A/N: I am glad that I managed to surprise you all. I hope you like where the story will be going in future too. This chapter has gone pretty long with small events but I have gone in depth about those events hence the long time. Thank you for reading it and reviewing it. I am still writing the story. I have the ending in my mind and how to get there but if you want any drama which will happen no doubt lol do suggest. May be I can accommodate that in the story too :)
Synopsis: KLaus makes life altering decisions for their daughter. Hayley faces an unexpected hindrance in her path that forces her to make a decision with her life.
Hayley stared at him and asked "what?!"
Klaus said smiling even though his heart was racing "I said I think you and I should get married".
Hayley laughed and said "for a second I thought you said you and I should get married".
Klaus looked at her amused by her reaction, for some reason his racing-heart started to get steady. Klaus said looking into her eyes "Yes, that's what I said."
He saw the smile vanish from her lips and a slow smile started to appear on his lips.
Hayley exclaimed in shock "are you out of your mind? You and I cannot get married. You and your family think that I was having an affair with your father".
Looking at his confused expression, she said angrily "yes I have made the connection. I know what you and everyone else thinks".
Klaus said "Hayley!"
but Hayley cut him off by saying "you and I will not get married. Even if by some miracle I say yes, your mother will never accept me. She had an anxiety attack because of me".
Klaus wondered 'if he should play on the whole affair angle' and after some deliberation he said "Hayley the only way she can be sure that you didn't have an affair with my father is if you and I get married".
Hayley said sarcastically "what about Ms Forbes? Aren't you getting married to her in two months?!"
Klaus said calmly "I have thought about it. I have a responsibility towards Hope and… " he paused for a second and then added "and to you".
Hayley said coldly "you don't have any responsibility towards me!"
Klaus didn't say anything for a moment knowing well that he was expecting that type of reaction from her. He said "yes I do. Believe me If I had remembered who that girl was, I would have done something about it sooner. If we get married Hope will have a father in her life too".
Hayley shook her head and said "No I will not get married to you".
Klaus thought for a moment and then said "listen my mother wants to fire you. Until now Elijah had put his foot down but now with her health condition Elijah might not have an option. He had been thinking of transferring you to New Orleans's office."
He saw the shocked expression on her face and felt bad for her but continued "I live in New Orleans and you know my job. I cannot leave this job and …" he stopped for a second, thought about the new complications in his job and then continued "may be I will eventually have to… but any way if you and I will be same town I think we should … "
But before he could continue Hayley cut him off by saying "are you not listening to me? I will not get married to you".
Klaus said calmly "I will keep on asking until you say yes".
Hayley said now getting really agitated "you can continue on doing as you please but I will never say yes. This is not the solution to our situation. You are engaged and Ms Forbes love you and from what I have seen you love her too".
Klaus said in matter of fact way "well my marriage to Caroline will not happen regardless of we love each other so that is not a problem. You think about it with cool head".
Hayley said shortly "I don't need to stay calm to think about it. I already know the answer and it will be the same".
Klaus said with a sigh "I want Hope in my life. I cannot be just part of her life. I want her to be in my life permanently. I realize that we cannot disclose her true parentage without revealing what happened between us so the best solution is for us to get married. I will adopt her for appearance purpose. She will be my daughter for law and for everyone else. I will have Hope by my side and I will be able to give her all my love. Hayley, and no one will know the truth".
Hayley stared at him as if he has lost his mind and said "no. Are you out of your freaking mind? No no and no".
Klaus sighed and said "alright. I have already told you that I want to be in her life. Now tell me what will happen when she grows up and asks who I am because I will keep on seeing her".
Hayley said after a moment "I can say that you are a family friend".
Klaus smiled and said "yes you can but I dont want to be family friend to her. I want to be her father. I dont care if she thinks I am her step father but I want to be called dad by her not Klaus".
Hayley said "no Mr Mikaelson".
Klaus said "Then like I said i will keep on asking you until you say yes" and left the room ignoring her "Mr. Mikaelson".
Klaus laid in his bed staring at the ceiling not realizing that he had a smile on his lips. He felt at peace for the first time ever since he had found out that Hope was his daughter and Hayley was the girl he had raped. He suddenly realized that he should have broken up with Caroline first before proposing to Hayley but then he told himself 'what does it matter? Caroline and he were never going to work out considering they are two different species who are enemies of each other. Also he needed to show Hayley how important Hope is to him before she disappeared again from his life along with Hope and for that he was willing to do anything and this marriage will not be bad. It will provide her stability which she needed with her health condition and all and may be they will start to care about each other one day, forget about their past and she will forgive him and Hope will get a stable home'.
but he couldn't shake off this guilt feeling he was having about not dealing with Caroline before taking this plunge. He said to himself "he should make a short trip to Mystic Falls to officially break up with Caroline".
He closed his eyes and thinking about the prospective of future with Hope and Hayley he went to sleep.
While Klaus was feeling guilty of not breaking up with Caroline before proposing to Hayley, she was calling him names and cursing him for asking her to marry him. The last thing she thought of before going to sleep was 'he is crazy if he thinks that I will marry him'.
Next morning when she woke up she thought that everything that have happened was a bad dream, but she was wrong. When she sat up and saw the door wide open and hope not in her bed, Hayley groaned.
She walked out and saw her sitting on the counter top drinking milk and giggling while Klaus was laughing. he looked towards her and said to her "I hope you had a comfortable sleep and you thought about what I said with cool mind".
Hayley said "I want to go back today. The storm has already passed. Get me a flight or else I will do it myself." Hayley paused for a second and continued " I don't appreciate you paying off my loan. I will pay every penny you used to pay off my loan".
Klaus looked at her for a while without saying anything and then turned to Hope and said "so where were we?"
Hope said with a grin "then jerry pulled his wiker… this thing" she touched his upper lips.
Klaus laughed and said "whiskers?!"
Hope giggled and said "yes".
Hayley walked to her and took her off the counter angrily and said "how many times have i told you not to leave the room without telling me".
His protective instinct kicked in and he said "Hayley!"
Hayley looked at him and asked "can you get me my seat or should I do it myself?"
Klaus nodded and started towards his room but as he passed by her he whispered in her ear "don't take out your anger directed towards me on her" sending a chill through her body.
With heavy heart he got them seats in the afternoon. He took her to her hotel room where she collected her things while he chatted with Hope, watched cartoons with her as she snuggled closed to him and felt his heart sinking more and more as the time for them leaving was coming close. He kept glancing at her as she walked around the room picking up and packing their stuff. He wondered 'if she will even think about his proposal''.
Something told him that she will not but for that he was mentally prepared. At last he took them to the airport and checked them in.
When he came back from dropping them off at the airport he still could feel Hope's arms around his neck and could actually feel the warmth of her body and his heart was sinking faster then he had ever imagined. After tossing and turning for hours on his bed late at night he realized that he much he already was missing Hope's voice.
Next morning he got up, changed his clothes and went to the station. Alexis smiled at him as he settled down and asked "hey partner, back to your job?"
Klaus said smiling "yes. So tell me what have I missed".
Alexis said "well wedding is in June, 10th actually. I managed to get Southern Oak Plantation for the wedding. I couldn't very well let you get married before me right?"
Klaus laughed and said "yes you are right. Well I am happy for you".
He wondered 'when should he go to Mystic Falls to tell Caroline about his decision. How will his family react to this news? Will they accept his decision. he should at least Elijah'.
He felt happy to be surrounding by his colleagues as he realized that helped him take his mind of Hope and Hayley.
Thursday morning when Hayley entered Elijah's office she saw his office was empty.
Janet walked to her and said "Mr Mikaelson had been under the weather since yesterday. May be he will come later today. How was New Orleans?"
Hayley couldn't help but think of the time she had spend with Klaus and his proposal and shook her head. She said with a smile "It was good. We won the case".
Janet said excitedly "yayy that is great. That means bonuses you know".
Hayley smiled and looked down and said "so what you have been doing?"
Janet said "just busy. I have been covering for you ever since you were in New Orleans".
Hayley nodded and then said "oh good. so tell me what happened?"
She looked up as she heard the shoe sounds and saw Elijah walking toward , she remembered that he too thought that she was having an affair with his father. That just made her very nervous.
Elijah smiled at her but he noticed that Hayley was looking very nervous.
He said "oh good. You are back. I had to leave for a business slash leisure trip today. I was hoping you would come back today, so I could hand over Jackson Smith file to you".
He motioned her to follow him in his office.
Hayley gulped and followed him in wondering 'how come he is not showing or shown any indication that he suspected his father for having an affair with her'.
Elijah turned towards her and asked "so did you like New Orleans?"
Hayley looked at him remembering his desire to transfer her to the New Orleans' offices. She said with a sinking heart "I liked it. The office there is really good".
He said "hmm good". Then he handed her the file and said "I will be back in on next Friday. I am sure you can handle everything while I am gone".
Hayley looked at him in confusion thinking 'shouldnt he be telling her about transfer too' but then she thanked her luck as she thought 'may be Klaus was wrong'.
She said with a smile "yes" and left his office.
Elijah walked out of his room after thirty minutes and said "good bye Hayley" and headed towards the elevator.
After Elijah left Hayley was left with her conflicting thoughts. She needed this job but she couldn't very well work with the man who thinks that she was having a affair with his father and has taken share in property. Thinking of that just made her super mad at Mikael and she wondered 'why would he do that? If she were in Ms Lockwood's position would have thought the same too'.
She thought about Klaus's marriage proposal. She smirked to herself "how dare he proposed to her? Does he thinks that by marrying her he could make up for what he did to her that night?"
She answered herself "no that cannot be it. He cannot be so stupid to think that by marrying me he can make up for what he did. Does he think that I want this from him? Does he think that I feel any animosity towards him and he can make me forget about it by marrying him?"
Hayley wondered if she still hated him, but she realized that she didn't anymore. She wondered 'when exactly did she stopped hating him?' and realized it was somewhere between these five years. - watching Hope grow up, becoming this most important existence in her life. She recalled how she had made an effort to not remain angry at him to keep Hope's existence independent of that rape because she had realized that the longer she stayed angry at him the more she was associating Hope with that rape. And now while sitting at her office chair lost in her thought it came as a shock to her that she had achieved that; she was not angry at him anymore. Even though she couldn't forget that incidence, she had learned to live with it in a healthy way. She thought in anger 'but that does not mean that she will marry him. Proposal! how dare he?!'
She looked around in the office and felt calm realizing that she had worked in this room for the past three years and most of the people knew her but she was also realizing that with Klaus in her life, she couldn't work in this company anymore. She sighed as she decided it was best to change her job under this circumstances. She put looking for a job on the priority list and decided she will not tell Elijah this time. She looked towards Janet who walked to her and said "lunch".
Hayley nodded and switched off her computer and went with her to get lunch.
After she came back from lunch she was looking at the file Elijah had given her to read before leaving for his business trip, she startled when she sensed someone standing near her desk.
She jumped up as she saw Mrs. Lockwood standing there. She asked "Mrs Lockwood, good morning. How are you feeling?"
Esther said cruelly "you are fired Ms Marshall. You will not work in this office from tomorrow".
Hayley stared at her in shock and confusion and said "Mrs Lockwood!" and then it hit her why was she firing her. She said "I understand that you are angry but I assure you that…"
Esther started laughing and cut her off by saying "what?! you are going to say that you didnt have an affair with him. You cannot be that innocent to expect that iI will believe you. You took our money. You had an affair with my husband. I know you have wrapped Elijah and Niklaus around your finger just like you did to Mikael but you cannot fool me I can see right through you. They are both not here to protect you anymore. You should leave or else I will call security to escort you out".
Hayley stared at her and then looked around and saw people gazing at them. She gulped her tears and nodded. She slowly stood up and picked up her bag and then said "let me put his file on Mr Mikaelson desk".
She picked up the file and went to his room and placed the file on the table. She then looked around the office which was full of memories and then turned around and left the room and headed towards the elevator.
When she reached home Amy and Hope were not home. Upon Hayley calling her, she found out they were in the park. Hayley spend the rest of the day thinking about her options and realized that she had lost everything. She had lost her job, her insurance, she had no money in the bank except for Mikael's money that he left her and she was definitely not taking that one she told herself. She decided to check if that position in Apex technologies was still available but when she called Apex technology she was informed her that the job was already taken. She cursed herself for not taking the job. By night fall, her head was buzzing with conflicting thoughts and with no hope of future. She looked at Hope sleeping in her bed and wondered what would happen to them. She spend the night thinking about what to do. She was three weeks shy of her third chemo and by then she needed to get a job.
By the time sun came out her eyes were tired from the sleepless night. She wondered if she doesn't get the loan to pay for her treatment and she dies then what will happened to Hope? She suddenly thought of him and wondered if he was right. He can give Hope his name and if she dies Hope will still have a father to look after her.
Next morning when she woke up she stayed in her bed. It was half past nine when at last she got out of the bed and after washing her face she left her room. Hope was chattering with Amy in the kitchen. One look at her and she screamed with excitement.
Amy asked her in surprise "what are you doing home? I thought you would have gone to the office".
Hayley looked at her and said in a soft voice "Mrs Lockwood fired me".
Amy stood up from her chair and asked "what? why?"
Hayley didnt find any courage to tell her what happened so she said "I dont know. She owns the company. She can do whatever she wants to do".
Amy said "what are you going to do?"
Hayley said "I am going to look for a new job. I am sure I will get it. I have good experience. It is not like I dont have a degree. I am a legal secretary with experience. I'm sure I will get a job somewhere. I have experienced in being a personal secretary too so I am sure that will help me too" as she kissed Hope on her head.
She looked at Amy and said "Amy you will not tell Tyler".
Amy said with exasperation "Hayley he can get you a job somewhere. Lockwood name is widely known in Mystic Falls".
Hayley said "no. I will find a job this time on my own. Any way what do you want to do my love? Mommy is home today?" At the end of the sentence she looked at Hope and smiled at the grin she gave her.
She spend the next three days home with Hope trying to give her company and in the mean time looking for a job and managed to find one. She send them her CV and while waiting for the reply from them she decided to get a part time job somewhere so that she has something to rely on in the mean time. She applied as a sales associate in Macy's and with and luckily she got a reply on Tuesday six days of her being fired from her job. She felt somewhat relaxed at the prospect of getting pay even though she was supposed to start the very next day and her hours were really long but she knew in her heart that this was not what she was going to settle for.
Later that night when she settled down in her bed she checked her emails and saw an email from the computer company she had applied the job for. She literally jumped out of bed as she saw that they wanted to have an interview with her on next Tuesday. When at last she went to sleep she was feeling very light and excited and oddly enough looking forward to the busy day ahead of her in Macy's.
Klaus laid on the bed late at night thinking about his days and thanked his luck that he was busy otherwise he would go crazy thinking about Hope. He felt like hearing her voice so he picked up his cell and called her number but then put it down in frustration when it went straight to the voicemail. He deliberately started thinking of Caroline and decided to make a trip to Mystic Falls on Friday and return on Saturday. He reserved his seats for Friday noon after his work and at last he managed to go to sleep after being restless for a long time thinking about how would he approach Hayley during his short trip there and what would he say to Caroline.
Hayley and Hope were on his mind the next day so after he left his station to go to home he took out his cell and dialed Marcel's number. He said as the call connected "I want to meet you".
Marcel said "where?"
Klaus said "somewhere where no one can find out about me or you".
Marcel said "meet me at the Marlin Cemetery around 3".
Thirty minutes later Klaus was waiting for Marcel sitting on the tomb thinking about Hayley when he saw him walking towards him.
Marcel said "so what is new? How are you adjusting to your new werewolf life?"
Klaus said "going without any incidence. Haven't killed anyone yet!"
Marcel said "well it is only a matter of time. It is not as if you are inexperience in that. You killed someone".
Klaus looked at him ignoring Marcel's last comment he said "I have a problem I need to ask you a favor".
When Marcel looked at him questioningly, Klaus said "I need your blood".
Marcel stared at him in surprise and then asked "is someone hurt?"
Klaus said "No, no really. The person I'm talking about has cancer"
Marcel sighed and said "my blood can cure many things but no life threatening diseases".
Klaus said "what do you mean?"
Marcel said "I myself might not get those diseases but I cannot cure someone of the natural diseases. I can only cure the wounds and not the diseases".
Klaus sighed in frustration and said "okay thanks"
He turned to leave but stopped and asked "is it possible for a werewolf to not pass his or her gene to his child".
Marcel laughed and said "thinking of getting married. well good for you but for your answer I have not seen any case but sure why not. But not if both parents have the gene".
Klaus heart sank as Hope's image flashed through his mind and he said "thanks" and started to leave again.
Marcel called him "hey next Thursday is full moon. Don't kill anyone!"
Klaus smiled and waved at him.
Friday morning when Elijah entered his office and saw that her chair was empty. He wondered 'where was she? She has never been late'.
He went into his office and saw the file he had given her on his desk. He smiled and picked it up and the opened it. He looked at her in confusion as he saw there was no addendum done on it. He looked towards his chair and felt weird and then he shook his head and settled down. He picked up the phone and called Janet and said "Janet, can you come to my office please".
Two minutes later Janet entered his office with her notepad and settled down opposite him. He said with a smile "Ms Marshall is not here yet. So until she comes back you have to fill in for her again".
There was something on her face that made Elijah curious and he asked her "what is it?"
Janet said "Mrs Lockwood came the day you left for your business trip and she fired Ms Marshall".
Elijah stared at her and then slowly stood up and said "what?!"
Janet said regretfully "I am sorry Mr Mikaelson".
She was quiet for a second looking at Elijah's shocked expression and then she recalled what Esther had said about Hayley wrapping elijah and Klaus around her fingers and said "Is there anything I can do?"
Elijah startled out of his thought sand said "no. thank you".
Janet got up and left.
Elijah thought for a moment and called Klaus but the call went on voice mail.
He then dialed Hayley's number but it seemed it had been disconnected.
Elijah sat there on his chair thinking about what to do and then he remembered he had the meeting with some client. He tried to put his head into the job but it was impossible.
Klaus kissed Caroline on her cheek as she walked into Doulches and settled down on his chair. After they ordered their food Klaus looked at Caroline, gathered his courage and said "Caroline I have been thinking a lot about us and I don't think it will work. We two are entirely different people and I think with this new discovery between us, it will not work. I love you but I cannot get married to you".
Caroline looked at him in shock and aid "Klaus, the wedding cards have already been distributed".
Klaus said regretfully "I know but I told you that we had issues, that I needed to think. I have thought about it and I dont think there is any solution to it and I think I cannot marry you. Vampire and werewolves are different species. You are immortal. I am mortal. I will age and die one day. You will remain young and live forever so yes I think we should cut our loses and just be friends".
For the next hour, she tried to persuade him but the more she gave logic to him the more his mind became firm on his decision. At last Caroline got up and stormed out of the restaurant in tears and anger. Klaus looked at her with regret knowing well that he had broken her heart and even though he felt his heart broken too but he knew in his heart that besides the reason he had given her, he was doing it for Hope, his daughter. He told himself that his priorities have changed. He needed to think about Hope's future. He left a hundred dollar bill on his table with the untouched food and left. He dialed Elijah's number from the car bluetooth and said "I am in Mystic Falls. Want to have dinner? I want to talk to you about something really important".
He changed lane when he heard Elijah's rather annoyed voice "where have you been? I have been trying to call you since morning".
Klaus looked at the gps screen in confusion and asked "what is it? Is mother okay?"
The car swung as he heard him say "mother is fine but she has fired Hayley. She fired her on Tuesday - the day I went for my trip".
Klaus said fixing his grasp on the car steering wheel again "what?!"
Elijah said with annoyance "yes and I have been trying to contact her since this morning but her phone is disconnected. I was thinking may be she changed her phone number or something. You can find out from your connections. I was thinking of visiting her apartment right now".
Klaus realized that the pit in his stomach was getting bigger. He said "no. let me do that. I am near that place already".
After leaving the restaurant Caroline drove aimless for half an hour thinking about her breakup with Klaus. The more she thought about it, the more angry and depressed she got with the situation and herself and cursed her vampirism. She thought of distracting her mind by doing some shopping. As she entered the shoe department of Macy's she saw looked at her in shock and then walked to her and said "fancy seeing you here. Ms Marshall".
Hayley looked at her in surprise and her heart skipped a beat at seeing her but she fixed a smile on her face and said "Ms Forbes. How are you?"
Caroline said in a depressed voice"not so good. When did you come back? Esther told me that she fired you. I am sorry about your job but she is the boss you know how rich people can be"
Hayley said "on Wednesday. It is okay. I have gotten this job".
Caroline looked at her desperately and before she could stop herself the words where out and she said "Klaus broke up with me".
Hayley looked at her in shock and said "what?!"
Caroline said "yes he said that…." She stared at her for a second and then said "you were with him in New Orleans for that case right. Do you have anything to do with it?"
For some reason her cheek started to burn as she remembered the proposal.
Caroline stared at her for a second and seeing her cheek getting red she added two and tow and before she could stop herself, her hand swung in the air and landed on Hayley's face.
She said with contempt "you tramp. I thought you would be okay".
Hayley notice a couple of people glancing at them. Controlling her anger and confusion she said "Manners Ms Forbes and what are you talking about?"
Caroline shouted now attracting everyone's attention in the vicinity "he called the wedding off. Everything happened after you went to New Orleans with him. What happened there? Did you manage to wound him on your fingers too just like you did to his father".
Hayley said angrily "Ms Forbes, Mr Mikealson has asked me to marry him but I have not said yes. Please refrain from misbehaving with me. Now if you will leave. I have work to do".
Caroline said with contempt "he proposed you?! Are you crazy?! He would never propose a girl like you while being engaged to me. He loves me. He still loves me and I love him too".
She turned and left without waiting for a response from her.
Klaus climbed the stairs of her apartment building two at a time and knocked at her apartment. He waited for a few minutes and then the door opened. He asked Amy "I want to talk to Hay.. Ms Marshall. Where is she?"
Amy looked at him with annoyance and said "what are you doing here? your mother fired her and I know Hayley was a good worker so why did she fire her?"
Klaus asked again now getting desperate "where is she?"
Amy said after a short pause "she is at her new job".
Klaus said "where?"
Amy said "She is a sales associate at Macy's near Bear creek. In shoe department".
Klaus turned to leave but stopped and asked "where is Hope?"
Amy said "Mr Mikaelson what do you want from her? If you cannot make her life easy then don't make it more difficult. She has been through enough".
Klaus nodded and said "believe me I don't have any intention of making her life difficult. Thanks by the way".
He went down to his car and drove towards Macy's feeling anxious and hesitant at the same time.
When he reached the main door, he tried to open it but it was close and he realized that the store had closed for the night. He stood there wondering 'what to do? Should he go back to her apartment or wait till morning. He has to leave by tomorrow afternoon. What should he do?'
He decided to wait till the morning.
Next morning Hayley got up feeling a bit dizzy after the tired shift previous night. She threw up a little bit and then started getting ready to leave for her shift in Macy's. She stood in front of mirror with Hope standing near her and Amy standing at the door. She brushed her hair, thew loose strands of hair into the dust bin with frustration and said to Amy "I have an interview on Tuesday in a software company. If I get the job that will be great".
Amy said "Klaus Mikaelson came here yesterday".
Hayley's hand got suspended in the air and then she resumed applying the blush on and asked "what did you tell him?"
Amy said "he looked worried and was asking about you so I told him where you work".
Hayley looked at her an said "that is okay".
She then bend to kiss Hope and said "mommy will be late honey. I am sorry. I know it is Saturday but mommy's new job wants mommy to work on Saturdays. We will go to the park some other day".
She gave her a hug and went to the kitchen and poured coffee for her and left the apartment. As she reached the bottom stairs she stopped as she saw him leaning against his car.
Klaus walked to her and said "I want to talk to you about where we left of".
Hayley asid "I am getting late for my job and I have already given you my answer".
Klaus said "I am sorry that my mother fired you . Elijah and I have decided to transfer you to New Orleans office".
Hayley said while walking towards her car "no. I dont want to work for your firm".
Klaus said "You will not be working for me. You will be working for Elijah"
Hayley looked at him and said annoyingly "dont be over smart with me Mr Mikaelson".
Klaus said "I am not. Right now I am a detective so as long as I am doing that job Elijah is the acting owner of both firms".
Hayley opened her car door and sat in the driver's seat and started the car but groaned as her car refused to start. She hit her hand over the steering wheel when Klaus said "let me drop you".
Hayley got out of he car and said "no I can manage that. The bus system is really great in Mystic Falls".
Klaus smiled and said "I know I grew up here but come I will drop you. You dont want to be late for your work. After all this is your new job".
Hayley couldn't help but feel the tease in his sentence. She felt annoyed but she realized that she was getting late so she nodded and walked to his car with him.
After she settled down Klaus said "Hayley think about it. Marrying me will solve your many problems".
Hayley looked at him and asked "what problem? you have already paid my debt which I will pay you off but I dont have any problems. I didnt have any problems before you came in my life and now look what you have done".
Klaus looked at her and wondered 'should he remind her about her cancer' but he said "that is what I am saying. If I had not raped you, you wouldn't have had Hope and …"
Hayley snapped at him "I don't see Hope as problem. She is the best thing that has happened to me and I dont want to associate that rape with her so please don't ever see her as problem".
Klaus looked at her and said "I am sorry I didnt mean that but will you reconsider my offer".
Hayley laughed and said "you are persistent but no I will not marry you. Please drop me here. thanks".
She was getting out of the car when he said "I want to see her".
Hayley said "I will be off at 7 pm. You can come see her after that".
Klaus said "I have to leave in the afternoon at around 5. Can't we do it earlier".
Hayley looked at him and then said sarcastically "sure. Let me go and quit my job or ask your mother to get me fired from here too so that you can meet Hope".
She turned and left but not before she saw a smile on his lips that left her annoyed with herself.
Around noon he went to see Stefan and stopped as he saw Caroline there. Caroline looked at him and said to Stefan "I will be going".
Klaus said as he stopped Caroline "Caroline, dont be like that. I told you why we cannot get married. It is not personal. We can be friends".
Caroline said "that is not a valid reason. I know that tramp has won your heart".
Klaus looked at her in confusion and asked "who?"
Caroline said "Hayley Marshall who else. She had an affair with your father and now she is responsible for you breaking our engagement."
Klaus stared at her in shock and then said "no Caroline. Hayley has nothing to do with it".
Caroline said with a smirk "so you are on the first name basis. Wonderful!"
Stefan said to Caroline "why dont you sit down and you can discuss this calmly".
Klaus laughed and said "Stefan there is nothing to discuss. I am werewolf she is a vampire. It will never work out between us".
Caroline said "we can make it work. We love each other".
Klaus said "yes we do but we cannot get married to each other".
Caroline said with contempt "you have your eyes set on that tramp right?"
Klaus said "what?"
Caroline said angrily "I know you proposed to her Nik".
At his confused look she said "she told me".
Klaus asked "where did you meet her?"
Caroline said "at Macys but why would you Nik. She is just a secretary. You said yourself that you didnt like her. Were you cheating on me during our engagement?"
Klaus suddenly lost his temper and said "stop it. I have not cheated on you. Yes I have proposed to her but she has not accepted it yet. I was already having doubts about our marriage considering our natures. My only mistake was proposed to her before I broke up with you which was going to happen in any case and deep down you knew it".
He looked at Stefan who was looking at him with that amused smile on his face and said "I am leaving in a few hours so I thought of meeting you. May be you can tell her that vampires and werewolves are not a good match".
He turned and left both of them.
He called Hayley again but she was not attending the phone so he left for New Orleans later that evening with Hayley and Hope in his mind.
For the next two days he called her many time but was not lucky enough to get hold of her. He was frustrated for no being able to be close to his daughter.
Hayley felt guilty for not attending his calls but she hardened her heart and continued to ignore them. She was really getting tired with the physical effort she had to put on with her new job. With the result that she was starting to feel sick a lot then usual. She was losing weight and vomiting a lot but she had no option other then work in Macy's until her interview in the computer company.
Tuesday afternoon Hayley entered the apartment really happy. Amy asked her "so how was it?"
Hayley said "great. I got the job. I will start tomorrow".
Hayley hugged Hope and smiled and said "lets go out to celebrate".
Amy asked "what are you going to do about Macy's".
Hayley said "I had already told them about this interview so they knew that i would be leaving them if I get this job. I came her after talking to them".
Amy got up and said "that is great. I am going to meet Tyler. Why dont you and Hope go and spend some quality time together".
Hayley smiled and said "sure. Thanks."
She felt really light and happy after many days as she entered the ice cream shop thirty minutes later.
For the next two days Hayley was really busy with her new job. They were asking of long hours which she didnt mind because Amy was a great help with Hope. They were paying her good money and the health benefits were good. Her boss James Dean was really nice and kind and she was loving the environment in the office.
Hayley was getting late for her office on the third day as Hope had kept her awake throughout the night with runny nose and high fever. She hastily put her shoes on, tied her hair in a knot behind her head and said "Amy, I have to go. Please can you keep an eye on hope, she was sick last night" she said practically running out the apartment.
When she entered her office she groaned as she saw her boss already in the office. She hastily put her bag on the seat and went to the kitchen to get him coffee.
As she entered his room with his coffee, he said "Ms Marshall you are late".
Hayley said apologetically "I am sorry Mr Dean. It will not happen again".
He said after a few moments "Ms Marshall I am sorry but i have to let you go. Mrs Lockwood here tells me that you have embezzled from the company".
Hayley looked around and spotted Esther sitting on the sofa with a smirk on her face. She turned back to James Dean and said "what? no. She is lying".
James said "I am sorry. I cannot have you in my company".
Hayley stared at him in shock and then nodded and left.
She picked up her bag with heavy heart and headed towards the elevator.
She thought for a moment and then she stopped there waiting for Esther. After a short while she saw her walking towards the front door. She asked her "why did you do that? You know I never embezzled from your company".
Esther smirked and said with contempt "you think you will destroy my family and I will not do any thing. Niklaus broke his engagement because of you and my husband gave my property for you".
Hayley said angrily "I don't want your property and I surely don't want to marry your son".
Esther said "yes. I will make sure of that. You are not fit for my son. you are nothing but a tramp and nothing else. My son has lost his mind but dont worry he will never marry you. He is just being illogical. Caroline will be my daughter in law. Your dream will always remain dream. I will die before I let you in his life or give you share from my property".
Hayley said desperately "Mrs. Lockwood you are being unnecessary hostile towards me. I assure you that I did not have affair with Mikael".
Esther said in the same tone "I dont care anymore. I just want to tell you that you will not be able to get a decent job in any big company in this city. My family's name and influence is enough to make sure that you dont get a proper job in any good firm or company".
She turned and left the office.
Hayley stood there for a moment steaming in anger and frustration. After a while she realized the center of her anger and frustration was Klaus. She cursed him for starting all of this. If he had not called off his wedding then this wouldn't have happen. She left the building feeling thoroughly depressed.
She spend the evening going through the advertisement but couldn't find anything that fit her requirements. She sighed and went to sleep with severe depression.
Next morning after telling Amy what had happened she sat on the kitchen table and started looking for jobs again in the morning paper but all search was in vein. During the next tow hours she tormented herself with thoughts about no prospects of job, Esther words burning hole in her mind and Hope's future without her in this world. She started to get agitated and feel insulted as Esther's words ran through her mind and her anger at Klaus rose to no bounds. She felt really angry at him for putting her in this position. She wished she could make Esther and Caroline eat their words. As the thought crossed her mind she straightened in her chair and started wondering if she got married to Klaus what would their reaction be especially Esther's.
At that thought she laughed and shook her head and said to herself "no. what are you thinking? You cannot get married to Klaus just because you want to show Esther".
She wondered "why not?"
She thought 'if she gets married to him he can give Hope his name and she can also show Esther'.
She reminded herself that she had chemo coming up in one week and she needed some financial stability.
She said to herself "I am not taking money from him under any circumstances".
After some moments she wondered 'what if she accepts his offer to be transferred to new Orleans's office".
Common scene told her that was the best solution under this situation.
But then she realized that Klaus would never be out of her life if she lives in New Orleans. Right now they are in different states so he is forced to stay away from them but if she is in New Orleans then he wouldn't stay away from Hope. At the same time she realized that if she moves to New Orleans then she needs Klaus because of her health condition. She will need someone to take care of Hope while she is having her chemo and radiation until she finds some one trustworthy. She wondered 'would he agree to joint custody' but as soon as the thought came to her mind she knew that he wouldn't. He proposed to her because he wants Hope to call him father and if they have joint custody and Hope calls him father then someone will start asking questions. She got up with frustration and started pacing the small kitchen. She looked up as Hope walked in rubbing her eyes.
Hope looked at her and beamed with happiness and ran to her and hugged her legs.
Her heart suddenly felt very heavy as the thought crossed her mind 'what will happen to her if cancer comes back?'
She bend down and picked her up and kissed her and wondered 'for her should she take this plunge. Will Esther or his family accept Hope and her in their life?'
But she already knew the answer. Then she hugged Hope tightly as she asked her "mommy, I love you".
She willed her tears to stop falling from her eyes and said to herself "I should only think of Hope. To hell with Klaus, Esther, Caroline. If she thinks that she can stop Klaus from getting married to me then she can try all she can. I should just think about my daughter's secure and stable future and for that if she has to marry Klaus, she is willing to do that".
She sat on the chair, took a deep breath and picked up her cell and dialed his number and waiting anxiously for him to pick up his cell. As the call connected she said "yes".
Klaus looked at the paper in his hand in, frowned and said in confusion "what? who is this?"
He sat up in his chair and asked "Hayley?!"
Hayley said "yes. I said yes. I will marry you". She looked at Amy who had just entered the room.
Amy felt as if she didn't hear it so she just stared at her.
Hayley continued "hello?!"
Klaus said "yes, I am here. Good to hear but can I ask what made you change your mind?"
Hayley said "that shouldn't be your concern. I said yes, didn't I?"
Klaus said "alright. Okay I will get your a seat booked for tonight and then we can do this as soon as you come here".
Hayley stared at Hope's picture on the wall and said "okay".
Klaus said "I will call you with flight information in a few hours and Hayley".
She asked with sinking heart "what?"
Klaus said "thanks" and put the cell down. He didn't know that he was smiling when Alexis asked him "what is it?"
Klaus said "nothing".
and opened the website to get the seat for her and Hope.
Hayley looked at Amy and said "M… Klaus asked me to marry him in New Orleans. I asked him to give me some time to think. I have thought about it and have decided to accept his proposal".
Amy said "Hayley are you sure? Do you love him?"
Hayley thought for a moment and then said "yes, I think I do. I like him a lot. I don't know when I fell for him" praying that Amy does not see through her lie.
She got up and held Hope's hand and went to her room and with sinking heart she started collecting her things knowing well that he will get a seat for her tonight or may be earlier. She kept glancing at Hope while packing and seeing her innocent face made her feel better about her decision.
An hour later she got a call from him telling her that he has gotten a seat for her and Hope for the next morning.