Chapter 19

MELISSA QUIZON

"Mommy!"

Wright looked down at my thighs and smiled sadly as he watched Reid. I turned to Reid as he held my hand. His forehead was furrowed. He looked like his father.

"Why are you here? Are you related to us?" Reid asked.

I didn't know how I should answer his question. Wright and I looked at each other. I could read in his eyes the anticipation that our son would meet him. I had long prepared for Wright and me to face each other. I'd been thinking for a few days, and I'd made up my mind.

My son deserved to have a father. I would no longer disregard that right.

I swallowed a few times. I knelt so Reid and I could meet eyes. "Give Granny the flower and the candle first. Don't play with the candle, okay? The last time you played with it, your hair got burned. We'll just talk."

One of his eyebrows rose, and Reid looked at Wright. "You're not going to steal my mom, are you? Because I will kick you and punch you."

It took seconds for Wright to answer. "No. No," he said hoarsely.

Reid nodded and went over to Grandma's grave. Wright and I looked at each other. I took a deep breath, then turned around and walked away. I felt like he was following me. When we got away from Reid, I confronted him.

"Melissa, please—" I raised my right hand to stop him from speaking.

"You've already explained, Wright. I don't want to hear anything else you have to say. I've decided," I said coldly. "You turned your back on me—not only me but also my son. You threw me away like a dog after you got me pregnant, and then, you ran away."

Shit. I could no longer cover the pain I felt with every word I uttered. All my hard work went into raising Reid. I had to combine work, study, and taking care of my child. "I can give my son a good life. I can give him everything he needs. I can protect him. I can do all of it, Wright. All by myself." He bit his lower lip and bent down. I knew every word I said pierced him. I swallowed to clear the blockage in my throat. "I can also give him the right to know who his father is."

I couldn't help but look at his expression. I heard his heavy breathing. I had decided and thought about it. I knew I was wrong when it came to not introducing Reid to his real father. But I couldn't choose the wrong thing anymore. I would never accept Wright into my life again.

"There's only one thing I can't afford to give to my son, Wright. I can't give him a whole family." I paused and looked at him coldly. "I can't be with you."

He was silent for a moment. Now, he could feel how words can kill. Just say a few words, and that's enough to ruin other people's lives.

I heard him sigh. I looked at him. Even though he was smiling, I could still see the sadness in his eyes. We were only about a step away from each other, so I examined his eyes some more. A tear fell from one of his eyes. Whether it was a sign of happiness or sadness, I didn't give a damn. He immediately wiped it away.

"Thank you. Thank you for giving me a chance to prove that I'm a better man now, Melissa."

No.

No. I wouldn't fall for this act. Not this time.

"The chance I gave you was to get closer to Reid. I won't give you a chance to ruin my life once more," I said coldly. Emotionless. Blank. Nothing. "Because you know, Wright. You're late. Six years late. I moved on. I hope you do the same."

"I can't, Mel. I need you."

"Those times I needed you, where were you?" I swallowed to clear my throat. He was not worth the tears. "I needed you, and you never showed up."

"I regret—"

"You know what? This isn't getting us anywhere. It's not about the two of us. It's about my son." I composed myself. "I'll take care of it when I tell Reid everything. I'll…I'll inform you once I tell him."

"No. I want to face Reid when he finds out the truth."

"What should I know?"

I peeked over Wright's shoulder and saw my son standing behind him. I approached Reid and leaned in front of him.

I glared at him. "You got your hair burned."

He averted the gaze. "No. I didn't play with candles."

His right eyebrow twitched. That was a sign that he was lying.

"You're lying."

"No." One of his eyebrows moved again. "I… I'm not."

I stared at him. I knew Wright was watching. But when I was with my son, I forgot about all other things. He hugged my thighs. "Mommy, I'm hungry."

"I'm a good chef. Do you want to taste my cooking?" Reid and I were surprised when Wright spoke up. He was starting to make a bond with my son. He sighed as he and Reid stared at each other. Now that they were only about a few inches away from each other, I could see more of their resemblance. They seemed to reflect each other.

Wright raised his hand as if asking Reid to put his hand there. Just a few seconds later, I felt Reid walk away from me, and he raised his hand. He reached for Wright's hand. I saw Wright squeeze my son's hand. The smile on his lips widened even more.

I silently got into Wright's car. He couldn't seem to wait to get to know Reid. I knew he was eager for Reid's love. I knew it. I felt it.

We sat in the passenger seat, and I hugged Reid.

"Can you cook a hamburger?" Reid asked while Wright turned the car on.

He smiled. "Yes. That's my favorite. Sometimes, I put pickles and—"

"Ketchup!" Reid giggled and became talkative.

"Right! It's your favorite, too?" Wright said.

"That was my mommy's craving when I was in her tummy. Wasn't it, Mommy?'

Wright glanced at me to watch my reaction.

"Uh, yes," I simply said.

I was quiet until we got to Wright's mansion and let them talk. They often talked about video games and musical instruments.

"Wow! It's so big. Aren't you lost here? How many bathrooms do you have?" Reid just held my hand as we walked into the kitchen. This was the first time Wright would cook for me.

"In every room."

"Wow! In my house, we only have one, but it's very cozy. Aren't you alone here? There's a lot of empty space."

"Do you want to live in a house like this, Reid?"

"I can live anywhere as long as Mommy is with me."

"Is that so? Well, I built this for my family." Wright shot me a meaningful glance. I averted my eyes. We got to the kitchen. Wright folded his sleeve up to his elbow and put on the apron. Wright took out a small apron and put it on Reid. "Here's yours."

"Wow! It's SpongeBob!"

"Do you like SpongeBob?"

"Yes! He makes delicious burgers!"

"You have to taste my cooking."

"Will you also cook for my mommy?"

Wright's smile widened. "I'll cook for her every single day."

I rolled my eyes at him when Reid was not looking. They started cooking. I looked at Reid and glanced at Wright. He was enjoying the attention my son was giving him.

"Paps and I are like this. We cook together." Paps?

Wright was stunned. "P-Paps?"

"Yep! His name is Doc Eugene. I call him Paps in secret sometimes, but when he's facing me, I call him Uncle Doc." Reid turned to me. "It's our secret, Mommy. Don't tell him that."

Wright's gaze deepened on me. Until we ate, he never looked at me again. So what? I didn't know that Reid had a secret name for Eugene. And I didn't see anything wrong with that. If he had taken responsibility back then, my son would not have been looking for someone else in place of his father.

After we ate, Wright's maid put away the plates. I watched Reid play the piano as Wright took my arms and dragged me until we reached the patio.

"Explain to me. Why does my son call that Eugene Paps?"

"I do not know. I only found out about that right now." I withdrew my arm from his grasp. "Don't turn this around on me, Wright. If you had come earlier, he would not look for a father figure in someone else!"

"Damn it, Melissa! I want to tell him that I'm his real father. Badly! I don't want him to call other men dad," he said emphatically as he approached me. "I want to monopolize our son. And I want to monopolize you."

I did not speak.

He held my chin up so that our eyes met. I could see longing, frustration, and desperation in his eyes.

"Please, tell Reid that I am his real father."

"Mommy..." We looked at the sound of a little voice behind us. My eyes widened when I saw Reid. His eyes turned red. "Is everything I heard true?"