Chapter 45: Chapter 45

Charlene walked out of the kitchen the moment a maid was assisting Henrietta with the luggage. She looked toward the door to see who was coming. Puzzled, she had no idea who the luggage belonged to, and since Henrietta hadn't stepped inside she couldn't conclude. After all, Richard didn't inform her a guest was coming over to the mansion. She called back the maid with the luggage before she could walk past her. “Who does that belong to?” She asked curiously.

She stopped walking. She whirled and bowed her head a little. “It's Ms Henrietta's.” She replied politely.

Charlene was taken aback for a few seconds. She looked vaguely around as if she didn't understand what the maid divulged. “Henrietta?” Charlene wondered what could bring her to the mansion. The last time she had a conversation with Richard, he informed her everything would be over soon, and that was two weeks ago. That was the last time they talked about Miguel. Lately, everything conversation was about the baby she was carrying.

She was completely lost in thought until Henrietta stepped in and interrupted her peace. “Hey,” She waved her hand in her face, jolting Charlene out of her thoughts.

“What brings you here?” She calmly enquired. She tried to sound cool, however deep down she was overwhelmed.

Henrietta glanced around, scanning the whole room. She let out a long sigh, rubbing her palms against each other. “Well...I'm not in position to answer that question. You should ask Richard when he returns, I think he has a better for you. It's really good to be back here. Everything seems new and beautiful. Hey, you! Take that to Miguel's room, I'll be sharing the same room with my baby.” The maid left with her luggage. Before Henrietta could take a pace ahead, her eyes fell on her belly and she smirked. She laughed silently and went upstairs.

Charlene didn't bother to ask her anything. Besides, only him could give her the right answer she needed to her question. It was futile to pick a fight with her, she would rather save herself the stress and wait for him.

She scurried over to the sofa. She sat carefully as she had decided to wait for him in the living room. She held out her phone. A message from Javier popped up on the lock screen, she clicked on the message to view it. He had sent her the PDF she demanded in the morning while they were studying together in the library. She downloaded the PDF and opened it. She tried to study but her mind drifted away. Eventually, she dropped her phone beside her before looking at the clock on the far wall. “What's taking him so long? Should I call him or I should ask her instead?” She contemplated the best option but she didn't seem to conclude yet.

“Welcome sir,” A voice came from behind.

She abruptly looked behind when she heard a maid's voice. She knew instantly he was back. “Thank goodness, you're back.” She stood up from the sofa, then walked over. She stood right before him, looking squarely into his eyes.

He leaned over. “Is everything okay?” He had a concerned look on his face.

She shook her head and nodded afterwards. “Henrietta is here. You didn't tell me she's coming here to get Miguel today.”

“Yes, she's here for Miguel but not to take him out of the mansion.”

“I don't really understand. What do you mean?” She asked demurely.

“She will be living with us for a few weeks.” He blurted out.

She blinked rapidly. She was muddled by his outburst. Merely looking at him she could tell the sentence didn't slip his mouth, he actually told her Henrietta would be living with them. She never anticipated that, the worst she could ever imagine was Henrietta being granted the child's custody. “Living with us? Why?” She half yelled.

He took a deep breath, smiling lightly. “As you can see I'm just returning from work, let's have this conversation some other time. How was your day?” He steered the conversation and went ahead without minding that she hadn't budged an inch from the spot she was standing on.

She gnawed on her lips, feeling a dart of disappointment. “I had a pleasant day.” She forced the response out of her mouth while walking after him.

“Good. I hope your appointment with the doctor went well? I hesitated to call him after I received your text message.” Both of them entered the room.

“Do you want to see the scan result? I keep it in my handbag. Let me get it.”

“Sure...”

He hadn't responded before she went over to get the result in her handbag. She took the result out and extended it to him since he had reached her side. “The baby is in a good position.”

“That sounds good. I need you to be more careful. Don't overstress yourself, I noticed you've been sleeping late recently.”

“I'm preparing myself for my upcoming examination. I really have to study well because it's the final. Don't worry about us, it's just for a while.”

While looking at her his eyes roamed her whole body, from head to the toes. “Uh. I understand but don't overdo it.”

“I promise you.”

“I need to freshen up.” He buttoned his shirt. He made to walk to the bathroom, he had taken a few steps toward it when she heard his name.

“Wait, Richard.” She closed her eyes for two seconds and opened it widely. She distinctly acknowledged it wasn't the right time to ask him, and she was not in the mood to have a dispute with him. “I'm curious and if I don't ask now my mind would be completely overwhelmed with many thoughts, and I'll do anything to avoid doubts. Why would she be living with us? Doesn't she have her own house? And you never discussed it with me.”

He looked at her in a ponderous manner. He grunted softly. He ruffled his hair with his right hand then stuffed both hands in his side pockets. “I'll do anything to keep Miguel close.”

His response seemed to agitate her. Despite this, his voice was as calm as water. There was a look of disturbance on her face while staring at him. “Apparently, I know how much you love Miguel. But don't you think it's crazy to have Henrietta here because you're not ready to let go of Miguel? He needs his mother now more than anyone else. I'm sure Henrietta is in the best position to look after him. I'm against her staying here. I think you're only using Miguel as an excuse just to get close to her.”

“Now you sound selfish.” He said, feeling a tinge of irritation.

She didn't care about what he might be thinking and whatever he said wouldn't stop her from expressing her objections. “I'm not selfish. You're the one that's selfish. I don't want to compete against him. It's ridiculous.” She paused to catch her breath. “Do you... Perhaps you still want to be with your ex?” She asked out of the blue.

He clenched his fist tightly. His soft gaze suddenly turned cold and there was fury in his eyes. “Have you lost your mind, Charlene?!” He hollered.

She took a step backward startlingly. In any case she was frightened after a long time. He had never been this angry. She must have frustrated him without noticing. What she wanted to say choked back in her throat, she was speechless and the only thing she could do was stare at him.

“We're done having this conversation.” He let out a surly huff, then went away. She slumped onto the bed. Tears hovered in the corner of her eyes, she looked up and sniffed back her tears.

A few minutes later, he sidled across to the closet. He left the room after dressing up without uttering a word to her. He halted in front of the door, he opened it and entered.

“Goodness! Have you ever learned how to knock?” Henrietta scolded him when he barged inside.

With no remorse. “Should I remind you that this is my mansion? And why are you here?” He asked in an irksome manner.

“D–dad.” Miguel tottered toward him. He crouched and carried him up in his arms. He smiled at Miguel, then shot her a frown.

She shrugged nonchalantly. “We should respect each other's privacy. What happened to that?”

“You're not sharing the same room with Miguel. I had the maid clean up a room for you downstairs.”

“I only come here for Miguel. If you're not comfortable having me here, I'll go with my son.”

“You're still the same. I never thought you'd go to the extent of forging a result that my wife abused Miguel. I really made a mistake allowing Miguel to spend some time with you. You're really a manipulator, Henrietta.”

“What should I do? You're not going to help if I come to you anyway, I do the best thing I can do. I'm not to be blamed for that. And, I'm sharing the same room with him. Don't tell me you're against it? I told you before I signed the contract, or did you forget? It'll be over soon, you should endure it.” She sneered.

Richard ran his fingers through his hair, whimpering with frustration. All this while Henrietta was enjoying his reaction, she was pleased and satisfied that nothing else mattered to her. He wanted him to experience the pain. After all she used all she had to win against Richard.

Richard wouldn't have brought up a contract but he was the only one that understood his fears. Obviously, he was aware that Henrietta wasn't doing everything to be close to Miguel, she desired something else, but he was yet to figure it out. He had asked her countless times, he was willing to give her anything she wanted just to leave Miguel alone, Henrietta informed him it wasn't yet time for him to know, and that was what prompted the contract. As it was stated in the contract before signing it, she had two weeks to decide what she wanted. Richard could refuse, however he should be ready to allow her to take Miguel's custody.

“Any wrong move from you, I won't hesitate to kick you out of here. Go near my wife and the consequences will be severe. Do you understand?” He strictly warned her. He growled.

She rolled her eyes, grunting softly. “Okay. Okay. Okay, I've heard. I promise I won't pick a fight with her. Did she know about our contract?” She asked.

He frowned. “Don't you ever mention anything to her!” He snarled.

“Sure. I won't if you cooperate.”

He scoffed exasperatingly, then left the room. Her eyes scanned the room, she smirked mischievously while watching Miguel with the corner of her eyes. “I have no regret having you, Miguel. I promise you, I'll make sure to win my family back.”