On one fine afternoon, Evelyn decided to walk at the park for the fresh air. The days were starting to get warmer with the arrival of spring, and the snow was beginning to fade away. Flower bed started to get speckled with various colors.The park in the community was such a treat to human eyes. It was regularly maintained, and the tranquility that surrounded it brought satisfaction to one’s heart.Evelyn’s moment to herself was interrupted when her phone started to ring incessantly. Taking out the device from her pocket, she raised an eyebrow at the unknown number.Who could have gotten their hands on her number?She received the call.“Hello?”“This is Landon’s mother. You recognize me, right?” A voice holding a hint of mock came from the other side.Instantaneous nervousness brew up inside of her as she started to think of the possible reasons the woman could call her.“Auntie, hello. How are you doing? Is there anything you needed?” Evelyn politely voiced out, her uneasiness clear
During the dinner that day, Evelyn was overcome with loneliness. The silence depressed her further, and the show on the television did little to attract her attention. She played with her food, not in the mood to eat it.Because she always had Grandpa Parker or her friends to share meals with, it dissatisfied her to eat alone. Even though weeks had passed, getting used to it was difficult for Evelyn.If only Landon could spend more time with her.She chewed on her fries, finding them to be absolutely tasteless.That’s when, the sound of the door opening reached into her ears, causing her attention to be shifted. A smile formed on her face while watching her husband walk in.“Welcome home,” she greeted, cheerfully. “You are early.”Although her mood had been gloomy from what she endured earlier, Landon’s presence had the ability to take away all that unpleasantness.He pressed on to his temples before sitting down on the couch. Him being in this state caused her to feel distress. Altho
The second meeting happened when Stacey delivered herself to the doorsteps. When Evelyn opened the door, dressed in her pajamas and her hair pulled into a messy bun, she saw the beautifully dressed Stacey on the other side.She almost had the urge to slam the door close on her face.“Is Landon home?” asked Stacey.The way she wanted to strangle her throat then.But of course, Evelyn wasn’t a violent person. She reeled in her emotions and shook her head.“I am afraid not.”“Oh, then. Here, his coat. He forgot it at my place last night. Also tell him that I am expecting him tonight.”Her countenance stiffened when she saw Stacey holding the black coat. She had previously seen the same coat in his wallet, and it took effort on her part to not let the turbulent emotions she felt appear on her face, recalling how the man didn’t return home last night.She took the coat from Stacey’s hand and said, “I see. Is there anything more I can do for you?”“No, that’s all. See you around then.”The
Evelyn’s phone started to ring, and taking it out from her pocket, she checked the name of the caller in her tipsy state. Landon in black letters got her eyes to widen, and she started to choke.Hazel asked, “What’s the matter?”Panic churned her insides as Evelyn replied, “I am done for.”She turned her phone to show Hazel the caller ID before standing up and saying, “Excuse me.”Evelyn walked over to the restroom area. Although the music could still be heard, it was a lot quieter, and clearing her throat, making sure her voice out didn’t come out as slurred, she received the call.“Hello?” she nervously asked.“Where are you?” came the masculine voice from the other side.“Where can I be? Obviously, at home,” she answered.“Oh? Then, why can’t I find you?” The sarcasm was clear in his tone.“You are back?” Evelyn didn’t hide the excitement from her voice. “Weren’t you returning two days later?”“I dealt with the matters early. Now, where are you?” he repeated the question.“That, I
Landon helped her to the apartment. Feeling tipsy, she stumbled on her footsteps. Landon had his hand on her waist while he locked the door. Her eyes took in his side profile, totally enamored.Her eyes fell on his defined pink lips, and the alcohol 8n her body gave her the courage to act recklessly. Forwarding her hand, she grabbed on to the collar of his shirt, pulling him down in the process. Without giving him the time to react, she pressed down her lips on to him.He stiffened for a second before responding to her.Rabbles of butterfly created a mess in her stomach, and her mind, consumed by desires, was unable to think straight. He pulled back, but she wished to continue.He pointed out, “You are drunk.”“I am not,” she replied, “I want you.”“Sure?” he asked— his raspy voice making it hard for her to breathe.“Yeah.”°°°When she woke up the next day, she realized she laid naked on the bed, and this got her to blink her eyes a few times. The soreness in her body felt foreign t
But her nervousness got to her. Forcing out a smile on her lips, she shook her head.“Nothing of importance,” she said before proceeding to ask, “did you eat or should I fix up something for you?”“I ate with a client,” he responded.After that, he removed his coat and placed it down when his eyes fell on the receipt on the glass table. He extended his hand to grab when Evelyn noticed it. Her eyes widened as her hands were quick to snatch it away from him.“It’s a secret,” she said.However, unamused, he ordered, “Spill.”Spill?She wanted to cry at this moment.Wasn’t that easier said than done?Wearing a distressed expression, she responded, “Give me some time.”“Ten seconds,” he enunciated.She was almost about to curse at it.But when was she able to disobey him?Taking in a deep breath, she grabbed on to his hand and placed the paper on the palm of his hand. As he looked at it, she rambled, “I know it’s strange and hard to accept. But it is what it is. There’s no use in getting m
As she gave her word, Leah made Evelyn was properly taken care of. Her snarky and condescending comments didn’t stop, but at this point, Evelyn had grown a thick skin against her venomous words.However, at least she was anticipating for the arrival of her grandchild, appearing excited at the idea of it.But one thing she found unbearable was the frequent appearance of Stacey. Although her words to Evelyn in front of everyone was sweet and supportive, in private, she didn’t hide her hatred towards Evelyn.Leah’s regretful attitude didn’t help either.But ignoring all that, she was excited, anticipating for the arrival of her child.Currently, she was at her fifth month.The first movement from her baby today brought a wide grin on her face. She placed her hand on her stomach, stroking it, while hoping for her baby to make more movements.This just made it all more real.Instantly, she wanted to tell Landon about it.She called his number, waiting for him to pick up the phone. Her fing
When Evelyn woke up next, she was on the hospital bed. As the memories flooded her head, her initial instinct was to check for her stomach, and finding it to be flat caused horror to spread through her.She was about to tear off the wires from around her body to find answers when the doctor followed by nurses stepped in, holding on to a board.Her countenance was pale as she slowly asked, “My baby?”The doctor let out a sigh and expressed, “I am afraid she didn’t make it.”That made her release a scream.She couldn’t believe it. That should be a lie or this must be a bad dream, a terrible one. How can her baby be gone? What sort of sick joke this was?“It can’t be true,” she stuttered out, “my baby is alright. I am sure she is.”Evelyn felt as though her heart was cruelly ripped out from her chest; it hurt her that badly. That couldn’t be the reality.“I am sorry,” the doctor said, “do not agitate yourself. Your health is still poor.”Evelyn didn’t care about it.“I will go and find m
After all the teasing around and Evelyn being constantly flustered, she finally managed to cook the soup. Fortunately for her, Landon couldn't sit idle.He had his company to take care of. Therefore, he dressed up and left for his work, looking extremely regretful. It brought relief to Evelyn.She wanted to spend time with her baby Sophia.Although the girl was weak and pale, she stared at Evelyn with animated eyes as she fed her. After the girl was done eating, Evelyn patted on her head. Her heart tightened.Keeping her away from her daughter for so many years, Landon wasn't a good thing for sure.Seeing all the needle marks on her daughter's hand and how the girl could hardly walk made Evelyn's heart sink. After the little Sophia was done eating, Evelyn accompanied the girl to watch cartoons. Evelyn ate her breakfast while Sophia excitedly introduced her favorite characters to her mom.Evelyn listened in full interest.The little girl then raised her head and, staring at Evelyn exp
"That I can, but raising a family takes a lot of money. That's why, it is better to save money as much as possible," he voiced out.Evelyn's teeth dug into her lower lip, and she clenched her hand into a tight fist. Seeing the amusement twinkling in his eyes made her feel more aggravated.She wanted to bunch that face, but afraid of having from worse repercussions, she held back her action. Taking in how he acted these days, she was afraid of being told to do something ridiculous to make up to him.She raised her hand and pushed his chest away with her palms. He didn't resist and took a step behind. She took in a deep breath and pressed her forehead."Do whatever you want. Don't talk to me or else, believe it or not..." she trailed off, starting to think of a decent threat.Her eyes wandered around the place when she spotted the kitchen knife. She reached out to pull it out before pointing it towards Landon's throat."I will stab you. I really will. Even if I have to spend a lifetime
Sitting on the chair, Evelyn dozed off. Her head wobbled due to lack of support, and when it was about to fall down, Landon entered the room.He noticed her position. He hurriedly stepped ahead and placed his palm forward, letting her head rest on it. His eyes then fell on her face, unable to move them away as he saw her sleep peacefully. However, then her eyebrows furrowed.Those dark eyelashes fluttered as she opened her eyes. Her vision was hazy at first, and only upon focusing did Landon's tense expression fell into her line of sight.She quickly reacted by moving away from him, removing her head from his palm. Although Landon felt a sense of loss, he didn't let it show on his face.He placed his hand down and cleared his throat."Are you hungry? You haven't eaten dinner," he pointed out.Now that all of her intense emotions settled down, she could feel the hunger gnawing inside her stomach. But she kept her expression indifferent."No, I am fine. Where will I be staying?" she vo
Landon's words made her think.She couldn't deny that she felt happy and free during this period of three years. She thought she almost moved on, putting everything behind.If Landon gave her a couple more years, the past wouldn't even hurt her, and he will be erased from her heart entirely.But did that matter now when the truth came crushing down on her?All she felt was regret, hurt, and anger. Maybe she should have acted more stable back then. That would have probably given Landon the chance to tell her about everything."That would have been fine. According to you, in order to not let me be hurt then, you hid the matter from me and took away the option of having a choice from me. I could have endured that agony. At least that would allow me to stay by my child's side and support her through the pain. As her mother, that's my right and responsibility. Who are you to snatch that away from me? How would you feel if I did the same to you? Kept your child hidden from for years and m
Landon took in a deep breath and started, "In the beginning, even I thought that she didn't make it. The doctor, he colluded with Stacey and let the entire family believe she died.At the same time, Stacey hid her away. I didn't notice in the beginning, but she left behind enough flaws for me to catch on to it. This made me panic, and I knew if I wanted to find our baby, I needed to hurry and do it in a way that didn't alert Stacey.That's why, I said those hurtful words to you in the hospital back then. I can never be sorry enough. I had to gain Stacey's trust, and that was the best way to do it under her watch.Your state was fragile then, and I was afraid of you alarming Stacey. It was wrong of me to withhold the information from you, but that was the best I could do.When I managed to find our baby, I planned to tell you all about it, but your mental state worsened. You became suicidal and wished to divorce me.The psychiatrist told me to let you go, but I didn't want to be sepa
The next second she felt him grab her hand and drag her out of the room. She couldn't resist against the force applied by him."What are you doing!? Let go of me!"She was brought into another room. Before she could look around it, a door was opened. Then, she was pushed into her washroom, and a gasp left her mouth at his next action.He turned on the shower, letting the cold water fall on her head and drenching her. As it touched her skin, she shuddered at the temperature and glared at him.Has he completely lost it?What was he even doing?"Are you crazy? Aren't you going too far? This—"Before she was able to carry on forward with her words, he placed his finger on her lips and enunciated, "Do you feel cooler now? Did all the heat dissipate? Are you ready to listen to me?"She was baffled.She was freezing right now, but that did work as great distraction. However, Evelyn wasn't great at enduring low temperature, and after that pregnancy, her body weakened considerably, making her
On the bed was a little girl resting. Her complexion was pale, and she had a delicate stature. Her body was connected to a monitor. An IV drip was attached to her hand.The sight made Evelyn's eyes widen."W-What?" she stuttered out.She couldn't process the situation in front of her. Her body trembled as she took a step forward. She stumbled and almost fell, but Landon came to the rescue by holding her shoulders, providing her with support."That's our baby."His masculine and deep voice fell.Her heart skipped a beat upon hearing this.She glared at him fiercely upon hearing this and clutched on to the collar of his shirt tightly. Her jaw clenched, and anger radiated off of her.Her aura was imposing."Do you realize what you are saying? What type of sick joke is this?"He sighed."I am not joking. This is the truth. Our baby, she didn't die back then."This made Evelyn's mind blank. She didn't know what to make of the situation. All these years, she cried due to her daughter's deat
Landon's eyes were pinned on crouched down woman who sobbed relentlessly. Her body trembled while she hugged her knees.Variety of indescribable and inexplicable emotions crossed through his eyes. He walked over to her and placed his hand around her shoulders.Then, he said, "It is cold. Get up."His touch caused her body to stiffen. Rejected it, she slapped his hand away and got up. Her cheeks and nose was flushed. Her eyes were reddened. She was about to wipe her tears with the back of her hand when she noticed the handkerchief he held towards her, urging her to take it.Hesitancy showed in her expression.Nonetheless, not having any tissues with her, she accepted the handkerchief and wiped away the remnants of the tears.Once done, she locked away all the vulnerable emotions and faced him with coldness."Let's go," she said, her voice void of emotions.For a second there, she almost thought she spotted a sense of loss in those indifferent eyes but, thinking that was incredulous, b
But before she was able to leave the house with her gun, Landon arrived, and his eyes immediately went towards the weapon in her hand. They narrowed on her face before he proceeded to ask, “What are you planning to do?”With her voice dripping with determination, she answered, “Kill Stacey.”“That’s enough, Evelyn. Put that gun down. It is not safe. Instead of being controlled by your emotions, try to think rationally,” he calmly said.“Shut up! I am done listening to you! A life for a life. Since she killed my child, it’s only fair I take hers,” she stated.His voice dropped dangerously low before he stated, “You will stop this absurdity at once. I have endured enough of your tantrums. Don’t force me to take actions you wouldn’t like.”Her teeth dug into her lower lip, drawing out blood.“You will stop me from killing her?” she questioned.“Evelyn, I have a lot to say to you. That’s why, let’s discuss the matter before recklessly making a decision you will regret.”“Fuck off! What ma