Chapter 8

This week has been dramatic. My thoughts were always focused on one individual. I can't stop thinking about him, even if I don't want to. He even appears in my nightmares. His blue eyes mock me. I couldn't even focus on my work.

"Aria! and Jayden!" I called the kids to distract myself. They are the only ones who can make me feel better.

"Yes, Mom?" Jayden explains.

"What do you guys want for lunch?" I inquire.

"Chicken cheese sandwich!" said the waiter. Jayden screams. When I turn to face Aria, she's already nodding.

"Okay, then." I begin preparing lunch.

While I prepare the food, Jayden continues to talk while Aria remains silent. She was coloring cartoons in her book, and I imagine she was in another universe. But she also seemed a little off, and I began to worry. I was about to ask what was wrong with her when Jayden interrupted me.

"Oh, mother! I nearly forgot. Tomorrow is a parent meeting at the school." Jayden explains.

"You really should be there." Jayden also included. Aria raised her head to me as if she wanted to ask me a question but couldn't.

"I will be there." I made a promise.

"Everyone else is going to come with their mommy and daddy." But we're both going with just mommy." Aria emphasized, "only."

It has arrived. The predicament in which I am required to answer the children's questions concerning their father. Their father broke their mother's heart. The father refused even to tell him he would be a father. The father who abandoned us just when we needed him the most. The father's name.

"Yea. Because we don't have a father figure." Jayden says to Aria, but they both glance at me with...I'm still determining. Eagerness? Hope? I'm still determining. I had sandwiches for the kids and turned away, pretending to clean something. When I return to get some juice for the kids, they are both still staring at me, their plates untouched.

"Eat your food, guys," I say.

"No," Aria says, crossing her little arms over her chest. I narrow my eyes at her, but she maintains her angry, hurt expression. I sigh. "Everyone else in the school has a father, but we don't." Jaxon, too, has an uncle named Ezekiel. We are without a parent. "How come, Mommy?" Her eyes well up with tears as she asks. My eyesight becomes blurry as tears well up in my eyes. The last thing I want is for my children to cry.

"I-I'm not sure. Perhaps God thought that good children only required a mother." I lied. Hazel, are you serious? Does that make sense to you? My inner voice snarls at me.

"Really?" Aria wipes her tears away. I approach her and cup my hands around her face.

"Yes, my darling." I kissed her on the cheek.

I was busy at work the next day. A large corporation requires interior design, and we all work hard on it. If this project is successful, I will be promoted, and my income will be increased. And due to this work, I could not attend the meeting at the kids' school. They will be irritated.

"Hi, Hazel." I turn around when I hear a voice. My eyes expand as they come to rest on Brooks. What exactly is he doing here?

"How are things going for you?" He asks and takes a seat in front of me.

"Hi. I'm okay. What exactly are you doing here?" I ask.

"I came here to see you." He says this and tries to put his hand in mine. I drew my hand away, as did he.

"For what?" I inquire sternly. Brooks is a really attractive and well-mannered man. But that's it; I wouldn't go any further.

"Will you come on a date with me?" He stutters, his eyes bright.

"No." I put on a stern expression and responded to him right away. He lets out a sigh.

"You see, Brooks. There are hundreds of girls available; go try them out. It's not going to happen to me." I stand up and leave my office, leaving him at my desk.

In the evening, I called Axel and told him everything that had happened today.

Axel suggested, "Give him a chance."

Is he dead serious? I pondered. He claims to know me better than anyone else. He knows I only have one true love. I sigh and let it go. I have to get the kids. I shut the doors and walked to my car. After arriving at the school, I park the car in a parking area, get out, and lock it. I walk into the school and approach the receptionist. Her eyes are narrow as she stares at me, which is odd.

"Hi, I'm here to pick up Aria and Jayden Baker," I tell her.

"But, ma'am, they were already picked up." Her brow wrinkled, she says.

What?