The conference hall of SM INC was crowded with shareholders, the board of directors, Mr. Smith, and Carmen as the employees presented the reports.
The meeting took close to one hour, and once it was over, Mr. Smith woke up from his seat and headed over to his daughter. Then he tapped her on the shoulder.
“Let's talk.” Roman mumbled before walking past his daughter.
Carmen’s eyes bore fear when she gazed behind her father. Then she took a minute to get her trembling body stable and afterward, Carmen elegantly followed him into her office.
When she arrived, she met Chester serving tea to her father. He then stiffly smiled at her when their eyes met as she took her seat behind her desk, and within a rush, while avoiding Roman gaze, Chester left the room.
“So…” Carmen mumbled.
“It's been a year since you divorced Liam. How long do you plan on being a divorced woman?” Roman calmly asked before sipping his tea.
Carmen then leaned back in her seat
“Mr. Davis, how does it feel falling from grace to grass, and then climbing back to the top again, all in a year?” A reporter asked.This was the fifth time that she had to repeat her question, and yet Liam couldn't find the right words to answer.For a while, he sat there, looking like a fool. After a second of intense thinking, he then took in a deep breath before forcing a smile on his lips.“Good, I guess.” Liam awkwardly said.“So how did you raised in the business sector this quickly?” Another reporter shouted.Liam took a long stare at the journalist before looking away.Then he entangled his fingers together as he rested them on the desk.“Where
The week went by naturally, and the first light of dawn met Carmen and Liam in bed on Sunday.She spent the entire night buried in his arms, and now that morning had arrived, Carmen's worries were running about in her head the moment she opened her eyes.She hoped that this day wouldn't come. But now that it was here, Carmen knew that she had to face it. Yet a part of her which it wasn't so.“Morning,” Liam mumbled.The instant Carmen heard his voice, she squeezed her eyes shut and held back her breath.“I will get breakfast started.” Liam calmly said.Then he slowly withdrew his hand from beneath Carmen before getting out of bed.She then slowly opened her eyes and intensely stared at his broad shoulder and back as Liam wore his shirt.“Today…” Carmen mumbled.“I know,” Liam muttered.He then turned around, and with a soft smile on his lips, he reached down and kissed Carmen on her head before gazing deep into her eyes.
“So…” Dax mumbled with his eyes focused on the road.Since their little conversation at the door, Carmen had not uttered a word to Dax, and the silence was getting a bit too awkward for him to handle.“How have you been?” Carmen absentmindly asked.“Good, good... How about you?” Dax replied while feeling more like a fool.“I have been okay.”“That's amazing.”Carmen turned her focus to the windshield and stared at the dull night sky. She then gently breathed to reduce the tension in her chest.“Yeah, it is,” Carmen mumbled.Dax thought to find his next statement, and yet his mind felt blank, leaving him struggling with his thought.“It's been a long time since we interacted.” Dax abruptly mumbled after a minute when by.“Yeah,” Carmen muttered.There was silence again for about another two minutes.
For a while, the dinner table was peaceful with everyone focusing on their food. But when the meal was over and it was tea time, Carmen knew that the silence was about to cease.“Carmen and Dax, you guys should look after each other since both of you are neighbors.” Mrs. Smith said with a broad smile on her lips.Carmen kept silent as she sipped her tea, making sure that she didn't make eye contact with anyone.“I will do my best,” Dax said, trying to break the awkward silence in the room.“Oh my! He's such a gentleman. Isn't he, Carmen?” Mrs. Smith stated with her eyes gazing at her daughter.Carmen paused for a moment with the teacup pressed against her lips. Then she let out a soft sigh.“Yes mother, he is,” Carmen mumbled without staring away from her cup.Feeling frustrated about her daughter's attitude, Mrs. Smith firmly gazed at her husband.Roman got the hint, but he felt like he should stay out of such a sensitive matter
“How was your dinner?” Liam mumbled without taking his eyes off Carmen.There was tension in the atmosphere and both of them felt it. But their expression remained calm as they buried their feelings behind their emotionless faces.“Why were you sitting in the dark again?” Carmen asked as she broke eye contact with Liam.She then headed over to the dresser, and with trembling hands, Carmen started wiping the makeup off her face.Even though she was striving her best not to show the tears that she was hiding behind her calm eyes, Carmen couldn't restrain the hopelessness that squeezed her heart.All the while she was cleaning off her makeup, she was waiting on Liam to say something. But for almost six minutes, he said nothing.After another two minutes, Carmen dropped the wipe on the dresser. Then she turned around and gazed at Liam carefully staring at her.“This is the twentieth time in a year that
Carmen woke up on Monday to Liam's side of the bed empty and a note on the nightstand.“Breakfast is on the table. Don't forget to eat it. I love you. P.S I made sure Dax left for work first before I did, so don't worry your pretty head.”Carmen dropped the paper on the bed with a sigh. Then she got out of bed and headed into the bathroom.“Why did he have to leave all these marks? I guess tutle-neck it is for today.” Carmen mumbled as she stared at the bite marks on her neck.Then her mind recalled last night, and her lips curved into a soft smile.“Why was she so wild?” Liam whispered as he gazed at the scratches on his wrist.He then hastily covered the scars with his shirt sleeve when he heard his office door open.“Good morning, buddy.” Dax cheerfully said as he sat down.“What do you want?” Liam calmly asked.“I will be taking a personal trip two weeks from now. Can you handle things here until I get back?”
The moment Chester saw Carmen walking towards him, a bright smile appeared on his lips. But it took a split second for his expression to become serious.“Good morning, boss,” Chester said as he stood to his feet.However, Carmen silently walked past him without looking his way, and the entire time, Chester held his breath until he heard her slammed her office door shut.“Oh my God, that was terrifying. Boss's eyes looked so cold.” Chester mumbled as he took his seat.Staring at the paper on her desk, Carmen angrily dropped her purse on it while struggling not to lose her sanity. But she felt so mad that she couldn't control herself.“It could be another Liam. He promised that he wasn't in communication with Ali.” Carmen mumbled.However, the negative thoughts crowding her mind won't allow her to believe her statement, so she paced back and forth, fighting against her desire to call Liam.It took only ten seconds for Carmen to lose the fight.
Time seemed to stop as the colors faded away, abandoning Carmen with blur images as tears swelled up in her eyes.For a while, she didn't take her sight off Liam and neither did he.“Are you okay, dear?” Dax asked in concern when he noticed the single drop of a tear rolling down Carmen's cheek.She hastily sniffed back her cry, wiped her face, and stared at Dax with a cheerful smile on her lips even though she was startled to see him.
To all my readers, I like to inform you all that this will be the end of " He was never mine." I hope that I met your demands and gave you guys the closure you needed from the story. Writing this novel was a lot for me because I had to put myself in various emotional states to capture the character's feelings that I have never experienced before, (It was tough." But I'm glad you guys stuck with this novel because knowing you all were waiting on updates and stuff truly inspired me to keep pushing through and continue writing. I appreciate all my readers for your patience with me, the coins, gems, and reviews. You are all incredible people, and I'm glad I have readers like you. Well, this is goodbye from Author Rever. Stay safe out there and have a good life. P.s. I know it needs a lot of proofreading, and I'm going to get that done, hopefully. Thank you all and Byeee!!!
When Freddie brought the car to a stop, he stared back, saw that Liam was sleeping, and faintly smiled as he thought, 'Sir just arrived in the country from a business trip, and yet he didn't hesitate when Miss Smith asked him to pick up Ethan. He really cares about young sir.'Realizing that the car wasn't moving, Liam raised his eyelids and asked, "We are here?""Yes, sir," Freddie said.Without uttering another word, Liam got down from the car and headed into the school building.When he got to Ethan's class and his teacher saw him, she smiled and said, "Ethan, your father is here."Keeping silent, Ethan walked over to Liam and mumbled, "Hello,"With a smile on his face, Liam sighed and thought, 'I have been in your life for one year now, and you won't call me 'father.' How long will it take to make you open up to me and believe that I'm not going to leave you.'Afterward, he extended his hand to Ethan, and not hesitating, he
The sound of her ringtone caused Carmen to set the pancake box on the kitchen counter. Then she picked up the phone, answered the call, and said, "Hey, mom." "Are you okay?" Mrs. Smith worriedly asked from the other end of the line. Confused by her mother's question, Carmen calmly uttered, "Why wouldn't I be?" "Well, Ummm… We were told that Ali was at the company yesterday?" "Seriously, you guys are still keeping tabs on me!" "No! Of course, not… Well, okay, yes we are. But not in the way that you think. Your dad and I were just checking in with Tracy this morning to find out how your first day went." At that moment, Carmen heard Mr. Smith say, "I told her not to call you!" Giggling faintly, the slight anger she felt slowly faded, and she said, "It's fine. We handle the situation pretty well, I think." "We?" Mrs. Smith asked, sounding curious. "Liam and I." "You guys are a
Keeping his eyes fixed on Carmen and Ethan as they stood by the car door, waiting on him, Liam walked over to them.When he was a step away from them, he stopped. Then Carmen met his eyes and said, "Ethan wanted us to wait out here for you.""Thank you, bud," Liam uttered, looking down at his son.Then he focused his gaze back at Carmen, and her face still bore no expression, making it hard for him to guess what she was thinking or how she felt.A few minutes later, as Freddie drove them out of the parking lot, the car was silent and continued to be even after he got on the main road.That bothered Ethan a lot, and he looked up at Liam on his left for a few seconds, and then looked to his right at Carmen before mumbling "I made a friend at school today.""Really! Bud, that's amazing!" Liam said with a look of pride in his eyes."Yeah, baby. What's your friend's name?" Carmen asked, unable to stop smiling.With an excited
The office was silent as Carmen stared coldly at Ali, wondering what she would say to her.At last, she lowered her brows and said, "We are not that close, so let's save the chit chat, and you can excuse yourself and leave.""Oh come on, Carm. Don't tell me you are still holding onto past grudges." Ali cunningly said, sluggishly relaxing back on the seat.Although Carmen didn't know where the conversation was heading, the last thing she wanted was to continue it.So she looked straight into Ali's eyes and said, "We are not doing this.""Doing what?" Ali asked with an innocent expression."I k
"Ding Dong!"Withdrawing his hand from on the doorbell, Liam waited patiently for a couple of seconds.Then he reached for the bell again, but the door suddenly opened, and Carmen stood in the doorway, staring at him."I hope I'm not too early," Liam mumbled, drawing his hand to his side."No. You are on time." Carmen said as she stepped aside for him to enter.After walking into the hallway, Liam gazed back and asked, "Where's Ethan?""He's having his breakfast," Carmen said, shutting the door.Afterward, she and Liam headed into the dining room together.When they arrived, and Liam sight rested on his son, his face lit up, and he excitedly uttered, "Hey bud. Ready for your first day of school?"Pouting, Ethan looked away from his cereal, stared at Carmen, and mumbled, "Mommy, why can't you be the one to take me to school.""We talked about this, honey. Your dad doesn't have much to do today, so he's
"Mommy," Ethan called out, looking at Carmen before staring down at her vibrating phone.Then he gently shook her arm until she finally raised her lashes and stared at him.Still feeling dizzy, a soft smile crept on her lips as she stared at her son's grey eyes and long lashes."What is it, baby?" Carmen whispered."Your phone is ringing," Ethan mumbled, drawing back on the bed as his mother sat up.It took her a second to fully awake. Then she stared down at her phone, picked it up, and answered the call."Good morning, mother," Carmen said, raffling Ethan's hair as he giggled faintly."I know it's early. But I and your father was discussing, and we thought since you have spent four months on that end, you are ready to take over the SM branch there." Mrs. Smith's voice echoed into her ear.Keeping silent, Carmen rested back on the headboard and thought, 'Four months? It's been that long already?'"What did Carm say?" Sh
For a while, Lina stared at her son, wondering if he was serious or not."I ready don't want to repeat what I said," Liam mumbled, gazing away from her. "You need to leave.""I am your mother," Lina whispered, clutching her fist."Remember the days in the darkroom, when I was screaming to be let out, I needed you to be my mother then or when Anthony and Levi left bruises on my skin and made me bleed, I wanted you to be my mother…""Liam…""There were so many instances that are needed you so desperately to realize that I am your son and put me first! But you didn't!""I'm…""I'm not going to be like you, mother. My child comes first even before the woman that brought me into this world, so you need to leave!"Fighting back tears, Carmen clapped her hand over her trembling lips as she stared at Liam with a touch of sadness in her eyes."I know my wrongs." Lina cried, not knowing what else to say.
Staring coldly at his grandfather, Liam scowled before gazing at his mother and saying, "It was supposed to be just you!""Well, when father found out that I was seeing Ethan, he wanted to meet him too, so he flew over to me for us to come together," Lina said, smiling at her son.However, that didn't change Liam's expression, and his eyes got colder the more he stared at his grandfather."Are you going to let us in?" Anthony asked, scowling at his grandson.The atmosphere was intense, and Carmen felt it as she approached Liam at the door."Mr. Davis?" Carmen mumbled, losing control over her expression for a second and frowning.Then she quickly curved her lips into a smile and calmly called out, "Liam, are you not going to step back?"Taking in a deep breath, Liam continued to give his grandfather an icy stare for a few minutes before allowing himself to step away from the door.Everything in him hated to see Anthony and