“Do you want more milk with your cereal?” Charlotte asked Caleb, using the highest pitched voice she could muster. The boy didn’t even look up at her. He just kept turning his dry cereal, until she gave up and poured the milk for him. He had started therapy, but so far, nothing had changed. The only person he was comfortable being around was Kate, and that even hurt more than any other thing. Kate had asked her not to sweat it because her mother had probably convinced him she was a bad person even before they met. She wondered how things would be between them since Kate would soon return back to London to be with her family. That morning, she was the only person left to take care of him. Kate had gone out ti meet friends she hadn’t seen in years, while Xavier had gone out to work. It was boring staying home with someone who wouldn’t even regard her existence. It was weird that she felt even more lonely now than when she had been in her apartment. Marcella walked into the dining
The surprised look on Kate’s face made every hope that all of this was just a huge misunderstanding disappear. Kate and Carlos obviously had history, and judging by how Kate’s chest heaved for long without her breaking into a smile or hurriedly introducing them, it was probably not a good one. “What are you doing here?” Kate asked finally. “I work for Mr Roman,” Carlos explained. Kate nodded and crossed her arms over each other. “Hi sis,” she greeted Charlotte, only noticing her then. “Hi, Kate,” Charlotte said flatly, and turned to check if Carlos had heard her call her real name. Kate frowned when she realized what her sister was trying to do, but the frown was quickly replaced with a sharp smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “See you around,” she said quickly to Carlos and walked past him into the house and shut it, not giving him any chance to object her dismissal. “Miranda?” Charlotte asked as her sister paused by the shut door. She rolled her eyes. “Ha ha, very fun
Charlotte saw the flicker of fear pass the secretary’s face as she turned once again to her coworkers who stood at a safe distance to egg her on. Emboldened, she crossed her arms and faced Charlotte squarely. “What trap?” She asked with a snicker. “Aren’t you tired of showing up here and making a fool of yourself each time? You may have had some level of respect if you stayed home as a trophy wife, but no you just have to keep coming here and giving people more reasons to mock you. It’s not even like you could do your job right.” Charlotte’s eye twitched, but she managed to maintain her smile. She had heard all of this before, so it didn’t bother her as much it once did. It was obvious she was only trying to get a rise out of her, but she was prepared. A few people gathered around the hallway, pretending to be busy when it was obvious they just wanted to watch the drama unfold. Charlotte would never let herself become a part of something like this again, but she couldn’t just l
“What makes you think he’s working against you?” Charlotte asked. “He has been acting weird lately. I can’t put my hand on it but something seems off. I’m thinking of getting some other private investigator but Private is the best. He will figure it out,” Xavier said with a sigh. “Do you have anyone in mind?” She asked, her mind going different places. “Yes,” Xavier nodded, and that’s why I have to be careful. “I think he’s working for Laura. I started to suspect him when he told me he couldn’t find anything incriminating about her, like someone was preventing from doing so. I got my confirmation when the same videos I asked him to destroy found their way back into Laura’s phone. I don’t know how much Laura is paying him to make him think he can get away with stabbing me in the back but I hope it’s worth it because he’s definitely going to pay.” Charlotte nodded. No wonder he was so angry. “Thanks for the flowers,” she said after, hoping to change the subject and ease some te
“Is there anyone he talks to?” The therapist asked Xavier after Caleb’s session. “Is there anyone he’s comfortable around? His mother for example?” It had been almost two weeks of therapy and yet, Caleb was showing no signs of recovery. He was still as scared and quiet as he had been the first day Xavier brought him to the house and now, even the therapist was giving up hope. “There’s this woman at my house, Kate,” Xavier said, hoping they would take the lead from there and not have to invite Laura. The therapist nodded. “His mother?” “No. She’s not in the picture. We’re divorced and she does not have custody,” Xavier lied. He looked right at the woman who he suspected must have run her research about him and definitely knew all about Laura, but his gaze did not waver because he knew she wouldn’t dare to cross him by involving Laura. “Tell me more about this Kate,” she urged finally, going back to scribbling on her notepad. “She’s my wife’s sister. She has kids of her own and wh
Alone with Caleb in the waiting room, Charlotte remained silent while she watched the boy stare at the wall. It was obvious he was special, and she sincerely wished there was some way to enter his mind and talk to him, assure him she wasn't a bad person like he probably thought. She sighed and turned when she heard the sound of footsteps approaching. It was just someone with a stack of papers in their hand passing, who reminded Charlotte of Xavier's secretary. Even though she hated her guts, Charlotte wondered if she could have done things differently. She had never been one to slut-shame anyone, but desperate times had called for desperate measures. "Ouch," Caleb's squeak of discomfort pulled her away from her thoughts. "What's wrong?" she asked him, placing a hand on the foot he had pulled up. He stared at her but didn't say anything for a while. She gave him a tired smile because his silence didn't shock her. "When I was little, each time I had a bumpy, my sister would always
Charlotte chuckled when she watched Xavier chase Caleb around the park. Whenever he got close enough to touch Caleb, he slowed down on purpose, so that the game wouldn't come to an end. Caleb screamed in delight as Xavier played with him, and when Charlotte wasn't bursting out laughing, she was marvelling at what a delight it was to see how great he was at being a dad. She took a few pictures and videos of them running around on her phone and uploaded them to her personal social media account. Xavier waved at her from a point in the park, where he and Caleb had stopped to rest from their running, and she waved back with a proud smile. She ignored her phone that was buzzing with notifications and focussed on watching the other people with their children in the park. It was a beautiful sight, and she was more than happy to be there. When she checked her notifications however, the proud smile on her face diminished entirely. What had she been thinking when she uploaded those pictures?
"You could have just sent a text or something, and I would have taken it down immediately," Charlotte said and brought out her phone from the picnic basket where she had dropped it. She wasn't in the mood to argue or exchange words with someone like Laura who apparently enjoyed it. "I'll take the post down right away." "I didn't come here to ask you to take the post down, you skank!" Laura snarled. "Why on earth would you show my baby's face in public without my consent? Who the fuck do you even think you are? If I had known you were still around Xavier, I would never have let him take my son. I don't need you corrupting my son..." "Now, that's enough from your uncouth mouth," Xavier yelled, making all of them jerk in surprise. “What's the point of this stunt you're pulling now? Insulting my wife in public? What exactly do you intend to gain from it. She has already agreed to take down the posts, so what's your deal? I'm sick and tired of your shit!" "Xav, I..." Laura began in a