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And I still wasn’t any closer to any answers.
At least none that I liked.
All I knew was that, even though we’d grown close, Bernard still didn’t trust me. For the life of me, I couldn’t understand why he kept Carla a secret from me. Considering the fact that the two of them came from prominent, wealthy families, and their engagement had been all over the tabloids, I should’ve come across it sooner.
But I hadn’t.
Bernard had been counting on that.
And I felt like the world’s biggest idiot for not realizing it sooner.
Hadn’t I wondered why a man like Bernard was still single?
“I’m sure he would’ve told you eventually,” Taylor argued, pausing to push her hair out of her eyes. “He probably just wanted to find the right time to do it.”
“The right time would’ve been before he asked me to move in with him,” I muttered, mostly to myself. My ears were buzzing as I went through the motions of folding, going through one item after the next until there were piles next to me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of movement, and Ron came barreling at me, barefoot and in his cartoon pajamas.
“Mommy, can you read me another story?”
I pulled him to me and pressed a kiss on his head. “I can’t today, buddy. I still have to finish the laundry and tidy up.”
“Can’t Aunty Taylor help you?”
I chuckled. “She is helping me.”
Ron glanced over his shoulders at her, and his eyebrows drew together. “How is she helping you if she’s sitting there, drinking wine?”
“Emotional support,” Taylor replied with a smile. “Your mommy needs to talk to someone about what’s bothering her.”
Ron nodded and swung his gaze back to mine. “If I give you a hug, will it make it better?”
My heart swelled and grew as he threw his arms around me and squeezed. I buried my face in the crook of his neck, inhaling the scent of his berry shampoo and lemon-scented soap. Then I squeezed my eyes shut, and my grip on him tightened. A short while later, Ron began to squirm.
Reluctantly, I drew back and released him.
“Ten more minutes of TV time before you have to go to sleep,” I called out to his retreating back. Ron gave me a smile over his shoulder before disappearing into the room on the right. As soon as he did, I sagged against the couch and ran a hand over my face.
Was I being irrational and unreasonable?
Didn’t Bernard deserve the benefit of the doubt?
Especially considering everything he’d done for us?
Since coming into our lives, Bernard had been an active part of Ron’s life, insisting on picking him up and dropping him off every day and spending an hour each night playing with him. In the evenings, when he got home from work, the first thing he did was pull him in for a hug and ask him about his day.
And every night, he insisted on helping me give Ron a bath and reading a story to him together. Seeing him with Ron always filled me with joy and pride. Unfortunately, over the past two weeks, I couldn’t stop seeing Carla whenever I looked at him.
Whenever we were alone, I saw Carla sitting across from his desk, immaculately dressed with perfectly coiffed hair, and it left a strange feeling in the center of my chest. While I knew I wasn’t being fair to Bernard by not being straightforward, I also couldn’t help myself.
I didn’t measure up to Carla.
I was never going to.
And I began to wonder if Bernard would be in my life at all if it weren’t for Ron.
“Speaking of Bernard, isn’t he usually home by now?”
“One of their new employees did really well, and they just closed a big deal at the office,” I replied without looking at her. “He called to let me know he was going to be late because they were celebrating.”
