Chapter 4: Moving Back To The City
1563 Words
“L- Lily?!” Adam’s voice echoed with shock and a hint of relief. He suddenly went dead silent for a few seconds before speaking very quietly. “Did you change your mind?”
‘Why did he suddenly get so quiet? Is he trying to hide our conversation?’ My thoughts made me sick to my stomach once again. There was only one reason I could think of why he was trying to hide our conversation.
‘He must still be married to Alyssa…’ As much as I wanted to interrogate him, I told myself that it was none of my business and I’ve moved on.
“Yes… I have. I lost my job two days ago and I can’t get another. I won’t be able to provide for my son, so…” For a moment I was going to ask if he could just lend us all the money I need but then I remembered my pen pal told me that I should move back to the city. “I need a new home for us in the city.”
“I’ve already got a place made for you. I’ll come get you tomorrow. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you. Both of you.” Despite his voice being barely a whisper, he spoke with great speed as if he were in a hurry.
Some of his words caught me off guard. He already had a place ready for me? Did he plan on persuading me again or did he already have a spare house set up?
“OK. I’ll see you tomorrow then.” I hung up the phone without waiting for him to respond and without telling him ‘thank you’ or ‘goodbye.’ Maybe I was being a little too cruel… but it was best that I kept my distance from him anyway. The less he sees Oliver, the better.
“Well… that’s that.” I would tell my pen pal that it’s been done but it was getting late and I needed to get some sleep.
Come morning, I wake Oliver up and we prepare to move out by putting all of our belongings away in boxes. Though I was dreading my return to the city, Oliver was very excited to see it for the first time.
“Did you pack all of your art books?” I asked him about his favorite hobby as I boxed up my clothes.
“Yup!”
“And Mr. Snuggles?”
“Yup!” He appeared beside me with his teddy bear.
I stared at the laptop in my hands longingly. I wished I could tell my pen pal right away what was happening but unfortunately, he wasn’t even willing to give me his phone number.
I finally summoned up the willpower to box it away with the last of my belongings.
Boxing up all of our stuff only took a couple of hours. It was the moving part that took the longest but Adam was willing, and eagerly, wanted to take care of it all.
As soon as the country farms turned into massive towers I felt both nostalgia and intense worry consume me but a simple glance at Oliver made me calm once again.
Once we arrived at the house Adam had already bought for us, we were both shocked by the size. I’ve spent years and Oliver spent his whole life in a small house but this one was triple in size. A house far bigger than what was necessary for the two of us. Oliver may have been very excited but I was filled with wariness.
‘A house like this must’ve cost a pretty penny. Why would Adam go this far? Especially after I’ve been so cold to him…’ I shook off my thoughts and got to work unpacking.
Thankfully, Adam had the common sense to not hire anyone to help us unpack. With it just being the two of us and a little help from Oliver, it was exhausting but well-rewarding.
Once we were done, I flopped down on the couch while releasing an exhausted sigh and wiping some sweat from my forehead with the back of my wrist. “Phew…”
When I looked over at Adam I saw he was in the same condition. Though I didn’t want to, I swallowed my pride and spoke my gratitude. “Um… thanks, for all of this…”
Adam practically beamed when I finally acknowledged him for the first time since we reunited. “Of course! Anything for you, Lily. Just say the word.”
“Alright, alright, you don’t need to go that far…” I grumbled as my annoyance showed. The Adam I knew was never this exaggerated or needy.
“By the way,” I spoke up once again, grabbing his attention. “I don’t want nobody to know we’re here. Not a single person, understand?”
This was the first time I used such a stern tone with Adam and he looked rather surprised but then quickly nodded his head. “I understand. I’m sure you have your reasons…”
The sound of stomping above our heads told us that Oliver was running around in his new room.
A warm smile crossed Adam’s face. A smile that I hadn’t seen in ages, even before we broke up and I left the city.
“You have a cute kid… I’m a bit jealous.” Adam murmured.
I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was being genuine and I was beginning to feel guilty. But still, I can’t let him know that Oliver is his son by blood. I can’t let anybody know. And I’d rather not have Adam get too attached to the boy either.
“Well, we both appreciate everything you’ve done for us. Not to be rude, but I would like to have some privacy to relax.” I more or less hinted that I wanted him to leave.
His endearing smile faded but he still smiled, despite it having a hint of disappointment in it. “I understand. I hope you have a good day today. Please, if there’s anything you need, I’m just a call away. Or if you even just need somebody to talk to in general… I’ll always be h–”
“I appreciate the offer but I’m fine. Now, please leave.” My voice became stern and his smile shifted into sadness.
“I understand. Um… later, Lily.” Unsure of what else he could say, Adam mustered up the will to accept the situation and left the newly occupied house with a heavy heart.
I could see how hurt he was by my coldness again but he deserves it. Right…? He was awful to me. Broke my heart, was sleeping with his ‘fiance’ behind my back, and betrayed me as if I were nothing after we had been a couple for years!
I can’t let my willpower be swayed by his teary eyes.
Later at night after I spent the rest of the day with Oliver and had a big dinner together, I excitedly got onto my laptop with a bounce onto my bed. I was eager to tell my pen pal the good news.
“Are you there?”
Like last time, my anonymous friend was quick to respond to me. “Hey, Lily :) how’re things?”
“I moved back to the city like you advised. The house Adam bought for us is huge! It’s really beautiful too but…”
“But what? It sounds like you love the house. What’s wrong?”
“I avoided the city to protect my son… you see, Adam is his father and I didn’t tell him because his family are monsters. They tormented me and were cruel to me ever since I started dating Adam back in high school. Adam did all he could to stand up to them and protect me but it was still traumatizing… I can’t let Oliver be a part of that. They’ll make him the heir CEO of their company. I’m sure of it. And I can’t let that happen, no matter what. Or he’ll be chained to those monsters forever.”
“Wow… ok, didn’t see that coming…”
His response took a little bit longer than usual this time and I was beginning to feel self-conscious.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to drop all of this on you… this is my problem after all.”
“Haha, it’s ok :) Oliver is a cute name. Listen, how do you know he’ll be forced to become the heir? What if Adam still is? Or do they already have one?”
Already have one… that thought never crossed my mind until now. Did he and Alyssa have a child? If so, they’d be the new heir. But even so, I can’t let myself relax just because of an assumption.
Yet… why does this bother me?
Before I could even respond, he sent me another email. “Perhaps you should go find out?”
To find out. As in investigate? The thought was intriguing yet worried me. What if I’m caught?
Once again, he sent me another email before I could respond. “Be sneaky ;)”
With that little bit of encouragement, I made up my mind. “You’re right. I will.”
- Writer
