Chapter 38 Thirty-Eight

Chapter 38 Thirty-Eight
Sydney
I turned back to him. He’d planned to dump me with Miles so he could run off to his mistress.
Even though I knew this, I still felt something shift in my chest. It stung. He straightened and turned to me.
“Sydney? You okay? You look…pale.”
Of course I did. I was freaking watching his mistress’s car while he pretended to care about me and his son we’d just adopted. I might have been foolish enough to go on with this madness the first time, but there was no way in hell I was doing this again.
“Actually, Eric.” I sighed, stepping back so he could shut the door. “I’ve been thinking. We’re going to need a nanny.”
His hand froze on the door. “What?”
I nodded. “Yeah. A nanny. Professional childcare. Someone who can look after Miles.”
Something flickered on his face. “Sydney, we just picked up our son. Don’t you think it’s too early to be…”
Our son.
“Eric, I think…” I cut in. “I think we need to be realistic. You’re clearly very busy and so am I. Miles is a young child and he deserves consistent care. Unless you’re planning to take time off work to stay home with him?” I raised an eyebrow, tilting my head to the side.
“Sydney that’s not….” He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “Sydney we can’t just hire a stranger to raise our son. What kind of parents would that make us?”
Such a silly question when you’re already using him as a pawn.
My lips curled into a smile. “Good ones, Eric. We know we can’t be available and so get professional help.”
He opened his mouth and then closed it, speechless. His eyes flicked to Miles who was back to twisting his cube. He leaned towards me, shutting the door.
“Sydney,” his voice dropped. “Maybe we shouldn’t discuss this in front of him? The child has already gone through a lot. He doesn’t need to hear his new adoptive parents argue about whether they won’t have time for him.”
It took everything in me not to roll my eyes. He was trying to make me the bad guy so I could feel guilty.
“I’m not arguing.” I insisted, dropping my voice as well. “I mean, I’m still the one taking him home right now, aren’t I? And you’re the one leaving to…work?”
His jaw tightened, his eyes narrowing. I almost smiled. Good. I’d caught him.
“Sydney…” He stepped closer, reaching to hold my arms. “You don’t need to worry about the company right now. I’ll handle things while you take care of Miles. That’s what matters right now. Our son.”
Listening to him now, I wondered how I couldn’t have figured it out faster. He was trying to push me out of Prestige Global and make space to move more money without my notice and occupy me with caring for a child that wasn’t even mine.
I smiled at him. “That’s very sweet of you.”
His face softened and he handed me the keys smiling like an idiot.
“Thank you for always being so thoughtful.”
His smile deepened and he leaned in to kiss my cheek. “I’ll be home for dinner.” He pulled back. “It will help us start bonding.”
I flashed him a tight smile. “I’m sure it will.” I opened the driver’s door as he stepped back. “Be careful Eric. You can’t always trust Uber drivers.”
He blinked for a moment looking confused and then suddenly pulled out his phone. “Yeah, yeah.” He nodded hurriedly, waving at me as I started the engine.
I drove out of the parking lot, staring in the rearview mirror, and as I thought. He was heading towards the red BMW. He opened the passenger door and slid in. They must have really considered me stupid.
“Are we going to the house now?”
I flinched in shock, glancing at Miles through the rearview mirror. He was staring at me weirdly, his hands folded on his lap.
My chest tightened. This boy was too innocent and a little too young. He had done nothing to deserve being born to such horrible parents. He didn’t need to be punished for their mistakes. I could at least try to make him feel loved.
“Yes,” I forced myself to smile. “We’re going home. We have a special room for you. Would you like to see it?”
Miles nodded. Had they put him on some sort of brain wipe machine? How was it possible that a three year old had still not yet blurted out that he had a room?
“Good.” I went on anyway, still smiling. “Maybe we can stop and get you some toys on the way. What toys do you like?”
His blue eyes suddenly brightened. “Trains! I like trains and I like dogs!”
This time the smile on my face was genuine. “Great. We’ll get you a huge train!”
He bounced on his seat in excitement and I couldn’t help the happiness that flooded my chest. Maybe this was a good thing. He was better with me than Eric and his psychotic mistress anyway.
Plus, with Eric thinking he was pushing me away from Prestige, he would be making more obvious mistakes and he would never see my P.I coming.
My phone rang, startling me for a second before I reached into my bag, pulling it out.
Celine.
I reached into my bag again, pulling out my AirPods, plugged one ear, and picked up the call. “Hey, Celine.”
“Finally!” She screamed. “I’ve been trying to reach you all day. Where have you been?”
I glanced at the rearview mirror. Miles was back playing with his cube. I adjusted my grip on the steering wheel, signalling to merge on the highway.
“I’m currently heading home.”
“Oh.” She paused. “You sound weird. Are you okay?”
I let out a sigh. “I’m fine. It’s just…it’s been a really long day.”
“You sure it’s the day?” Her voice switched. “Or Eric is being weird again?”
I chuckled, unsure how to play that. I glanced at Miles once more. Wasn’t this Eric being weird again?
“Celine, I’m on my way home with my child.”
The phone line went silent. “Celine?”
I picked up the phone, checking to see if the call had ended. It hadn’t.
“I’m s…sorry?” She stuttered. “Did you just say your child?”
“Yes.” I switched lanes, passing a slow truck. “His name is Miles. He’s three years old and he’s currently in the back seat.”
She went silent again. For a second, I was sure she wouldn’t say anything but then she did.
“Sydney Alina Carter, what the actual fuck!”