THREE

"Okay, everyone. Party's over. Thank you for coming. Please see yourselves out," Emilia said, the expression on her face daring them to contradict her. She still didn’t know what the party was for and she didn’t care. She heard the people shuffling out, speculating to one another about what had just happened, but ignored them. Despite everything, that was not how she’d wanted Zander to meet his father’s side of the family. It stung even more because she knew it was all she had to offer him. As much as she considered her friends the family she never had, it didn’t erase the fact that they were not blood-related. And it would be so unfair to Zander to keep him from the Carters more than she had. Her precious boy deserved the best. She didn’t want him growing up alone like she had, yet she couldn’t trust Max with him. Not while that vulture Lisandra was still lurking around him.

Already, Zander was scared of Max. That hadn’t been her goal. Her husband could hate her all he liked, but she wanted him to have a good relationship with their son. Zander was a sensitive child, and she'd taught him it was bad to mistreat women. Seeing his father manhandling her wasn't a great example, but she wasn’t about to defend Max. A part of her wanted him to hurt half as much as she had. If not more.

After the backyard had cleared, she looked from one person to the next. Darren had changed a bit. When she'd left, he was still immature even though he was older than Gwen, but the suit he wore alone spoke volumes of how different he was today. Lisandra and Gwen were busy glaring at her, their faces contorted with hate. Once upon a time, she had cared what they thought of her. Ha even wanted to be friends with them. But her present self didn't give a flying fuck.

Max was still in shock. Max remained in shock, his eyes fixed on Zander, who held a grip on her arm while shooting death glares at him. He was holding up well despite being afraid. She knew Max would never hurt her, at least not physically, but Zan didn’t. Later, after they’d settled down, she would probe him to see how much damage Max had done.

"Right then, family, where to begin?" she said, smiling. "Did you miss me?"

"How could we not?" Darren asked, stepping forward to hug her. Emilia hugged him back, glad that at least she had his support. If Max didn’t want Zander, she hoped his uncle would be there for him.

"Oh Darren, you're still sweet as always"

"Yes. But I'm also mad that you left,” He replied, releasing her. “Where have you been? I looked everywhere for you, Em. Where did you go?"

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that I'm here now and I'll be staying for good"

"After you've settled down, you and I are going to have a serious talk," he said, then grabbed a waiter passing by with glasses "Can you call Mel for me?" he asked just as the housekeeper appeared wheeling someone forward.

Emilia turned to look at the two. One woman had been like an aunt to her, while the other had done everything she could to get rid of her. The great Mrs. Genevieve Carter had made her life a living hell and almost cost the life of her son because she didn't approve of Max marrying her. All the things she'd done came rushing back and Emilia couldn't stop herself from saying, "My, my Mrs. Carter. How the mighty have fallen." The woman only stared at her. As if she couldn’t recognize who Emilia was, but when she did, her eyes went round with shock. The same shock rose to another level when she saw Zander. Instinctively, Emilia pushed him behind her. "I would say it's nice to see you again but I would be lying"

"Why you..." Max started, but Darren held him back again.

"Easy, bro. Your son is watching"

"You shouldn’t have come back here," he snarled lowly so that only she could hear him.

Shrugging it off, Emilia winked at him. "How you feel towards me doesn't matter, dear husband. Truly"

"Why are you really here? What do you want?" Gwen asked, finally finding her voice.

"I'm back. This is my house too, Gwen. And I wanted my son to meet you all"

"Your house? Have some shame, you fucking bitch…"

"Lisandra, I will urge you to refrain from cursing in front of my son, or so help me. I will wash your mouth out with soap. And yes, all of you seem to forget that when Max and I got married, we were so in love that I never signed a prenuptial agreement."

"I always knew you were after his money," Lisandra jumped at the opportunity, her tone frantic. "Max, how many times did I tell you she didn’t love you? I kept saying she was a gold digger, but none of you would listen to me. Look at her now, coming back here dressed like a..."

"You finish that sentence and I'll show you exactly what I am, Lisa. Go ahead, say another word in front of my son," Emilia growled. The fact that Max didn’t stop his bitch from running her mouth annoyed her. If it wasn’t for Zander, she would have slapped her a few more times to slake her anger. Surprisingly, her biggest supporter, Max’s mother, hadn’t said anything. Strange.

Beside her, Zander tagged on her arm, a sign he’d had enough. Which was unlike him. Her boy was a social butterfly. Zander Edgar Carter was born screaming his lungs out and he'd never stopped. Thea always complained about how loud he was, but Emilia didn't mind. Every time he talked, she was reminded that it would have taken one more minute for her to lose him. One more minute and he would have never been born. All because of the people standing in front of them. Did Zander realize how evil they were? Was that the reason he wanted to leave? Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to bring him with her. She should have left him with Hendrix and Sawyer. They would have gladly watched over him until he was ready to meet his family.

It didn't matter how much they all disliked her. Except for Lisandra, they were all Zander's family. He was at the stage in his life where he was going to need a father figure. Someone who could teach him the things she couldn't. Who could take him fishing, play football with him, tell him the insider rules about men in general. The things she didn't know. Her son needed that, and she wasn’t about to take his choice away. They would stay and she would let him decide if he wanted to know them or not. Although judging from Max's expression, he preferred them gone.

"Right then" she clapped her hands since it seemed no one was going to raise any more objections "Mel, would you please ask someone to take our luggage inside"

"Yes, ma'am" Mel the Carter's housekeeper said. She, too, was like Mrs. Carter, but she wasn't staring at her son. Her gaze was on Emilia, as if not believing her eyes.

"Have them take my things to my bedroom and I'm hoping Zander's room is just as I left it. Right?" She asked, hoping no one had touched it. And by no one, she meant Lisandra.

"Yes ma'am"

"Good. Take his things there. Tomorrow I'll see what I can do to change everything because he's not a baby anymore and I don't think he'd appreciate sleeping in a baby's room"

"Yes, ma'am...."

"Oh, for God's sake, would you stop it with the yes, ma'am. Call me Emilia or Mrs. Carter like you used to," Emilia snapped and was surprised when the other woman broke into a smile. She moved forward with lightning speed and threw her hands over her shoulders, hugging her.

"I'm so glad you're okay, my dear. I was so worried about you," Mel whispered into her hair. She hugged back the only person who had accepted her wholeheartedly when she'd first married Max.

"I'm fine Mel. How are you? God, I missed you. " They broke apart and Emilia was happy to see her dab her tears away.

"I'm fine, my girl. And who is this handsome man?" she asked, pointing at her son.

"Zander Edgar Carter, meet your new nanny. Mel"

"Hello. " He extended his hand, and she breathed a sigh of relief. He would be fine. She hadn’t broken him.

"Hello, my boy. The last time I saw you, you weren't even born. And now look at you, all grown up and looking just like your father did. I feel like someone threw me into a time machine," Mel marveled, still holding his hand.

Laughing, Zander said, "Time machines aren't real. Hens and Saw argue about that all the time and they never listen to me when I tell them that no one has invented a time machine. Yet"

"Really? You'll have to tell me more about it over... What's your poison?"

"Chocolate chip cookies. Do you have any?" and there was the Zander she knew. He was talkative, sweet, and made friends with anyone who could give him chocolate chip cookies.

"We have plenty of those. Your father has the same weakness. Come on honey, let's go raid his secret stash. I know where he keeps them"

He turned to her. "Can I go, Mom? Please?"

"Yes. Just don't forget the rules, Zander. I mean it. " He had the tendency to eat more cookies than required and since his milk teeth hadn't fallen off, she let him. But they still needed a limit or God knew how much that boy would eat.

"Five at most. I'm not a child anymore. I can count," he said with a bit of irritation laced in his voice.

"I know, you don't have to snap at me"

Smiling sheepishly, he raised his hands, making her bend. Zander took her face in his tiny hands and kissed her nose. "I love you, mom. Even more than my cookies. " And then he was skipping off with Mel, having forgotten about not wanting to stay in that house. She liked that at the mention of cookies, he forgot about everything else.

They all watched him go and after he'd disappeared into the house with Mel, everyone turned to look at her. The silence stretched on until Lisandra broke it.

"I still don't believe he's your son Max"

"Oh, fuck off. No one cares if you believe it or not. Your opinion doesn’t count"

"Oh, look everyone. Little Emilia isn't so little anymore. She knows how to curse"

"Damn right Lisandra. If I were you, I'd tread carefully. In case you haven’t noticed, my return means your days in this house are numbered. The legal wife and the mistress cannot live under the same roof."

"I AM NOT THE MISTRESS. And this is my house too. You can't kick me out"

"We'll see about that Lisa." turning to Max she said "Husband, you'll keep your mistress in check or I will be forced to take action against her. It will do you and everyone else well to remember that I'm not the same woman who left nine years ago. I've changed. I will not allow you or anyone to mistreat me or my son. Either of you put your hands on me or Zander and you will see a side of me you've never seen before. Especially you Max. I dare you to touch me again." She looked him in the eye to make sure he understood what she'd said.

His first instinct had been to choke her, to prevent her from getting to Lisandra. He was taking the side of his mistress, and all Emilia could think about was that she had to be angry. If she could focus on her anger, she wouldn't be able to feel the pain of betrayal. Those kinds of feelings had no place in her heart. She couldn't let herself feel anything towards him again. Her son was in the picture and with Lisandra beside him, he would always pick her over anyone. So, until that witch was gone, no feelings would be involved. Turning to Mrs. Carter, she gave her a once over again.

In the years she hadn't been there, a lot had changed. The woman who had been the envy of her peers for her youth and beauty was now in a wheelchair. Forget walking. She looked her age. Old and withered. Once upon a time, Emilia would have laughed had anyone told her that was how Mrs. Carter would end up. But time changed everything. Now she was the defenseless one while Emilia held all the cards. Shaking her head, she followed her son into the house. For the life of her, she couldn't bring herself to feel sorry for Genevieve. That house could only have one Mrs. Carter and Genevieve's reign as Mrs. Carter was over. Now it was her turn.

"Mom, mom, mom, you wouldn't believe how many cookies Nana has. She said they were all mine if I ate my vegetables. " Zander rushed to her the second she walked into the kitchen.

"Nana?"

"Yes. Aunt Mel said I could get anything I wanted if I called her Nana"

Emilia raised her eyes to Mel, who was leaning on the kitchen aisle. "Don't spoil him anymore than he is Mel. He'll grow up to be a spoiled brat"

"I'm not a brat," he defended himself, wiping crumbs away from his mouth. "I eat all my vegetables, brush my teeth, and take a shower all on my own, mom."

"Yes, you do. But you also complain about everything. You've never taken a shower without complaining about the water or how it’s not necessary to take a bath every day"

"Please, a man has to speak out his mind once in a while," he said in such a serious tone that she burst out laughing.

"As always, you're right."

"Of course I am." he went back to where he’d been sitting. There was a glass of milk and half-eaten cookies in front of him. Zander had the bad habit of taking a bite out of all his cookies so no one would eat them. And he kept saying he wasn't a brat.

"Your things are already in your room, if you'd like to rest"

"Thank you, Mel. I'll go freshen up. Can you stay with Zander until I get back?"

"You don't have to ask Em. He's actually keeping an eye on me, seeing as I'm so old and weak," she winked at Zander, who smiled at her.

"She's right, mom. Don't worry about her. I'm right here and I'll take care of her"

Biting her lip to keep from laughing, Emilia nodded. "Okay then, my boy. Take care of your Nana. "

"You got it," he called after her. She would have laughed had she not bumped into Max, who was standing right outside the kitchen. The idiot. Was he eavesdropping on them? Or was he curious about his son? The anguish on his face made her want to take him into her arms and comfort him. He looked sad and she could only imagine what he must be feeling. He'd missed out on seeing his son for nine years. She'd made him believe she had aborted their child before she left, so he wouldn't go looking for her. It had been a cruel thing to do, but she had no option. It needed to be done.

But now that he realized she'd lied, what did he feel? Was he happy to know that he was a father? Was there a part of him, no matter how small, that was glad to see her again? And God, why was she letting herself think like that? She couldn't love him again. Her feelings had gotten her in trouble in the past. Loving Maxwell Carter again was impossible. She wouldn't let it happen, especially now that she had Zander to think about. Squaring her shoulders, she walked past him, making sure to shove him out of the way, and headed upstairs. Max was her husband, but it would be a cold day in hell before she loved that lying, cheating son of a bitch again.