She is not going anywhere with you

How was I supposed to answer that?

"No," I answered still shaky. To be fair, we were not. I mean, we were hardly a couple just because he had just now sucked the life out of me, and marked me for everyone to see. I swallowed visibly.

"You don't sound convinced," said Pete, now butting in on the conversation. "No, we are not a couple," I said trying to be more convincing.

I mean, maybe if you were as young as they were… Maybe then it would only take one hickey to signify that you are partners, but to me being a couple meant something entirely different. It meant being a life partner, someone you could rely on. I was a mother of two for crying out loud.

I quickly glanced at Dean, who stood at the head of the table. It seemed that he was done with getting ready and was intently staring at me. Did he just hear me? He could not, could he? I mean, everyone was chatting and it was a little noisy.

I had a hard time looking away from him. His eyes held mine. It was like there was a cord between us, binding our gazes together. I drowned in his eyes. It was like they were like the clearest bottomless sea.

The spell broke when Dani elbowed me again. This time it hurt a little. I quickly looked back at Dean and he crookedly smiled at me, and then winked.

My jaw dropped by the shameless gesture.

Dean then turned to a man standing next to him. If there was ever an air about Dean, then this man surely almost looked royal. He looked like him, but was more matured. The same blue eyes, and the same color of hair. They seemed to be quietly arguing about something.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, how are you enjoying your evening so far?" Dean started to say.

There were people clapping on the table and there were people loudly whistling. Of course Dani was one of the people that were whistling, I rolled my eyes at her.

This was way too loud for me, I glanced at the clock, and it was almost 8 PM. That meant that my baby's would go to bed. I quickly rose and went to another hall to call them.

From the corner of my eye I saw that Dean watched me as I walked out of the room.

Mason took most of my time with the kids on the phone. I felt like he was using them to get to me. "Mason can I please just talk to them?" I tried to remain calm and counted to ten.

"Are you enjoying your evening?" asked Mason. "Yes," I said trying to get rid of him. "Can you put the boys on the phone please? I pleaded. "Who did you meet?" Jason pressed on for information. "Let's talk about that another time," I suggested.

It was stupid that Dani had lied about something that wasn't as pressing. I mean, it did not compare to spending the night with a hot guy, by any means. She could of easily said that we would go to a gala. But maybe that was what Dani thought that was going to happen tonight….

"How have they eaten?" I changed the subject, placing the focus back on the kids. I hated lying to him, but I did not want him to know everything either. At least not the part about Dean. "They ate well," replied Mason. I was quiet, not knowing how to make him hand over the phone to my sons. I sighed.

"Hi momma," said little Edan all of a sudden. I sighed in relieve. "Hi darling," I cooed. "How are you doing my love?" I asked him. "Are you putting me to bed momma?" questioned Edan.

My heart sank.

The boys were still so confused about the situation, and Mason did not make it any easier either. We were now co-parenting. In day-to-day life, that meant Mason had the boys for a week, and then I had them the next week.

It was hard not seeing them, they were still so little. Mason has demanded to have the kids 50/50, because that way he would not have to pay child support. He knew I did not have enough money to live life like I was used to, now that we were apart. I guessed that was the reason he did this.

"You know what little bubba," I said to him, "I will sing you a bedtime song," I told him. Edan sang along with me, and then I heard Zion join us as well. I smiled.

"Goodnight my boys," I said and made kissing noises through the phone. They both laughed and copied me.

I felt bad that I didn't spend more time with them this afternoon, but Mason had no boundaries. The kids went to bed and I walked back to the dining hall.

Dean was still talking and everyone clung to his lips. It was like he was offering the crowd honey instead of words.

I tuned in and out of his speech, having a hard time focusing.

I did not know how much time had passed by…

I only watched how his lips moved and the way he sometimes looked at me. Every time I quickly looked away.

Then I heard him say Christal's name and my stomach dipped. My head turned to her, she was gloating. Christal stood up, approaching him and my whole entire body tensed.

This was not happening, was it?! What was going on… if only I had listened to what he had said.

Christal had come to stand next to him and she hooked her arm around his. Her chin held high, she looked proud. Smug even. I felt Dani's hand on my lap, beneath the table. She took my hand and gently squeezed it.

"As Christal and I will lead you to the dancefloor, as your hosts of the fun part of the night, I bid you all this…" Dean trailed off.

"Enjoy every hour and every minute of what this evening has to offer. You will never have this day again, so live in the moment. Let us party like there is no tomorrow," said Dean, the words smoothly rolling off his tongue. He sounded like he could be a great world leader one day.

Everyone rose when Dean led Christal to the grand hall. Dani squeezed my hand a little harder.

I took in a deep breath and Dani guided me to the other room. "Don't take it personal," said Dani. "It was probably planned this way," she tried to explain to me. I said nothing.

When we went into the grand hall, the atmosphere completely changed. Lights were flashing, the music was upbeat. It was like we were in a club. Dean and Christal were dancing exuberantly.

Dani dragged me on to the dancefloor, bumping her behind against me and I rolled my eyes at her. She took out her phone and took a picture. The light of the flash almost blinded me.

"Dani!" I complained. Macy made her way over to us and started grooving. "Girlss let's partyyyyyy," Macy said, slurring the words. "How much have you had?" I asked, feeling awfully protective of her.

"I can see that you haven't had enough," said Dani, and stopped a waiter that was holding a tray of alcohol.

Macy handed me a small cup. "It's a shot," mumbled Macy like she thought I wouldn't know what it was. "I am not that old," I reminded her feeling insulted. We toasted our glasses, and we took another one.

The waiter seemed amused by us, and patiently waited while we drank three more. It was incredibly sweet. I normally never drank much, so I did not mind drinking these small glasses. It was perfect for me.

Not long after, I finally started enjoying the music and dancing with my friends. Dean kept on dancing with Christal for hours, but I let it go. I was having a good time.

I did not need him. I did not need Mason. I did not need anyone but my boys, my girls right here, my family….

I took my girls by the arm, and we had a little group hug, when someone grabbed me by my arm with force.

The room was spinning, but maybe that was because of the alcohol. A little wobbly, I looked up to the man the arm belonged to. It was Mason.

"We are going home right now," said Mason. "Now!" he raised his voice a little over the loud music. I started walking with him.

"She is not going anywhere with you mister," said Dani, or at least, I thought she said that. "It's okay honey, it's okay," I tried to calm Dani. "I will talk to him over there," I said pointing across the room, to the entrance hall.

"It's a little bit more quiet there," I slurred the words. Mason did not wait for me and almost pulled me along with him. My legs were a little shaky and my eyesight had been better.

"Is this a damn job market?!" Mason yelled at me when we were alone in the entrance hall. I bit my lip and did not know what to say.