Chapter 14
1208 Words
(Grayson’s POV)
I returned to the hotel after witnessing Eliana at night from a distance when she entered her home. I returned to the same location early the following day while fully disguised. I remained where I had been staying and kept an eye on her home. Parents were dropping off their kids at the school bus in the early morning when I saw the same individual I had driven miles to see.
My entire day was brightened by Eliana's smile in the morning. She was escorting three school-age children to the location where other people were waiting. The children I encountered at the cafe were having a great time playing together, and all Eliana could do was smile. A school bus arrived after a minute, at which point she knelt down to kiss each of their three cheeks before waving them off.
This time, simply by observing her interact with her children, my heart was filled with joy and a certain amount of amusement. It seemed like I was seeing my own family. She left them behind and headed back to her building. I was going to follow her when I remembered her husband and took a step back.
I was going to go back after ten or so minutes, but I changed my mind when she left her building again while wearing a formal outfit. A taxi pulled up in front of her in a minute, and I followed. The taxi suddenly came to a stop in front of a sizable legal office, and I saw her enter. I stopped following her once she entered because it was unsafe for me to stay here, and I returned to my hotel.
For the next two days, I followed her to work and then disappeared. But since today was the weekend, I returned to her residence at the same time and waited for hours just to get a glimpse of her until spotting her leaving with her children in the afternoon.
These days, I've noticed that she doesn't own a car, and I've never seen her spouse. This made me a little dubious, but I didn't give it much thought. They arrived at a park with people and their children after thirty minutes. I could see Eliana and her children enjoying themselves on the swings from a distance, but at one point, Eliana sat down on the bench in front of the tree where I was hiding.
“Hey…ya I have compiled it and sent it to Mr. Richardson…don’t worry, I have prepared everything. You just focus on your mother’s surgery” after a while she got a call, and I could clearly hear what she was saying.
“Hmm, they are playing…I was not able to give my attention to them these days so, I got them to park. They are enjoying it alot” Her gaze was fixed on her children as she spoke.
“I know what you are trying to say, Daisy but now I am their life and they are mine. I don’t need anyone, we all four are enough for each other… don’t be crazy, it’s fine…ok, take care and say hello to aunty from me, bye”.
I remained motionless where I was, and as I overheard her talk, all of my doubts became increasingly evident. Eliana stood up and started to walk towards her children, and a moment later, they left the park as I was still processing all that had happened. but this time, I turned around and returned to the hotel.
I was tugging my hair firmly while sitting on the couch with my head resting in my hands. My ability to comprehend everything was getting harder and harder, and I started to wonder things like if she was married or divorced, whether she had lied to me, and who their father was.
I found it difficult to process everything, and even though it was information from the previous five years, I wanted answers right then. I decided to wait until Monday, when the kids go to school, instead of going to her residence the next day. and this time, whether she dislikes me or not, I was determined to find out the truth.
My heart had been telling me all along that I knew the truth, but I wasn't ready to embrace it until I heard it directly from her. Then, on Monday morning, I woke up early—you could say that I didn't even sleep—and got dressed before leaving for the same location.
Eliana dropped her kids off on time as usual, and I followed her back into the building. I saw her get into the lift, so I took the other lift to the floor where the lift was stopped. Her apartment was on the last end, with her name plate outside the home, and there were about three apartments on one story.
I pressed the bell, and a minute later, I heard a door opening. Her jaw was hanging open and her eyes were huge the moment she opened the door.
“Grayson!” The way she remained was so obvious that it seemed like my name had just popped out of her mouth.
“We need to talk…can I come in?” I said the latter section, when she remained motionless and froze in place.
“Uh, sure” I could see how uncertain she was of her move when she broke out of her daze and opened the door for me to enter.
“I-I’ll get water for you” Even though she was obviously in a panic, she walked to the kitchen and got a drink of water as I sat on the couch and took in my surroundings.
“Thanks… Nice home” I smiled as I stated the last sentence after sipping water, but all she did was nod and move to stand next to the couch.
“Eliana…I think it’s time for us to talk” I mentioned when there was complete silence in the room for a few minutes.
“I don’t have anything to talk about” She spoke sternly, but I could tell that she was shaking within.
“Yes we do” She simply took a step back at my abrupt movement when I got up.
“Leave Grayson” She did not look up at me; instead, she was pointing her finger in the direction of the door.
“NO!...Are those my kids?” When she was attempting to avoid talking, I spoke up a little bit, and a minute later, I addressed the question that had been on my mind for the previous two days.
I didn't even need to respond at that moment since the way she was staring at me spoke everything. But I found it hard to understand her response after I received it. During this entire time, I was not even involved in my children's lives and I began to curse myself, feeling depressed and furious with myself.
After a while, I turned to face Eliana again, and we knew at that moment that in order for our futures to be better, the secrets needed to be exposed and issues needed to be resolved.
- Writer
