ANOTHER'S TREASURE

CHAPTER 6

I held the jacket and tried not to laugh as they dove into the game again. Ten minutes later, Cai sat back, utterly defeated.

“You’re cheating,” he told Jamie.

“I’m not.”

“You are. You’ve got cheat codes hidden in that smug face.”

Jamie just laughed, leaning back in the chair, victorious.

A few minutes later, he spotted something in the prize corner and walked toward it, leaving Cai and me to trail behind him.

“He looks just like you, you know?” Cai said quietly.

I glanced sideways at him. “Well, I am his mother.”

Cai smiled, then shook his head. “No, not just looks. It’s the way he walks when he’s proud of himself. That thing he does with his nose when he’s trying not to smile. You used to do that all the time.”

I didn’t realize I was laughing until I heard it.

“There it is,” Cai said, watching me with something softer in his expression. “Your laughter finally reached your eyes.”

I looked at him.

“You’ve been smiling all night,” he continued, “but it never quite made it there. This… this is the smile I remember. The one that lit up every room before you even walked in.”

I looked away, my heart playing war drums inside me.

Jamie turned around then, waving a plastic prize in the air. Just like that the moment broke, but not in a bad way.

Cai stepped a little closer, not too close “Let’s not go back yet. What do you say? Ice cream?”

I nodded before I even thought about it.

we headed to the ice cream shop nearby, Jamie had vanilla and chocolate chip, cai had dark chocolate and coffee, I on the other hand found out they had sorbet, so I had mango sorbet.

it tasted like bliss.

after ice cream cai asked Jamie where he'd want us to have dinner since he won the bet.

" uhm.... I really don't know any good places or any places at all. Mom's cooking is always good" Jamie blurted out whilst rubbing his head smiling,

"Really" I said smiling, Jamie never told me that. Not that I didn't know already.

“ that's great, that means I get to pick where we eat " cai said and smiled like he'd won more than just the opportunity to take us where we'd eat.

we arrived at a little indoor space, not busy, not crowded. it was more like a diner. the smell of coffee, grease and fried goodness filled the air.

cai ordered a cheeseburger with bacon and onion rings, I was shocked, for a guy whose abs could be seen through his T-shirt he sure wasn't scared of carbs. Jamie had a grilled chicken sandwich with avocado and fries. I on the other hand decided to go crazy since cai offered to pay the bills might as well make it worth it, I had half of both their orders.

Jamie was shocked, cai was in complete disbelief, when the food came and we started eating, I could feel cai watching me, like he was scared I was going to choke or something. the food was like heaven in my mouth

“I see why you choose this place" I said with a fry in my mouth.

“look who's ignoring table manners" Jamie said with a cheeky smile on his face,

“I think we already did that by having dessert before the main course" I said.

"no, the ice cream was an appetizer " cai said.

we ate, drank. In the end I couldn't finish the food so we got it packed. I laughed more times than I remember. I felt calm and happy, Like I was living someone else's life, I even tried pinching myself a few times to see if I was dreaming but I wasn't and knowing that gave me peace.

Back home, the silence swallowed us. Jamie went straight to his room, obviously stuffed and tired.

Cai’s words from earlier still echoed in my head.

“There it is… your laughter finally reached your eyes.”

I didn’t know what to do with that.

I took off my shoes slowly, placed them neatly by the door as if order could somehow restore what I’d lost. The apartment, still empty, reminded me of everything I didn’t want to think about. What Marcus had taken.

I wanted to cry, but I didn’t, Cai had given me this beautiful evening and I sure as hell wasn't about to let an absent son of a b***h spoil it. I folded laundry and wiped surfaces already clean. Busy hands meant quiet thoughts. I needed the quiet.

---

Cai's pov

She didn’t text me. I'd made sure we exchanged contacts, hoping she'd reach out.

I wasn’t expecting a flood of gratitude or long explanations. Cynthia was never that type. But I guess… I thought….

Arrh.

I stared at my phone longer than I care to admit, then tossed it on the counter like it had offended me.

Why did I care?

I had a million things to do, business to run, people who actually wanted to talk to me. She left me, she.... abandoned me yet, here I was… wondering if she was okay. Wondering why she looked like a ghost trying to convince itself it was real.

It had been so long since we were close. Today, today I felt that warmth I'd missed all these years, that smile and her scent— it was faint but still there— she always smelled like magnolias. And her son, Jamie, was sharp. Good kid. Protective.

Just like her.

The way he looked at me… he didn’t trust me. Not yet. But that was fair. He didn’t know me. And maybe Cynthia didn’t, either. Not anymore.

I poured myself a glass of whiskey, letting it sit untouched as I leaned on the counter. My thoughts were a mess. I wasn’t sure what I wanted from her, but I knew I wasn’t ready to walk away and I wouldn't let her walk away.

Not again.

Cynthia's POV

I woke up feeling like a weight had been lifted, even though nothing had changed, I still felt a sense of peace.

I had slept like a baby, literally, I couldn't remember the last time I was that relaxed and at peace.

I opened the door that morning with the intention of getting some air, just a few quiet minutes to myself before Jamie woke up. The breeze was light, the sun not yet punishing. For the first time in weeks, I felt like I could almost breathe.

Then I saw it.

A paper, taped to my front door. Bold red letters at the top. My stomach dropped before my brain even processed the words: NOTICE TO VACATE.