Colton"Daddy!" Eric rushes to me, screaming in his cheerful voice as I pick him up in my arms. He snakes his little arms around my neck and giggles. "Someone's really happy today. Whom did you beat up?" I ask curiously as he pushes himself back and curls up his face. "Mason""Again Mason? When will you stop fighting?" I shrug, wondering if my genes have worked in him at such a young age. However, in the last six years, I haven't found a single thing in him which is similar to me. I just don't want my son to be a troublemaker as I was years back. "He pokes me", he shrugs angrily."Then you should avoid it and tell the teachers. Good boys never drag such silly things""Tit for tat", he grimaces. "I don't know what I'm gonna do with you, Eric. Anyway, where's Chrisanna? You were with her the entire time or not?""I was with her. As you said, I didn't leave her at all. She's my best friend, no?" He beams. "That's like my good boy", I tap his cheek and open the door to settle him ins
ChristianWe come to the nearby beach when the sky has turned almost red. I had to choose a place nearby. Under the pinkish sky, I lie on the ground, holding her upon my chest."The sky is still the same", I mutter after a long pause. "A few things never change", she whispers. "But that doesn't matter""Then? Something else matters?" "Hmm", she hums."What?""Those eyes. Those eyes matter— which is gonna look at it"I look down at her lovingly and smile. Cold water hits our bodies, drenching us from our ankles to the waist. I watch her as her eyes longer on the mesmerising view. "Or maybe the person who treats those eyes matters", I whisper slowly near her face. She lifts her eyes slowly at me.Her eyes are swollen and red. I can finally watch them carefully when her frames aren't on. She didn't sleep the entire night and her swollen eyes are proof that she didn't even sleep. It's too rare to get angry with her. I don't want to. I never wanted to. Being ruthless to her would be th
ChristianI freeze for a whole second, hearing Colton's voice note. A huge scream escapes from Ivanna, bringing me back to reality."What?" She starts panicking. "H— how? How can— how can she throw up blood again? My baby. Christian, my baby. How's my baby? Call him. Ask him how's my baby"Ivanna begins to jerk my collar, her body vibrating in terror as she startles. Even though I'm freaking out here, I hold her tightly."Iv, Iv, relax. Please calm down""I can't. You know I can't. Take me to her right now. I wanna see her", she breaks into tears. I hold her shoulder and press her against my torso, leading her back to the car. "Colton. Call him. Chris, call him now", she rants when I make her sit inside and get into the car. "I'm calling him. But stop crying, please", I dial Colton's number and wipe her tears off with another hand. She doesn't stop. Every time Chrissie's health worsens, she ends up panicking and crying like this. At first, she acted strong. I still remember the day
TheaThe party seems to be hell boring. I can see a bunch of people gossiping and swallowing drinks. That's it. Nothing fun. I roam around and I had to talk to people I was not even interested in. I could feel many of John's partner's trying to approach me to talk. Even though I was enjoying the attention, no one seemed to catch my attention. It's been a long time since someone caught my eye. In the end, it feels like I have made my standards high. "Thea, did you see Ryan anywhere? I was checking out Kevin but—" Tiffany pauses as I glare at her."Ryan isn't a kid anymore. He must be around. Stop reporting to me about everything. Why did I hire you?" I look around Tiffany is my best friend from college, now more like a helping hand in everything. I wanted to give her a permanent job so she can be grateful to me all her life and I can have her as my assistant in not only handling my kids but all other stuff."Who are you looking for?" Tiffany rolls her eyes."Someone interesting. I c
Thea"You suddenly turned", he says again. "Anyway, I'm sorry"Not only the voice but every damn thing this man has is attractive. In just a couple of seconds, I take an entire glance at his perfect features. Tall and lean, deadly muscular body, perfect facial features. In short, every fucking thing I relish. I can't stop staring at him when he keeps apologising. "Listen, it was definitely not deliberate. Please stop giving silent looks and—" he pauses, maybe with the way I'm gazing up at him. He lets out a deep sigh and rolls his eyes, rubbing his neck as if he's exhausted. "Here!" I grab a glass of chilled water and hold it closer to him. "You look too stressed out, Mister"He glances at me for a whole second. The eye contact, I didn't know I needed. His eyes are dark grey and unusually desirable, and so is the way he gazes at. "Thanks for your concern", he takes the glass and drinks the whole, jerking his arms and tilting his neck as if he's jerking all the exhaustion and tensi
IvannaI can't find words to reply to. I wasn't ready for this, didn't expect this. I have come across people who didn't know me. But in the last eight years, no one has assumed something like this. Why did she feel like I'm a nanny? "Actually— I—", I get interrupted by her again."But seriously. I didn't think that Mr and Mrs Scott would treat their nanny like this. Even my sons have a nanny and she's looking better than you for this party", she tells me and scans me from head to toe. It's humiliating. I feel my body getting heavier with embarrassment and I lose the urge to say anything else. Am I really looking like a mess? I think I am. I should have thought about it before. I should have kept in mind that it's not only about my image but also Christian's.I look at Chrisanna to make sure she didn't hear anything. She has a habit of telling Christian every single thing and I don't want Christian to know what Mrs Fox uttered. Chrisanna is too busy with her drink.And the conversat
IvannaChristian drags me to the centre of the hall room when I keep asking him to stop. I know he's not gonna listen to me anyway. "Chris, please", I plead to him as I feel almost every eye coming toward me. I have never felt so embarrassed. After Mrs Fox had such a big misunderstanding, I'm feeling like I look the worst right here. Christian doesn't listen to me and grabs my shoulder tightly with a big smile towards the audience as I look down.Here I'm standing in a pair of jeans and a top without a bit of make-up on my swollen face which has permanent dark circles. My ruined body which could be hidden if I planned a gown, hair tied in a messy braid. I don't blame Mrs Fox for thinking that way. "Hello, everyone", Christian's voice drags all the attention from each corner, and so do Mr and Mrs Fox. I find Mrs Fox frowning as she sees Christian holding my shoulder.Damn! That's more embarrassing. I don't feel confident enough to look at the crowd. "So, I generally don't do those w
IvannaI turn around and find her wearing a tight-lipped smile. Despite being nervous about the first encounter, I smile back at her. "Hi, Mrs Fox", I mutter. An awkward silence. "Give it to me. I'll feed Chrisanna", Emily takes the plate from me. "You guys carry on"As Emily leaves there, I clear my throat and look at Mrs Fox confidently. "Well, I already apologised but still. I thought to apologise personally. I didn't mean to hurt you, Mrs Scott", she says.Her voice doesn't match her words. I believe she's like that. I hardly judge people by the way they speak."It's completely fine, Mrs Fox. I truly didn't mind. It was obvious that you might not expect Christian's wife like that", I tell her."You didn't mind. But I guess Mr Scott took it really really— seriously!" She takes a sip from her drink. "No. Actually— he didn't—" I stutter. "He didn't want to point you out with that. Actually, I didn't want to be involved in the party because of my appearance. He just wanted to mak