BEATRICE:That woman! I trusted her! I even bet everything thinking she would never say anything to my ex-husband. And now?Christina. She will regret this! How could she?"She said that?" I asked, my voice shaking at the end. Drake nodded. "She did. There is nothing to hide anymore, Beatrice. Why don't you confirm it? All I wanted is the truth coming from your mouth."I scoffed. Christina. You would surely pay for this. Whether it was true or not, I could no longer hide from my ex-husband forever. He had already found me and my son. "Fine. Grayson is your son. What's the point of hiding it when you already hired someone to investigate me?"He smiled. "He is indeed my son?" he asked, his eyes watering. Crocodile tears. I hated how he would use his tears just to gain my sympathy. I hate manipulative people like him. Those tears were not enough to sway me. Averting my gaze, I muttered, "I found out about my pregnancy the next day I signed the divorce papers. Did I think of telling
BEATRICE:I was stupid. How could I fall for Drake's lies? Damn him!I hated him!When my silence continued, Christina said on the other line, "Oh, no. Did that bastard lie to you using my name?"I fell on the edge of the bed. "I think that was what happened," I whispered, still in disbelief that Drake was able to fool me. How could I fall for his cheap tricks, huh?Stupid. I was so stupid!“Don’t tell me you told him the truth? You fell on his tricks?” Christina asked in disbelief. “Beatrice. Really? You trusted me that low? I'm not the kind who would betray you. You're hurting me, Beatrice,” she said, her voice coated with pain in her voice. “How would I know that you did not tell him? He mentioned your name. He knew we were that close.” The lies rolled smoothly on his tongue as if he were a liar himself. So you could not blame me if I believed him easily. “Drake, your ex-husband hired a detective to find the truth, Beatrice. He did a lot of background checks on you and on what h
BEATRICE: My heart plummeted upon hearing Grayson’s sleep talk. He wanted his Dad. Even in his sleep. Even if he did not know who his Dad was. My poor son. How could I stop him from getting to know his Dad? Was this the right time to tell Grayson the truth? If that would happen, what would be our arrangement with my ex-husband? Of course we would be co-parenting. But what about his girlfriend?Damn. Just the thought of him being with another woman made my blood boil in anger. He claimed he did not have any woman, Beatrice. As if he was telling the truth. Did he think I was easy to fool?“Daddy?” Grayson muttered again while kicking his legs. I wondered what he was dreaming about. I put my hands on top of my chest and felt the beating of my heart. It was screaming that I should give my chance to see his Dad.But what about my anger towards Drake? What should I do with it? What was inside my chest would always show. Grayson would know the status of my heart on how I treated his
BEATRICE:Why did my ex-husband have to come here? He had the perfect timing. Did he know this time was sending Grayson to school? Did his hired detective tell him about our daily routine such as this? "Beatrice."The audacityChristina's words rang in my head, especially the part where he used my sister-in-law's name to lie. Where did he find the guts to face me after lying and using Christina's name? The audacity! If only Grayson was not here, I had already slapped him. Did he think lowly of me?My hand shook, and I had to hide them at the back of my hand so that Grayson wouldn't notice it. "Why are you here?" I asked directly while my brows furrowed."How are you, Grayson?" he asked, not answering my question as if he did not hear my question. The heck?!"Mommy?" Grayson asked as if affirming if I was fine if he would answer Drake or not. “Your friend is here. You may say hi. You're not being friendly to him, Mommy.”Friend. Hearing that word was already funny. Drake and I had
BEATRICE:Drake's eyes were contorted with pain before he hid it away. “I was wrong for pressuring you to give me a child. Now I understand that you no longer have any control of that, Beatrice.” His head hung. “Please accept my apologies.”Very wrong. Especially if he made me feel that it was my fault for not being able to conceive after being married for how many years? He kept on wondering how he was able to impregnate others with ease, while it took a long time for his wife to do that. “You can act as if you're sorry, but you're not going to fool me into believing your statement.”He stepped forward and attempted to touch me, but I slapped his hands away out of reflex.I must not let him touch me or else, whatever I built for five years might crumble into dust. I did not trust myself if our skin touched. Inhaling deeply, I asked, "Do you even regret divorcing me? The kind of regret you felt not because of being pregnant with Grayson at that time, but because you really did car
BEATRICE:It was already three o'clock in the afternoon. I was already late in fetching Grayson at his school, but I could not leave the baby alone without her mother. I've been trying to reach Jamie Finnerty, the baby's mother, through the phone but still there was no sign of her. She said she would be back in the afternoon, but now… she won't answer her phone which she never did, especially if she was not with her daughter. I hoped Jamie was safe.If she took longer than what she had promised to me, I hoped she was fine wherever she was.I stopped thinking when the baby reached my hair, as if silently telling me that there should be nothing to be worried about. Cassandra Finnerty. The baby did not look after her mother. Even if I did not see her Dad, I had an idea that the child took after the father. I smiled when the baby reached my hair. I had no problem if Jamie would take longer than what she had promised to since the baby was already well-feed. I had given her smashed po
BEATRICE:Drake did say that he won’t leave in the morning. He did what he had promised. My chest tightened as I continued to watch the two. Grayson…there was no hesitation on him as he played with Drake. It seemed that he already felt that the man he was with was his real Dad. Cassandra flapped her tiny hands wildly as if she was trying to reach out to Grayson and Drake. “Gray,” she said.“Yes, Cassandra. That's our Grayson. And he will be playing with you later when we get home, okay? Do you like that?” I coed. She squealed in happiness as if she understood what I asked. My gaze went back to Grayson and Drake as the latter pushed the swing back and forth. I sighed as I continued watching the father and son. They easily jived as if this was not the first time that they were playing like that. And my son’s happiness was plastered all over his face. Would he be able to smile even more if I told him the truth? Realization hit me hard.He was looking for a Daddy’s figure and no
BEATRICE:How could Grayson ask things like that with my ex-husband listening? I did not want Drake to get weird ideas. He might think that I wanted to have another child coming from him which was not the case. I loved children, don’t get me wrong. But right now, Grayson was already enough in my life. For now. If I ever have to have another child, it would be from someone who would never blackmail or divorce me. It would be from someone who loved me with all his heart. How would I be able to get impregnated when I didn't even have a man in my life? It was ludicrous. Plus the way Drake was watching me was unsettling. It looked as if he was curious about my answer too. I would never give him the satisfaction. "Mommy's not going to get pregnant, Grayson. If Mommy wants to have another baby, it will take a long time. Right now, there are a lot of things that need Mommy's attention." Like paying my mountains of bills and a lot more to come. Having a man in my life was not something I ne