Chapter 57 When Trouble Says Hello
I had held my breath without realizing it.
My heart pounded loudly in my chest as Dave leaned in closer and closer.
Then I heard a click.
It was the sound of the lock button.
I opened my eyes immediately and that was when it dawned on me that Dave had only reached across me to press the lock button.
He shifted back to his seat as if nothing had happened, completely unaware of the storm that was swirling within me.
“God, Joan, what were you thinking?” I thought to myself.
Relief swept through me and I nearly laughed at my own imagination.
I cleared my throat softly and adjusted my bag on my shoulder.
“Thank you… once again,” I said, my voice sounding gentler.
“Goodnight,” I added.
“Goodnight Joan,” he smiled.
I opened the door and got out of the car, the cool night breeze brushing against my skin.
I closed the door carefully and walked over to the front of the house, then I lifted my hand in a small wave.
He smiled again and waved back.
After, he started the car, but turned it off immediately.
He stepped out of the car, opened the back door, and brought out the groceries he had bought on our way home.
“I almost forgot this,” he said and handed the bags to me.
“Thank you,” I muttered, looking down at the bags.
There was a whole lot of stuff inside it and I was genuinely grateful to him.
I mean… he didn’t have to, but he did.
“Thank you,” I said again.
“You are welcome,” he replied and hopped back into his car.
“Make sure you rest very well, and extend my regards to Lena and Theo,” he said calmly.
“I sure will,” I replied.
With that, he drove off.
I stood there for a while, watching his car disappear into the thickness of the night.
I sighed long and deep, then I turned and walked slowly into the house.
When I got into the house, Lena had already put Theo to sleep. I stood at the doorway and watched my brother sleeping peacefully for the first time in a long while.
Lena noticed my presence. She turned to me and placed her index finger and her lips, signaling to me not to wake him up.
Then she placed a blanket over him and stood up.
“Did he leave already?” she spoke in a hushed tone, as she walked past me into the living room.
“Yes,” I replied, closing the door to Theo's room slowly before joining her on the couch.
“Did he buy all of these?” she said, pointing at the bag of groceries I had left on the table.
“Yes, he did.”
“That man is God-sent, I swear. How could we have paid that huge amount of money?” she said as she reached for her phone on the table.
“An angel in human form for real. I didn’t even know how to thank him enough,” I sighed.
Then I sank down into the couch opposite Lena and let out a deep breath, then I leaned a bit forward.
“Thank you, girl. I don’t know what I would have done without you,” I said, with all sincerity.
“Come on. That’s the least I could do. Theo is also my brother,” she replied, a small smile tugging at her lips.
“I still have to thank you,” I muttered.
“Okay. Thank you for thanking me,” she teased and lay on the couch as she let out a tired sigh.
There was silence for a while. Lena went through her phone while I also did the same.
I scrolled through Alex’s messages and almost hissed when Lena turned to me suddenly.
“So… What happened between you and Alex?” she asked, her eyes sharp and waiting for answers.
“I’ve been meaning to ask, but I wanted Theo to be very well before asking you questions.”
“Hmm,” I sighed.
“Ever since you came back from his place the day Theo was admitted, I knew something was wrong, then he didn’t show up when once at the hospital, and also, the vibe between both of you was off the day he came here,” she added, still giving me that keen look.
I hesitated at first, but I really didn’t have any choice but to talk at that moment.
“You wouldn’t believe what happened,” I started.
“Try me,” she replied, her eyebrows raised.
At that point, she was fully invested.
“Do you remember the day I told you a colleague of mine overheard her boyfriend and his mother talking about a woman?” I asked, slightly lowering my voice.
For a while, Lena looked at me as if she didn’t remember. Then she suddenly snapped her fingers.
“Oh, I remember. Wait… is that about you?” she asked, her eyes widening.
“Yes,” I replied reluctantly.
“Wow… so, what happened?”
“That day, I got to his place, hoping I would get help from him, but I met a woman telling him she was pregnant for him, and it happened to be the woman we saw with his mother at the shopping mall that day,” I explained.
“Are you for real?” she asked, almost loudly.
Her gaze went to Theo’s door and she immediately lowered her voice.
“Did you confirm that this was true?”
“It was. Definitely, the woman had been in his life all these while,” I said, heat creeping up my neck.
“I thought I’ve been with crazy men, but Alex is definitely crazier. No one can tell me otherwise,” she said, her brows furrowing in disgust.
“I’m so done with him. I don’t even want to see him anywhere near me,” I said, my voice tired.
I wasn’t even sure I meant that, and that scared me.
But I was sure about one thing… that was far worse than the reason we had to break up in the past.
“You should be. He’s a real scum,” Lena said and hissed.
“How about you and Marcus?” I asked.
“I stopped talking to him.”
“I knew it,” I laughed, despite the turmoil in my mind.
“He was just always too busy for my liking,” she hissed and lay back on the couch.
“You and your silly reasons… you’d better get serious with your life,” I teased.
“I will when the right one comes,” she replied nonchalantly.
The next morning, I got dressed, left Theo in Lena’s care and headed out for work after several days of break.
I got into my car, sighed, and drove out of the compound.
After a few minutes' ride, I arrived at the office and pulled over right in front of the building.
I was packing my folders into my bag when I heard a soft knock on my window.
I slowly rolled down the window, only to be met with Cassandra’s dark smile.
“Hello, Joan,” she said.