Love Me, Mr Billionaire

CONTINUATION OF CHAPTER 2

Even though she loved her little girl unconditionally, there was no denying that Piper was a difficult kid to raise. Even with access to the best medical team in the country, Maxine had a terrible pregnancy and labor experience with Piper. She seemed to have been wailing since birth, and it didn't seem like her daughter was ready to stop any time soon.

“Mommy! Come push me on the swings, please!” Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard Elijah's voice calling out to her.

Maxine groaned to herself. She should have brought one of the nannies with her. One of the few moments she'd been off her feet all day had been sitting on this park bench. However, she was unable to refuse her son the opportunity to enjoy himself, especially when he was acting so well.

She placed Piper on her hip while pushing Elijah on the swings. She could not help but smile at the little boy's happy squeals.

“Higher, mommy! Higher! He pleaded. Maxine smiled harder and applied more force to the swing. Elijah liked being outside, where he would run, jump, and engage in pretend play in the dirt and puddles. In that manner, he was very much her child, and she enjoyed seeing her little guy having fun.

She was sorry that Elijah was not able to receive the one-on-one attention he deserved since Piper was born. This was because Piper occupied so much of her time and attention, she felt as though she was failing both of her kids—Piper being the one who needed soothing, and Elijah being the one who was being let down. She felt unworthy as a mother as a result of this confusion. At her lowest moments, she would almost feel like she was resenting Piper, but she would always did her best to push those emotions very far away.

Knowing that telling Cassian how depressed she was about things would just make him upset, she was making a great effort to hide it from him. She knew he was already pushing himself to the edge and that if he knew, he would push himself even harder. After putting in a great deal of work at the company, he pushed himself into assisting with the kids, staying with them till the next morning when he left for work. She was always as concerned about him as he was about how tired she was. Every night, one of them would eventually nod off on the couch, necessitating the other to wake them up before they could drag themselves upstairs to their beds. They were this tired despite all the help they had. She found herself sad on behalf of those that had no help at all.

She had promised herself that she would not leave her kids at the mercy or nannies. That was another reason she had married Cassian. She had seen how good he was with kids and how dedicated he was to being a present and hands-on father. She had sworn to be very involved in raising her children and not have them go from one nanny to the other because she could afford them and because she had a career to pursue. Her family would always come first. Now that she was overwhelmed, she thought if she had made the right choice by refusing help. She shook her head. They would never be any wrong choices as long as her kids were concerned.

In her heart, she realized that this was all too much for her, that the days and weeks were wearing her down and making it more difficult for her to handle. She yearned for a vacation, some time off to simply catch her breath, escape her obligations, and, to God, get some rest.

She considered the woods behind her childhood house once more. Her forests. She yearned for the serenity and calm she experienced when she was outside, sitting high in a tree or out hunting with her childhood friend, Lucas, more than anything. She couldn't, however, just up and leave. Even if Cassian could spend a few days away from work, he wouldn't truly appreciate the woods the way she did because it was so far away. There seemed to be no chance for a break any time soon. She sighed.

It was growing progressively colder. She put Piper back in her stroller and turned to go home, calling to Elijah, “Hey, honey, we have to go home.” In order to avoid the chef taking over and cooking for them, as she did most nights, she was hoping to surprise Cassian tonight by having dinner prepared and waiting for him when he got home. It's possible that they will have some additional time to spend together tonight before one of them nods off.

It was a much needed reprieve that Piper fell into a sound sleep as soon as the stroller began to move. Maxine relished the silence. Piper slept the entire way home, but as soon as they were inside and Elijah's jacket was taken off, she woke up and began to cry once more.

Maxine begged, her voice quivering, “Please Piper, please, stop crying, just give Mommy a break for some minutes,” knowing she would lose it if she didn't get a respite from her persistent crying soon. She sensed that her nerves were being strained. She was at her breaking point.

“Martha! Jenny! Reyna!” She screamed for the nannies.

Reyna, the bulbous one, and the one who was the most affectionate ran to meet her, looking startled. “Ma'am, is everything alright?” she asked.

“Nothing,” Maxine answered quickly. “It's just Piper. Take her, please.”

Reyna nodded and reached into the stroller to pick up the wailing child. “Are you okay? You look...”

Maxine said she was fine. “Here's Elijah. Take him too. Feed him or something. He should be hungry.”

Maxine slowly walked up th stairs to the bedroom. She moved to the closet and pulled out a bag. After unzipping it, she began to throw a few personal belongings into it. She was doing the right thing for her sanity. She was about to blow up, so she had to go. She had reached her breaking point today.

She would just stay for one or two nights in order to get some rest. She would give Cassian a call once she arrived. He would understand. She hoped, at least. She dismissed her doubts. Nobody knew her like Cassian did. There was no reason he wouldn't understand her desire to do this—he was always so caring and empathetic.

With her bag filled up with the things she needed, she zipped it up and took it with her downstairs. Piper's wailing had now quieted into sobs. Elijah was in the sitting room watching paw patrol on the large TV in the center of the room. Reyna looked at Maxine, worried.

“Mommy, where are you going to?” Elijah said immediately he turned around and saw her.

“Just to see a friend, sweetie,” Maxine said. “I'll be back very soon, okay? You stay here with Reyna and your sister and be a good boy, okay? If you're hungry, Maria will give you something to eat. Good boy until daddy comes home, agreed?”

Elijah blinked and Maxine bent down to kiss his unruly curls. He smelt like coconut and peach and found herself closing her eyes and basking in the scent for a moment. And then she moved away from him and went to Reyna who was still cradling Piper.

“I'm sorry,” she whispered to her daughter. Though the guilt was overwhelming her, she realized she had to leave this place and take a short break from all of this.

“Thank you, Reyna,” Maxine said to the nanny. “What about Martha and Jenny?”

“Martha came down with the flu so she had to leave. She'll be back tomorrow. Jenny was just here. She left to go prepare for the kids' bath time.”

“Okay,” Maxine said before she headed to the front door. She didn't look back as she jogged to the garage, took out her car keys and pointed it at the Mercedes Benz G-Class. She threw her stuff in the car, locked the door behind her. As she got behind the wheel, she couldn't help but think of Cassian. She took a moment to lay her head on the driving wheel. She hadn't even given him a call, and he was going to be furious. But once she arrived at her destination, she would. When she talked to him about how she felt, he woud understand her. He has always understood her.