Chapter 58 The Man I'm Seeing
Claire
As soon as the hospital gown slid off my body, I could feel his eyes all over my back, like he was devouring me with his stare. I swallowed hard.
I reached for the bag where my clothes were neatly folded, half expecting him to grab me while I stood there naked. But he didn’t.
He just stayed where he was, watching silently as I started putting my clothes on. Only when I was almost done did he finally speak.
“You probably want to call your kid and tell her not to worry about you,” he said.
I turned around to look at him.
“Where did you order this food, Liam?” I asked.
He cocked his head to the side. “At a restaurant. I’m not going to fuck a woman who was ill a moment ago.”
Knowing his way with words, I just nodded.
“Remember when you called them your step-kids?” I said, letting a small smile curve my lips while he frowned.
“Well… you’ll be eating with one of them today.”
And now here we are, seated together. I’m munching on my food, Isa’s eating too. Turns out she didn’t actually eat when she excused herself earlier, she was probably too troubled about leaving her mom alone with a strange man she knows nothing about.
It took some serious convincing to get Liam to sit here with us. He hated the idea the moment I suggested it, shaking his head sharply.
“No, I don’t think I want your daughter to like me,” he’d said.
I raised a brow. “Well, you should’ve thought of that before you started running around with a woman who has children,” I shot back while slipping on my shoes.
He just stared down at me for a second before speaking again.
“You realize your daughter hates me. She doesn’t have to say it out loud.”
I nodded. He wasn’t wrong.
“She’s just a kid,” I said. “She’ll figure it all out eventually. Liam, I’m hungry.”
He sighed and motioned for me to go ahead. I reached for my phone and called Isa.
And now here we are in this nice restaurant, eating like there’s no tension hanging over the table.
Luppy, on the other hand, couldn’t care less, she’s eating like she hasn’t had food all day. Isa, though? She’s completely ignoring the man called Mr. King sitting right among us.
When I finally finished eating, Isa spoke first.
“Are we going home now?” she asked.
I turned my eyes to her. “Yes,” I said, my voice clipped. Surprisingly, Liam hadn’t said a word the whole time.
I guess he really didn’t want Isa to like him. Well… what does he even have that I’d want my daughter to like anyway?
“Well, if you’re going home, Mrs Claire, I’ll drop you off,” he said, scrolling through his phone, brows knotted together.
“Well… thanks for the food. I really enjoyed it,” I told him. Luppy nodded in agreement while Isa kept her eyes fixed on me.
You might be wondering why I even brought her here. I brought her so it would sink in, so that when we get home and talk, I can set the record straight.
Yes, as much as it’s come to this, Liam has become a lover, whether I like it or not. And the fact that Ian and I will be getting a divorce soon isn’t a joke; it’s reality.
I had promised her I wouldn’t tell her brothers who Liam really is. But I’m going to have to break that promise.
I’ve told myself that for now, I’ll be a little greedy. I’ll think of myself too, not just everyone else. What I want. How I want to live. At least for now. Without worrying about what anyone will say.
Soon we left the restaurant. Liam escorted us to a black car where a driver was already waiting.
The driver opened the door. Isa turned to me; I gave her a small smile. She climbed in first, Luppy followed, and just like that Liam closed the door.
I turned to look at him as we both stood there.
“Well, Mrs Claire,” he said, “when I need you tomorrow, I want to see you.”
Before I could even nod, he bent low and gave me a quick kiss. I closed my eyes for a second. Isa would have seen it. I nodded once. Then he opened the door again and I slipped inside. He closed it shut behind me.
“Well… now I know you weren’t joking,” Isa said, her voice hard.
I just nodded. Instinctively, I glanced at the rearview mirror and caught the driver looking at me before he started the car.
We drove in complete silence.
As soon as we reached the house and the car door opened, Isa ran from the car straight to the house.
Luppy only smiled at me and patted my shoulder gently. I turned to the driver.
“Thank Mr. King for me, would you?”
He nodded. “You have a good day, ma’am,” he said, then stepped back into the car and drove off.
Now it was time to face my kids again.
I need to sort this out once and for all.
I stepped into the house Max was waiting there.
“Mom, what happened with Isa?” Max asked right away.
I sighed. “What did she say happened?”
He shook his head. “Nothing, Mom. She just ran in. What happened?” he asked again.
I gave a slow smile. “She met the man I’m seeing.”
His eyes widened and he took a small step back.
“He came to the hospital and she met him,” I continued.
Max chewed on the inside of his cheek before he finally nodded as if allowing everything to sink in.
I spotted Riette sitting on the stairs.
“I see,” Max said quietly, like he was still trying to process it all.
“I’ll have to call your father so we can have a little meeting with you kids,” I said. “You might not want to accept it right now—” I paused, “—but things have changed. Your father has changed. I’ve changed. This marriage and this family have changed too. We all just have to adapt.”
He nodded again, like he was taking in every word I was saying, but I could tell deep down he was angry.
“Your father chose another woman,” I said.
Max stared at me.
“And so I chose to walk away and live life the way I want,” I went on. I saw the twisted look on his face soften just a little. “I just couldn’t keep pretending anymore.”
Suddenly Riette stood up from the stairs and started walking toward me.
He passed Max and stopped right in front of me. Then, without a word, my sweet boy wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug. I felt tears prick at the back of my eyes.
“Yeah… no wonder he barely came home,” Riette said against my shoulder. “Always lying that he was busy. I should’ve figured out he was a cheat.”
I let out a low chuckle and hugged him back.
When he finally pulled away, he looked straight at me.
“Whatever choice you make, I’ll take it. Daddy doesn’t deserve you anyway.”
I nodded, throat tight.
Then I heard a soft “Yeah” from Max. I darted my eyes to him. He was rubbing the back of his neck.
“I called him, Mom. Do you know what the bastard said?”
I didn’t like him calling his father that, even if he’d cheated on me — but I stayed quiet.
“He said since you told us yourself, you should deal with it. Then he cut off the call.”
My eyes widened. Ian wouldn’t dare.
“He did?” I asked.
Riette nodded. “Yeah. And he sounded a bit drunk too.”
My blood started to boil.
Even if he turned out to be a terrible husband, I never imagined he’d become a terrible father too.
Thank God my father forced me to sign a prenup before we got married.
That’s going to come in very handy.
I’ll make his life a living hell.