CHAPTER NINE
Liam Robertson could not believe the man standing before his very eyes. The man whom he married. The man who understand what love is. The man whom left him in the lurch. That very man, Sonny Kiriakis, is standing right before his very eyes, in his restaurant.
"What the hell is he doing here?" Liam muttered.
"It truly has been a pleasure to meet you!" Liam saw his landlady beaming from ear to ear. "Do give me a call when you make your decision."
"I don't think I will need to call you back." Sonny Kiriakis replied. "I'll take it!"
"Really?" Dorcas gasped.
Liam and Alfonso's faces went completely pale.
"Yeah, why waste time considering such a great place?" Sonny shrugged his shoulders.
"Perfect!" Dorcas exclaimed with joy. She turned back to Liam and Alfonso. "I will need you guys you leave by next month."
"What, you can't do this to us!" Liam began charging over to Dorcas.
"Li, stay calm!" Alfonso grabbed Liam's biceps, holding him back. "There's definitely a way to solve this."
"No! Can't you see what he's trying to do?" Liam raised his voice. "This bitch wants to destroy us!"
"Since you have just called me a bitch right in my face, I want your entire business out of my place by the end of this month." Dorcas changed her mind.
"You…" Liam yelled.
"Li! That's enough!" Alfonso chided.
Liam Robertson glared at the brunette standing beside the landlady. Sonny Kiriakis flashed back a triumphant smirk at Liam, giving him a wink.
"It's truly a pleasure doing business with you." Sonny turned back to shake Dorcas' hand.
"Well, that's it then!" Dorcas glanced at her watch. "I have another appointment. Feel free to take another look around the place." She took her leave.
Sonny Kiriakis proceeded towards the two chefs.
"Hi! I don't think we have met." Sonny smiled at Alfonso, "Allow me to introduce myself,"
"Cut the bullshit!" Liam yelled. "What the hell do you want?"
"Wait a minute, Li, you know this guy?" Alfonso asked in puzzlement.
"Don't you know?" Sonny giggled, "I'm his…"
"Ex-boss!" Liam cut Sonny off. "He's my boss from Salem." He turned back to Sonny, grabbed his wrist and dragged him out of the restaurant. "Come with me!"
Liam Robertson and Sonny Kiriakis were standing at the back of the alley.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Liam barked.
"Why? Can't I be here? It's New York City!" Sonny stated with a shrug.
"Cut the crap! What are you really doing here?" Liam repeated his question in frustration.
"Property investment." Sonny answered. "I think it's time for me to start branching out to New York. This city shows great prospects!"
"There are five boroughs in New York." Liam raised his five fingers, "There are thousands of vacant plots of land to choose from!"
"But I want this one." Sonny insisted. "This place happens to be a prime location and I happen to adore it!"
"What do you want?" Liam decided to cut to the chase.
"I told you what I want. I want this plot of land." Sonny repeated himself.
"Get out of New York now!" Liam demanded
"I'm sorry, do you own the place?" Sonny furrowed his eyebrows. "Because the last time I checked, it's a free country."
"I built this restaurant from the ground up with my blood, sweat and tears!" Liam yelled. "This place is my legacy, my lifeline, my bread and butter! I won't let you ruin it!"
"Of course, there is one thing that could make me pull out of the deal." Sonny Kiriakis took a few steps forward.
Liam's heart was beating fast as he stumbled backwards, leaning against the wall.
Sonny had one hand on the wall supporting his body. He leaned forward until their noses were only a few inches apart.
"Stay calm, stay calm." Liam told himself in his head, hoping that his heart would stop racing.
"Come back with me to Salem." Sonny said in a low voice.
Liam's eyes widened. He could not believe the words coming out from the brunette's mouth. In disgust, he pushed him aside.
"Have you lost your mind?" Liam scrunched up his nose in disgust.
"Don't think I'm doing this because I want you back." Sonny sniggered. "I'm doing this because I want you to man up and take responsibility. I want you to be a father to our daughter. Since you're Arianna's biological father, you should act like one."
"Arianna thinks her father is dead!" Liam argued. "Why do you want to confuse a seven-year-old kid?"
"You rather not confuse her than return to her side?" Sonny questioned in disbelief. "That is what Will Horton would do to his daughter." He remarked sarcastically
"Will Horton is dead!" Liam jumped at Sonny's throat. "Will Horton was strangled to death!"
Sonny was stumped. He did not know how to react to that. The two stared into each other eyes for a few seconds. Sonny took a few deep breaths, telling himself to remain calm and to keep up with the cool act.
"I will give you two days." Sonny broke the silence. "If I don't hear anything from you by then, I will become the new owner of this restaurant." He buttoned up his trench coat and swaggered off.
Liam's hand were trembling in fear. Never did he thought in a million years Sonny Kiriakis would come all the way to New York to hunt him down.
"So he's been reading about Will all night." Justin Kiriakis flipped through the documents. Learning more about the man allegedly named Liam Robertson.
"Sonny where have you been?" Justin Kiriakis put down the documents on the coffee table and stood up.
"Did some shopping…" Sonny proceeded towards the living room.
"Shopping?" Justin looked down. "I don't see you with any shopping bags."
"I'm not shopping for clothes, I'm shopping for a place." Sonny fell back on the couch and took the remote.
"Shopping for a place?" Justin sat down right beside Sonny. "You went to buy an apartment?"
"Nope." Sonny flip through the channels on TV. "I went to buy a restaurant."
"What restaurant?" Justin asked.
Sonny ignored his father's question, surfing from channel to channel.
"Please don't tell me you went to Will's restaurant to cause a scene!" Justin did not want his son to go overboard.
"I didn't cause a scene. I went there to buy the place." Sonny declared.
"What?!" Justin snatched the remote from Sonny and turned off the TV. "Why did you do that? Do you even have enough cash?"
"I get paid more than enough at Hotel Titan. What are you talking about?" Sonny assured.
"No wonder you were so quiet these past few days!" Justin realized. "You want to take over Will's restaurant! Why didn't you talk to me about this?"
"If I told you, you wouldn't agree to it." Sonny stated.
"What the hell are you thinking?" Justin stood up from the couch. "You want to destroy him?"
"Yes that's exactly what I'm going to do!" Sonny nodded his head in contempt. "That restaurant is everything to him. And I'm going to take everything away from him!"
"Why don't we just move out?" Alfonso suggested. "I mean don't you think it's time for us to branch out?"
"No, we can't." Liam objected vehemently. "This is the home of The LT. This is where it all started!"
"But she wants us out now." Alfonso pointed out the obvious. "Once she sells the place, we got to leave!"
"We are not going to leave this place!" Liam barked.
"What else can we do? Hello?" Alfonso waved his hand frantically. "It was you who had offended her! There's nothing else we can do about it."
"Fine!" Liam conceded, "I will go talk to her."
"No!" Alfonso forbade. "You have done more than enough damage."
"You said I'm the one who got us into this mess, so let me get us out of it!" Liam pleaded.
In frustration, Alfonso ruffled his hair. "Damnit Li! I'm the boss of this place! And I say we move out! I'm sick of dealing with a raggedy ass fridge which breaks down every three months! I'm sick of waiting for a new fridge which that bitch promised me over a year ago! I'm sick of dealing with Dorcas Johansson damnit!"
"This is where The LT all started!" Liam argued back. "Without this place, there will be no restaurant!"
"For Christ sake Li! Tameka is GONE!" Alfonso shouted.
Liam took a step back, hands trembling. His heart completely sank.
"I'm sorry Li." Alfonso apologized. "We know you don't want to leave this place because of Tameka. We get it, you proposed to her here. But Tameka knows that Dorcas is shady and I know that she will want you to do what's best for this business."
"Don't you dare talk about my wife as if you know her better than I do!" Liam shouted, pointing a finger sternly at him. "We aren't moving out and that's final!" He stomped out of their office.
"Will's alive?" Phillip Kiriakis was completely shocked. "Why didn't any of you guys tell me?"
"He wanted to keep this a secret." Lucas Horton explained. "He wanted to leave Salem peacefully."
"I wondered how Sonny reacted to that." Philip remarked.
"Well, he barged in my apartment a few days after Will left." Lucas informed.
"You knew Will was alive this whole time?" Sonny Kiriakis raged.
"That's none of your damn business!" Sami Brady scowled.
"None of my business? That's my husband for God's sake!" Sonny shouted.
"You seemed to be forgetting something. He's not Will anymore. He's a simple chef from New York trying to provide for his family." Lucas pointed out despondently, feeling emotionally drained from his son's departure.
"His family? His family? I'm his friggin husband! Arianna is his daughter! We're his friggin family!" Sonny shouted once more.
"His family?" Sami scoffed. "You call yourself his family when you had an emotional affair with Paul right in front of his very eyes? You call yourself his family when he left him for Paris?! Get out now!"
"At the end of the day, he's my husband!" Sonny rebutted.
"Sonny, I need you to leave now." Lucas walked over and gently directed Sonny to the door.
"No, I want an explanation." Sonny demanded.
"Sonny, just go!" Lucas urged. "Now is really a bad time! Please!"
Sonny exhaled through his nose and left the apartment.
"How did you know about Will?" Lucas asked his brother.
"Well, Chloe came to me and showed me this Youtube video of him performing at The Edge." Phillip took out his phone and scrolled through the Youtube app. "This video has gone viral and has reached 20 million views"
Lucas took the phone from him and saw the video.
"Whoa, he's playing the piano?" Lucas asked, surprised.
"Apparently so." Philip shrugged his shoulders.
"Sonny, I don't want you to buy a place just to drive him out. Don't you think that's too much?" Justin dissuaded. "What are you going to do with a restaurant in New York? You clearly aren't going to give a crap about this place."
"Investments Dad! You're a lawyer yourself!" Sonny tried to convince. "Besides, I can probably resell the place at a higher price."
Justin Kiriakis sighed in distress.
"He still has 24 hours to go. If he's willing to come back to Salem, the deal is off!" Sonny took a sip of his glass of wine. "One thing I know about Will is that he will do anything to have a thriving career. This restaurant is his legacy, his most prized possession. He will not burn the only thing he has left to the ground."
Liam Robertson sat by his bed. While Alfonso had been finding a new lease, he had been racking his brains on how to get Sonny Kiriakis out of his life. This restaurant is the fruit of his labour. He had worked so hard to build it into a reputable name.
"I got to do this." Liam decided. "It may be a long shot, but it just may work." He picked up his phone and searched for his best friend's number.
"Alfonso, I have a plan." Liam said. "I need you to listen to me very carefully."
Sonny Kiriakis entered the restaurant and saw Dorcas Johansson turning her head to his direction.
"Mr Kiriakis, it's so good to see you!" Dorcas Johansson was grinning from ear to ear. She couldn't wait to get rid of this restaurant of hers.
"It's glad to see you too!" Sonny shook her hand. "I would like to make one final inspection before we close the deal."
"Gladly! You will be glad to hear that even though I have beef with the tenants, they have maintained the place really well!" Dorcas tried to cajole.
"I definitely want to check the kitchen first!" Sonny suggested. "It's where all the cooking happens. I want to see if there's anything wrong with the place."
"I also want to see the miserable look on his face!" Sonny grinned devilishly.
When the two entered the kitchen, Dorcas began telling him all about the latest defects and anything which needed to be repaired urgently. However, Sonny Kiriakis' eyes wandered around the kitchen and everyone whom had entered and exited.
"Where the hell is he?" Sonny wondered.
Just then, Alfonso Rodriguez entered the kitchen with a crate of onions.
"Alfonso, where's Liam?" Dorcas asked. "I haven't seen him all day!"
"Please don't ever mention that asshole's name ever again!" Alfonso groaned.
"What happened?" Dorcas was curious. She knew he and Alfonso were brothers, them arguing came to her as a surprise.
"That son of a bitch kept on going about this is his restaurant and how he and his wife built this restaurant from scratch. He was so against moving out blah blah blah! It's always about him!" Alfonso complained. "I told that dipshit there's nothing we can do! This place is getting sold! We need to go! But he kept on say he will fight you! So I told him this is now my restaurant my business so I call the damn shots. If he isn't happy, LEAVE!"
Sonny's body temperature began dropping. His heart was getting colder by the second.
"So he left." Alfonso concluded.
Sonny gritted through his teeth. He honestly did not see that coming. This was a blind spot he did not see coming.
"Well good riddance!" Dorcas exclaimed. "That pain in the ass is now out of your sight forever! I'm impressed Alfonso! I didn't know you had it in you."
"He was just being ridiculous!" Alfonso lamented. "I told him you should go to church on Sunday and ask Jesus to straighten you out!"
Dorcas laughed at the insult before turning back to Sonny, "Mr Kiriakis would you…" Before she could go on, she saw the brunette stomping out of the kitchen. "Mr Kiriakis, Mr Kiriakis!" She left the kitchen, chasing after him.
Alfonso's eyes widened. "Wow, that actually worked." He quickly took the phone from his pocket and texted away.
"Yo Li! You're looking good my boy!" Pastor Ernest Barrino complimented.
"Thanks Ernest!" Liam replied.
"Can't believe my boy is finally back!" Ernest placed his hand on Liam's shoulder. "You know I have missed you blessing the congregation with your voice."
"I gotta say Ernest. I kind of nervous. I haven't performed here in a long time!" Liam smiled sheepishly.
Ernest placed his other hand on Liam's other shoulder. "My boy, remember that this gift you have, is from the Lord. God gives us many talents and it's our job as his children to use them. And I'm sure Tameka wants you to do this."
Liam nodded his head. He knew Ernest was right.
"Ok, I need to prepare for today's sermon. Talk to you later!" Ernest left for his office.
Liam's phone buzzed. He took the cellphone out of his pocket.
From: Alfonso
The deal is off. He stomped out of the restaurant without closing it.
Liam sighed, placing his phone back into his pocket.
"As long as I'm nowhere near the restaurant, he wouldn't be anywhere near it either." Liam knew that for a fact.
Sonny Kiriakis walked up the steps of Woodhaven Baptist Church.
"Hello! Welcome to Woodhaven Baptist Church!" A black woman offered a bulletin.
Sonny took the sheet of paper and proceeded into the sanctuary. On his way in, he overheard two black women gossiping among themselves.
"Our church's resident white boy has returned." One lady remarked.
"That white boy Liam is fine!" The other lady said suggestively. "Looks like Justin Timberlake, sings like Smokie Norful! Did you know that he's the new choir director?"
Sonny turned his head towards the front of the sanctuary. He saw a choir standing on the altar donned up in their choir gowns. He heard the voice coming from the man standing in front of them. His back was facing Sonny's direction.
"Okay choir, drink some water and rest your voice. Service is about to start in half an hour." Liam dismissed the choir. He turned around and saw Sonny standing across him.
Sonny couldn't help but notice how good Liam looked. The blonde was wearing a dark grey vest over a baby pink long-sleeve shirt. It accentuated his lean, muscular chest. His dark grey pants, highlighting his round derriere. Feeling a little warm, Sonny loosened the top button of his shirt.
"Damnit Sonny! Focus! You're supposed to be pissed!" Sonny reminded himself.
Liam proceeded towards Sonny. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Sonny rebutted with a question of his own, "Why did you quit your job?"
"I ask you what are you doing here?!" Liam's voice intensified.
"And I asked you why you quit your job?" Sonny repeated his question.
Liam looked at his surroundings. He didn't want to cause a scene.
"Come with me!" Liam grabbed Sonny's hand as they proceeded to an empty room at the corner.
"Why did you quit your job at the restaurant?" Sonny interrogated.
Liam rolled his eyes, he knew he had to keep up with the lie.
"Why did I quit my job?" Liam scoffed. "Who was the one who wanted to drive us out of the place? Who was the one who made me have an argument with my boss?"
"So you decided to leave? The Will Horton I know will pull all the stops to keep his career afloat. Even if that means making a few mistakes along the way!" Sonny took a few steps forward, invading Liam's space.
Liam's heart was racing once more.
"Stop it, you no longer have feelings for him!" Liam chided in his head.
"I repeat, I am no longer Will Horton." Liam stated plainly. "Besides, what makes you think that losing my restaurant will mean it's the end for me?" He wondered. "You honestly think that I will break down and cry?"
Sonny was completely stumped. He was at a loss for words.
"This is the streets of New York." Liam began explaining. "People fight for their lives here. While we all have dreams, we also need to fight for our survival every single day. Just the other day, another one of our church members got shot in the shoulder just because he tried to take the cellphone out of his pocket. This church holds at least five funerals every year. So yes, the restaurant means a lot to me, but my will to get through day by day and my will to live on, that is of utmost importance."
Sonny frowned furiously.
"I have a family here. I have people counting on me, depending on me. So frankly speaking, I can't afford to be sad. I can't afford to mope around dwelling over what I have already lost. So if you want the restaurant, I will wave my white flag." Liam surrendered. "Because there are far bigger things I need to worry about and you and your antics are not a priority."
Before he could go on, a man entered the room.
"Yo Li!" The man called out, "We've been looking everywhere for you. The service is about to start!"
"I will be right there!" Liam notified as the man took his leave. He turned back to Sonny. "Now if you excuse me, I have a church service to lead." He adjusted his tie and left the room, leaving Sonny all alone.
Sonny's anger was now boiling mad. His hand was all curled up, nails digging through his palm.
"Not a priority? Not a priority?" Sonny was fuming.
"Service is starting." Liam took in a deep breath. "Stay calm." He exhaled slowly before signaling the choir to proceed to the altar.
He took in another breath before heading to the front of the altar.
"Welcome to the house of the Lord!" Liam introduced. "For this is the day the Lord has made! We will rejoice and be glad in it! Amen?"
"Amen!" The congregation responded.
Sonny Kiriakis was sitting on one of the pews. He could not help but raised his eyebrow.
"Why the hell is he talking like a black man?" This is a side of Will Horton he did not expect to see.
"Before we start Praise & Worship, I would like to share with you guys my testimony." Liam addressed. "For all those who know me. You know I'm a man with no past. Five years ago, I was saved by a man who told me I was caught in a restaurant fire."
"A man with no history?" Sonny scoffed. "And you're lying in church!"
"And then he gave me an apartment, a sum of money and a ticket to New York." Liam continued, "And that was how I got here. I was alone, all by myself, with no friends, no family. Only a sum of money to get by. So I struggled through culinary school and a year later, I became a chef. I started my own business, started a restaurant. But by the grace God, I managed to sell a few plates of pasta and even got married to the love of my life!"
"God is good!" A member of the congregation hollered.
"Indeed He is." Liam nodded his head. "But then something really tragic happened. My wife passed on after giving birth to my son."
The congregation became more attentive with each word Liam said. Those who knew him couldn't believe he was sharing this sensitive topic to the crowd.
"And for months, I wondered to myself. Why did God take her away? Why is it when I finally found a family to call my own, she has to leave? I was like a human zombie. I was so down and out that I was such a horrible father to my son. My brother-in-law Zeke had to take care of my baby for the first few months after Tameka's death." Liam disclosed the hard truth.
Sonny's eyes were now glued to Liam.
"But then one night, I was sitting by the bed and decided to flip through the bible beside my bed and it brought me to the book of James. And it says in James chapter 1 verses 2 to 4 to consider it as joy whenever we face trials of many kind!" Liam quoted the scripture.
"Yeah!" A few members of the congregation hollered.
"Because the testing of your faith produces perseverance!" Liam emphasized.
"Amen to that!" A few other members of the congregation waved their hands in the air.
"And let perseverance finish its work so that you can be mature and complete!" Liam accented to try to bring the message across.
"Yeah Amen!" Some members of the congregation applauded.
Sonny turned his head to his left when he heard the woman beside him.
"Preach white boy!" The lady remarked.
"Since when was he so comfortable with public speaking?" Sonny was startled, the Will Horton he knew was too reserved.
"God put us through pain and struggle so that we can improve ourselves. God put us through these trials so that we can grow. The Lord above put us through tough times because He knows that we can come out stronger!" Liam spoke with gusto.
"Amen to that!" Someone in the congregation shouted.
"Sure, I may have lost my memory, I may have lost my past. But God gave me a great future. I may have lost my wife, but the Lord gave me a beautiful son! I may not know who my family is but God gave me Pastor Barrino and Sister Tamela as my parents!"
Ernest smiled at the mention.
"If I had a chance to do it all again, I wouldn't take the rain away." Liam shook his head. "Because I know the Lord put us through difficult times so that we will not be complacent. The Lord put us through pain, so we know the blessings from above will be far sweeter."
The little sympathy Sonny had for Liam when he was talking about Tameka evaporated.
"Far sweeter?" Sonny frowned. "Are you saying that I put you through pain? You cheated on me! That was all you!"
"So I want you to know that when you're going through a difficult time, trust the Lord! For He will pull you through from the mud and mire! And be thankful for getting through every obstacle you face!" Liam ended his speech.
The piano started playing a slow melody.
Liam placed the microphone right in front of his mouth, taking in a deep breath, preparing to sing.
God has not promised me sunshine
That's not the way it's going to be
But a little rain
Mixed with God's sunshine
A little pain
Makes me appreciate the good times
Liam raised his hand, signaling the choir to enter.
Be-e-e-e-e-e Grateful
Sonny noticed the graceful hand gestures and how the blonde commanded the choir and the band. It was graceful.
"When did he learn to sing like that?" Sonny was puzzled.
Be grateful
Because there's someone else who loves to be in your shoes
Be grateful…
Because there's someone else whose worse off than you!
The tempo of the music sped up rapidly while the drums and percussions entered.
Be grateful!
Be grateful!
Liam swayed in rhythm, his head bobbing up and down, smiling away while snapping his fingers.
Members of the congregation quickly stood up, clapping their hands.
Looking on his left and right, Sonny awkwardly follow suit.
Cos God is good! And He's good all the time!
Ba-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do grateful!
Be grateful!
Because He's always coming through, coming through for me and you!
Everybody doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo
Be grateful!
Whoa-oh be grate-ful-oo-oo-oo-oo-oh
Whoa-oh everyday you're gonna be grateful because He's good!
Be grateful!
Tell'em be grateful-ooh yeah!
You may not have everything you that you want but you oughta be grateful!
Be grateful!
For the clothes on your back you oughta be grateful!
Be grateful!
For the shoo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ooes on your feet be grateful!
Be grateful!
Life has its strengths be grateful…
Tell your neighbour…
Liam closed his eyes and raised a finger in the air, getting lost in the music.
The tempo of the music decelerated as the choir followed suit.
Be-e-e-e-e-e Grateful
Be-ee-ee-ee-ee Be-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-eeeee GRATEFUL! Cos…
I-i-i-i-ittt
Will
Be-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ee
Whoa-ooh-whoa-ooh-whoa-ooh-WHOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAA
After sustaining the long note for seconds, Liam waved his hand in the air, signaling for all the music to stop.
The congregation was now applauding.
"Take it home white boy!" The man sitting beside Sonny shouted.
Liam was feeling breathless. He gave all his might in this song. He took a few seconds to compose himself.
"Always remember," Liam noted, "God made sure the rainbow comes after the storm, not before! If you want to see the rainbow, you have to let it pour!" He smiled as he took a deep breath, belting the last note out.
ALL-OOOH-ALL-OOH-ALL-OOH-ALRIGHTTTTTTTTTTTT!
Right….
The music stopped and the entire congregation applauded.
"Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Worthy is the lamb!" Liam exclaimed. However, his smile faded when he saw Sonny Kiriakis in the congregation, giving him a cold, hard stare.
Liam's heart started to thump hard.
"No more Jackson Kiriakis." Liam tried suppressing his fear. "I will no longer fear you! It's all over! You are over!"
"Rainbow after the storm?" Sonny was appalled at hearing Liam's hypocrisy. "You haven't seen what an actual storm is! And it's going to hit you real soon. This is just the beginning!" He promised.
A/N: Okay, that's it for now! It took me forever to write this chapter because I wanted to add so much into it. I contemplated A LOT about Will/Liam's reaction to Sonny's arrival in New York and how it should play out. Should Will/Liam be more Will or more Liam in tackling Sonny? Should Will/Liam go back to compassionate Will Horton in the past? And the list of questions go on. Add that with my other school projects, I've been extremely busy!
But anyway, what do you think? Is it too overdeveloped? Too underdeveloped? REVIEW! :D
Oh btw, the song is 'Be Grateful' by Walter Hawkins. I mixed the Kim Burrell & Tamar Braxton versions for this chapter though.
Thanks for reading & once again, REVIEW! :D