Harry's medicine.

It was no news that Noah Cooper was going to be at a popular gala in two days. The gala was going to be attended by top business moguls, celebrities and powerful personalities. Noah was no exception, and Charlene swore to be there to see him.

She had no idea how she was going to recognize the father of her child, she had never seen his face before, but she wasn't going to give up. Noah wasn't on any social media, he rarely appeared in press conferences and refused to have his pictures taken for any kind of publicity. No one knew why he was so private and withdrawn. 

“Oh my God. How did you get this?” Charlene asked with widened eyes, staring at the invite in her palm. She received an invite to be one of the servers at the gala and she couldn't believe it.

“Well, my father knows one of the organizers and they happened to be looking for servers so I made him get you an invite.” Vicky responded, her enthusiasm, unmatched. She knew how much Charlene loved Noah and would do anything to help her friend get her man.

“Thank you so much Vicky.” Charlene sniffed, hugging her tightly. 

“It's fine. Just make sure you get there in time, you have to be there before the guests.” Vicky winked, settling on the couch, next to Charlene.

“I can't believe that I'm finally going to see him, Harry's father.” Charlene sniffed, feeling overwhelmed. Her heart had not stopped racing ever since she heard that Noah had returned to the country. 

“Do you think he'll remember?” Vicky batted her lashes at her. 

“I don't know, maybe he will.”

“Harry will be so happy to finally meet his father.” Vicky added.

“I guess I owe him that, he's such a sweet child and deserves so much more than I give him.” Charlene lowered her head, trying to blink her tears away.

“Hey,” Vicky rubbed her back, “you're doing great, you're an amazing mother and I'm sure Harry appreciates you.” 

Charlene smiled softly, deciding to take it easy on herself. It hadn't been easy living with the guilt of separating a son from his father, she felt selfish all these years. But what could she have done? Her life and her sanity were at stake. 

… The Next Evening …

Harry had returned from school that day with a cold, and Charlene got really worried. Inviting Vicky over, she decided to go out and get some medicine despite the pouring rain. She ran out of the house and into her car, but even after several attempts, the car refused to start.

“Fucking piece of shit!” She cursed, letting out a groan. The rain was far too heavy for her to run under it all the way to the pharmacy, but she had no other option at that moment. Harry needed medicine, his sicknesses always scared the crap out of her. 

“I guess I'm doing this.” She sighed as she stepped out of the car, shielding her face with her arms. She ran into the street, waiting for a taxi but the heavy rain made it difficult to find any. Adding to that, their street wasn't a busy one.

Having no other choice, she started to run under the rain, hoping that the rain would stop soon but it didn't show any sign of stopping. She was almost getting close to the pharmacy when a rock in her path caused her to stumble. 

Letting out a loud shriek, she fell on her stomach, her ankle twisting in the process. She let out a loud cry, sitting on the sidewalk, under the pouring rain. A few cars drove by but none of them were willing to stop and help her.

“What do I do now!?” She let out heavy grunts, holding her sprained ankle. She tried to stand up but her legs failed her and she landed harshly on the floor again. “Fuck!”

Just then, a car pulled over right next to her, it was a black Mercedes, and the glasses were tinted. Her heart sunk for a moment, the thought of it being killers or robbers causing her breath to clench.

She watched as a man stepped out of the backseat, his scent terribly familiar. When he lifted his face, she almost gasped. 

“Noah.” She mouthed, immediately twisting her face in hate. He was the last person she wanted to see, especially after everything he said to her at the coffee shop. 

“What are you doing sitting there?” He asked, taking slow steps over to her, his expression unreadable. 

Charlene scoffed in annoyance, “yeah, like I would leave my house to come sit here under the rain on purpose. Are you blind to see that I'm injured?” She fired, holding her wounded ankle. 

Noah rolled his eyes, wondering why he even stopped in the first place. He was on his way to his hotel when he saw her and asked his driver to pull over.

“Get up.” He stretched out his hand, waiting for her to take it but she ignored him and struggled to get up on her own instead. She finally got to her feet and started limping away.

“Where do you think you're going? You're injured and wet!” He snapped, his eyebrows slightly furrowing as he stared at her. He didn't understand the burn in his chest as she limped away. 

“I’d rather die out here than accept any help from you,” she turned around to glare at him. “Who do you think you are anyway? First you call me names and belittle me in the worst ways possible and now you offer me help? You're crazy if you think I'm going to accept your help.” She scolded, still scarred from the words he said to her that day. 

Noah stood there unfazed, his eyes glistening under the rain. His wet shirt clung to his skin, exposing his bulky muscles which were almost irresistible. Charlene caught herself staring and looked away immediately. 

“If you decide to walk away, I'll call child support and have them take your kid away. You left that poor kid at home on his own, you're being a bad mother!” He yelled, although he did not make any movements, his gaze was sharp and precise.

Charlene raged, “I am not a bad mother! How can you even judge someone that you know nothing about!? That boy is my life and I'm out here because I need to get him medicine!” She screamed, tears pouring from her eyes and mixing with the rain that was pouring down on her. She was shivering from cold, her teeth chattering.

Noah remained silent and so did she. Neither said a word to each other for about two minutes.

“Come in and I'll get the medicine.” Noah broke the silence but Charlene shook her head. 

“I don't need your help.” 

“Don't be selfish this one time and do it for your son! He's waiting for you.” He spoke softly and Charlene sniffed, hesitantly limping over to him. 

As he towered above her, she peered into his big, blue eyes, a shudder running down her spine. Noah felt his heart sink, and it enraged him that she was making him feel that way. 

“Just so you know, I'm doing this for Harry.” He said, trying to clear his own doubts. 

Charlene blinked at him, “so am I.” 

He helped her into the car and they drove to the pharmacy where Charlene's sprained ankle was attended to. They had a change of clothes, picked up the medicine and Noah insisted on dropping her off at home.

They soon arrived at her home and he got down from the car, escorting her to the door even after she told him not to worry about it. The rain was only drizzling, it wasn't heavy anymore.

“You didn't have to bring me home.” Charlene rubbed her arms, feeling cold from the rain.

“I promised to get you back to Harry, so that's what I'm doing.” He answered, his eyes carrying no emotion. Charlene wondered how a person could be that cold and indifferent. 

She placed a knock on the door just as Noah was about to walk away but Harry opened the

door, smiling widely.

“Daddy!” He screamed and Noah stopped in his tracks, stunned.