NAUGHTY CALEB [II]

Eloisa glanced at Caleb suspiciously before gulping the orange juice he made her. She saw him smile but she wasn't sure if it was due to happiness or naughtiness. Whatever his reason was, she didn't care. She finished the juice and gave the glass to Caleb and he went inside the house. As soon as she saw that Caleb was gone, she came up out of the pool - she had been swimming - and dried herself with a towel. She wore her jacket and tried to tie a towel on her head when she felt her stomach rumble. She held her stomach instinctively and ran to the toilet. While in the toilet she realised her mistake. Caleb's actions were too good to be sincere. As her stomach rumbled further, she vowed to teach 'that little brat' a lesson.

***** ***** *****

Eva tightened her grip on her handbag as she walked through the lonely alleyway that led to the city hospital. She had a hunch that she was being followed so she walked faster than usual but as she was about to exit the alleyway, a figure blocked her way. It was a boy.

Eva knew she shouldn't be drooling but she was captivated by him. Who wouldn't be though. He was handsome and tall and had short black hair that partially covered his left eye. His long lashes and grey eyes were features she would never forget. He was definitely her type.

"Hi." Mike saw that girl in front of him was lost and flicked his fingers in front of her. "I'm Mike." Mike continued when she regained her composure and stretched out his hand to her.

"I'm Eva." Eva grinned widely as she took his hand in a handshake. She was completely oblivious of her current situation - that she had a large amount of money in her bag and that he might be a thief. Well luckily for her, he wasn't.

"Nice meeting you, Eva. I saw you coming out of the 'Martinez Mansion' earlier so I followed you because I need your help. Hope you don't mind." Mike flashed a smile and Eva was further charmed. He wasn't only good looking, he also had a lovely voice.

"No, not at all. What do you need my help for?"

Mike scratched his head while faking hesitation. "I'm friends with Evie who lives there and I need to return something to her but I'm not able to enter because the security won't let me in. You seemed pretty close to Evie so I was wondering if you could help me get in."

"Sorry I can't help you with that. I'm sorry."

"You can't? I thought you both were close. You seem like best friends. Are you her best friend?"

"No, actually we're not even friends."

"Really? But you seem close." Mike looked surprised as he stared at her.

"That's because we are cousins. She and her brother are my cousins." Eva replied without even thinking.

"Evie's your cousin?" Mike arched his brow as he spoke. He seemed surprised yet doubtful.

"Of course. Our mothers are sisters." Eva said proudly.

"You mean your mom and Joanna Martinez are sisters?" Mike asked in disbelief. He was sure that Joanna had no relatives other than Isabel.

"Yes.." Eva answered absentmindedly but then she understood the question. "Wait... No... Joanna who?"

"Never mind." Mike dismissed it with a wave of hand. He had gotten the information he wanted. "Thanks for your time. Nice meeting you. Bye." Mike winked and Eva blushed. She waved at him as he walked through the alleyway in the opposite direction until he had disappeared from sight. It was then that her common sense returned. She realised that she had just been played. She had become completely idiotic just because a handsome boy was talking to her.

She hit her head in disappointment when she remembered Evie's third condition - she wasn't supposed to know her. She had certainly ruined something for Evie. She didn't know what but it would be disastrous. She shook her head at the thought of denying when Evie asked. She wasn't such a despicable person. She held her bag and ran out of the alleyway as fast as she could. She would go to the hospital and pay for her mother's surgery then she would go to the Martinez Mansion to tell Evie what happened.

***************

Mike sat on his bed pondering over the information he had pried from Eva. The more he thought about it, the more it confused him. It could only mean one thing. Evie and Caleb were not Joanna's biological children. But why would they pretend to be? He was still absorbed in his train of thoughts when he finally heard the knock on his door. The person outside was getting impatient.

"Come in." He said as he walked towards the window and shut it. Evie entered the room with her heart in her hands. Eva had told her about her encounter with Mike. She shut the door behind her and moved as faraway from it as she could. This room had a unique feel to it the first time she entered it but right now it seemed scary. It felt like a dark pit. Like an abyss.

"You called me." She managed to voice some words.

"Yes. I have some questions." Mike pulled out a chair and sat on it, his voice sounding nonchalant.

"I'm not very knowledgeable. I don't think I can answer them. You might need to ask someone else." Evie tried hard to sound normal but Mike could clearly notice her nervousness.

"Like Isabel? Or Ruth? Or whoever is involved in your little ploy?"

Evie faked a smile as she spoke, trying her best not to sound nervous. "Mike, I think you are stressed out and need to take a rest. I was busy when you called so I need to go continue."

"Evangeline Carlos!" Mike called out just as she was about to turn the doorknob. "That's you, right? You're not mom's children, are you?"

"Michael Martinez. I don't know what you are implying but you've seriously got to stop spouting nonsense."

"I'm spouting nonsense?" Mike was speechless and infuriated. He had never been this 'insulted'. But it confirmed his doubts and made him hunger for justice. "I'll get to the bottom of this. And when I reveal the truth, I'll make sure to pay you back for this insult."

"Whatever." Evie said and left the room but she knew she hadn't handled the matter well. Mike would definitely not let this matter go. And most importantly, she had lost a friend.

***************

"Evie! Evie!! Evie!!!" Caleb screamed as he ran down the stairs to the kitchen where Evie was standing. Panting heavily, he hugged Evie.

"What's wrong? Why were you running?" No sooner had she finished her words when she spotted Eloisa walking towards her holding a whip. She immediately stood in front of Caleb thereby obstructing her view.

"Eloisa, what happened?" Evie called her by her name because Eloisa told her to. She claimed calling her Aunt Eloisa would make her feel older.

"Give your brother to me now." Eloisa said as she she tried to grab Caleb but Evie moved backward together with Caleb.

"May I know why you want to punish him?"

"I don't have to report my actions to you, do I? Give him here." Eloisa moves forward to get Caleb but Evie blocks her. Eloisa was seething with anger and raised her whip. She wanted to hit Evie but her hand stopped midway when she heard a familiar voice echo in the kitchen.

"Eloisa! What happened?" David called out as he walked down the stairs.

"It's this little brat called Caleb. He put something in the juice he gave me this morning. He put in a laxative."

"Caleb, is this true?" Evie looked at Caleb with both disbelief and disappointment. He began to cry and he tugged at her cloth.

"I'm sorry, Evie. I won't do it again. Please don't let her punish me! Please save me!"

"You disappoint me, Caleb."

"I'm sorry." Caleb lowered his head and peeked at Evie through his lashes.

"Apologise to Eloisa now."

"Eloisa, I'm really sorry. Please don't hit me. Sir David, I'm sorry. I won't ever repeat it."

"You did wrong boy. You have to be punished." David shook his head as he looked at Caleb. He was about to have Eloisa punish him when Evie knelt in front of him.

"Sir please, I know Caleb is naughty but please forgive him this time. It will never happen again."

"You're not him so how can you be so sure?"

"I will make sure he doesn't. I promise."

"Are you willing to bear responsibility if he does it again?"

"Yes Sir."

"Then get up." Evie stood and bowed her head as she thanked him. "Eloisa let him off today."

"But..." Eloisa was reluctant.

"Listen to me for once. I said let him off." David sounded impatient as he spoke to Eloisa. "Eloisa!" He growled as she stubbornly refused to drop the whip. He stretched out his hand in front of her.

"Hmph." Eloisa reluctantly gave David the whip but she vowed to take her revenge. David humiliated her in front of all the people in the house because of these children. She suddenly felt jealous. It was enough that David loved Mike more than he did her. Now, what if he also loved these children? She couldn't let that happen. She had to be the most important person in his life.

"I'll let you off today. But don't be naughty okay." Eloisa faked the widest smile she could. She had to show David that she was submissive so he would allow her to punish the children the next time they 'wronged' her.

"Okay. Eloisa, thank you." Caleb spoke as he lowered his lids. Eloisa wasn't the only person that could act. Since she pretended to forgive him, he would also pretend to be sorry.

"Now that this is settled, I have good news. Joanna has awoken from her coma. The hospital called and I was about to rush there when you..." David pinched his eyebrows, his face devoid of any feelings. "Whatever. But I have to go now."

"Wow, mommy is awake? I'm so happy." Caleb clapped excitedly as he spoke and both Evie and Eloisa smiled. Their smiles were both fake. They were both nervous. Evie because she was pretending to be her child and Eloisa because she was her husband's mistress. But Evie was slightly happy. She may not have to pretend anymore.