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Even with the choking sobs rattling my throat, I still managed a well-placed scoff. "Why do you think that's what I want? Leave me alone, Alessandro. That's what I want. There's no need to play this part of responsibility you think is weighed on you simply because you realize that you now have a kid."
"The funny thing about this entire thing is that I'm not asking." The calmness of his tone was threatening, but I wondered how much it would take to scare a mother. The tears had ceased, and the seething anger returned.
"I would rather be torn limb by limb than be anywhere in an environment close to you. You hear me? Go fuck yourself, Bastard!" I growled and took a wide angled turn around him. This time, I was determined to rid myself of his presence. He stretched his hand to pull me back, but I made a conscious effort to watch out for it. When he began moving closer, I let outa piercing scream that startled him enough to keep him away. Artemis had also begun crying.
Before finally tearing my eyes off him, I realized one thing. Something in the way he looked at me told me that this wasn't the last time I'd encounter him...and not in a good way. There was too much darkness in his gaze that reminded me of how dangerous I thought him to be the first time we met, the day his group engaged in the shootout that killed my father.
The rest of the journey was depressing. Artemis was fully content with me carrying her the rest of the way, probably now being fully aware that there was an entity that made her mama cry. It’s not like I never cried in front of my daughter. In fact, quite the contrary. I just feel like she never imagined that it would be caused by someone the way I usually made her cry by not meeting her immediate demands.
I wanted to know what was on her mind as she silently changed position from time to time, not uttering a word or even making a single sound...not even when we passed by her favorite lolly vendor. Only I had to take the initiative to purchase her most preferred flavor - Peach - and she accepted it without her usual enthusiasm despite my cajoling. I chuckled inwardly at how she seemed to be more affected than me.
Dropping her off at the daycare was war. She did not want to let me go. Her God-grip came into full play, and she even used her legs as an extra twine.
"Mama!" she screamed repeatedly and wouldn't stop until I took her into my arms again.
"She's gonna need a distraction," I laughed at the perplexed caretakers who kept taking turns in trying to pry her off me without being too forceful on her.
"The lollies used to work." Casey, one of the younger ones, looked disdainfully at the lolly Artemis cast onto the floor. That only got others, including myself laughing.
"You know something, baby?" I cooed her tear-stricken face, and she looked up at me... expecting me to continue. "You know, mommy's always gonna be here for you, no matter what."
She nodded and rested her face on mine.
"You're afraid mommy will leave you?" I asked her and she shook her head in response.What was it?"You're afraid of the man?" She brought her head now to my neck and gave a really emphasized nod.
Way to go, Alessandro.
"Aww..." I cooed and bounced on alternating feet, rocking her. "You know mommy's gonna protect you from all the men..." She nodded. "And Mrs. Margret...and Casey. They'll never let the big man come near you, okay?" She nodded again and gave a small hum of approval.
"Now, darling, mommy has to get to work, okay?" I tried prying her off me and she came off without resistance. "Go pick up your lolly, Artemis," I instructed, and she obeyed. Wow. She was really shook by Alessandro's appearance.
"Now, remember. Mrs. Margret and Casey will always protect you, alright? I love you, honey."
"Ah wov you too, mommy."She wiped a rogue tear from her reddened face and held the outstretched arm of Casey.
"Now, come gimme a kiss." I patted my lips, and she did so without hesitation, placing a long peck on them. I beamed at her and waved as I stood up and turned to go. She waved back, even though she was still too upset to smile, and continued waving even when her back was turned to me.
"Take care," the caretakers greeted me, and I reciprocated before turning back when they entered the building.
I didn't know if I had it in me to work today, but for the sake of my daughter, I was going to pull through. All I could think about on my solo journey to work was Alessandro. Why did the cosmos have to plant him in my path now when I thought I was finally moving on? His face, his smile...his lips everything started flooding back to me, numbing my senses to every other thing around me. No matter how much I actively tried to confess to myself that I hated him, (which I feel I actually did) he was the first person I fell for. He still retained this place in my heart.
Yes, I admit it. I fell in love with Alessandro.
Chapter 15
The sliced mushrooms and eggplants were aimed perfectly for my face and had I not, by a stroke of luck and the experience of mothering this little menace, moved out of the way, they'd have met their target.
"Artemis, you have to eat your vegetables. I hate spending money on supplements," I pleaded into deaf ears. The only thing she liked was the sweetened corn. Every other thing was trash.
She completely ignored my pleas and continued picking off what she believed didn't suit her. I had no idea why she never saw this coming, but I wasn't going to let her leave her chair until she had eaten a healthy portion of those veggies. That in mind, I settled properly and took my time to finish my dinner of steak and potatoes, along with crumbs that landed into my plate from Artemis's rejection.
When I was done, I brought in a fresh bowl of chopped vegetables reserved for occasions like this, when she'd want to prove herself to be a stubborn piece of work. She looked at me and I looked back at her. Game on.
Classic Saturday dinner in the Asghar home.
After a combination of pleas, negotiations, and coercion, I was able to get her to consume a desirable amount and let her run free. Just as we were putting in a team effort to clean the dinner table (with me doing a hundred percent of the work while she sang her songs to motivate me), I heard a knock on the door.
Glancing at the clock made me even more confused at the strange hour. Who could possibly be at the door? I barely knew anyone here, so the chance that one of those few people would come knocking on my door fifteen minutes past eight was unlikely.
