CHAPTER SEVEN - I AM COMING HOME

I was so stunned. 

I would never have thought I would hear those words coming from him.  

My shoulders shook with my knees. If it were not for Tony grabbing me from behind and making me lean on him for a while, my knees would have buckled, and I would have landed on the floor.

“It’s alright, Cassy. I got you.” He whispered in my ears, drawing me back to the sofa to sit while we walked to the door and closed it gently. 

He went to the fridge to get me a bottled water, and I took a sip.  

A few minutes later, I rose to my feet. I walked to the door, beckoning for Tony to follow me.

We were silent on the elevator.  

At the lobby, my phone rang.  It was Tory calling. 

“I’ll take this to the car,” Tony said before he left, dragging my two suitcases behind him. 

I went to a secluded corner of the waiting lounge and talked to Tory. She wanted to see me. I obliged and mentioned the name of a high-end restaurant not far from the hotel before ending the call. 

When I turned around,  I saw my former mother-in-law coming through the entrance.  

I would like to turn my head away, but it was too late.  Caleb’s mother already saw me.  Her expression was as dark as her son’s when we argued outside my hotel room earlier. 

She walked up to me with her head raised.  

In no time, we are standing face to face. 

“How much did my son pay you to get you off his back?” She was so sarcastic as she looked me up and down. 

Initially, I wanted to ignore her. His son and I were divorced.  

I decided to step to the right, ignoring her, but she persisted.  

“Hold it right there. I was asking you a question.  Is this how you treat the elderly? By ignoring them?” Her shrill voice caught the attention of the people in the lobby. 

When I looked around me, I wanted to disappear right that moment because there was displeasure on the faces of our onlookers. 

They must have heard Mrs. Kingston and agreed with her. 

“Ma’am, I meant no disrespect.  As for the money, your son can confirm that I never received any.”

Mrs. Kingston looked at me contemptuously.  

“I do not believe you. A gold-digger like you refusing my son’s money? That is preposterous! I would believe that a crow would turn white, but not you, rejecting my son’s money.  It was the reason you trapped him into marriage, to begin with. ” The incredulity in her voice shook me. 

But I held on to my emotions, not letting her barbs affect my self-respect. 

I shook my head in self-deprecation.  Just after a row with the son, his mother is causing a scene, tainting my reputation in public. 

“What? Cat got your tongue?” She clicked her tongue and pointed a finger right through my face. 

It was then that I lost my patience.  I grabbed my phone and dialed a number.  

“What do you want?” The hatred in Caleb’s voice was unmistakable, but if there was anyone who could pacify the mother, it would be his son. 

“Can you please tell your mom that I did not take anything from you?  I left the house with only the things I brought with me three years ago and left it without a dime coming from you.  I also left all the cards you gave me on the nightstand in our bedroom.  Mrs. West can confirm that I did not touch your money.” 

There was a long pause on the other end.  

It must be the first time Caleb heard me talk to him like this. While we were married, I never once raised my voice at him and would rather stay under his shadow, unwilling to draw attention to myself.  

But all that was in the past.

I ruefully realized that our marriage caged me. Now, it was time to be me. 

“Let me talk to her.” Caleb broke into my thoughts after a while before he dropped the call.

A few seconds later, I heard his mother’s phone ring. 

She answered, and they talked. 

While Mrs.Kigston was busy talking with her son, I took that chance as my cue to leave.  I walked out of the hotel with my head raised high.  

At the same time, Tony’s car was parked just outside the entrance.  

I got in his car.  

Before we drove off, I saw Mrs. Kingston’s face. She glared at me with a detestable look framing her beautiful but furious face. 

“You look like you are itching to murder someone?” He observed when I kept my face glued to the side. 

Tony had been my friend way back.  He and my older brother were best friends, so he pretty much knew me.  I grew up tagging along with my brother and his friends, and they used to call me their princess. 

“Is nothing,” I said evasively and looked out the window. 

His phone rang. Tony picked it up and said, “There’s someone who wants to talk to you.” 

I perked up instantly, knowing it was one of their friends calling. 

“Hello?” I said, pressing my ears on the phone and letting out a loud shriek when I recognized the voice on the other end. 

“How’s my beloved sister?” 

“Adam, I missed you!” I cried on the phone. 

He chuckled.  “Not as much as I miss my younger sister, who had gone MIA for the past three years.  How are you, my princess?” 

“Pssh! Stop calling me that. I am a grown up, in case you haven’t noticed.”  I pointed out. 

“I didn’t.  You left, remember? I thought you would have continued abandoning us.  Thank God, that b*stard divorced you. Otherwise, I would have disowned you.  It’s been three years, kid. Three long years that our parents suffered missing you.” He was laying the guilt card too heavily on me, and I lapped on it. 

“How’s mom and dad?” I asked, becoming sad, knowing the pain I inflicted on my parents when I shunned them in favor of love. 

“They’re good but will be better when you come home.” 

My eyes welled up with tears. 

Even after what I did, my parents are still willing to take me back. 

“I am sorry,” I said on the phone.  

My voice cracked because of my clogged throat and nose after realizing the pain I put my family through. 

“Don’t be sad, our princess.  Mom and Dad understand.  They wanted you to be happy.” 

My brother’s words put me to shame.  I exchanged my family for a man who turned out to be unworthy of the sacrifices I made.

“Are you coming home now?” He asked softly. 

“Yes, Adam.  I am coming home.” I told him between sniffles.