Want You Back - River Laurent Page 0,45

understand.

I needed to know why. I drove to the farm and stopped outside the barn house. Charlotte’s curtains and windows were already open. No surprise there. She had always been an early riser.

I killed the engine and as I got out of the car, the front door flew open and Charlotte strode towards me with an expression of contained anger on her face.

“What are you doing here?” she asked and then continued speaking without giving me a chance to answer. “We said goodbye yesterday.” She folded her arms under her chest and her breasts popped out.

To my shame, my cock swelled as memories of our explosive love life came to the forefront of my mind.

Before I could say a word, I caught sight of an older woman hurrying towards us. I had no idea where she had come from, but I assumed there was another house out of sight.

Charlotte followed my gaze. She dropped her hands and smiled at the approaching woman. “Hello Mrs. Horace.”

“Good morning,” the woman said, throwing a curious glance at me. “I just came to check on you. You’re late and I got worried about Kayden. He had a bit of a diaper rash yesterday.”

“He’s fine. Everything’s okay. I’ll bring him over in a few.”

“Okay,” Mrs. Horace said, throwing another glance my way. Charlotte didn’t offer an explanation and she had no choice but to turn away and go back the way she had come.

Then something the woman had said hit me.

…I got worried about Kayden. He had a bit of a diaper rash yesterday.

I stared at Charlotte, stunned. “Kayden is a baby?”

She refused to meet my gaze. “Yes. He’s my son.”

A coldness hit at my core. Who was this person? I thought I knew Charlotte, but clearly not. Why would she lie about having a baby? I didn’t understand any of it.

“And you led me to believe he was your boyfriend?”

She bit her lower lip. I instantly recognized it as nervousness. Was her boyfriend hurting her?

“I didn’t say it,” she said.

“Don’t be absurd Charlotte. You’re not a seven-year-old. You know that lying by omission is still classified as lying,” I snapped.

She did not respond. My chest felt as if it was burning. Jealousy rose up my throat. She had had a baby with another man. I curled my hands into fists. I wished that I’d not stopped at the diner and I had not seen her.

“Are you still with him, the nameless boyfriend you chose over us?”

She shook her head.

I was stunned. “So, he got you pregnant and left you with a baby?”

“Yes.”

I wanted to kill him. Lowlife piece of shit! I clenched my fists and kept my voice normal. “You’ll be late to work and we need to drop Kayden at Mrs. Horace’s.” I strode towards the house.

“Wait,” Charlotte cried behind me. “You need to leave. Go back to New York to your own life. Leave us alone.”

Alex

But I was already entering the house. I pushed the door open and stepped into the living room. A cute baby boy sat in a play pen chewing on a toy. He looked up at me and his face crumbled as his lower lip shook. Within seconds he was wailing as if someone had hurt him.

Charlotte hurried to him and lifted him from the play pen. She cuddled him to her and he wrapped his small hands around her neck.

My throat constricted painfully as I watched mother and son. Memories swamped me of Charlotte whispering into my ear about how much she wanted to have our baby. How then could she have gone off and had a baby with another man? I didn’t understand any of it. Her betrayal was too big. Too hurtful to comprehend.

Kayden looked at his mother with pure adoration in his face. I swallowed a lump in my throat. Having my child look at me like that was something I would never experience.

A little while after Abigail and I started going out, she started talking about us having a baby. Of course, I said no and forcefully too. I didn’t want to have a baby with her. Even the idea repelled me.

I watched Charlotte’s features soften as she cuddled her son. “It’s okay, darling. This is mommy’s friend. His name is Alex.”

Kayden’s response was to wriggle out of his mother’s hold until she lowered him to the floor. I stood watching him as he waddled over to his toys and plopped down on the floor.

Charlotte laughed and so did I. The tension evaporated.

“We’ll