Chapter 12: A Facade of Forgiveness (2)

The car drove into the house I once lived in. The architecture was the same but the color of the building had been repainted to beige. The house was one of the biggest I'd ever seen and even to date, it left me marveled. The driver came out and opened the door for us. The children came out first and just as they came out, someone ran out of the house shrieking.

His mother.

I hadn't seen her in years. She was the most beautiful woman to ever cross my path, even for an old one. She was the framework for Rominic's beauty. She was also very kind to me back then and the closest thing to what a true mother was, but I stubbornly kept my distance because I was seeking my stepmother's affection.

"Oh my, my baby girl! My brown biscuit!" Stupid name, but Kara had never been good with names. I made my way over to her, smiling and readying myself for her infamous bone-crushing hug. "My Papaya!" She shrieked when the hug came. I laughed in her arms, groaning silently from the pain of her stronghold but not pulling away. Not that I could.

She finally let me go but her strong hold dropped on my shoulders. Somebody still needed to tell her how to hold people gently. "My biscuit, I came as soon as I heard, I can't believe you are alive! I cried for months because of you!"

"I'm sorry, Mom, I needed to be away from—"

"I know, I know he caused it and I completely understand. But you should have come to me, you shouldn't have left, especially with the baby… sorry, babies– speaking of which…" she easily tossed me aside and awned, running towards the children. "My new papayas!"

"Woman, woman, don't touch me, don't touch me!" Zach shouted, running away from her. Savvy pulled away too but didn't run. Serenity was the first to jump in for a hug.

"Hello, Grandma, I'm Serenity, what's your name?" She asked. Kara awned before picking her up and squeezing her. "Easy, Grandma, I need to breathe,"

"Oh, sorry, pumpkin, my bad. Hi, I'm Kara, but you can call me Kara,"

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"Exactly! Because I'm the same!" She shrieked and laughed. That was her method of getting children to like her. She always acted like a goof. Zayne pulled at her dress, demanding his hug. "Oh, another cutie! This is an early Christmas present," she picked Zayne up too, and squeezed them both together. "More children for me!"

"Kara, let the children breathe, will ya?" I turned around with a wide smile to meet the man who was more of a father to me than my biological one. He didn't age as much as I expected him to and I could see he was still working out. "Lavender, darling," I didn't waste time running into his waiting arms.

He still smelled the same. He smelled like someone who dived into a pool of honey, and his hug was as warm and as welcoming as ever. Tears brimmed in my eyes the moment I was in his embrace. Replay of memories I'd forced myself to forget reappeared. They were kind to me but I never acknowledged them the way I should have. I was too busy chasing the wind. "I've missed you, Dad, I'm sorry I—"

"It's okay, I understand. Let bygones be bygones," he gently pushed me back and used his palm to dry the little tears in my eyes. "I'm grateful to God that you are still alive. I hope my son wasn't a pain in the ass during the past weeks," I laughed it off. Rominic wasn't exactly a pain in the butt, my life was.

Dad looked at the children over my shoulder and smiled. "Introduce me to the little ones?"

"Mom! Save me!" Zach cried. I turned around just as he ran into me and then proceeded to use me as a shield to protect himself from Kara.

Kara stopped chasing him and placed her hands on her hips. "Darling, who does he remind you of?"

Dad laughed. "Rylee. She would throw tantrums when anyone tried to hug her while Rominic would always cry when you missed one scheduled hug,"

I chuckled and patted Zach on the head. He was peeping at her from behind me, squeezing the hem of my top like his life depended on it. "Zach, you're being rude to your grandparents,"

"I don't like people touching me," he said with an unrepentant tone.

"She's not part of those people, she's your father's mother,"

"As of now, she's a stranger and I hate my father," my heart skipped. I looked at Kara with an apologetic look. I thought what happened in the car earlier was good enough to make him behave, but it was naive of me to believe years of prejudice would end in just an hour.

Kara's face softened and lost its playful glow. She dropped her hands and hummed. "I see,"

"I'm sorry, Kara, he—"

"Don't," she held out her hand with a scolding look. "Leave the boy be. He has the right to his emotions and feelings," she looked at Zach and smiled sweetly. "You might not like me now but soon enough, we'll be best of friends,"

"I don't want to," he said with a childish scoff. Kara winked at him instead and laughed. I looked at Zach and saw that he was blushing. That was easy.

***

The children were in awe as they stared at the feast before them. They had never gotten the chance to eat in such a grand style. I felt bad because I could never give them that life. When Kara told them they could eat anything, they went into shock. Kara was smiling and getting everything on video while Jamie, her husband, kept an eye on Zachary.

"Can we really eat anything, Grandma?"

"Any of your choices," the children exchanged excited looks, grinning from ear to ear. Except Zachary that is. Their look landed on me. I gave them an encouraging nod, an approval that brought tears to Zayne's eyes.

"I'm going to be fatter than Santa!"

"And heavier than a mammoth," Savvy said, picking up a fork. "And Mom, Serene is going to do that again," she pointed the fork at Serenity who was rushing out of the dining room. I already knew what 'that' was.

"Sweetheart, where are you going?" Kara called after her.

"I'm going to wait for Daddy!" She shouted back. Kara gave me a confused look. I smiled and stood up, gesturing to her that I'd explain later.

I followed Selene out to convince her to eat instead. She stopped in front of the big door and stared at it intensely. "Baby," I called softly, walking over to her. "Staring at it won't magically bring your father here,"

"But if I don't wait for him, no one will," she said, not sparing me a glance.

"Your daddy might not be back on—"

"I'll wait, I always wait," she cut me off seriously. I scrunch my face in annoyance, hating the jealousy that was starting to heat up in my chest.

"You can wait while eating,"

"I want to eat with him,"

"Sweetheart, your food is going to get cold by the time he's—" the door handle turned. I instinctively shot forward and grabbed her, swinging her back before the door opened. The door didn't swing open like I thought it would, so that was a vain action.

Rominic halted and stared at me puzzledly. I released Serenity and she immediately rushed to him. "Daddy!" He looked down at her, still confused as she hugged his lower body. She looked up at him and giggled. "Hello, Daddy, how was work today?"

"Huh?"

"Habit, she always waits," I said and rolled my eyes as I turned to walk back to the dining room.

I paused when she squealed."Daddy! Is that for me?!" I turned again and noticed the giant stuffed honey gold and pink koala bear in his hand and the colorful shopping bags.

"Yes, Baby. I saw it along the way home so I bought it for you. Wait, hasn't my mother shown them the rooms she prepared for them?" He asked. She hadn't. She was busy smooching the children.

Serenity snatched the toy and ran off while shrieking. "You know, when someone asks a question, the polite response is an answer,"

"That's if the person asking the question isn't a dick," I scowled.

He smiled and loosened his tie. "You're yet to see me as a dick, Laverne. I haven't even started yet,"

"Asshole," I turned around to leave but then remembered the bags. I turned around again and stretched out my hands. He arched a brow at me. "I'm the loving woman who forgave her cheating fiancé for the sake of her children,"

"What?" He was right to be confused.

"I'll explain later," I took the bags from his hand and finally walked away. Well, I didn't walk far before Savia ran into the living room, bouncing with excitement. She ran past me of course and went straight to him.

"Good evening, my mother's husband, did you get anything for me too? Please?"

Rominic folded his arms and stared at her with an intimidating gaze. "Your mother's husband is your siblings' father," if she had noticed me standing there, she wouldn't have bothered to talk to him.

Savia stretched out her hand. "Give me my gifts and I'll call you Father for a week,"

He arched his brow. "Your main motivation for this deal?"

"My brother's sanity. No further questions are allowed. Deal or no deal?" She looked like a dwarf trying to intimidate a giant. It was both amusing and annoying to watch.

Rominic took her outstretched hand and shook it. "Make that two weeks and you'll get $200 in your account before midnight,"

"I love the way you bargain, dearest father,"

I shook my head and clicked my tongue. "Your gift is over here," she instantly removed her hand, twirled around, and ran over to me. "Normal children don't negotiate with their parents, young lady," I scolded, weighing the bags and wondering which one was hers.

"Yellow bags," Rominic said as he walked past me.

"Thank you," I said unconsciously, passing the bags over to Savvy.

"It's a shame I'm not normal then, Mom. I love driving a hard bargain. You should be proud of me," trust me, I am. She carried the two yellow bags and ran off. Savia's attitude had done a 360. How can someone who despises someone suddenly change? She was either acting or she truly let it go. Well, whatever it is. Her change would help Zachary.

I followed them to the dining room but Rominic was waiting for me at the door. I placed my hands on my hips and raised my brow at him. "We need to talk," I nodded. "Pass me the rest of the bags, I'll give them to your knights. You can wait for me in my office," I gave him the bags and left quietly. It was a bit hard to find his home office because it'd been a while. By the time I found it, Rominic had already caught up with me.

"Come in," he instructed, walking into the office. I followed behind. He gestured to a short leather chair while he walked around the large glass table. I remained standing with my hands folded. He sat down and leaned back on the chair. "Now, let's talk,"

My eyes twitched. For someone who should be walking on eggshells with me, he was confident. "It's about Zachary,"

"What about him?"

"Can you show a little more concern for your son?"

"The son I'm just seeing after weeks? The son that despises me? Lavender, things don't work that way and you know it. I'm not saying I hate him, don't get me wrong, but I'm being honest with myself. I don't exactly love him either," wow. I didn't know how to argue with that. I wasn't in the mood to.

"Fine, let's see it that way. I don't like the bitterness growing inside him so I plan to help him change and the only way to do that is by pretending that I've forgiven you. If he thinks we are good, he would be willing to forgive you too. What do you think?"

Rominic stared at me thoughtfully, drumming his fingers on the arm of the chair. He tilted his head and hummed with an unfathomable expression on his face. "In other words, you want to pretend like you are still in love with me, correct?"

"Unfortunately, yes. In front of the children, we have to act like a happy couple. I don't care if it'll irritate you but you will just have to bear with it. I don't like it either…" I trailed off when he held out two fingers. My brows knitted with confusion.

"I'll agree only on two conditions,"

I scoffed incredulously. "Seriously?"

"Let's call this a business deal, Beautiful Mrs. Verlice. A deal is supposed to favor both parties. I can't agree to this for nothing," he shrugged.

"I'm offering you the chance to earn the love of your children! I'm doing this for your sake!"

"You suggested this, I didn't, so that isn't what I want. Are you willing to hear the conditions, my beautiful wife?" If he was trying to annoy me by calling me that, he was succeeding. Still, I held back my anger and smiled forcefully, mentally chanting the reason I was doing this.

"Fine, what are your conditions?" A sly grin spread on his face and my heart somersaulted. This can't be good.