I ran up the stairs leading to my apartment as soon as James’ car came to a halt, I was relieved but still worried. I needed to make sure they were alright. James ran behind me, trying his best to keep up with me.
Opening the door to my apartment, I saw the twins eating pizza in the living room sitting besides Justin. My heart immediately became weak, they were alright. Walking into the living room, Amelia and Aiden on seeing me, ran towards me for a hug.
” Mummy!!” Amelia jumped into my arms as I knelt down while Aiden quietly hugged me tight. I was beyond relieved that they were okay, tears dropped steadily from my eyes as I couldn’t hold my tears back anymore. I hugged and kissed them as I cried, I was so afraid of losing them. I thought of how I might never see them again, they were my life.
” Mummy, you’re squeezing us too tight,” Aiden complained. He was right, I think I was actually squeezing them.
” I’m sorry, baby. Are you both alright?” I said cupping their cheeks and caressing their faces, using my eyes as scanners to search for anything that could be of concern.
” Yes, daddy came to pick us up immediately kindergarten was over,” Amelia beamed. ” From there, he took us to a restaurant and we…,” Amelia gave a detailed narration of what had happened.
” So, there’s no need to cry, ” Aiden comforted as he used his tiny hands to wipe my tears away. I chuckled in delight, what would I really do without my babies?
” Alright, you both got me so worried today. I thought I was going to lose you both, I’m glad and relieved that you’re both fine,” I sighed.
” That’s why we decided to call you, I was afraid that you were searching every corner of the Earth for us,” Aiden said.
” Isa, welcome home. We’ve been waiting for you, you should have known that I would have taken the kids home,” I had nearly forgotten that Justin was here. Just looking at him made my blood boil, I couldn’t help but glare at him.
” Don’t get all familiar with me, we need to talk,” I told him sternly.
” Mummy? Are you angry at daddy for taking us home without letting you know?” Amelia said nearing tears, she was afraid that I was angry at Justin and I don’t blame her. After all, I’ve been feeding her lies that her dad has been busy and now that he shows up, she would expect that I would be happy. I knew she wanted the perfect family, every child did and I felt bad for not being able to give that to she and Aiden.
” No, I’m not. Why would you think so?” I smiled at her.
” It’s… It’s b-because of the way you sounded and the look in your eyes. Are you mad at daddy for being too busy with work?” she said innocently as she played with her fingers, avoiding my eyes as much as she could. ” Don’t be mad at daddy, even if he’s busy, he loves us just like you do. Promise me that you won’t get angry at daddy,” she defended Justin. I always heard of how daughters and fathers were but this was a real proof of their bond. They had only met once for the first time in their lives and she was already this attached to him.
” I won’t, I promise,” I lied to her. There was no way I wasn’t going to be mad at Justin but I couldn’t do that in front of the kids. I knew the kids were happy to finally meet their dad and I couldn’t break their hearts by yelling at Justin while they were here.
” James, could you help me put the kids to sleep?” I asked. I needed to talk privately with Justin.
” Yes,” I was glad he could read the room. ” Come on, let’s head to bed,” he said taking them by the hand.
” Goodnight daddy,” Amelia kissed him before going to James.
” Aiden?” Justin beckoned. I knew Aiden was excited to meet his dad but I also knew he was skeptical about it. He didn’t want to be too excited and I had a feeling he resented Justin a bit. ‘ Resented’ may seem incomprehensible to a child but Aiden was quite mature and understood a lot of things he shouldn’t be.
” Goodnight daddy,” he hugged Justin plainly before heading in with James and his sister. Once I made sure they were gone, I knew I could have an overdue conversation with Justin.
” Are you dating him?” Justin furrowed his brows in displeasure. What was his deal?
” What if I am, how should that be your concern?” I countered.
” It is, after all you’re still my wife,” he claimed with authority.
” I don’t remember you being so proud of it before, remind me why you kicked me out,” I fired at him. ” If you really considered me as your wife, I wouldn’t be leaving apart from you by now. Don’t forget that you kicked me out of your house and life,”
” I know I made some mistakes in the past and that’s why I’m here to rectify it. I want to make things right with you. I love you, Isa and I love our kids,” he came closer to me, taking my hands in his.
” You should have realized that since, I’m sorry to disappoint you but I don’t plan on entering back into your life, not now, not ever,” I shook off his hands.
” Isa…,”
” Justin, I’m not here to talk about our love story, I’m here to warn you. You have no right to take my kids from me or to take them anywhere without my permission, do you understand?” I pointed at him. ” I swear, you’ll regret it if this happens again. If I sense the slightest form of threat from you, I might as well vanish with my kids over night. So if you want to at least keep seeing your kids, better stay in line,” I warned him sternly. I would run away with my kids if I suspect him for even a moment.
” I didn’t think you’d have a problem with me picking the kids or taking them out,” he replied in a low voice.
” So what did you think? That I was going to applaud you after I heard that the same man who wouldn’t have accepted I or my kids in the past, came and suddenly decided to help me pick my children. Do you really think I want you to be their dad?” I finally dropped the bomb.
” Isa, I know I hurt you but now, I want to make things right. Why won’t you give me a chance?! I want to be a husband and a father, I want to be part of the family we made,” he begged.
” The family we made? Spare me the drama, Justin. If you had your way, you wouldn’t have wanted me to get pregnant for you back then and if you had found out then, you might have forced me to abort my kids because you wanted to keep your first love by your side at all cost. To you, I was nothing more than a bed warmer, available at your disposal for pleasure. I was foolish to ever think you loved me even for a bit,” just thinking about what had happened between us brought about a sour taste in my mouth.
” Even if you keep kicking me away, I’ll keep coming back and I’ll prove to you that I really do love you. I was wrong to have picked Nina over you back then, and I regret it every single time,” he was persistent. ” Also, I don’t like seeing you with James, don’t forget that we are married,” he reminded me as if we had settled. He was pretty quick to change the topic at hand.
” So what if I’m with her and around her, what’re you going to do about it?” James popped out from nowhere and challenged Justin. Standing besides me, he wrapped his hand around my waist pulling me closer to him. Justin didn’t hide his anger.
” Get your hands off my woman,” Justin said in anger.
” It’s not my fault you left your wife for another woman, maybe you should just stick to your first love instead,” James provoked him.
” You don’t have a say in our affairs,” he retorted.
” Justin, I don’t want you to wake the kids. I’ll have to ask you to leave,” I pointed towards the door. I wasn’t going to let this bickering continue.
” There’s no way I’m letting another man stay with you, I’m not leaving if he’s not leaving,” Justin was as stubborn as ever.
” If you don’t leave, I’ll have to call the security. I might as well, report you to the cops,” I threatened.
Hesitantly and in anger,” I’ll be back. Nothing you do will make me give up on you or my kids,” he said before walking away in anger.
I heaved a sigh of relief as the door slammed shut, I was able to get rid of him quicker than I expected today which made me all the more worried. It wasn’t like him to give up on what he wanted easily, I knew he was going to be back prepared.