08: Leave

WINTER:

My mouth fell open as I continued staring at my husband.

Calcifer.

He was as handsome as ever. The curls in his hair reminded me of the waves on the ocean rushing towards the shore. Just like my pretty Liam.

My heart clenched as the memories of our marriage rushed through my mind. And our last meeting. The signing of the divorce papers.

Was he happy now?

Maybe because there was no longer the woman who was giving him a hard time.

Did he still remember how he hurt me? Did he still remember how he was cruel by giving up on me? If I did not stop Dad, Calcifer would be dead by now. Out of his anger, he nearly ordered someone to kill Calcifer. It was evil, of course, but I could not blame Dad.

Despite what had happened to our marriage, I did not want anything to happen to him. I wanted to focus on the things when we were still happy and how good he was to me.

I was brought out of my shock and rushed to my crying son.

The man. No. Calcifer was stunned for a moment realizing it was his ex-wife in front of him.

I snatched Liam’s hand away from him and turned my back.

“Winter.”

Calcifer’s mouth gaped open and the phone he was holding nearly slipped on his hands. He was completely oblivious to Liam's cry of pain.

Not minding him, I focused my attention on Liam.

I knelt and wiped the tears from his eyes.

“Shh. My poor baby. You have Mommy now.”

I could feel my ex-husband's burning stare at the back of my head. By now, his mind was already looking for reasons on how the heck Liam and him resembled so much.

He deserved my silence.

“You can stop crying now, Liam.”

“There's no wound, Winter,” Hawk said.

Sometimes, he would call me by my name or he would call me Miss Winter. Depending on his mood. I forced Hawk to call me by my own name since I much preferred it that way. However, it was also because of that reason that almost all the people whom we met thought we were husband and wife with a child. I hoped my ex-husband would also think the same.

“Winter?” my ex-husband asked.

I pretended that I never heard Calcifer and grabbed Liam’s hand. My son was more important than the man who never had the balls to stay with me until the end. The man who only used our family’s money to their advantage.

I should focus on those things rather than let him destroy my peace. Again.

Calcifer was already part of my past and I would never allow him to hurt me again. Especially my son. Liam must not know he was his Dad. He might try to snatch my son from me and that was the time I would use all our family money to stop him.

“Mommy. My butt. Hurts,” Liam announced.

“Shh. You can stop crying now. I know it hurts. We can ask Doctor Jett to check on you, okay?” To Hawk, I ordered, “Prepare the car. We will be going home now.”

We must get out of here as fast as we can. Seeing Calcifer…only brought nothing but pain.

I stood and tightly grabbed my son’s hand. I will not allow my ex-husband to take him away from me. I would die.

“Winter,” Calcifer called again, this time, sounding as if he was being desperate. “Who is that child?”

Did he feel that he was Liam’s father? They said there was that kind of feeling where you know that the child was yours in one instant.

Calcifer could not take his eyes away from Liam.

Maybe he felt the connection between them. Too bad I no longer want him to be in our life. He left me. And there was no way I would be begging to have him in our life.

“Why do you ask?” I picked Liam and put him in my arms, wiping the tears from his eyes while calming her. He sniffed a couple of times, but already stopped crying when Hawk offered him his favorite stuffed toy of a dog. “Does it matter to you?”

Liam leaned her chin on my shoulder and turned her back at Calcifer which I was thankful for.

“N-nothing. I just…am curious. When I left, you didn’t have a child.”

Wrong.

Unknown to me, I was already carrying Liam without knowing it.

“It’s none of your damn business,” I snapped...

“Mommy. Are you angry?” Liam asked and looked at my face. “Who is that uncle?”

I had to bite back the down that was trying to resurface. Now was not the time to be emotional.

“Y-Yes. He is an uncle. Mommy’s friend before.”

“How about now?”

“Let’s get you to the car, shall we? Mommy will answer your questions later.”

Liam looked at Calcifer and prayed that my ex-husband wouldn’t be saying anything.

I heaved a sigh.

“Who are you, mister?”

“The name’s Calcifer. I am your Uncle Calcifer.”

Hawk’s eyes shifted between my ex-husband and Liam. Something flashed in his eyes before it disappeared.

“Let me carry Liam for you, Winter.”

Without waiting for my response, Hawk snatched Liam from my arms.

“I want daddy. I loved daddy.”

My heart skipped a bit and looked at Calcifer who was eyeing us intently.

Ah. Right. Liam would sometimes call Hawk her daddy. I had corrected her about it, but she won’t ever stop her daddy. Maybe because the man was always beside us and wouldn’t leave us.

“Who is he, Winter?” Calcifer asked, his eyes trained on Hawk.

“That’s out of your concern, Calcifer. We will be going now.”

I was about to leave him when he grabbed my wrist. Looking at it, I said, “Remove your hand.”

“Who is that child?”

“Winter? Is everything okay?” Hawk asked.

I smiled at him. “Yes. Please get Liam to the car.”

“May I know who he is?” Hawk politely said.

My eyes lingered on Calcifer and went back to Hawk. “He’s an acquaintance,” I answered and pulled my hands away. “Let’s not cross our path, Calcifer.”

“Pumpkin, I…I'm sorry for what I did. I was a fool back then. That time, a lot had been happening in my life which you also did not know.”

His eyes were full of regret as if he was talking honestly.

“Did you think I also did not have my own share of problems? For the past few years, I thought I inherited our family's disease. I thought I was going to die like my Mom. I wanted your moral and emotional support, Calcifer,” I harshly whispered, scared that Hawk and Liam would hear me.

But they were already inside the car.

Calcifer stepped forward as if he were going to touch me, but I stepped backward.

His hands fell on his sides.

“When you signed the divorce papers…I…I wanted to rip it, but shame got ahead of me. I mean…I was a coward, back then, pumpkin. But now…I want to rectify myself. Please…please forgive me. Please accept me again as your husband.”