It should have been like this episode 4

❤️ Love before reading ❤️

❌ Do not copy this work, I repeat, please do not copy. Not that I can stop you but please, gain some conscience. ❌

🤩 Kemmy B. Gabriel Present Another rom-nce Novel: 🤩

💔 It Should Have Been Like This 💔

👩‍💻 Book Four: yes 👩‍💻

💜 Lavender’s viewpoint 💜

Ghost, I felt like I was being ghosted. It had been three months since Rominic reappeared in my life, three months of me living in a hospital. The first month, we stayed back at Vegas, mostly me because he left and only returned when it was time to move him to Chicago. He was keeping to his promise of not taking them away from me or getting close to them until we discuss things. He didn’t say a word to me, not even a greeting during the months.

I knew I was the one who asked him, but it s-cked how easily he didn’t say a word. I wanted him to provoke me so I could have more reasons to pour out my anger and hatred on him, but he didn’t give me a reason to. He avoided anything that would provoke me and avoided every statement I made that was bound to cause an argument.

How do you kill someone you hate that won’t give you a reason to?

The kids on the other hand had gotten close to him, not Sera and Zachary, those two didn’t say a word to him either. But the moment Zyaire woke up, he fell in love with his father and all three of my children have been glued to the man. They had no idea what he did and it pained me that Sera and Zach knew. They were just kids, they shouldn’t harbor such hatred in their hearts like I did. I got to learn the last three months that it wasn’t right.

Today, there were discharging my children. Serenity was the first to get cleared after almost two months, but I refused to go live in his house, so the hospital was as good as a home for us. The children didn’t like the idea, but I convinced them that they should wait for Zyaire so they’ll see their father’s house together. Serenity and Zayne agreed.

I had no more excuse.

“Remember, miss, make sure he gets daily exercise, to strengthen his legs and spine,” the doctor continued to list the things I should make sure of, “don’t let Zayne do too much walking for now, but he can start practicing how to walk and run long distance after he finishes the set of drugs I gave you. Once that set is finish, remember to bring him back here to get tested so I’d see if he’s fit to begin running again. If he complains of any intense or sharp pain in his back, give him this and apply this one on his back. Remember his weekly m-ssage…”

“George, I’ve heard,” I chuckled. The doctor had grown a personal liking to the children, especially Zayne. “I’ll do everything, in fact, bring him for checkup every two weeks…”

“Even if you don’t bring him here, I’ll bring myself there,” he said jokingly, but I knew he meant it. “Zayne is going to start school, right?”

“I guess so,”

“Make sure he doesn’t get into any hectic activity,” he instructed Sera and Zach. They nodded. “Keep his diet light for now, so his weight wouldn’t make his movement more difficult…”

“Yes, I know, Dr. George, you have chanted that to me since I got here…”

“Ooh! Mara told me to tell you to remember the play date, the girls would be sad if they don’t see their friends again,” his two daughters and his wife. His youngest daughter was the same age with the quad, only two months younger and the eldest only a year older. They met when his wife paid him a surprise visit. The girls and the quad immediately clicked… Well, excluding the older two of my children.

“I’m sure they would meet at their new school, I’ll make sure of that,”

“Better, so my girls can keep an eye on them,” he said while playing with Serene’s hand. “Serenity, remember to always eat your vegetables, always carry the masks in your bag, just in case of a foul smell or polluted air or any sudden episodes…”

“And practice my breathing so I can still go on with my swimming champ dream,” Serene chirped. She wanted to be a swimmer, it was the only thing she has ever wanted, other than her father. I wanted her to be happy too and she was finally going to be a swimmer, but will have to take her breathing lessons gently and keep it to a level. It was risky, but it was what she wanted.

I could never be more happy and proud of my two eldest children. If it wasn’t for them, I would have done something utterly foolish and regret it for years and years to come. They made this happen, even if I was later going to.

“Zyaire, my man, keep that head out of trouble, okay?” Zyaire nodded, “don’t get into a fight so your head won’t get hit, avoid any head collision, avoid…”

“I know, Uncle George,” he giggled, “you don’t have to repeat it all-over again,”

“I’m just trying to… You know what, expect me at your home every week for checkups,” home, where was their home? I most likely didn’t have any since my landlord kicked me out already. I didn’t want to ask Nic for money, not that he was willing to pay more money for me to live in a slump as he called it. He knew if I didn’t have a place to stay, I’d be stuck with him.

I was.

The devil man wasn’t saying anything to me but he got my passport confiscated at the airport when we arrived. I still didn’t have my passport and no money to renew it. I couldn’t just go out and blame him for my passport getting seized out of the blue, not without proof like he said… Or rather, texted. The only text he sent me. I knew he did it though, just like how my identification card mysteriously disappeared.

“Mommy, when is daddy coming to pick us up?”

“Mr. Verlice is going to send his driver over to pick you all up. He said he is stuck in a very important meeting,” George replied for me. Serenity nodded. I knew he was avoiding me. The previous day, he made George tell me that he didn’t let his parents know about us yet until recently. They were going to be flying from their home in Aurora to meet us and his mother was very excited.

He knew I would scre-m his face off, he finally gave me a reason to shout. He had no right to tell them, but I wasn’t going to yell because it helped my plans. He thought I was going to take the children away, he had no idea they were here to stay.

After a couple of minutes, the driver arrived. The children couldn’t stop squealing when they saw the car, even Sera joined them. Zach just seemed very unimpressed with everything and I was starting to worry over how bitter he was getting. I needed to put a stop to it, and the only way to do that was to act like I have forgiven their father. I knew he shouldn’t be bitter at his age, so his childhood wouldn’t be as rough as mine.

He had Perry on his small shoulder, his hands in his pockets as he stared at the car uninterestedly. Even at his age, he was already pulling off his father’s coolness. Since the wh0le thing was out, I removed their dye, and mine too. No one would remember me after so many years, I learnt that when George didn’t remember me when we met.

“Come on, Zach, you can ride shotgun!” Sera squealed out. He sighed tiredly and rubbed his face with his palm.

“Mom,” he raised his head to look at me, “may I take a cab? I don’t think I can get into this thing, it’ll suffocate me,” he said with a look of displeasure. I scooped him into my arms immediately, sending Perry flying into the car. I wrapped his legs around my wa-ist and laughed at his annoyed face. “Mom, I’m going to be nine in months to come, can you please not carry me like a child?” He snapped.

“But that’s it, you are my child,” I smiled, intentionally rocking from side to side to prove my point. Sera and the others were giggling.

“Mom,” he whined, trying to wiggle out of my arms.

“Baby, let’s get in the car, okay? We’ll suffocate together,”

“But, mom…”

“No, don’t argue,” I slipped into the backseat and let the driver shut the door.

“Urgh! At least, let me seat on my own!”

“I call shotgun!” Zyaire shouted. He was already in the bloody chair. The others whine in protest. I focused on Zach who was adjusting himself beside me. He surprisingly didn’t go away, instead, he wrapped his hands around my wa-ist and placed his head on my chest. I smiled and brought my hand to his hair, his beautiful creamy hair.

The driver started the car, turned on the small TV in the car before he started driving. The children were very glad to watch it in awe.

“Zachary,” I called softly, stroking his hair. His body shook with a sob, a sob he didn’t mean to let out. He didn’t want to bother his sisters and brothers. I lowered my face to his hair and k-ssed the top of his head, “tell me, baby, what’s wrong?”

“I’m scared, mommy, I’m scared,” he sobbed. “I don’t like how I keep feeling, I don’t like this tightness in my chest, it’s killing me. I think of him taking us away from you and the only thing I see next is me stabbing him with a knife. Mommy, I don’t want to think about killing anyone or actually kill someone, especially my own father. But I don’t want to forgive him…”

This is exactly what I’m talking about.

I pushed his face back a little, pulled out my hanky and mopped his face dry. “Don’t cry, you are the man of the house so you have to be strong for your siblings and me. Don’t feel bad for wanting to forgive your father because I have. I no longer hate or detest him, still mad but no longer hate him. If I can forgive him, then so can you.”

“But what about what he did in the past?”

“The strongest and most powerful man is the one who forgives,” I repeated the words George told me. I almost rolled my eyes at the useless words I would never listen to, but it was useful to him, Zach. “You be the man I want you to be, the man you ought to be. You are an idol to your brothers and sisters, even Sera–though she would never admit it–so don’t mess things up, okay?”

“Okay, mommy, thank you,”

“I’m always here, Zach, for you and your siblings and I will always be. No one is taking me away from you five or you all from me,”

“Promise?” He asked with a small voice. Whenever he cried, he was the cute, sweet little boy his age ought to act, or maybe what I wanted. I crossed my index and pinky fingers with his and grinned.

“Booty honor,” he burst into laughter, throwing his face into my chest to conceal his w-t face but still laugh. I looked at the kids and saw Sera giving us a weird suspicious look. I shrugged, which earn me her famous ‘spill it’ look. I mouthed later to her and she nodded in understanding.

A couple of minutes later, the car drove into familiar street. I thought I would never be here again, not after these years. Different memories came back. I smiled sadly at each of them, especially the times we weren’t jogging and the fun we had. I tried to hide my sadness for their sakes.

The car drove into the house I once lived in. The architecture was the same but the color of the building was jade and ruby red. The house was one of the biggest I’ve ever seen and even still date, it left me marveled. The children was gawking, mouth wide open. The car parked. The driver came out and opened the door for us. The children came out first and just as they came out, someone ran out of the house shrieking.

His mother.

I haven’t seen her in years. She was the most beautiful woman to ever cross my path, even for a old one. Rominic took her face, skin tone but everything else was from his father. Though you can’t really say much since both she and her husband had creamy blonde hair and gray eyes. The only difference is that hers was pewter gray and her husband’s, winter gray.

“Oh my, my baby girl! My brown biscuit!” Stupid name, but Kara had never been good with names. I made my way to her, smiling and readying myself for the bone crushing hug. “My Papaya!” She shrieked when the hug came. I laughed in her arms, gro-ning silently from the pain of her strong hold but not pulling away.

She finally let me go but her strong hold dropped on my shoulders. Somebody still needed to tell her how to hold people gently. “My biscuit, I came as soon as I heard, I can’t believe you are alive! I cried for months because of you!”

“I’m sorry, mama, I needed to be away from…”

“I know, I know he caused it and I completely understand. But you should have come to me, you shouldn’t have left, especially with the baby… Sorry, babies… Speaking of which…” She easily tossed me aside and shriek, running towards the nervous children. “My new papayas!”

“Woman, woman, don’t touch me, don’t touch me!” Zach shouted, pushing away from his siblings. Sera pushed away too, the other clean freak… Okay, the total clean freak. Serenity was the first to jump in for a hug.

“Hello, grandma, I’m Serenity, what’s your name?” She asked. Kara awned before picking her up and squeezing her. “Easy, grandma, I need to breathe,”

“Oh, sorry, pumpkin, my bad. Hi, I’m Kara, but you can call me Kara,”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

“Exactly! Because I’m the same!” She shrieked and laughed. Zayne pulled at her dress, demanding for his own hug. “Oh, another cutie! This is early Christmas present,” she picked Zayne up too and squeezed them both together. “More children for me!”

“Kara, let the children breathe, will ya?” I turned around with a wide smile to meet the man that was more of a father to me than my biological one. “Lavender, darling,” I didn’t waste time to run into his waiting arms.

“I’ve missed you, papa, I’m sorry I…”

“It’s okay, I understand. Introduce me to the little ones?”

“For Pete’s sake, I’m not a little boy anymore!” Zach shouted. Zyaire scoffed.

“As long as you don’t have any beard or chest hair, then you are still a tiny mouse to me,”

“Hey, take that…”

“Behave,” Sera commanded, shutting them up immediately, though Zach murmured to himself. Kara squealed again, dropped the others and went to kidnap Zach.

It did not end well.

~~~~~~

The children were in awe as they stared at the feast before them. They had never gotten the chance to eat in such grand style. I felt bad because I could have given them that life. When Kara told them they could eat anything, they went into shock. Kara was smiling and getting everything on video while Jamie, her husband, was watching Zach. He was still awed at how Zach fixed his laptop as I was told.

“Can we really eat anything, grandma?”

“Any of your choice,” the children exchanged excited looks, grinning from ear to ear. Their look landed on me. I gave them an encouraging nod, an approval that brought tears to Zayne’s eyes.

“I’m going to be fatter than Santa!”

“And heavier than a mammoth,” Sera said, suddenly not impress, “where’s Serene? She’s not here,” oh, that’s why. I knew where Serenity was, easy guess.

“That’s true, where is she?” Kara dropped the camera and I stood up. We both walked out to find her, though I knew where I was going. I went straight to the front door and saw her standing there, big grey eyes staring at the close silver door with her old doll in her hands.

“Baby,” I called, walking over to her, “what are you doing?”

“Waiting for daddy,” she said, not sparing me a glance. “What’s wrong?”

“Your daddy might not be back on…”

“I’ll wait, I always wait,” she cut me off seriously. I scrunched my face in annoyance, hating the jealousy that was starting to heat up in my chest. I was about to open my mouth and talk when the door opened and her new superhero came in. “Daddy!” He stood still for a second, shocked to find her standing there. “Hello, daddy, how was work today?”

“Huh?”

“Habit, she always waits,” I said and rolled my eyes as I turned to walk away. I paused when she squealed.

“Daddy! Is that for me?!” I turned again, noticing the giant stuff honey gold koala bear in his hand and the bags.

“Yes, baby, I bought it for you, haven’t you seen the room I prepared for you all?” He asked. She didn’t answer, she snatched the toy and ran off shrieking to show her siblings. Kara followed her. I rolled my eyes and made to move when he spoke. “Hi,” I gave him a look that obviously scre-med he was an idiot. “I’m sorry, I just t…”

“Don’t talk to me…” Sera ran in, making me force a smile so he wouldn’t suspect. She ran up to Nic, bouncing with excitement.

“Good evening, father, did you get anything for me too? Please?” He was shocked she called him father, but he stretched one of the bags to her. Sera took it, looked in,side and squealed. “A phone! Mommy, daddy bought me a phone!”

“That’s, nice,” I said curtly, forcing my smile to remain on my face. “Zach, come see!” She shouted as she ran in,side. I knew the boys would never trade food for toys, ever. “Just so you know, I’m only doing this for them.” And with that, I walked away to continue pretending that I was okay with him.

~~~

The girls refused to eat until their father was at the table with them. After dinner, he took them to a large room filled with toys, all the toys they can play with. I am not happy to say I cried because they were so happy. Except for Zach who didn’t buy it. He just stood at the doorframe, hands in his pockets like usual, keeping his plain uninterested expression on his face. I knew he wanted to play, but he just wasn’t use to things yet.

Kara tried hopelessly to get him to play, but he only blinked and said nothing. Jamie and Kara had caught on easily that he wasn’t happy and nothing they were doing was making him happy. Well, except for dinner. Rominic was trying woefully to impress him. I could tell him, but I won’t.

“Come on, Zach, you can have this sword,” Zayne chirped, showing him a cool toy sword. Zach sighed and pushed himself away from the frame.

“I’m going to bed, goodnight.” He didn’t leave any room for arguement, he just left. I counted for five seconds before he came back. “Goodnight, mom, goodnight, grandparents,” for his father, he gave him a terse nod, “Mr. Verlice,” he looked at Perry who was standing on a dollhouse, “Perry, fly with me.” Cold, blunt, simple.

I almost like it.

I twisted my l-ips so I wouldn’t smile, something Nic picked up on. He stood up and dropped the toy he was holding with a sigh. “There is nothing I can do to impress that kid, is there?”

“There is,” I replied and walked out. He quietly followed me and took the lead to his office. I knew the way, didn’t need him but I just followed. I walked into his office after him, holding my breath as his usual cologne welcomed me. He had always been a s-cker for ginger and apple.

“Please, sit down,” he said, gesturing to a short armed leather chair. I silently walked to it and sat down. He took his seat at the other chair but drew it closer to mine. I frowned at the proximity. One move and our knees would be brushing.

“Let’s just call it plain and straight, I don’t want you to leave with my children.” I rolled my eyes and folded my arms stubbornly.

“I thought you agreed that they were mine?”

“Ours,” he corrected, “ours. Look, Laverne…”

“Jam…”

“Don’t correct me. I can’t stop you from leaving…” He smirked, knowing he already did, “but I can compromise with you. If you’ll agree, we can come to a settlement…”

“The only thing that would make me let you have my children is over my obese body,” I snapped.

“Please, Laverne, I don’t want to fight, not today. I really need them here, I need you… Here so they would stay. I’ve given you the silence you asked for, I’ve stayed away from the children at your request but now I am begging you, please,” he placed his hands together, “don’t make me make you dance to my own terms, I can easily make you.” And he was right, not that I was arguing.

“Fine, what do you want?”

“Thank you,” he sighed, shifting closer to me. Our knees brushed, causing that familiar sparks. I ignored it. “How about I offer you a job?”

“A job?”

“The children needs to begin school, before the term goes too far. I already have them registered in a good school but they would have to take tests to determine their classes. Their driver have been hired, their uniforms bought, everything they’ll need is ready. Tomorrow or next, I can arrange for you to take them shopping so they can get whatever else they need, good clothes for example and everything you need. If you don’t like their school, you can change it. You get to decide whatever goes on in their lives…”

“That does not explain the job part,”

“Would you rather remain seated in this house jobless like a housewife? I know you, Laverne, you would murder me in my sleep before seventy two hours.” He rolled his eyes. I grinned, remembering the time he told me to stop working but I refused and threw a tantrum on the third day. The tantrum ended up with him in a hospital and a broken head.

“Can’t I get a job that doesn’t deal with me seeing your face every day?”

“I will work something out, but for now, would you take the offer to become my personal assistant?” I couldn’t help but catch how his eyes glinted at the ‘personal’ part. Somehow, I knew he knew I couldn’t resist the urge to become his assistant so I could take my revenge. And I knew he knew that I would do anything to bring him down. And I also knew he knew I wouldn’t do anything to hurt my children by hurting him. But what he didn’t know was I knew what he was up to and I was smarter than the love struck puppy I once was.

And with the burning urge to make him feel the pain that I felt surging through my veins, I said yes.

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To be continued.