that she would leave town again to search her family. Sophia was torn out of her thoughts when C.C. tenderly touched her hand.

"I realized that you were lost in your thoughts! What are you thinking about, darling?"

"I thought about how happy we were a few weeks ago. I mean before Cilia came here and mixed up our lives! But you know what?" Sophia said while she smiled at C.C. in love.

"What?" C.C. asked and returned her smile because he realized that every time when he looked at Sophia he felt the same things he had felt when they first met on the beach all those years ago. Yes, it was true Sophia was the only woman he had ever really loved and his love for her was growing every day. But C.C. wasn't pleased about the fact that Sophia had mentioned Cilia! He had so many questions he would like to ask Sophia about this girl, but he knew that Sophia wasn't able to answer them, because she couldn't remember to have given birth to another child.

"Cilia's arrival had also its good sides. I mean she brought Eden back home."

"Yes, you're right, but no one was able to stop Eden from running away again." C.C. replied, he was very hurt about Eden's decision and he couldn't and didn't want to accept it.

"You know I talked to Eden before she left! Yes, she was disappointed and confused because of our behavior, but I can understand that. We were so stubborn when she told us that she would leave to find Cruz and her children, because we wanted her to stay here. I mean we can't expect from her to stay here with us and forget the man she loves and her children. C.C., believe me if I were in her situation I would react the same way Eden does." Sophia said and gently touched C.C.'s hand.

"But she's our princess who had finally found home again after all those years and now she had gone again and we don't know if she will ever come back! And I can't really understand why she was disappointed by the way we behaved because it was Eden who spent most of her time with this girl... I mean Cilia and it was Eden who tried to push us to believe that Cilia is your daughter and to accept this girl as a member of our family." C.C. had realized that he had mentioned a topic that he would prefer to forget, because he began to believe that Cilia might possibly be Sophia's daughter after the talk he had with this girl the day before, it was true Cilia didn't look like Sophia at all, but when C.C. looked into her eyes the night before he saw what Lionel told him a few hours before his conversation with Cilia and even now he could hear Lionel say: "Look into her eyes and you will find the same desire you could find in Sophia's eyes before she came into this family". And C.C. had to admit that Lionel was right.

"You want me to tell you something?" Sophia said and a smile appeared on her face.

"What? You know something that I don't know?" C.C. replied and didn't return her smile because he was afraid of what Sophia would tell him.

"I'm sure that Eden will come back home when she had found Cruz and the children and when they had talked about what happened when Eden disappeared! What concerns Cilia's story it seems that Eden believes it! Don't ask me why she believes her! The only thing that I can tell you is that Cilia must have been at the Armonti property because she knows the house and the persons who lived there to well..." Sophia couldn't go on talking because she had this terrible headache again, she pressed her hand against her forehead to stop the pain, but it didn't help. Pictures appeared in front of her inner eye, pictures from the time she spent in Italy, she was on the Armonti property and there were many other persons, the count, Serena the count's daughter and Marcello, but there was so sign of a Cilia, she wasn't able to remind the girl who claimed to be her daughter.

C.C. realized that Sophia's behavior had suddenly changed and he was sure that she remembered something and that this memory was causing headaches. Softly he touched the hand of the woman he loved from the bottom of his heart and he realized that it would break his heart and that he wouldn't be able to go on if he would lose Sophia once again. Tenderly he spoke to her.

"Darling? You have these headaches again, haven't you? Did you remember something? I wish I could help you and take some of this pain away from you!"

"Oh! You are so good to me!" Sophia replied and took C.C.'s hand. "I remembered the time when I was in Italy, a time I had so hard tried to forget, because it was one of the worst times I ever went trough, I mean there were other tragedies we had been pushed trough, but we were together. But all these years in Italy I was separated from my family, I mean you husband and our children. I can't understand why I wasn't able to remind the persons I love most for such a long time. You know every time I remember something from the time in Italy I see the count and his children, but I still can't remember Cilia!" Sophia replied and tears ran down her face. C.C. who had come closer to her and wiped her tears off, he couldn't bear to see the woman he loved so confused and sad, he wanted to help her but he didn't know how to help her. So he tried to comfort her by taking her into his arms and by talking to her in the tenderest way he could. Sure C.C. had to suppress his feelings about this unpleasant subject, but he would do everything what was in his power to help Sophia.

"Listen, darling! Don't let this thing drive you crazy! I promise you that we'll find a way to find out if Cecilia is your daughter or not? And there is something else that I want to promise you!" C.C. said and directly looked into Sophia's eyes, these big blue eyes that he loves so much.

"What?" Sophia answered and softly touched C.C.'s face with her hand; she realized how good it felt to be so close to C.C..

"I promise you that I'll stand by your side during this whole story and I'll always support you! And if ever it will come out that Cilia is your daughter I'll accept it, I mean if she were than she would probably be our daughter. I love you!" C.C. told Sophia and smiled at her in love.

"I love you so much!" Sophia replied and they kissed.

52

At the same time at the other end of Santa Barbara Kelly and Connor were having breakfast on the terrace of the Capwell Oasis. The relationship between Kelly and Connor had become stronger within the last few months. Kelly was happy that Connor was on her side when Ken tried to poison her mother because he was the only real friend she had since Cruz, her brother-in-law, with whom she felt in love short after Eden's disappearing, had left town. But now she knew that she hadn't really loved Cruz, in her eyes the basis of their relationship was that both of them searched someone who could help them to forget about Eden's departure.

"Hey Kelly!" Connor said and softly touched Kelly's hand because he had realized that the woman he loved was lost in her thoughts.

"I'm sorry!" Kelly replied and smiled at Connor in love.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Oh! I thought about Cilia and the consequences that her arrival and the fact that she claims to be Momma's daughter could have on my parents and their marriage! You know how difficult it was for them to come together again after Eden left town. Daddy had an affair with Santana and Mum married Ken who tried to poison her, but my parents always loved each other." Kelly made a pause because she felt like having a knot in her throat.

"And now you're afraid that the things which happened within the last few weeks could destroy your parents' marriage?"

"Yes, I am! But there's something that scares me more than the fact that Cilia could be my mother's daughter...!" Kelly couldn't go on telling Connor what she was afraid of, because in front of her inner eye she imagined how her father would react if it would turn out that Cilia was really Sophia's daughter and that he wasn't this girl's father. She remembered who C.C. had reacted when Mason told him that Channing wasn't his flesh and blood, sure her father fell in a coma short after that but when he woke up from it he broke up with her mother and Kelly was afraid that his could happen again and that her father would never be able to forget her mother that she had a love affair with his worst enemy.

"Why don't you tell me what scares you so much, darling!?" Connor told Kelly, he really loved her and wanted to help her because he had realized that she was very upset.

"Well, if Cilia is really Momma's daughter it isn't sure that my father is also her father."

"What do you mean?"

"The day my mother disappeared she was on the Lockridge yacht with Lionel, Momma and Lionel had an affair at that time and if Cilia is Mum's daughter than it's possible that Lionel is her father! And I know how my father would react if Lionel is Cilia's father: I remember how he reacted when he found out that Channing wasn't his son but Lionel's." Kelly said and tears came up in her eyes.

"I don't know what we could do!"

"I've an idea, Connor! But I'll need your help!" Kelly said.

"Ok, as long as you don't force me to do something illegal I'm going to help you!" Connor replied and smiled at the woman he loved from the bottom of his heart.

"I want to fly to Italy and find out if Cilia really is Mum's daughter! I mean perhaps the doctor or one of the nurses can remember my mother and remember if she was pregnant when she came to the hospital! Would you help me?"

"Ok, but I don't know if that will help a lot!"

"What does that mean?"

"What I mean is that your mother can't remember to have another daughter and I think it's almost impossible that a woman can't remember to have given birth to a child!"

"Connor, my mother suffered from amnesia when she was brought to Italy by Marcello Armonti and it took her many years to remember anything about her family and what had happened before she arrived in Italy!" Kelly said and suddenly a big smile appeared on her face.

"All right, Kelly! It's possible that this is one reason why your mother can't remind her! But what I don't understand is why you're smiling?"

"Well, Connor! I think there's another person we should talk to about Cilia before we fly to Italy!"

"Who are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about Marcello Armonti!" Kelly said and pictures appeared in front of her inner eye, pictures from the last time when she saw Marcello Armonti who was once her psychiatrist after the death of her first husband Joe Perkins, but the last time she saw Marcello some police officers took him out of the Capwell house in handcuffs because he tried to take revenge on her father because Marcello accused C.C. to be responsible for his biological parents' death. Kelly had almost forgotten what happened at that time because it hurt so much!

"Do you know where we can find this Mr. Armonti?" Connor asked Kelly.

"Well as far as I know he is still in prison!"

"What?" Connor couldn't believe his ears.

"Well he was arrested because he tried to kill my father! He thought that daddy was responsible for his parents' death, they died during World War Two and my father was in Nederland at that time!"

"Oh! I'll try to find out if he's still in prison and where! But would you believe him if he would tell you that Cilia is your mother's daughter? Perhaps it would be better to fly to Italy and to talk to some one who isn't involved with your family, what do you think?" Connor asked and gave Kelly a tender kiss on her forehead.

"I don't know if I would believe him! Ok, you go to your office and I'll book us a flight to Italy for this evening, ok? Are you going to call me if you have found out something about Marcello?"

"Sure I'll do! I love you, Kelly!" Connor said and kissed her.

"Dito!" Kelly replied because she was a bit confused because she had to remember Joe and how much she loved him.

53

A few hours after her departure from Santa Barbara Eden Capwell-Castillo arrived at the airport in Mexico. Eden was very nervous and confused because she didn't know how Cruz and her children would react if they would see her after all these years. Her children were still small kids when she left them, perhaps her children could have forgotten her or they would react like Eden reacted when she first saw her mother after they believed her dead. Pictures from 1985 appeared in front of Eden's inner eye. She remembered the day when she first saw her mother again after 15 years. She wasn't happy that her mother had come back and she tried everything to force her mother to leave Santa Barbara again because she was afraid that Sophia could destroy her family's life. And now Eden was in almost the same situation, she was afraid that her children could react the same way she did so many years ago.

Eden decided that it would be better if she would first find out if there is another woman in Cruz's life and if her children had accepted another woman as their mother. After having taken that decision Eden felt bad, because she was afraid that she wouldn't be strong enough to handle the truth if she would find out that her family didn't need her anymore and it would be even worse for her if they wouldn't have her in their lives again. Now Eden knew how her mother must have felt when she came back to Santa Barbara after 15 years and found out that Eden, Mason and C.C. didn't want her in their lives again.

Eden left the airport and took a cab to the house she has rent before she left Santa Barbara, the house was close to the house where Cruz and her children lived and so she was able to observe them from a certain distance without being seen and recognized by her own family.

During her trip from the airport to the house Eden remembered the last time she saw her family. It was the day before she fell off the cliff in Santa Barbara because Lisa her second personality ran away from Cruz, because Lisa had planed the whole thing to make Eden's family believe that Eden was dead. Lisa wanted to destroy Eden's family's life because Lisa thought that she was the only one who could help Eden and that she was the only person who really loved her and cared about her. Eden was very upset while she remembered this whole story, because it was one of the worst parts she went trough in her life.

"There we are, Miss!" The cab driver said and tore Eden out of her thoughts. Eden gave the money to the cab driver and got out of the car; she took her baggage and looked around her while the car drove away. There she was. She entered the house and the first thing she did was to look around to find a phone in the house. When she finally found one, she picked it up and dialed the number of her parents' house in Santa Barbara. While she waited that someone would answer the phone, she hoped that it wouldn't be her father who would answer the phone, because she was sure that C.C. would be angry that she left Santa Barbara to find Cruz and her children.

Eden felt relieved when she heard that it was her mother who answered the phone.

"Hello! Sophia Capwell here!"

"Hi, Mum! It's me, Eden! I just arrived in Mexico!"

"How do you feel, honey?"

"Well, I'm a bit nervous. No, that's not true I'm extremely nervous and I'm afraid how Cruz and the children may react when they will see me! Now I know how you must have felt when you came back to Santa Barbara!" Eden said and tears run down her cheeks.

"Darling, I'm sure they will be happy to see you again!" Sophia said to her daughter because she wanted to comfort Eden.

"How are you, mum? I mean have you already talked to Cilia?"

"No, not yet, but I'll talk to her in the next few days."

"Is daddy very angry that I left to find my family?"

"No, you know your father and how he could react if he realizes that he can't control very one's life! He loves you and he's afraid that you could stay in Mexico!"

"I'm not going to stay here! I'm going to return to Santa Barbara with Cruz and our children! I promise, mum!"

"I know that you're coming home again!"

"Well I have to go now, but I'll call you soon again! Give daddy a kiss from me and hug him for me, ok?"

"Ok! Take care, Eden!"

"Yes! And mum..."

"Yes!?"

"I love you and I'm so sorry for everything that I've done to you!" Eden said and again her eyes were filled with tears, she hoped that her mother would some time forgive her everything she had done when she suffered from her split personality and she hoped that her mother could forgive her her behavior when Sophia came back to Santa Barbara after so many years.

"I love you too, darling! And I forgave you everything a long time ago, the only think that counts is that you have finally find your way home! We missed you so much!" Sophia told her eldest daughter and also Sophia's eyes were now filled with tears, because she was so happy to talk to Eden again after all those years of fear.

"I've missed you too! Bye Mum!"

"Bye Eden!"