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

"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

"I can't find the pictures anymore," Charlotte said, alarmed. She was holding her phone in her hand, refreshing her page over and over to verify if it was a technical problem. It wasn't."What do you mean?" Xavier asked, taking her phone from her. "Look at my page. It just disappeared. Right now. I don't know how. I didn't delete it," she said. "Hmm. I'm sure Private must have had something to do with this," Xavier muttered under his breath. "What do we do now?" she asked, feeling afraid. The fact that someone could just delete a post she had made a few hours ago from her own account without her consent was so scary. It made her feel like she had no privacy. If someone could do this whevener they wanted, what else could they do? If someone like Laura had the power and the means to do soemthing like this, what else would she try next? Xavier stood up."Where are you going?" she asked him."I'm going to do something I should have done a long time ago.""Xavier, wait," she called, r

Private hummed a tune to himself as he unlocked the door of his apartment and entered. Working for Laura was one of the most infuriating jobs he had ever taken, but he had no choice. He took off his shoes and dropped the bag of groceries he had just purchased from the store on the table to sort them out later. Next, he switched on the light in the living room and screeched loudly when he found someone sitting on his couch. “Hello, Private,” Xavier greeted his PI with a smile and wave of hand. His legs were crossed over the other and he looked comfortable, like he hadn’t just been sitting in the dark for who knew how long. “How did you come…? How do you know where…?” Private stammered, pointing a finger at Xavier as he stepped back in fear. “How did I come into your apartment? How do I know where you live?” Xavier completed for him. “Well to answer your questions, first, it’s private and second, it’s private as well. Since we’re both keeping secrets from each other, why sho

Meeting Kate’s children wasn’t something Charlotte ever thought she would be doing soon, but there she was, getting to know Kiki and Kyle, Kate’s four-year old daughter and son. “I’ve heard so much about you,” Kiki said, beaming from ear to ear. “Me too,” Kyle said, not wanting his sister to be the center of attention. “Mom tells us about you every single day. I can’t believe you’re here.” Charlotte smiled at them and hugged them again. She didn’t let the fact that her sister always talked about her make her forget what she had done. After all, she could have said anything, whether good or bad. “It’s so nice to see you too,” she beamed. “You’re both so big.” The children chuckled. “It’s cos dad lets us eat junk when mom isn’t looking,” Kiki said. “Don’t tattle or else mom won’t let us anymore,” Kyle attacked his sister. “Alright that’s enough,” their father said, speaking for the first time since he got to the house. “Let’s get you both settled in.” While they left,