CHOSEN

Chapter 4. Third party

I waved goodbye to our employees whose shifts had ended. After their vehicle disappeared into the distance, I went back into the store.

Dave had just come home two hours ago after spending the day, fishing with his friends. After cleaning himself up, he fell asleep soundly, and I let him be—he needed the rest.

I entered the house through the adjacent door that connected to our store. I saw Fabian sitting quietly on the carpet, eating diced watermelon I had prepared earlier, with toys scattered around him. I sat beside him until the watermelon was gone, wiped his face, and then took him outside.

I noticed that Dave was still asleep, and I really needed a shower. At times like this, I truly needed Lucien and his friends’ help. I didn't want to leave Fabby alone.

The café was quiet before I entered, and it seemed they had finished cleaning up. I knew they were planning to close early when I saw the 'open' sign had been flipped to 'closed', so I changed my mind. I could shower after Dave woke up later.

But just as I turned around, Silas called out to me.

“Hey, Essie! Why didn’t you come in and turn back?” he asked. When I turned, I saw him already on the café terrace. I grinned and shook my head.

“I was going to leave Fabby here for a bit so I could shower. Dave just got home, and I didn’t want to wake him up. But then I saw you guys were about to close,” I replied. The tall, blonde man chuckled.

“We’re closing early because we’re waiting for a restock. We’re running low on supplies, and Lucien is busy with his family business. His brother, who just returned from abroad, is handling the purchase of the supplies and will be here to ensure the restock goes smoothly. We’re bored of waiting, so let Fabby stay here to entertain his uncles.”

I laughed at his plea. He took something out of his pants pocket before squatting in front of Fabian. When he opened his hand, I realized he was holding a chocolate candy. Fabian’s eyes lit up before he looked at me, silently asking for permission, and I nodded. Fabian took the candy from Silas’s hand and allowed himself to be carried by him.

“Let Mommy take a shower. We can play inside,” Silas said before turning around and entering the café. I smiled in amusement before heading back home.

I hurried through my shower, worried that Silas and Bob might struggle with Fabian. Sure enough, when I returned to pick up Fabian, Silas was already at the door with him, just about to press our doorbell.

“Ess, sorry I had to bring Fabby back sooner than expected. This restock is more troublesome because Lucien isn’t here,” Silas said as soon as I opened the door.

“It’s okay, Silas. Thank you so much, and sorry for the trouble,” I said, and he shrugged.

“You know we never find it troublesome. Fabby is always such a sweet kid,” he replied before leaving.

The three-year-old had already entered the house, and I quickly followed after locking the door. I prepared dinner for the three of us before joining Fabian, who was engrossed in watching some random cartoon on TV.

A strange scent caught my attention, a faint aroma that grew stronger as I got closer to my son. No, this wasn’t Fabian’s usual baby scent, but a foreign aroma that disrupted my focus. I tried to concentrate and took Fabian to the bedroom.

“Wake Daddy up,” I instructed.

Fabian jumping on his father’s body made me laugh and forget about the scent, at least until it was time to put him to bed. Usually, I read a story for him and left after he slept, but now I hugged Fabian until even long after he fell asleep, just to keep inhaling the now fading scent, as if I couldn’t bear the thought of the citrus and woody aroma disappearing entirely.

That night, confused by my own behavior, I couldn’t rest well and, for the first time, I turned down Dave’s invitation to make love. Dave didn’t mind, assuming I was tired after a long day of work. He continued to sleep while holding me.

Never, even once, I imagined myself as an animal, and that night I dreamed about running free in the deep forest, as a wolf.

I was awake in the middle of the night with grumbling stomach and craving for meat. I looked at Dave who sleeps peacefully beside me, then slowly moved my body, tried to make no sound, then stepped to the kitchen and put some sausages in the microwave oven, before ate them like I was starved for a week.

The next day, I seemed to forget last night’s oddity and started the day cheerfully as usual. I cooked a simple breakfast before opening the store and waiting for the employees to arrive.

***

Today, we were quite busy. India and Ralph, our employees, even had a late lunch because they were busy packing online orders, which Dave would deliver to the customers' homes.

After all the packages were sent out and the pet parents picked up their groomed pets, I told them to go home early and gave them a bonus. Once again, we would close early.

I was still busy in the store when Dave returned from delivering packages. He let me finish while taking care of Fabian and prepared dinner. When I finally entered the house, Dave was putting Fabian to bed. They had already had dinner, so I ate alone after saying goodnight to my baby and giving his father a kiss, who, as I walked past him, took the opportunity to give my butt a playful squeeze, of course it was unnoticed by our son.

I walked away shaking my head. We always teased each other like that, keeping our relationship fun and never boring.

With the intention of checking if everything was in order before closing the store, I headed back there, not expecting to find someone standing in front of the glass door, looking up at our store’s neon sign while talking on the phone.

We were separated by the glass, only about five meters apart. The man was wearing a fitted gray sweater that didn’t hide his muscle mass. He was slightly shorter than Dave and looked very much like Lucien.

No, it was definitely not Lucien. Lucy is skinnier, and impossible to be bulked up like that in a day. The thin stubble on his face also indicated he was a few years older than Lucien. Both were handsome, but Lucien didn’t make my heart race like this. Not even Dave had the same effect.

I stood frozen where I was, my hand still on the door handle that connects the house and the store.

As if drawn by an invisible force, I walked toward him, closing the distance between us. I saw his gaze drop and freeze when our eyes met. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed, clearly so focused on me that he forgot about the person on the other end of the phone. A second later, his phone fell to the ground.

My body moved on instinct. I took a few steps forward and opened the glass door separating us. The faint scent of citrus and wood that had clung to Fabian yesterday now hit my nose, a hundred times stronger.

It was only then that my mind could process everything. He was someone destined for me, just as I was created for him, my fated mate.