“Impossible!”
Ranita sat on the edge of her bed, staring at her phone screen. She reached for the handkerchief on her nightstand and bit down hard on it before typing out a response, “It’s after work hours, please don’t disturb me, Mr. Stuart.”
But Brendon still called.
Reluctantly answering to avoid waking up her son, Ranita curled up on the couch with orange light casting shadows over her long lashes. She pursed her lips as she tried to sort through all of the mixed emotions inside of her.
“Ranita! Answer my question,” Brendon demanded.
“What question?” Ranita feigned ignorance. “Mr. Stuart, I thought this was about business? Please be clear.”
“Do you still talk to him? The guy you liked who has someone else now?” Brendon’s sudden inquiry caught Ranita off guard.
“I contacted my brother, it shouldn’t have anything to do with you, right? Mr. Stuart, you’re too nosy!” Ranita gave a faint smile, devoid of any emotion, which made Brendon feel even more uneasy.
“Ranita… do you know that I’ve been searching for you for four years?” Brendon’s voice was low. “I’ve always wanted to apologize to you for what happened with the child.”
“I shouldn’t have doubted you.”
Ranita’s heart felt a bit heavy.
But it had been four years already, what was the point of saying these things now?
Ranita initially thought he had at least some feelings for her, but after being disappointed time and time again, she had come to recognize her place.
His heart would always be with Shannon.
“Mr. Stuart, it’s been so many years, there’s no need to bring up these things!” Pausing for a moment, Ranita added, “Do you have any other business?”
“I…” Before the man could finish his sentence, the doorbell rang.
Ranita pursed her lips and smiled. “If you have something to attend to, then go ahead. I need to rest!”
Faintly, Ranita could still hear Shannon’s soft and fragile voice saying, “Brendon… I’m a bit scared, so I came to find you…”
Ranita hung up the phone.
She felt a bit agitated.
It had been a long time since Ranita had dreamt about Brendon, but tonight, her dreams were filled with him.
Early the next morning, Ranita helped Ayaan pack his things.
“Ayaan, Uncle Pearson will come to pick you up today and take you back to Slovenia. Wait for me there! I’ll finish my work as soon as possible and come home.”
Now that her work overlapped with Brendon’s, what if he discovered Ayaan? What worried Ranita even more was Shannon. If she were to find out about Ayaan’s existence, who knew what she might do.
For the sake of safety, Ranita decided to let Ayaan leave first.
“But I just arrived… didn’t you say you would accompany me?” The little boy pouted, feeling a bit unhappy.
“How about Uncle Pearson takes you to play for a couple of days?” Ranita felt guilty in her heart. Ayaan had searched so hard for her, but she couldn’t accompany him.
“That’s okay!” The little one smiled. “I like Uncle Pearson!”
Ranita instructed Coco to look after the child and waited for Steve to arrive, while she herself set off to handle her business.
During lunchtime, she received a video call from Steve.
“Mommy! Uncle Pearson is here to pick me up!” The little one jumped around happily, even happier than when he was with her!
“You need to listen to Uncle Pearson and behave, okay?”
“Okay!” The little one giggled. The phone was taken away by Steve, and he faced the camera, revealing his full forehead.
Several years had passed, but Steve hadn’t changed much. He smiled and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of Ayaan and have fun with him! Then, I’ll wait for you to come back to Slovenia.”