[Matured content, no rape.] "Mama, Custard," Adrian said as he rushed towards me. Adrian Woods, my four years old son whom I was left to raise alone. "Darian," I called out, staring intently at him, "who gave you the right to touch him, and even call him your son?" He was back! The man I tried my best to run from, the man whom I did everything possible to stay away from, the one person who was happy seeing me in so much pain. Darian Woods was back, my divorced husband, the father of my child.
"Mama, Custard," Adrian said as he rushed towards me. I smiled watching him, my four years old son running to me. His face all smiley and his eyes reminding me of that one person. I could remember vividly four years ago, which seemed like yesterday when I had him wrapped in my arms. The nurse had just announced to me that it was a boy, a cute little one at that. I remember rubbing his golden curly hair he had from birth, I just couldn't control the joy I had that day.
"Custard," he said stretching out his hands for me to carry him.
"Mmhmm...," I hummed reaching out my hands to him. Raising him from the floor while playing with his belly, "see who wants to stress Mama now," I giggled.
I don't know if he understood what I said, but he stretched out his hands to my face and started rubbing it smoothly in a way that was as though he was comforting me and reminding me that he had no plans to stress me.
Smiling at his actions, "indeed Children were cute," I thought internally. I carefully put him into his baby buggy which I carried to the kitchen and kept a close eye on him as I turned on the electric kettle to get hot water. I quickly reached out for his milk since he enjoyed taking milk, mixed it with some little water and put it in his feeding bottle for him to suck. While waiting for the water to heat up, I picked up my phone and was greeted with a notification that just popped in,
"Your child needs so much warmth and love, luckily he/she is fortunate to have you as the perfect Parent," excitement was all over my face. It was from the Baby's app I installed on my phone that dropped tips on how to handle a growing Child. I just didn't agree with them saying "the child is fortunate," I think I'm the fortunate one. Definitely, I'd have been so lost without Adrian, he really gave me a reason to live.
The whistling from the electric kettle called me out from my reverie. I made the custard while stealing a glance at Adrian, who had already sucked almost half of the content in the feeding bottle. His concentration was so much on the bottle, it felt like he was thinking of the possibility of gulping down everything without having to suck. The custard came out perfect just the way he liked it. Over the years, well the past four years actually, I did nothing apart from working and spending time with him. It was okay to classify the working time as spending time with him also, because I did remote jobs.
I pulled him out from the baby buggy, kept him on the bed and fed him because I was certain he was going to sleep soon. Just as I thought, few minutes after, he slept off and I was left alone staring at his face, that beautiful face made from the union of me and some other man whom I called the Devil's incarnate over the years.
Just after I finished putting him to sleep, a ring came through my phone. It was a call from Jane, my best friend. Picking up the phone, I stepped out and answered the call.
"Hello," I said
"Did you see the news just now," Jane muttered incoherently.
"What news?" I said, confusion written all over my face.
"Just turn on the TV, check the news...," I heard Jane say with a voice filled with panic and before I left my daze, the call was disconnected.
Immediately, I rushed to the sitting room and turned on the TV which took some time to start up. In tension I turned on my phone and started searching for the latest news. Just as my eye caugt the tags on the well known billionaire, I heard the reporter say out loud,
"Famous and established billionaire, Darian Woods will be relocating to Carlton, as he just commissioned a new project here. We heard from some Shareholders that the building here at Carlton is going to be his headquarters and we have no idea on why he will be moving."
I couldn't believe what I heard. I switched to the next news station, it carried the same news with different headlines. Hearing all of it made me drop on the couch, I could feel the pace of my heart beat increasing and my head suddenly felt dizzy. The one person I was running from was now coming closer to me.
Picking up my phone from the couch, I tapped on the tags and saw comments rushing in,
"Oh my.... Darian Woods will be coming to Carlton"
"Good thing, it will create more employment opportunities here"
"Gosh, he's just so cute, I can't take my eyes off him," I rolled my eyes reading this comment.
"I heard he is married, I've not seen any of their couple photos in a while."
"I heard his wife was once spotted in Carlton. Or is he moving over here because of her?"
The shock from all of it made my phone fall of my hold, I couldn't control the wave of emotions running through me. After everything happened, I found it hard to put myself together, just when I was gradually pulling together, He was appearing, my pain was coming back to me, Darian Woods, my divorced husband.
After leaving Castor city where Darian lived, I tried my best to cut off every memory with him. I successfully dropped the name I had from marrying him, "Woods", without raising public talks.
Shutting my eyes, a memory with Darian rushed back to me,
~~about five years ago, Castor city~~
"Moriah," he said while working towards me and dropped a document on me.
"What's this?" I asked cluelessly while picking it up.
With the rage he used to walk in, I feared the worst was going to happen. I was used to his cruelty but I felt something was not right.
"Darian, what's this?" my lips shook in trepidation.
"You should see it yourself," he curtly replied.
My eyes went wide as I caught the first few words, subconsciously muttering it out,
"Divorce papers," I said to myself confirming what my eyes read.
"You saw well, I will be traveling to Texas and you should sign those papers. I hope to not see you when I'm back," he said, " Leave the signed papers in my room," I heard him add. That was the last conversation I had with Darian. That day, I felt like my world came crashing at my feets. From the start, the relationship between us was not really smooth. I just didn't know it was going to get worse, even to the divorce.
~~Present~~
Slowly, I let my eyes open. Funnily, the divorce was even the mildest of the treatments I went through living with Darian.
Hearing a knock on the door I stood up to check who it was.
"Oh Goodness..... Moriah, how are you pulling through?" Jane asked immediately she stepped into the house. At that moment, I felt she really had to be there because sincerely I was not feeling good. A tear rolled through my cheeks and dropped on my palms which caught Jane's attention,
"Moriah what's it?" She said while pulling me in to a hug. I really had nothing to say anymore. Jane was the person that stayed with me all through the hurtful experience I went through. Even till the divorce, she relocated because I had to leave Castor to Carlton all in a bid to stay miles away from Darian. With the connections he had, he could get to me at anytime and frustrate me. But, he decided to ignore me and he did it pretty well in the past five years.
Facts right, the Darian I know liked the city which the former headquarters was located. If he was relocating to a new place, was it an intentional act to find me or something was amiss with the company, I pondered while being wrapped up in the warmth of Jane.
Jane pulled away from the hug and stared at me blankly,
"What are you going to do?" She asked me with a sad grimace.
Trying to not feel pity for myself, as I was really lost of solutions, "I have no idea," I shrugged while wiping off tears, "He's not yet in Carlton, maybe I'll just stay on the low while thinking of what to do."
Running away was definitely not a solution and I had no plans to run anymore.
**********
Authors note to Readers:
First of all, I appreciate you all for tapping on this book and I hope you enjoy it and follow the story as it develops.
Just to clear few things;
1. This book is entirely a work of fiction and the original work of the author. Whatever character or names used in this book, was out of the author's imagination as it is not intended to create a false idea about anything or belief.
2. This book is a slow burn book and is still ONGOING.
3. Please as you read, leave a nice review and give a good rating.
4. Also, as the author, I'll try my best to update at a very good pace and give you the best of my imagination.
Thank you as you read and please enjoy.
"Mama, Custard", Adrian said as he rushed towards me. I watched him, my four years old son I have been so fortunate enough to raise. Thinking about it brought tears to me, every fucking time and Adrian was my consolation. "Darian", I said out loud, "what gave you the right to come here? and even call him your son?". He was back, the man I tried everything I could to stay away from, the man who was happy seeing me in misery, the Father of my Child.
Rena got into an entanglement with a big shot when she was drunk one night. She needed Waylen's help while he was drawn to her youthful beauty. As such, what was supposed to be a one-night stand progressed into something serious. All was well until Rena discovered that Waylen's heart belonged to another woman. When his first love returned, he stopped coming home, leaving Rena all alone for many nights. She put up with it until she received a check and farewell note one day. Contrary to how Waylen expected her to react, Rena had a smile on her face as she bid him farewell. "It was fun while it lasted, Waylen. May our paths never cross. Have a nice life." But as fate would have it, their paths crossed again. This time, Rena had another man by her side. Waylen's eyes burned with jealousy. He spat, "How the hell did you move on? I thought you loved only me!" "Keyword, loved!" Rena flipped her hair back and retorted, "There are plenty of fish in the sea, Waylen. Besides, you were the one who asked for a breakup. Now, if you want to date me, you have to wait in line." The next day, Rena received a credit alert of billions and a diamond ring. Waylen appeared again, got down on one knee, and uttered, "May I cut in line, Rena? I still want you."
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After hiding her true identity throughout her three-year marriage to Colton, Allison had committed wholeheartedly, only to find herself neglected and pushed toward divorce. Disheartened, she set out to rediscover her true self-a talented perfumer, the mastermind of a famous intelligence agency, and the heir to a secret hacker network. Realizing his mistakes, Colton expressed his regret. "I know I messed up. Please, give me another chance." Yet, Kellan, a once-disabled tycoon, stood up from his wheelchair, took Allison's hand, and scoffed dismissively, "You think she'll take you back? Dream on."
Yelena discovered that she wasn't her parents' biological child. After seeing through their ploy to trade her as a pawn in a business deal, she was sent away to her barren birthplace. There, she stumbled upon her true origins—a lineage of historic opulence. Her real family showered her with love and adoration. In the face of her so-called sister's envy, Yelena conquered every adversity and took her revenge, all while showcasing her talents. She soon caught the attention of the city's most eligible bachelor. He cornered Yelena and pinned her against the wall. "It's time to reveal your true identity, darling."
Everyone thought Lorenzo truly loved Gracie, until the day of their daughter’s heart surgery. To Gracie’s utter shock, Lorenzo gave the precious organ needed by their child to another woman. Devastated, Gracie opted for a divorce. Fueled by her need for revenge, Gracie joined hands with Lorenzo’s uncle, Waylon, and orchestrated Lorenzo’s downfall. In the end, Lorenzo was left with nothing and consumed by remorse. He pleaded for a reconciliation. Gracie thought she was free to move on with her life, but Waylon held her back in a death grip. “Did you think you can just walk out on me?”
Eight years ago, Eleanor was a pampered and arrogant young heiress, while Andreas was just a nameless talent from a humble background. Although she had taken him in, she never treated him with any warmth. Their fates flipped, and now Andreas was a business titan feared by all, while Eleanor wallowed in shame and despair after her fall from grace. Upon their reunion, he pinned her with a venomous glare and declared, "It was my hatred for you that drove me into becoming what I am today."