Chapter 23: Chapter 23
It’s been a month since the baby was born. Nathan decided to name her Sandra, in honor of his late mother. The baby was showered with so much love and attention, both from her parents and grandparents.
Michelle has had sleepless nights for the past month, waking up in the middle of the night, to rock her baby to sleep in her cradle or sometimes to feed her. Michelle realized that being a mother wasn’t an easy tax. It’s had its own toll on her.
Nathan tries his best to be a wonderful father to his daughter. He comes back home late from work, not like Michelle was complaining, but she needed him by her side, to be her strength. He could always take care of work later, but he needs to be present to watch his daughter grow. She doesn’t want to mention anything to him because she didn’t want him to feel like she was jealous of the attention he was paying to his work. They had decided to let this time pass before they get married.
#
It was Thanksgiving day. Nathan told Michelle about the Thanksgiving dinner at their family house.
Michelle hasn’t been to any family gathering since she began dating Nathan, because she was avoiding to meet with Rebecca after the last incident. This was a Thanksgiving, the very first one with the baby. She contemplated whether or not to attend, but made up her mind in the end that she wasn’t going to be present.
Michelle told Nathan about her decision. He wasn’t happy, but he ended up respecting her decision. She told him that she would be spending hers with her mom, and that he could go with the baby. She was a family member, and she was also safe with her father. So, Nathan left for the Thanksgiving dinner with Sandra.
Michelle went to the bathroom and showered after Nathan left. She picked a black lace high neck midi dress with black heels to wear. She wore her makeup light and decided to leave her hair straight. When she was satisfied with her looks, she left the house and drove to her mom’s. She got to her mom’s place after stopping by a wine store to get a bottle of wine as a gift for her mom.
Michelle walked into the house, not bothering to knock. Her mom wasn’t in the living room, so she went to the bedroom to look for her, but she wasn’t there. Michelle then went into the kitchen, she could perceive mouth watering aroma coming from the kitchen. She walked into the kitchen and saw her mom helping the maids out with the cooking. They were making rice, sauce, salad, and the most important of them all, the turkey. They were also making banana tart for dessert. She walked up to her mom and gave her a peck on the cheek.
“Happy Thanksgiving, mom. I got this for you” she said, giving her mom the bottle of wine.
Leah was beyond surprised to see Michelle here.
“Thanks honey” she replied with a confused look
She gave the maids certain instructions to follow, then went out of the kitchen with Michelle. They went to the garden to talk.
“Aren’t you supposed to be with Nathan and my granddaughter?” Leah questioned
“I wanted to spend my Thanksgiving with you… besides, Nathan also needs to spend some time with Sandra, she’s his daughter” Michelle replied.
“Are you sure?... Or is it because you don’t want to see Rebecca?” Leah asked
Michelle just rolled her eyes at her mother’s question.
“Fine, mom… I honestly don’t want to see her” she honestly replied
“When will you stop running away from her?” her mom asked
“Mom, is it a crime to come spend some time with you?”
“No, it’s not honey… but it has to be with good intentions”
“Oh mom!”
Michelle didn’t want to argue with her mom
“Michelle, you and I know why you’re here”
“Mom, I don’t want to see that woman… I can’t face her cos she always talks me down and I don’t want that tonight… not in front of my baby” Michelle said, running her fingers through her hair and sighed deeply.
“Besides, no one ever says anything to her… just Mr. Howard, and I don’t want him always having fights with his wife because of me”
“And Nathan?” Leah asked
“Nathan has stood up for me before, but this… this time is different”
“How Michelle? This is when you need to know if he is going to stand up for you as his fiancée… besides, isn’t that the reason you left Derek?... If you knew you could avoid Rebecca all this time, then you could have, and saved your relationship”
Michelle was startled by what her mom just said. She had never once thought of that. What if Nathan and Derek were the same? She would be making the same mistake all over again.
“But I’m already here now… what would you have me do?”
#
Nathan arrived at their family mansion with the baby. Mr. Howard was the first to welcome him, taking his granddaughter from Nathan. He loved her so much, since she is the first girl in the family. His mom came and kissed him on the cheek. While Nathan was raising his head, he saw Derek to his surprise. Derek just nodded his head in greeting, Nathan responded also with a nod.
“Okay, let’s all go to the dinning room” Rebecca said
Mr. Howard handed his granddaughter over to a maid who followed them to the dinning room. They all sat down, and Rebecca looked around, like she was looking for something or someone. She then shook her head in disappointment.
“Tell me Nathan, where is your fiancée?” she asked
“She’s at her mom’s” Nathan replied
“Did you two have a fight or something?”
“No mom, we're fine”
Rebecca raised an eyebrow, giving Nathan a skeptical look
“I knew that girl was up to no good. First, she caused a rift between brothers, after getting what she wants, she turns you to a babysitter… she’s incredible” Rebecca finished, sarcastically.
Derek just stared at his mom. He couldn’t believe she hasn’t still outgrown this attitude.
Nathan’s hand was in a fist, as he tried to control his anger.
“Look mom, I will not sit here and tolerate this rubbish. Whatever goes on in my relationship is my business and not yours. Whatever you did with Derek’s relationship won’t be tolerated by me… and let me remind you, the child you’re referring to is mine”
The atmosphere was really tense.
Rebecca was surprised by Nathan’s outburst. The room was still in an awkward silence, until it was broken by a quiet voice.
“Hi”
They all turned towards the direction of the voice. To their surprise, it was Michelle. Nathan immediately stood up from his seat and walked up to her.
“I thought you were with your mom?” he quietly asked
“I figured you’d need a hand with Sandra, so I changed my mind” she replied
Derek couldn’t believe he was seeing Michelle. She looked as beautiful as ever, not changing one bit even after giving birth, rather, her breasts were now fuller than he remembered.
He couldn’t believe she was now with Nathan. She had forgotten all about him and has moved on.