Chapter 25

She watched how the tears that had spilled from her eyes traveled down the window and vanished to some extent. Gazing down the window at Raiden's room, Elodre watched how Cayden got out of the mansion, looking bouncy and sexy in his perfectly tailored white suit. Bowing, the guards got his briefcase. His driver had already driven the car out of the garage and was waiting for him. With a bow, a guard opened the door and he got into the car…

…without saying goodbye to her. Elodreacembling as she cried. Gone are those times when she woke up to charming smiles on his face. Those days she woke up to his soft lips pressing against hers. Those days she used to snuggle onto him in bed…in those arms, those powerful arms that once kept her safe.

She sniffled. Those days…

She burst out in tears, slowly falling to sit on the floor. Trembling, she was feeling the hot tears burning down her cheeks. Grief engulfed her such that she cried with her whole strength and was running out of breath. Her head was aching drastically coupled with a whirling sensation in her eyes.

***

Placing her shaky hand on the doorknob, the door opened and she gasped. She never expected her husband to leave the door unlocked…but he did. She got into the room and shut the door. Shutting her eyes while leaning against the door, she was slowly sliding down till she sat on the floor.

At least she still had her hoodie and baggy pants on so Jasmine never saw the bruises on her body. And, Jasmine didn't gaze at her long enough to have noticed how puffy her eyes were.

***

******

***

Oh, mom! Cayden thought while in his office. Damn, he'd got so upset last night that he never even said a word to her before leaving Hailey's place. He blew out as he leaned back on his chair and grabbed his phone from his table.

Checking his phone, he gasped in surprise to see her missed calls.

"Mom, how are you doing?" He listened for a while and said, "Oh, Mom, I'm sorry… I'm so sorry, okay? You wanna come to my office? Alright, mom, come over. Love you!" He hung up, tossed the phone on the table, and sighed.

Oh, now, his sisters! He should come to them, right?

***

"Mamma? Mamma?!"

Elodre's eyes opened with a start upon hearing her son screaming outside the room. Yawning, she rubbed her hurting eyes and blinked. Jeez! Did she fall asleep at the door? Damn. It was noon already. Stretching, she yawned again, feeling void and famished. On her attempt to get up, she felt excruciating pain in one side of her head, and she winced.

"Momma?!" He called, banging on the door.

Oh, damn! "Honey…" She pushed herself up, opened the door and he hopped into the room enthusiastically.

"Momma!" He was jumping while talking. "You promised to…"

"I know, honey," Elodre forced a smile. Can she do this?! "But you gotta take a shower…and have some lunch…"

All giggling, he hopped out of the room and Elodre shook her head. She pushed the door shut and let out a trembling sigh.

"Maam?" Jasmine called quietly from outside the room. "Should I serve you lunch in your room?"

"Cool," Elodre said. What would she have done without Jasmine?

***

"So, why did you suddenly leave last night? You got me panicking." Sitting across from Cayden, Bianca asked.

He blew out and said. "I…I just got an emergency call that drove me nuts."

"At ten thirty, Cayden?" She gazed directly into his eyes and searched them.

"Comm'n mom, what's that look?" He said. "An emergency can occur at any time."

Nodding slightly, a crooked smile pulled her lips…and Cayden was super familiar with this smile. And he knows what it means. "Alright, then, let's leave it at that." She said, "I'm still wondering why Cayden of all people came to a party without his handbag."

And he knew she was referring to Elodre. "Mom, that was Hailey's promotion party."

"Who said it wasn't?" She raised a brow. "It was open to everyone."

"Not like y'all love her." He said. Damn! He isn't ready for this conversation. "Especially you. We both know you would have been a bone on her neck."

Bianca rolled her eyes.

"You hated her at first sight, Mom." Cayden's blue eyes were fixed on her. "We both know your daughters would have…" He bit back his words. "So why nagging over her absence at the party?"

"Because I can perceive something has probably gone wrong, Cayden."

"You've always been perceiving and detecting things even before I tied the knot with my wife." He said and shock flashed on her face. He sighed and said. "The only thing that went wrong is that I never got back home after leaving for work in the morning."

Bianca bit her lower lip and looked away from him. "Are…are you still holding a grudge against me, Cayden?"

He sighed, rolled his eyes, and said softly"No, Mom. I'm just been real."

"I was only asking." She said, "After all it was a realistic question…but I'm amazed you're still holding onto this grudge. It's been years since you shut us out."

"Mom, I didn't shut nobody out." He said. Fuck!! This is just one nasty thing about his mom. She could nag all the days of her life. Damn. "You gave me reasons to leave, Mom."

There is nothing as annoying as that smile on her face.

"You left because you never saw what I saw." She said, "You were so blinded by love.".

He wasn't gonna have this conversation! His mom was right. She's always been…but he realized late.

She smiled upon his silence. "Heather could have been a good wife, Cayden."

That struck him hard. The fact that his mom is right hurt so badly. On his laps, his hands clenched into a fist but he quickly stretched his fingers. "What makes you think Heather is better than my wife?" He managed to speak calmly.

"You wouldn't have looked so troubled as you look."

Was he? Was it obvious? "Heather isn't better than my wife! You're the cause of my trouble, Mom." His voice was slightly deep in anger.

The fact that he always defended his wife disgusted her. "What kinda woman turns her husband against his family?"

"Take my wife out of this, Mom." His eyes were slightly fierce. "She did nothing wrong. You just hate her for selfish reasons."

Bianca gasped.

"I made my choice and I'm fine with it." He said. "You can't choose whom I should spend my life with, Mom."

"Of course, I can't." She shrugged and gulped down the water in a glass with her glittering ocean-blue eyes fixed on him.

***

***

Nervousness snatched the air from Elodre's lungs at the sight of Weston's mansion. She felt a hard knot in her stomach. Pinning her head against the seat, she swallowed hard.

Raiden started jumping enthusiastically.

"Careful, honey," She warned but he wouldn't listen.

Can she do this? Her palm was clammy with fright. As the driver drove into the driveway, Weston's security stopped him.

As the tinted glass slid down the man bowed to Elodre, "Good day, ma'am!" He signaled the guys in front to let the car pass.

***

Holding Raiden's hand, they both walked to the huge door and she pressed the doorbell. Her heart was whacking in her chest and it hurt slightly. She felt her whole body trembling violently.

Gather it together. She told herself inwardly, taking a deep breath. She isn't here for him…Raiden just wanna say hi to him. She reassured herself and blew out hot air from her mouth, looking around.

As she raised her hand to press the doorbell a second time, the door creaked and her heart suddenly leaped to her throat, thomping. The shock caused her chest to burn excruciatingly and the pain twirled up to her head which began to ache as well. God! She was shaking. She gasped for air.

Emerging from the door, Weston raised a brow upon seeing her.

"Dada!! Dada!!" Raiden jumped on his body with a big smile on his face. "Dada!!"

"Aww" He smiled, cuddling the tiny boy and kissing his forehead. "My lil' pumpkin. I've missed you so much, my boy." He couldn't help the surprise. His gaze was fixed on Elodre who scarcely looked at him. "Elodre?"

Oh no, no no! Don't cry. She swallowed.

"You never came back as you promised." Raiden frowned and Weston laughed.

Oh, thank God! She was more comfortable when he was distracted.

"I never came back until today," Weston was smiling sweetly at the kid in his arms. "And I was about to come over."

…and Elodre couldn't help but steal gazes at him in awe. He was so jovial and charming like her husband. She remembered the old times when she could just walk up to him and hug him. Those arms were comfy too. Those times when he flirted with her and made her laugh…those times.

She was so lost in thoughts, she didn't realize when her lips pulled in a smile

…and…