Chapter 0005

"Uh, Nora. I’ll be back shortly. Please stay here and wait for me, okay?” Austin told her, a bead of sweat forming on his forehead. Nora watched him in amazement. Who was this woman who made him so nervous and why on earth did she make him nervous?

“No, no. It’s not a problem. I was already leaving anyway. So, there’s no point in me waiting till you’re back. Let’s just go downstairs together so I can leave, and you can have enough time with your visitor.” Nora replied, wondering what the fuss was all about.

“No, please. I’ll be back shortly. There’s something I need to tell you … uh, something that I want to show you. Hilda, go downstairs and tell Christina that I’ll be there shortly, okay?” Austin said, but it was obvious that he was lying about having something to show her. He was just grappling for excuses.

“Hmmm. Okay, sure. I’ll stay put, but first, I need you to tell me something.” Nora said, sitting down on the bed.

“Sure. What is it?”

“Who the hell is that woman in your living room, and why are you so scared of her.”

“Scared, who said I’m scared? Christina is my little sister’s friend, but I don’t want her to meet you just yet, because she’s bound to tell my sister, who in turn will tell my family members. I’ll explain the reason why I don’t want my family members to know about you yet later. As a matter of fact, you said you were ready to leave, not so? Can you please leave through the back door?” Austin asked, looking ashamed of himself, as he should be.

“Excuse me? I should leave through the back door like a dirty little secret? Is that what you’re saying?” Nora asked him coldly, suddenly seeing him in a different light, yet she had herself to blame. After all, she had been having sex with him without any commitments, which was okay for adults who didn’t get attached to people too easily, but not for her, who clearly had the stupidest heart in the whole wide world.

“Austin Cage! I know you’re up there! I checked with your office before coming over here. If you know what’s best for you, you’ll come down this instant, before I decide to come up there. I didn’t come all the way from another state just to wait out here for you.” A female voice rang up from downstairs, causing Austin to wince.

“Please, Nora. She can’t see you here, okay?” He whispered to her urgently. Nora could already feel her heart shattering into a million pieces. How on earth had she let a man whom she knew practically nothing about mean so much to her in so little a time when she clearly meant nothing more than a piece of ass to him?

“You’re married to that woman who’s downstairs, aren’t you?” She asked him, hating herself for how weak and teary she sounded.

“It’s not what you think, Nora, and no, I'm definitely not married to her. I’ll explain everything later, okay? But I need to leave now. Please don’t come downstairs, and if you do, kindly use the back door. You'll understand why when I explain. I’m sorry for this embarrassment. I thought all of this would come up much later, not now.” Austin told her, looking like he meant it, but an apology was not what Nora was looking for.

She drew her hand back and delivered a resounding slap to his face with all her might, catching him by surprise, and surprising herself too. She wasn’t one to hit other people, but she couldn’t bring herself to be sorry. Austin didn’t say a word, but ran his hands through his mussed hair, trying to smoothen it, and then disappeared through the door, leaving Nora in the room.

She angrily wiped her tears away and went to stand by the door of his room, trying to see if she could eavesdrop and hear what was going on downstairs. She soon found out that she could hear quite well, and the first thing that she heard sent her already shattered heart plummeting to the soles of her feet. It was the voice of a very young child, probably around seven or eight years old. Nora couldn’t tell if it was a boy or a girl, but it didn’t matter.

“Daddy! Daddy! I missed you!” The child said.

“Oh, look! It’s my two favorite people in the whole wide world. Be careful, buddy. I missed you too so much. Come here.” Nora heard Austin say. The love in his voice was overwhelming.

“My baby! I thought you were with a woman or something. I was about ready to tear the whole place up.” The woman, Christina said to Austin and then muttered something else that was too low for Nora’s ears to catch.

“What?! Definitely not! You’re the only woman in my life. Why didn’t you tell me you were coming, though?” Austin asked. Nora did not wait to hear more. She was not in the mood for any drama, so she quietly grabbed a large tote bag and tossed her remaining stuff - of which there weren’t many - into it. Armed with her possessions, she went downstairs and walked out through the back door and out of Austin Cage’s life.