My Son Step Dad

3. Intro

“Third person’s POV”

Sebastian Morris was sitting on a couch placed in the living room of his house. His wife, Vincley Morris was standing beside him, staring at the laptop screen, focusing on an ongoing video call with a famous, young Billionaire of the country.

“If you are ready to sell, I will ask my lawyer to prepare the contract,” The person on Sebastian’s laptop screen asked while brushing his hair with the tips of his fingers.

Vincley rested one of her hands on Sebastian’s shoulder, whose gaze was buried in the laptop screen.

“Rest assured, Mr. Roy. I will be preparing the contract and the boy is now my property, so it’s up to me whether I can se...,” Sebastian trailed off as his eyes fell on Chelly Morris; his daughter, who was walking towards them.

Hurriedly, Sebastian closed the laptop and released a puff of air from his mouth.

“Look at the time, Chelly! It’s almost time for your dad’s breakfast,” uttering in a suppressed voice, Vincley inched closer to her only offspring, Chelly.

As Chelly saw her mother edging closer, she gulped audibly revealing the fright she had.

Leaning closer to Chelly’s ear, Vincley murmured, “if the breakfast isn’t ready on time, I will punish you to death.”

Blinking the tears that began forming in Chelly’s eyes, she marched towards the kitchen, not bothering to reply.

***********************

“Chelly’s POV”

“Chelly... Chelly... where’s breakfast?” Hearing mom’s voice, I speeded up my work. It was almost 8 in the morning and it’s time for Dad’s breakfast. 

As habitual, the breakfast was almost done. Just serving it on the plates were remaining.

Turning off the stove, I marched towards the shelf to take some plates. It’s when mom entered the kitchen.

“Bloody b***h! Good for nothing. I know you were eating,” she spat while gritting her teeth and pushed me a few inches away, making space for herself to go near the shelf.

“No need to eat. Besides your husband didn’t die giving us money to feed you and your son.” Despite tears began forming in my eyes, I lowered my gaze. Before the tears could fall, I blinked it away.

“You are not allowed to have food for the whole day. It’s your punishment for delaying the breakfast. Because of you, I am dying out of hunger.” Rolling her eyes, she poured the foods on plates.

Placing the plates on a tray, she marched out of the kitchen.

Ignoring whatever I heard from mom, I took a deep breath and tried to hold the urge of crying.

Since everything was done, I went straight to my room, with the purpose of waking my son, Eric for his breakfast.

Even though I was the one to cook every single meal, I had to feed my son the leftovers. I never dared to feed him on the same table as my parents.

I always waited for them to finish their meals. Dad was unaware of mom’s behavior towards me, but I didn’t get enough courage to share it with him as my marriage with Eric’s dad, David was against his will. Since then, dad never talked to me.

When I stepped inside the room, I saw Eric was sleeping peacefully. His lips were slightly parted as he sucked some air to breathe while light snores kept escaping from his mouth as his little chest falls.

His snores sounded just the same as his father's. It was like light music. Not so loud, but was adorable to hear. He might just be looking like me, but his behavior describes David’s.

Every time I steal a glance at him, it reminded me of David, how much he loved both of us.

We were like the coal of his eyes and he was the perfect of a man that someone could have.

It's been 3 years since we lost him, in a car accident. As the thoughts of David crossed my mind, tears started to form in my eyes. Soon, I was buried deep in the memories of David...

I was only 13 years old when I met David and fell for him. Even though he was just 3 years older than me, he was more sensible and mature than others of his age.

He was a guy who loved to live a simple life. He lost his parents at a young age and he had no one other than his maternal Aunt, Maria, who failed to support David financially, as her husband was an alcoholic.

All these incidents made David put an end to his studies and roll up his sleeves to work his butt off.

Although he didn’t have a stable job, we decided to get married, when I was as young as 18.

Our marriage decision was taken against my parents' will. According to them, I was too young and David wasn't suitable for me as I was well educated.

My mother was a greedy woman. She wanted me to get married to a rich guy, but I refused which caused them to abandon me because I got married to a man who loved me more than anything.

Despite all these, deep down I believed dad wasn’t the same as mom. I had to endeavor mom’s curses and verbal abuses just because she was the one who ruled our family.

Maybe dad wasn’t talking to me ascribed to mom’s dreadful fibs?

After my marriage to David, I moved to some other city, far from them, but they never came to see me, neither talked to me.

Our first anniversary became more special as it was the day we got our little bundle of joy; Eric, who filled our little family with endless happiness and joy.

Even though David wasn’t earning much as an income, he didn’t fail to provide us the happiness and comfort which a husband should offer.

******

When Eric was only 2 years old we lost him; the only source of income, which helplessly forced me to move to my parent’s house.

However, I came here with many expectations, it didn’t turn out to be well.

Mom kept treating me and my son as a burden, which increased my sorrows and I started to lose trust in people. I felt fear of everything. I began to judge people.

Putting all my efforts to survive in this cruel world, I hid all the sorrows from my son. I had never shed a single drop of tear in front of Eric.

Hearing all the verbal tortures I received from mom, Eric often questioned me about the behavior of his grandmother. I ignored it by saying it's all fine, she has just scolded me out of love.

A drop of tear rolled down my cheek, causing me to return to reality. Taking a deep breath, I wiped off the tears and sniffed for the one last time.

By gently patting Eric's back, I woke him up. Before opening his eyes, he stretched both arms and legs.

Once he perceived my presence, his lips curved into a beautiful smile and hopped to his feet before hugging me tightly.

"Where's mommy's morning kiss?" I asked him by tapping my cheeks with my index finger. Hearing my words, he leaned closer to my cheek and kissed me and I did the same. My little obedient son.

After assisting him to do his morning business, holding his hand, I went to feed him breakfast.

As usual, after breakfast, I spent my free time with him. It was a holiday, so I got plenty of time to spend with him.

************

After my parents were done with lunch, I placed the leftovers on a plate and went backyard, where Eric spent most of his day playing.

"Have you got it?..... Is it there?... Do you see it?..." As I approached nearer I heard him talking to someone. My heart skipped a beat, with the fear of who that could be.

Suddenly I remembered David’s last word, “this world is so cruel, trust no one.”

However, his words gave me enough reasons to think his death wasn’t just a mere car accident, I tried to find the reason behind his death by filing a complaint at the police station.

Even though the officers did David’s post mortem, there was nothing evidential to continue with the further investigations, so the police closed the case.

I hate the fact that Eric often talks to strangers. No matter how much I tried to control this habit of Eric, I get failed every time.

Was Eric talking to a stranger again? What if he takes him, hurt him, or kidnap him?

My heart started to race faster with the fact that he brought a stranger to the backyard of our house.

"Yes... I got it!" I heard a deep voice; the voice of a man. I was panting as I rushed to see who it was and became still when my eyes fell on the stranger.

What if he groomed my son? What if he takes Eric with him? Or....???

Stop it Chelly. He might be a good, kind-hearted man. Stop thinking so bad and you should stop judging people.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to calm myself before I marched nearer to Eric, ignoring the stranger.

"Eric, it’s lunchtime. Let's go," I uttered with great difficulty, resulting in my voice to come out shakily.

"Look, mom. This is Ace...Umm... Uncle, he just now helped me to get my ball from that tree. The ball got stuck in a branch of it," while pointing a tree in the backyard, Eric gave me clues of what happened.

Gulping due to uncertainty, I asked in a low voice, "and from where you saw Ace??... Umm... I mean, did you call him for help?"

Managing to fake a smile, I looked at the stranger. He was tall with a well-built body covered in luxurious clothing. Looking at his gray orbs and manly face cut creates an unknown feeling inside of me.

Dear, Chelly. Stop looking at him, I guess you are in need of a man.

Gulping one more time, I directed my gaze back at Eric.

Eric knew I wasn't pleased with the fact that he brought a stranger to the backyard of our house.

"No mommy...," He shook his head in denial.

"Then what son?" Raising both my brows, I asked as I wanted to know what exactly happened.

"Ace... Umm... Uncle Ace was...," Eric’s words were cut short by the stranger whom now identified as Ace, "Actually, I was passing by here when I saw Eric was trying to take the ball out of the tree,” Ace spoke while lifting his head and pointing his gaze towards me.

“He tried many ways but got failed. So, I thought of coming here to help him get his ball.”

Why was his voice sounding so calm as if it was light music filled with intense magical?

"Do you stay somewhere near here?" Trying my best to hide the nervousness, I gave him a suspicious look and bit my lower lip.

"No...I'm from some other city,” he spoke on a soft note, revealing how well mannered he was. Observing his behavior, I told myself to stop acting too rude towards him.

"But currently, I'm staying in this hotel," he added, by pointing to a large hotel, just not far from our house.

He seemed to be a rich man. I could notice that from the clothes which he was wearing, the wristwatch, the shoes and more...

*****

"Okay... Umm... I mean, thank you so much for your help. It's time for Eric's lunch. So, I guess we need to go. See you around." I smiled at Ace and held Eric's hand.

With Eric’s other hand, he waved a bye to Ace.

Once Eric was done with his lunch, he went to the room. I thought of warning him, about not talking to strangers like that, but thinking it was my silly thought that always feels fear in everything, I got hung back.

Finally, I decided not to talk about the fact 'strangers' to him as I didn’t want to scare him. It might cause a bad impact on a growing child. He might start to lose trust in people and that was something I would never desire to happen.

I snapped back into reality when I heard my mom’s loud voice. She was screaming the hell out of her. I always wished best of luck to her throat.

Wait, what?? Was she calling me?? Oh, come on Chelly... You are so lost.

I ran quickly towards mom, who was looking angered as always. A frown on her face seemed to be a family tradition from her maternal side. I remember my granny was also a short-tempered one. My aunt, uncle, uurrrgg... all of them. And here I was, I felt like crying if anyone even just looked at me angrily.

"Yes, mom. You were calling me?" I asked in an obedient tone with a smile on my face. Literally, I didn’t want her to get triggered more on her anger.

"This packet of milk I bought today morning. But there's nothing left in this. Did you put this in your huge belly?" She was holding an empty pack and was giving me an accusing look.

Seeing her reaction, I gulped hard in fear.

Not knowing how to answer her question, I stood motionless. If I said I drank all the milk, then she would start abusing me from her bitter tongue. And if I said I didn't, she would still abuse me and call me a liar.

"I'm talking to you, you piece of junk. Bloody cow faced s**t. Are you here because you think we have enough money to spend on you?" she started cursing me with whatever came to her mouth.

That's when I heard footsteps approaching towards us. Lifting my gaze, I looked at the direction, hoping it wasn’t Eric. Not that he hadn’t heard mom cursing me, but I didn’t want it to be a daily habit for him to hear all those bad words.

As my eyes fell on Ace, I involuntarily lowered my gaze due to the embarrassment I got.

Wait... What was he doing in our house? I didn't notice him coming inside. Why?

Oh, come on Chelly. You are like a lost puppy always lost in your dream world. How you gonna notice that?

I gave him a confused look, but he ignored and went outside of the house. Promptly, I saw dad coming out of his room; following Ace.

After searching four sides of the living room, he went outside.

With the fact that dad was around and he might hear mom cursing me, she kind of paused her abuse...... On me.

I was thankful my dad wasn't like mom. He was different. But I didn't, dared to talk to my dad since my marriage with David was against his will. Even, he never talks to me. But of course, he loved his grandson, Eric.

When mom disappeared towards the kitchen, I secretly peeked out of the window only to see Ace and Dad was talking.

So it means Ace was here on dad's invite? They might be talking about some business things, as my dad was a broker.

I often got to see successful businessmen visiting to meet my dad.

“I’m ready to sign the contract and take the bo...,” I couldn’t hear what Ace and dad was talking about as Eric came out of his room.

"Where's grandpa?" Eric asked while trying to catch his breath. He was holding a toy from his one hand and some batteries from his other hand.

"He is outside... he is busy I guess." I stretched my lips in a thin line and added, "why you want him?" As he perceived my question, he sighed before speaking.

"I want to buy new batteries. This isn't working," he sounded restless, which mirrored how badly he wanted to have it.

After seeking my permission, he went outside.

When Ace saw Eric, he helped Eric to place the batteries in the correct sequence. Soon the toy got to live. Seeing which, Eric’s lips curved into a big bright smile with amusement. And again, they both started to talk nonstop.

********

"Come back again" I heard Eric said the words as he was waving a bye to Ace. I rolled my eyes and decided to ignore it.

******

It's been 3 days after the ‘stranger’ incident. Now I often see Ace in our house. This made Eric spend more time with him. Even Ace seems to be so fond of Eric. He seems to be a kind-hearted man.

He was handsome too. His lavish clothes made him look more handsome. His gray eyes held possessiveness. His fuller lips added more to his manliness. I could trace his abs from the stretched blue shirt he was wearing.

Errr... What Chelly....stop looking at him....he might notice the fact that you are staring at him nonstop....stop sneaking! I tried to convince myself not to look at Ace who was busy playing cards with Eric and Dad.

I felt awkward to witness how dad bonds with him. In fact, he didn’t stop Ace from coming here. Even mom seemed so attached to him.

Well, it could be because Ace was mom’s type; rich.

. *******

Weeks passed by. Still, Ace was staying in the same hotel and he often visits here, not to see my dad, but to see Eric.

Eric loved Ace's company. Sometimes he walked to his school with Ace. Some nights Eric sleeps with him. Yes, Ace has indeed left the house as soon as Eric fell asleep. He eats with him. And so on... and here I'm totally pissed that my son was taken over by a stranger.

Each time I saw them together, I felt fear pounding my heart and crossing my mind. Fear of losing him.

Even though, a part of me was happy to see him with Ace, as he was giving Eric the love which he missed when he was as young as 2.

It bothered me that Ace doesn’t talk to me. Not anyone from my family except Eric. If there was something very important he would tell Eric to ask me about that. Like, if he wanted to take Eric to a park.

All these days of examining him, all I knew was, he was a calm, speechless man. Well mannered too. But I never knew why he was so fond of Eric and what he wanted from my son.

Nevertheless, he was treating Eric well, focusing on David’s last word, I should try to distant Eric from him.

Sitting on a chair right next to a table placed in a corner of the backyard, I kept pressuring my brain to think of a way to inquire Ace about his actual motives.

Eric has been already asleep, so I thought of taking the chance to have a word with Ace.

I was fulfilling my son's each and every need on my own, except financially for almost the last 3 years.

I could understand Eric was still naive. He hasn’t matured enough to understand my terror, but was wrong with my parents? Especially dad? Why was he letting Ace come here?

I didn’t know how to make Eric believe that this might lead us to somewhere scary and unexpected.

A stranger walks in and started putting his nose everywhere, I just couldn’t digest the fact.

I would clear all my doubts and ask Ace about his intentions; what he really wanted from my son.

There were many other kids in this neighborhood. He doesn’t spend almost his entire day visiting them, rather he kept sticking to Eric.

Let me clear this fact to him that Eric’s my son. I would talk to him directly about this.

Why not? My neighbors kept accusing I was having an affair with him, but the truth has been he never talked to me and he acted weird.