Chapter 76 Mom
After the wholesome party at Derick’s with the kids, Arthur returned back home. The kids had school, so they had to leave too.
Aurora promised to come back home before Carter’s wedding because she couldn’t just quit her job. Since she accepted Arthur’s proposal, she had felt great joy inside her. She took one glance at her engagement ring and smiled widely.
Wearing it made her feel more like a woman and she wanted to show it off.
Aurora headed to work and went to Jack’s office to see him. Getting into his office, she met him on his phone.
“Jack, good morning.” She greeted, grinning widely.
“Aurora. Good morning.” He answered with the same smile, wondering why she seemed so happy to be at work. “You look super happy today. What’s going on?” He further asked as she sat in front of his desk.
“Guess.” She whispered, leaning closer to the desk. Jack furrowed her brows as he stared at her.
“What?” He asked in confusion and curiosity. He just couldn’t come up with what was making her so excited.
Aurora saw he wasn’t going to figure it out if she didn’t help him with a clue, so she raised her left hand and moved her fingers.
Jack’s gaze moved from her face to her hand and just then, he saw the ring, his eyes widened in awe, and another smile curved up his lips.
“He asked?!” He stood up and moved closer to her. He held her hand in his as he admired the beautiful diamond ring on her index finger.
“He prepared a house dinner for me two nights ago. I thought it was just going to be a date, but then, he had more plans. I’m so happy, Jack. At least, now I know he’s serious about making me his.” She uttered, and Jack nodded.
“I’m so happy for you too, Aurora. I know how badly you’ve been hurt and I’ll tell you right now that you deserved every good thing you’re receiving right now. You deserve everything.” He answered, caressing the back of her hand with his thumb.
Aurora stared at him for a while, gratitude flowing through her veins. “Thank you so much, Jack. For everything. Since we met, you’ve been so nice and caring to me. I appreciate you and I don’t take you for granted.”
“Oh please, stop. I didn’t even do anything. Let’s not talk about me, okay? Today is about you! You’re getting married!”
“Yes, I am!” Aurora answered with a chuckle.
“I guess I should start looking for another chef.” Jack muttered.
“I’m sorry, Jack. It’s impromptu. That is part of the reason why I wanted to see you. I will be going back home this weekend.”
“So soon?”
“Yes. I have to prepare for Carter’s wedding too. After that, I know Arthur and I would want to start our wedding preparations too. So I don’t want to be distracted.” She explained, and he nodded in understanding.
“I understand you, Aurora, and there’s no problem. We should at least throw you a farewell party before you leave.”
“Oh, C’mon. Do I deserve it? I wasn’t even consistent at work. If I wasn’t your favorite, you should have fired me a long time ago.” She answered with a chuckle.
“Like I said earlier, you deserved every good thing. And most times, you would always tell me why you were going to be absent. It’s that simple. But, I must confess… I’m going to miss you so much.” He added with a loud sigh.
“I’ll miss you too, Jack.”
“That’s just out of courtesy. You’ll be with your husband and children. What’s there to miss about me then? But don’t worry, I’ll have a wife soon too.”
Aurora’s eyes widened and she broke into laughter. “Really? Who is she?”
“She doesn’t even know me yet, but I already married her in my head. She’s a new customer here. I saw her yesterday and oh my… I was speechless. She looked so beautiful and elegant.”
“She came alone?”
“Yes. I asked the waiter at the counter and he said it was her second time, and she’d always come alone. She had no ring on her fingers. I made sure of that.” He uttered, and they broke into laughter.
“Go get her, Jack. You can do it.” Aurora uttered, raising her hand in support and motivation.
“You think so?”
“Trust me Jack. If not that Arthur had this effect on me, I almost gave in to you. You’re so handsome. Every woman would want you.”
“But you didn’t.”
“That’s because I saw no one except Arthur.” She answered almost immediately.
“Fine! I’ll talk to her when I next see her. Hopefully, I won’t be rejected again.”
As they continued conversing, there was on knock on the door that diverted their attention to it.
“Who is it?” Jack asked, looking at the door.
“It’s Tiana, boss. A woman is hell bent on seeing the manager. She claims she has a complaint about her dessert.” Tiana uttered from behind the door.
Jack heaved a sigh and shook his head. “When will this end?” He wondered weakly, getting up from the chair.
Aurora also did the same and they headed out to see what was wrong with the desert.
Getting out to the counter, Jack saw she was an elderly woman.
“Ma’am…”
“Mom?” Aurora called from behind him, cutting him short.
“Aurora?” Rachel’s eyes widened as she laid them on her daughter. Her heart skipped a beat and everything around them went silent as they shared intense gazes.
“What… what are you doing here?” Rachel further asked in awe.
“What do you care?” Aurora answered, a frown swallowing the look of surprise on her face.
“Auro…”
Aurora walked back to Jack’s office and shut the door, leaving everyone except Rachel completely perplexed.
‘I bet she knows it was me. She’ll never forgive me for selling her out. Why did I even come here in the first place?’ She thought worriedly.
“Ma’am. What is your complaint?” Jack asked, but Rachel had completely forgotten about that.
“Does she work her?” She asked, and Jack let out a deep breath.
“We can’t disclose the information of others to you, Ma’am. If you don’t mind, I’ll have to return to the office. Do you still want to file a complaint?” Jack further inquired, and she shook her head, her eyes fixed on the door Aurora had walked through.
“No, I’m good.” She answered, taking slow steps backward. Suddenly she missed her so much after convincing herself it was best to stay away. She instantly developed the need to be in her life and know how she and the kids were doing.
Rachel headed out of the restaurant, her head filled with several thoughts. ‘Did he collect the children from her and send her to jail? Why is she working in a restaurant now? Is she broke?’
Rachel hopped into her car and sat. She thought deeply about everything and decided she wasn’t going to leave.
“I’m going to talk to her. I’ll wait till she walks out of that door.” She said to herself.
Alec and Anita played video games together in the living room when all of a sudden, Anita dropped the pad and ran into the bathroom.
Alec furrowed his brows and stared at the hallway. “Are you alright?!” He asked, but got no response.
He paused the game and hurried to the bathroom to check on her. Getting there, he found her rinsing her face in the basin.
As she raised her head to look in the mirror on top of the basin, she saw her face had turned pale. Alec looked at her through the mirror in confusion.
“You look tired.” He muttered, placing his hand on her forehead.
“I think it’s here.” She uttered, letting out a smirk. She walked to the cupboard and pulled out a pregnancy test kit. She looked at Alec, and he nodded in agreement.
“If this is positive. We celebrate tonight.” Alec answered, and Anita laughed.
“I wouldn’t be able to drink though.” She answered, pulling down her pants.
“Argh…” Ste groaned as she sat on the toilet. “I should have thought about this well. I hate how I feel right now.” She murmured.
“Look at the bright side, baby girl. We’ll become millionaires soon!” Jack answered with a smirk.