“Uh…Yes…My apologies…Good morning.” I swear I internally cuss. The fact that I stuttered even in a greeting just shows I am not competent enough, and I don’t even know what their reaction is going to be.“You should sit down.” Another member of the panel, a middle-aged man says and I realize that I
The rest of the panel members don’t say anything.“We have already wasted enough time with you being awkward at the entrance, and us being distracted by your torn outfit and since we don’t have all day, we will skip the basic questions and just skip straight to the hard-hitting questions.” He says i
I should have gotten in my car and driven away, but no, I wanted to fix my dress first. Not because I will be heading somewhere after here, after all, I had asked for a day off at the office, but because I feel like I need to fix the one thing that embarrassed me. The reason that I have broken down
“I am, I got an emergency call so I had to excuse myself, they will continue without me. And no, I didn’t embarrass you, Mildred, you did that all on your own.” He says and I roll my eyes again. I am trying not to put much pressure on my ankle because I can start to feel the pain. Of course, he was
I think he has been here a little too long for someone who claimed to leave the interview room for an emergency.“I do, so you should stop wasting my time and let me drive you home.” I shake my head again.“I am fine.” He chuckles and shakes his head in disbelief.“Mildred, you have a swollen foot f
“Do you need help getting in?”“No.” I quickly say and get in.I won’t say I am surprised when he doesn’t talk to me the whole drive. I mean he has been passing glances at me every once in a while but hasn’t said even a single word to me, not even asking for my address, because he said he was going
I'm impatiently waiting on the call for Clay to pick up because I need to scream my frustrations to someone, and she is the best recipient at the moment. I wouldn’t be in this situation if she had told me Abel was the friend she had referred me to. But she is just not picking up. She is probably bus
“Who are you then?” the little guy asks and I swear I don’t have the answer to that question. I could say I am his friend, but that will be a lie. I met the guy twice in my life and never saw him again in four years, until today. Referring to myself as his friend will just come off as weird.“He nev
“Abel, you are proposing…” The words tumble out of my mouth in disbelief, more of a statement than a question. He nods, and then, to my utter shock, he gets down on one knee. I feel the world around us blur and slow down, my pulse pounding in my ears.“Mildred Turina, will you marry me?” His voice w
She scoffs playfully, giving me that familiar look that says she’s still got it all under control. “I know how to take care of children, honey. We will be fine. You two go have fun.”Relief washes over me. Even though we’re leaving them in the best possible hands, the part of me that has grown attac
We’re heading to Abel’s lake house for a weekend getaway—just the two of us. He said he got the place a few years ago but rarely gets to use it. He has only taken the twins there a few times because the only time he gets enough time to spend with them without many distractions from work is during th
Epilogue"Come here,” I call her over, and she reluctantly pulls her fingers off her brother’s chubby cheeks, then walks back to where I am. I crouch down to be at her level, trying to mask the amusement I feel at her little pout.“If you keep harassing your brother, I will have him stay with me at
“Did I?”“You bitch!” I burst out laughing. He has definitely been holding that back.“I was busy dealing with a concussion to see anything, oh, and my mom has way more money than you, you know, and her money combined with the money my dad left me, which I just found out was a lot by the way, then A
“Mom, I…”“I should have taken you with me when he died, but I thought you were already a grown woman and you wouldn’t need me anymore, and I will never forgive myself for that because if I did, then you wouldn’t have ended up with an abusive man. I could have protected you from repeating the cycle.
"Abel, he is good for you," she repeats, this time more firmly. There’s a strange sadness in her eyes, as if she’s remembering all the times she wished someone had said those words to her. I nod, acknowledging her observation, but I don’t want to delve into a discussion about Abel with her. "I feel
"Are you ready to go home?" Abel asks, and I nod eagerly. The sterile scent of antiseptic clings to the air, making me desperate to leave this hospital room and everything it represents. My heart pounds with a need to escape—to feel the cool air outside, untainted by the trauma that haunts these wal
“Oh…”“I love you, and I would want you in my life and the twins too, but you need to accept that fact about me. I don’t even know if I can be a mother to your children or a stepmother. I just don’t know if I have it in me, even though I love them, and I love you,” I say, and I’m nervously waiting f