He takes off the dark glasses and narrows his eyes at me.
"Who are you?"
Shit!
It is not Ramon.
This is so embarrassing.
I clear my throat, as I let go of his denim jacket, feeling embarrassed as fuck.
"Sorry, Sir..."
Eric drapes his hand over my shoulder and scowls at the guy.
"What is the matter, Mila? What did this guy do to you?"
Oh God!
I not only embarrassed myself but I am also embarrassing this stranger.
"I mistook him for someone... " I explain to Eric.
I turn to the stranger. "I am really sorry..."
The guy just shakes his head and walks away, confused and a little embarrassed.
Eric cups my face between his hands gently. "Are you okay, Mila?"
I nod, still a little shaken.
"I want to go home."
÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷
Roy scampers into the house the minute we step out of Eric's car.
Eric escorts me to the front porch, his jacket around my naked arms.
I can not believe I dressed up to go on a fucking date! And to make matters worse, I ruined it!
"Tonight was... Great," he lies.
I chuckle. "That must be nominated for lie of the year."
He laughs. "No. It was cool hanging out with you. For real. It was... A bit awkward and did not go as planned but I learnt something new about you."
I smile nervously. "And that is?"
"You are honest."
"I hope that's a good thing."
"Are you kidding! Ofcourse! The world is so full of liars and honest people are scarce. Finding people like you is so hard. You are rare, Mila."
That is so true.
He sighs. "I hope we still remain friends... If that is okay with you."
I would not call Eric and I friends.
We know next to nothing about each other. I just know he is a handsome single dad to a cute little boy, who is my son's best friend. The first time we met was last year when Renny refused to go back home because he wanted to play some more with Roy.
And since then, I have been babysitting Renny for him then he comes to pick him up in the evening after a long day of work. And strangely, we just smile at each other, exchange a word or two and that is just it.
I do not even know if he has been married before or if he is divorced or who the mother of his son is.
So yeah... We are not really friends. He is just a person that I know who I do not really know... Does that make any sense?
I grin. "Yeah sure!"
He scans me keenly and says.
"And... You can talk to me about anything if you would like..."
I bet he is talking about what happened at the date. Me hallucinating about Ramon. But he must be crazy... I would NEVER ever talk to him about my private stuff.
Ramon taught me a crucial lesson the hard way. Thanks to him I find it hard to trust or confide in anyone. Even my own mother and my friends... And just everyone in general.
I plaster a smile.
"Yea... Sure!" I lie to him.
Roy opens the door abruptly and looks at Eric.
"Wave my mom goodbye now," he clings on my dress. "I do not want her to catch a cold and get sick like Lumia."
My baby is the cutest, honestly.
He continues. "I mean, who will kiss me morning and make me chocolate milk if she gets sick?" he makes Eric laugh. "There is no way I am allowing a woman with a running nose to get near me and my stuff."
He has this stern, no-nonsense look as he says this. Eric and I just find ourselves laughing. I hold my baby's hand and wave him.
"Goodnight."
He turns to Roy.
"Goodnight little man. And take care of mommy, okay?"
He winks. "That is my job."
÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷
I check my son's exercise book this morning and I am met with a shocker.
He has not done his homework!
"Roy, why haven't you done your homework?" I inquire harshly.
The cute little thing is slurping through his milk, the toasted crumps of bread scattered allover the coffee table.
He shrugs. "Stop freaking out, Mom!"
I glare at him.
"Mrs. Morrell is going to be so mad at you. I don't want to be called to school for the second time because of this, Roy!"
He sips his milk without a care in the world.
"Mrs. Morrell has been transferred. She gave us sweets as "goodbye" yesterday. We have a new teacher coming in. "
Oh! Thank God!
Mrs. Morrell never really liked Roy and it used to bother me. She always complained that my son is mischievous and very naughty.
Roy did not hide his dislike for her either. So with a new teacher coming in, I hope they will get along.
I wend towards him, wipe his face and hang the backpack on his shoulders.
"But still, complete the homework immediately you get to school..."
He nods. "Yes sir!"
The bus honks outside.
it is time for my baby to leave. I hate it when he leaves. This house has no life in it without him. He is my only source of life and joy. He makes this house a home I love living in...
I bend then he pecks me on the cheek and tells me,
"I love you so much, Mommy."
Then he runs off.
I follow him behind and watch him as he climbs on the school bus and sits next to Renny.
The two boys wave through the glasswindow as the bus leaves.
When the bus vanishes completely, I spot a black car some few steps away.
That same exact car was there yesterday but I was not suspicious.
But now...
Now it is a little... Suspicious.
I strut towards the car.
I can not see the face of the driver clearly.
The driver suddenly starts speeding off.
What the hell!
÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷
Maybe I am just being paranoid!
That could not be who I think it is...
Ramon!
I mean, I don't think he could ever find out where I live. I live far far away in a quiet town and there is no way he could have found us already.
I know my mom wouldn't dare tell him.
Wait... Riana?
Fuck! I will go crazy if this goes on...
I quickly make myself a hot cup of coffee and turn on my laptop.
A private message from my new favorite reader pops up.
hopelessromantic❤️
Hey... I am eagerly waiting for your next book. So stop it with the torture already... I crave a taste of your books.Couldn't the whole world be like this? Kind and sweet to the other person.
Maybe that is just the cure to the countless forms of hate in this world. Just kindness and sweetness and lots of love. You do not know how the comment brought a smile to my face and instantly changed my mood.
Just a nice sweet comment was enough to brighten my day when I was feeling nervous and restless.
Me
I am writing soon I promise...hopelessromantic❤️
And what is the book about?Me
Not thought about that yet...hopelessromantic♥️
I know whatever it is, it will be amazing and I will be here to cheer you on. 🥳🥳My face breaks into a smile.
Whoever this reader is, they are my day maker and I love them.
÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷
The day flies by so fast and before you know it, it is late afternoon and my two men walk bravely through the gate.
But this time, with a visitor.
A pretty little visitor with Golden hair pushed back in a neat ponytail. She is walking between the two boys. She looks so uneasy, her cute face all red from blushing I guess...
My son is also blushing and I find it so funny. He clears his throat and acts like a little adult.
"Mom, this is my friend, Lumia."
"Hi pretty doll."
She beams. "Hallo, Ma'am."
"I have heard a lot about you, Lumia..."
She is startled to hear that.
Roy glares at me, giving me a "warning" look. So I shut my mouth before I say anything to "embarrass" him.
"Welcome to our home, darling," I open the door wide for the three.
Lumia is really quiet the whole time, looking at the ground.
Roy keeps staring at her and it is so creepy.
Renny is just giggling, I don't know why.
"Lumia, will you have some chocolate milk?"
She looks at Roy as if to seek permission then nods. They sit around the table having the chocolate milk.
My son is unusually quiet.
"So boys, aren't you going to tell me how school was?"
Roy's face beams. "We have a new teacher!"
He seems pretty excited about this new teacher.
"That teacher likes Roy already... He kept looking at him and asking him questions in all the lessons," Renny groans. "You would think Roy is the only student."
He glances at Renny. "You are just jealous, dude!"
Strangely, Lumia finds that funny.
Nobody except her chuckles.
As she laughs, she splatters the milk allover the table. She blushes with shame and looks mortified.
Roy quickly shoots up from the seat, takes a tablecloth and wipes clean the mess. He then takes off his school shirt and is left with a yellow games T-shirt. He wipes Lumia's mouth and face with it and tells her softly,
"It is fine. Don't worry."
What the fuck is this boy doing? And, how old is he again?
He reminds me so much of... No!
My boy resumes to his seat after that and acts like nothing just happened.
"Mom?" he turns to me. "There is a PTA meeting at school tomorrow."
I groan.
"I know."
Thank God he reminded me! I would have totally forgotten. I hate PTA meetings. They are usually very boring and most of the time, I struggle not to yawn.
Roy looks at his two friends and announces to them,
"Guys! This is boring! Let us go play in my room!"
I throw them a stern look.
"Boys! Finish the milk first!"
Just then, I hear the doorbell ring.
Why has Eric come so early today?
I rush to the door and open it.
UGH!
NO WAY!!!
÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷
I would have kicked her out.I swear I would have.But how could I? She brought her cute little daughter with her.The pretty little thing has beautiful hair and wide green eyes like her dad's. She looks a lot like her dad, Warren."Claire, meet my best friend, Camilla."The little girl looks up at me.I squat to talk to her."Hallo there, Claire."She is a shy one.Her head falls then she mumbles."Hi."Roy, Lumia and Renny are standing behind me, staring at the visitors. Renny shuffles towards Claire and touches her hand,"Come and play with us."I have never seen Renny so confident before.Roy p
I stand stiff, glued to the ground.For a moment, I completely freeze and my blood stops running through my veins.I hold on to my son so tightly, not sure what to do."This is Mr. Lawrence, mom!" he says in delight, pointing to him.Ramon is a fucking devil.Once he deceived me and now here he is, deceiving my poor little son."Nice to meet you Ms. Clarke," he stretches his hand shamelessly to me.How did he know I changed my name from Clarkson to just Clarke?I fake a smile."Nice to meet you Mr. Lawrence."My son looks up at us and smiles."Mom is single, Mr. Lawrence."Ramon looks up at me with a wide grin on his face. "Well, seems like I am a luc
My heart sinks."Is that a threat?"Ramon looks at me sternly."If you dare expose me, I will have no option but to demand for the full custody of my child."I freeze completely."And just remember," he leans in to whisper. "You will be battling in a court of law with a professional lawyer. Now, would you really like that? Our dear baby getting dragged from one side to another, totally confused just because of the selfish actions of the parents?"No!I know how ugly custody battles can get. And the sad part is, the kids suffer the most. No. I would not want to put my baby through that.I look at Ramon and I see the victorious grin on his face. You would think he just won a lottery. He is enjoying to see me in a state of fear."Listen!" I hiss. "Do not think for a second that you have won this just yet..."
"What is wrong? Tell me!"I am shrieking and completely freaking out."My ex-wife is a psychopath!" he blurts out. "She tried to kill Renny one time... And you just gave him away! Just like that!"My heart sinks."I did not know Eric! If I did... If I did, I would not have given him away!" I quiver. "Now what are we going to do?"He bolts to his car."Find Renny."÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷"FUCK!! FUCK!! FUCK!!"Eric bangs the steering wheel, cussing furiously when his psychopathic wife declines his call.Roy is sitting at the backseat silently, aware of the tension floating in the air.Eric looks frustrated and I feel so fucking horrible that I am the one making him go through all this. It is my fault all this is happening."We sh
A week has gone by with me trying to avoid Ramon the best I can. And he's done a good job at staying the fuck away from me and I am impressed.Maybe changing my mind was a good thing.I couldn't pack up and just leave this town like that without considering Roy. Most of his friends are here. He loves school more than ever and he's very fond of his fake teacher, Mr. Lawrence. Basically, his entire life is in this town and taking that away from him would be selfish.I wish there was something I could do to get Ramon fired so that my son could get a new class teacher.My only worry is Ramon.What if he takes him away from me?"Why would Ramon take your son away from you?," Riana asks, looking at me like I'm being ridiculous.I sip my hot cup of coffee. "I don't trust him. I know he can do anything!"She munches on the apple. "I don't th
"Listen, Camilla!" Ramon sneers at me. "I'm going to take Roy away from you and you'll be left all alone!"I scowl at him, tears streaming down my eyes. "You can't take Roy away from me!"He grins evilly. "Then watch me do exactly that."He starts to walk away from me but I grab his arm. "Don't you dare!"He grabs me aggressively. "Roy is mine! I'm his dad! So, don't try me and don't dare get in my way!""Roy is mine!" I start crying hysterically. "Only mine! And you have no right whatsoever over him."He sneers. "Listen, woman! He's my son too and the only thing separating me and him is you."Roy suddenly walks towards us.Ramon squats and hugs him. "Who do you want, Roy? Daddy or mommy?"My son grins broadly at Ramon. "I want you daddy."My heart sinks and I co
"Shouldn't you two be at school teaching or something?" I ask them dryly.Allison is not pleased at all by my question. "We are on lunch break and Mr. Lawrence hates the food at school."I continue eating my food, pissed as hell.Ramon ruined my lunch date with Eric. He is such a pain the ass honestly.To my surprise, he turns to Eric. He clears his throat and leans his elbows on the table."So, Eric, what do you do?""I am a managing director at my dad's brewery company," he responds, despite of the puzzling question."Mmh... Interesting."Ramon glances at me then at Eric and suddenly blurts out,"You two are always together most of the time. Is there something going on between the two of you?"I choke.I glare at him. "That is none of your business, Mr. Lawrence!"He grins. "Uh... Sorry about my lack of manners, Ms. Clarke. I just asked that because I would like to
"I don't know what to do Riana."For the first time ever, I visited Riana in her house this morning. And I must say, Warren has impeccable taste in real estate. The house decor is just perfect!"You should probably thank him or something..."No fucking way! How the fuck can she tell me to call up Ramon and tell him how grateful I am for what he did for me! I mean, I'm thankful that one of my books is almost about to get published by the best publishers. But there is no way I would call him! Let alone to tell him thankyou! No way!I spent the entire night thinking about what to do after Janet gave me the amazing offer. I'm torn in between thanking Ramon or just pretending like he didn't do me that HUGE favor.I mean, thanking him would kinda make it look like we are all cool and shit (WHICH WE ARE NOT). And I don't want that.