Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 41 - Chapitre 50

Salma If someone was going to use my career against me, I had never envisaged that it would be Brandon McClean. Once, we were eating dinner out of cardboard takeout in a park at school during exams. We were talking about his aunt Ida who had lost custody of her son because the court deemed her too busy to be a committed parent. “I just think it's low that her ex would do that to her,” Brandon had said with a shrug of his shoulders. “I guess the judge was trying to make a fair ruling for both parents. She still gets to see her son, but only during weekdays when she does not have to work,” To me, the ruling was kind of perfect, “What's the point in having a kid to yourself all the time?” Brandon scoffed and heaved as if I had said the most offensive thing in the world. “She has to pay child support now,” Brandon added, as though it were the magic wand that would make me agree with his viewpoint. “I think this is less about having the child and more about control,” I countered, “y

Brandon “I'm just making sure you're not getting into the pants of your business dates,” she returned with an air quote. “Clearly, you do not trust me…” “You're damn right I don't! You chased that woman to the airport this morning. Why would you do that?” Her eyes were red with anger. There was just no way she would understand this if I did not explain it to her. But already I had lost her trust, was I supposed to tell her that she was going to be a stepmother just like that? “Are you following me?” I asked her.She shrugged her shoulders. “What would you have me do?” I shook my head. This relationship was no longer healthy. “You cannot stalk me, Elaine.” “I love you…” “Stalking me is not loving me,” I said, “you're just trying to control me.” “What do you want me to do then? You won't go to therapy with me. It feels like I'm the only one making an effort to keep this relationship from falling apart.” “You're the one who insisted on being engaged on the same day you walked i

Salma I deleted the message and flung my phone to the other side of the bed. Who the hell did she think she was anyway? We have to talk. I scoffed. I did not owe her anything. If she was mad that her boyfriend cheated on her, that was on her boyfriend and not me. My phone began to ring, though, and I rolled over on the bed to get to it. It was an unknown number calling me. I hissed but answered the call anyway. “Who's this?” I asked, my tone blunt when I answered the call. “So you really cannot call us to inform us that you're in…” I ended the call, my heart beating rapidly. What the hell did these people want from me? Especially my stepmother of all people? If I had to guess, I would say that Aeriel had told her I was in Texas. My phone rang again, and I almost flung the device against the wall in annoyance until I saw Freddie's name across my screen. “Freddie!” I said, “I was about to call you.” “Is there a problem, ma'am?” “I won't be travelling to Sudan anytime soon,”

Brandon The therapist’s office was just like I had imagined—designed to make one feel comfortable but I could see through the façade. The interior did not bring me ease but distress. A middle-aged woman stood up to greet us when we walked in. She motioned for us to sit on the sofa opposite her. “I am Dr. Morris, but all my patients call me Ruth,” she said, extending her hand to us. Elaine took her hand, and introduced us to each other. “Can you tell me why you're here?” she asked us. I cleared my throat. “I cheated.”It was as simple as that, and there was no need to sugarcoat anything. I also did not think this could work again. Since Elaine had walked in on me having sex with Salma, I had given up on our relationship. “So you are taking responsibility for the challenges you're currently facing in your relationship?” she asked me.“Yes.” “That is a good start,” Ruth said, then she shifted her gaze to Elaine, “ Is this something you're willing to move on from?” “Yes.”“Why?”

Salma “Dr. Gascon?” “Yes?” “This way please,” an usher led me into the hall of a fundraiser Freddie had just added to my calendar. The fundraiser was meant to raise money for young single mothers struggling to keep up. It was an initiative I loved, given that I was a single mother myself. Perhaps not so young anymore, but when I had Leona, I was very young and fresh out of medical school with almost no support. I had barely taken my seat at the event when the speaker mentioned my name, “We have in our midst today, Dr. Gascon, who has offered to perform free medical tests on single mothers present with us today.” All eyes turned to face me and I gave a polite nod and a small wave before taking my seat. I settled in and listened to the rest of the event. Then my name was called to say a word or two. As I walked onto the podium, I was applauded by those who remained seated. When I got to the podium, I adjusted my microphone and cleared my throat. Then I leaned forward ever so sli