Judas Kiss

The little boy raced into the opening of the Ritz-Carlton hotel. This was something he did every day after his teacher, Mrs. Daniela, dropped him off at his mother's workplace. Yes, he attended one of the most expensive schools in New York. Yes, he took piano lessons every Wednesday with Mrs. Calisto. Yes, he also took French classes. He had everything any six-year-old could ever want, and yes, his mother provided all of it on a maid's salary.

"Hey, Tim," the boy greeted the man at the front desk of the five-star Ritz-Carlton restaurant.

"Hey buddy, good day at school?" Tim asked, giving the little boy with blonde hair and blue eyes a warm smile.

"Yep, my math teacher says I'm a genius when it comes to addition." The little boy grinned widely.

"Your mom will be so happy to hear that. Now go sit over there with Cal while you wait for your mother. Tell him to make a strawberry milkshake for the genius, huh?" Tim said, ruffling the little boy's hair, who nodded and excitedly ran over to the bar area. He was used to the hotel. His mother worked so many shifts, and she didn't trust leaving her child with a stranger. Plus, the manager allowed her to bring Leondre to work. But, above all, it saved money.

~*~

He had been waiting for his family to arrive for over twenty minutes. His mother would surely take her time to look good, seeing as she was the famous Jeanine Levetté. The famous French model from the good old days. Everyone admired her in the fashion industry. She had her own fashion line, and she had even been a judge on America's Next Top Model. At the age of fifty-four, Jeanine was still calling all the shots and setting trends.

His father was a different story. Benjamin Levetté was the most down-to-earth man. You would always be graced by his presence at charity events of any kind. He was the owner of the Levetté wine company, which had been passed down from generation to generation, and now Andre was the one in charge. His family was the most successful family in Hollywood.

His brother was his own person; Luc Georges Levetté was a party animal. He always brought bad publicity for the Levetté family. First dropping out of college, then crashing sports cars and damaging property... he seemed to always be up to something. The twenty-two-year-old was just out of control.

Andre turned to his left and saw a little boy eagerly drinking his strawberry milkshake. He was smartly dressed in his grey pants and a dark blue blazer. It seemed he was coming from school, Andre thought, but who would leave a little boy in this huge hotel all alone.

"Hey, Mister," the little boy said with a smile.

"Are you bored like me?" The blonde-haired boy gave Andre a quirky smile with a few teeth missing.

"Uhm, just waiting for my family to arrive," he replied. He wasn't good with kids; he tried not to seem cold.

"Sounds nice. I get lonely sometimes. It's just me and my mom," Leondre said anxiously.

"What about your father?" Andre asked his acquaintance. He seemed to act too mature for his age.

"My father left my mom when I was still in her stomach," the boy said, seeming unbuffered by his own words. Andre felt bad. In fact, he felt pity for the little boy, so when he saw his family walking into the room, he felt bad leaving him alone. The little boy had mentioned that he got lonely at times.

"Do you want to join my family and me for dinner?" Andre asked. Leondre's face instantly lit up. He couldn't believe this stranger had invited him over to their table. His mother always said, "Don't talk to strangers," but he thought making conversations with strangers no longer made them strangers, and therefore, he wasn't doing anything wrong.

"Yes, thank you, Mister." Leondre grinned, grabbing his milkshake.

"Call me Andre," he replied, giving him a gentle smile.

"Okay, Mister Andre," Leondre replied, making Andre smile to himself. This little boy seemed to be the most respectful kid he had ever met. He wasn't a fan of kids, but if he had a kid who acted this mature, he sure wouldn't mind.

~*~

When the family was all seated, Andre's mother was shocked. Who was the little blonde-haired boy sitting beside her son? The similarities were just too much... they had the same blonde hair, the same blue eyes. Even their pointy aristocrat nose and their pouty lips were identical. They were the spitting image of each other, she thought. He couldn't possibly have any relation to the Levetté family, could he? Della was not pregnant when they kicked her out of their home. At least, she didn't seem pregnant. She never mentioned being pregnant. She just couldn't have been pregnant!

"Andre, who is your little friend?" Mr. Levetté asked, giving the little boy a polite smile, which he returned.

"Oh, papa, I just met him today. He was sitting alone at the bar. His mom is working, so I invited him over for dinner. Hopefully you don't mind?" Andre explained, picking up the menu.

"He is a cutie. Hey, young man, I'm Ben, Andre's father," Mr. Levetté introduced himself.

"I'm Leondre. Nice to meet you, Mister Ben." Leo said, shaking Mr. Levetté's hand and stunning everyone at the table with his very good manners.

"What a gentleman." Jeanine smiled at the little blondie. Deep down, she still felt skeptical. She feared her worst fear could be coming true. Della just could not have been pregnant...

"I'm Luc, Andre's brother." Luc gave him a smirk.

"Nice to meet you all!" Leo grinned. It was nice that he could spend this evening with a family. He was tired of watching families converse while he sat alone, waiting for his mother. He didn't mind. He knew she worked hard so he could get everything he wanted. He appreciated it.

~*~

Once the food had been served, Leo told them all about himself. They thought he was a very interesting fellow. The Levetté's dinners and gatherings had never been this graceful.

"Your parents must be super rich if you go to Roosevelt Private International School?" Jeanine asked Leo as she took a sip of her wine. She couldn't help but feel like she was talking to six-year-old Andre. Even his gestures were odd, from the way he ate to the way he talked.

"No, my mom works here at the hotel and I don't have a father. He left my mom when I was in her stomach," Leo said absentmindedly.

"Poor kid," Luc muttered under his breath.

"Not everyone needs a father. My mommy is both," Leo said, shocking everyone at the table with his intelligence. He spoke like an adult.

"That's quite true, Leo," Ben said, proud of the little boy he had only come to know twenty minutes ago.

"What else do you do?" Luc asked.

"I play piano on Wednesdays and soccer on Saturdays. Sometimes I read books with my mom. She wants to be a writer. When she publishes her book, we will be very rich. Then we can go to Disneyland!" Leo replied with so much enthusiasm.

Something seemed to hit a nerve in Andre's body. He remembered his ex-wife, Adela McCarthy. She was an aspiring writer but had not published anything yet. He would read her rough drafts whenever they had some time alone together, in between all the lovemaking they did. Well, that was until she betrayed him. She had cheated, deceived him, and stole from him and his family. He needed to forget about her.

"Mister Andre—" Leo took him out of his daze. He had zoned out. It had been so long since he had seen his family laughing. It seemed that Leo was a blessing in disguise.

"There is my mother," Leo pointed at the woman with jet-black hair and a petite curvy body in a black-and-white maid uniform. She was approaching them. The atmosphere became tense as she took a few more steps towards their table. Andre saw all the memories flash in front of him: when they met at Starbucks, their first date, the engagement, the wedding, the divorce. It all happened so fast.

Jeanine was beyond shocked. She knew this was her grandson. It had to be. Della had never cheated. She had planned it and framed her. Jeanine was just doing what was best for her son, Andre. Ben and Luc looked at the cheating woman whom they used to be fond of, but not anymore.

~*~

Della was done with her shift. Tim had told her that Leo was seated at the bar having his milkshake. She smiled as she was about to pay, but Tim insisted, "No, it's on the house, Della, for my favorite little man." She thanked him before heading off to look for her son.

Della missed him so much. He was her little Angel. She loved him to bits. He was all she had after being humiliated by the Levetté family. She promised herself she wouldn't cross their paths again. They weren't exactly people whom she wanted her son to associate with. When he was older, he could decide if he wanted to look for his father, but for now, it was best he stay hidden from the bad publicity and attention that they brought.

One minute, she had been moaning and squirming under her husband's chest as he made love to her every chance he got. The next, he was telling her that he didn't love her. The press wrote all sorts of stories about how she cheated with Andre's business partners and laundered a large amount of money from the Levetté family. Jeanine had thrown her out like a dog. It all seemed like a lifetime ago, but she learned to forgive and move on. She didn't hold a grudge against them. Everything happened for a reason, and maybe this was her fate. She just wanted to give her son the best life she could possibly give.

She gracefully walked in Leo's direction. She was shocked when she saw the familiar faces. It had to be a dream. Andre looked at her with anger as if he had seen a ghost. Jeanine looked beyond shocked, but Ben and Luc had normal expressions.

Leo hugged her, then he turned back to the Levetté family. "Mommy, I made a new friend: this is Mister Andre. He invited me over for dinner with his family. He is so nice, Mommy," Leo said in an excited voice.

"Uhm, that's great, sweetie," Della awkwardly sidled, avoiding Andre's gaze. Jeanine looked at her with an expressionless look. This just had to be karma on her part. She never thought they would see each other again.

"Oh, that's nice. Leo, why don't you thank this nice family for letting you sit at their table." Della raised her eyebrow at Leo, who turned around to look at the family. "Thank you for letting me sit with you, but now I have to leave. My mom is done with her shift," Leo explained. Della couldn't wait for them to go away. She had never imagined that she would be in such a position.

"It was a pleasure having you around, little man," Mr. Levetté replied gracefully, acting normal.

"Bye Leondre," Luc replied. He had, in fact, taken a liking to the little guy.

"Where's your satchel?" Della asked her son, who quickly ran to where he had been seated at the bar.

"Thank you," Della said before leaving. Leo grabbed his bag then told his mom all about his day at school and how he kept giving all the right answers in math class. Della's mind was still stuck on the events that had occurred before. Hopefully, they would just think that she had cheated and it wasn't Andre's son.

Hopefully.

To say he was shocked was an understatement. The little boy was his ex-wife's son. Karma finally caught up with her, and she got pregnant, he thought. After all the cheating and sleeping around, how could she not? He paced back and forth in his office. He thought about how different her uniform was from that of the other maids at the hotel. It was way longer. She seemed calm and not angry about anything. It made him angry that she acted so innocent. It had been a week, and he still couldn't get her off his mind. He dreamt about all the things they used to do. He thought about her smile and how she would speak Spanish to him whenever he spoke French. He thought about Adela McCarthy, the woman who broke his heart.

~*~

Della made her way to the Levetté company. The building was huge. It hadn't changed a bit, and it intimidated her. Everyone seemed to be dressed all professional while she was in a sundress and flats, her hair tied in a high bun. Jeanine had called her in for a meeting, and she had mentioned that it was very important. She didn't even know how she had managed to get her number...

Della was afraid they would take her son away from her. She promised herself that she would protect Leondre from the Levetté family and the spotlight. She wanted him to have a normal life. Della wanted to raise her son to be a gentleman, one whom any girl would be lucky to have. Leo was definitely special; everyone whom he met seemed to love him.

After the receptionist allowed her to go up for her so-called appointment, she remembered the countless times she had walked into this building with so much love for her husband. Now she didn't feel anything. She had accepted that his love wasn't meant for her. At this point, it definitely wasn't a priority. Love just wasn't a priority.

Della was raised by her grandparents after her father and mother had her when they were only sixteen. Della's mother always gave her the impression that she shouldn't have been born—that she had destroyed her life and didn't deserve any love. Unfortunately, she didn't know her father because he didn't want anything to do with her either.

Her grandparents showed her the love she had not received from her parents, and she loved them dearly for it. She constantly felt like she was a mistake, like she was not meant to be born. When she met Andre, he made her feel good. He made her laugh, he made her feel special, but that changed in no time. She lost her confidence as the media continued to hound and judge her. They constantly said that she didn't deserve to marry a billionaire like Andre. She had always felt like she wasn't good enough. If it wasn't for her son, she would've ended her life in a matter of seconds. Leo gave her a reason to want to continue, to want to fight, to have hope.

She was numb. She had been hurt so many times she had stopped expecting anything. After her grandparents both passed, she enrolled at the university, trying to earn her degree in literature, and was working on her writing. After the divorce, she was forced to drop out...not only because she was pregnant, but also because she could no longer afford it. A Good Samaritan later came along. She wanted to help other people out there battling depression. Della wanted to tell her that everything ended, it was never permanent.

She knocked softly on the door and heard a "come in." She entered the neat office that belonged to Jeanine. "Morning Mrs. Levetté, you asked to see me?" She still spoke so respectfully to the person who destroyed her marriage.

Jeanine was surprised by how calm Della seemed and was even more surprised by her outfit. It was simple, so simple. It made her look dull, not remarkable at all. When Della had been married to her son, she had at least put in some effort, but now...you could tell that she wasn't trying to get any man's attention.

"Yes, and I assume you know exactly what this is about." Jeanine laced her fingers together, giving Della a serious look.

"I'm not sure, but whatever it is, please don't take my son away from me. He's all I have," she said nervously, "He—" She was immediately cut off.

"I want you to understand that what I did seven years ago was for Andre's own good, for his well-being, for my family. I couldn't have him marrying someone who was below us. It would have ruined his career. But he did it anyway. I was just looking out for my family. I don't want him to hate me," Jeanine explained, a tear escaping from her left eye as these words left her mouth. In all honesty, Della was not surprised that she was the one who had set her up. But she didn't care about the past. The past should remain in the past.

"I know, Mrs. Levetté. I also have a son now, and I understand where you're coming from. I don't want any trouble myself. I just want to continue living with my son in peace." Della tucked a fallen strand of her hair back behind her ear.

"So you won't tell Andre?" Jeanine's face lit up. She didn't think that Della would be this easy to convince. She was so different from the Della she knew. The feisty, adamant Della who always stood up for what was right, who always challenged her, wasn't here anymore. Pain really did change people.

"Andre knows that I'm a cheater. I don't want any trouble really," Della muttered, fiddling with her fingers.

"I'm sorry I destroyed your marriage," Jeanine said. "I can always give you some sort of compensation. I assume you need help raising the boy," she suggested, but Della immediately shook her head.

"No, no, no...Mrs. Levetté, please don't! I have enough shifts to sustain us." Della gave a her a genuine smile. "Besides, you didn't destroy my marriage. You made me realize that your son never loved me, and that's okay."

Instead of feeling relieved, Jeanine actually felt sad that her grandson would never know his father or learn that he was a Levetté.

"You did what was best for your son, and I would've probably done the same for Leo. I totally understand. It's a mother's instinct." Della seemed calm as these words left her lips. She had been disappointed all her life, so this didn't faze her. If she couldn't be happy, then at least she could make others around her happy.

"You have changed so much, Della." Jeanine looked at her suspiciously.

"Oh no, not really. I just grew up. Andre and I were young and infatuated. We were convinced it was love." She let out a sad laugh.

"My son loved you," Jeanine whispered to herself.

"It was a mistake. Honestly. And you helped both of us realize that. I hope he finds the right woman for him."

Jeanine was a bit taken aback by the way she was talking. She seemed so calm and unbothered. The old Della would have defended herself, but this Della didn't seem to care about anything except her son.