It was a beautiful Sunday morning. The sun shined brightly, filtering through the sheer curtains, and casting a warm glow in Hazel's home. The smell of freshly fried pancakes and eggs filled the air. Jermaine danced around the kitchen with joy.
"Mummy is making me pancakes!" He said to the nanny who was about to leave. Hazel gave her the day off because she just wanted to spend time with her son alone.
"Make sure you are well-behaved. Do not give mummy any trouble okay? Nanny Nora gently warned Jermaine and pulled him in for a quick hug.
Hazel and her son enjoyed their breakfast and strolled to the park. Jermaine easily made friends and ran off to play while Hazel sat on a bench with another mother watching their kids play.
"Is he your son?" The woman that sat beside her asked. Hazel was taken aback by her question. The woman who looked like she was in her early thirties understood and apologized
"I'm very sorry to ask that so randomly… I just wanted to start a conversation and I guess I'm very bad at it and I just noticed the little boy did not look so much like you and you look so young and.."
"It's fine" Hazel cut her off. The woman almost peeled her ear off with her rambling.
"He's my son but his dad has quite a dominant gene" she replied politely.
"Oh he is handsome, I'm sure his father is"
Hazel smiled and nodded a yes.
"Handsome with an ugly personality for sure!" she thought to herself.
She couldn't bear to talk about Damon.
It was more than enough pain that she had a child for him. She was happy she did not allow the hatred she had towards her child's father to affect the love she had for Jermaine.
"Can you please watch my kids for a moment while I use the restroom?"
"Sure."
The lady smiled and scurried away. Hazel let out a sigh of relief. The woman seemed nice but she was chatty.
Jermaine looked in her direction to see if she was still there with him and she waved and blew him kisses. Her heart fluttered as she watched her 8-year-old son play with other kids of his age. He had his father's aura but he's nothing like him. He was a sweet, polite young boy.
A powerful, familiar smell surrounded her nostrils. She jolted in shock when she felt a strong pair of hands grip her shoulder firmly.
She lowered her gaze in sadness, she knew it was him.
"Mi Amor"
She felt tears well up in her eyes. That was what he usually called her. He patted her back and sat beside her. She adjusted in her seat.
"What do you want?"
He smiled softly and watched Jermaine who was carried away, playing ball with his new friends.
"He has grown so much" he completely ignored her. "I won't deny you did a good job raising him but I will do a better job"
"What are you trying to say?"
"Are you pretending to not understand or you are still the dumb fool I knew nine years ago?"
Hazel was already immune to his insults but it still hurt.
"Well, I want my son," he said and finally looked at her.
Hazel chuckled and looked at him indifferently;
"Your son? You got it all wrong, he's my son and does not deserve a heartless father like you!"
Damon was shocked at her response but smiled nevertheless. He never showed weakness or pain, ever.
"I want you back in my life and we will live together as one perfect family" he placed his hand on her thigh and squeezed it gently.
Hazel scoffed and pushed his hand away.
"Dream on! Jermaine is my son and his father is a dead man!" She spat back.
He got so furious that he grabbed her wrist and squeezed it hard. The pain was unbearable, and she couldn't help but make quiet groans.
"Have you forgotten who I am so soon? You do not talk to me in that manner. You have few hours to come back home with my son you silly stupid bitch".
With that, he left and just in time, the lady came back to her seat.
The lady thanked Hazel and got busy reading a novel. Hazel examined her wrist where he held her. She didn't get injured, it just hurt a little.
Now that Damon is in the same city as her, she has to think fast. She has to leave this city with her son to somewhere far away that they wouldn't find them.
"How long would she keep running?" she thought to herself. Life had been very unfair to her ever since she lost her parents in the motor accident.
She always longed for an end to her misfortune but it seemed to get worse.
She picked up her phone to call Ethan to remind him of the art exhibition but before she could dial his number, his call came in.
"Hey baby"
"I was just about to call you"
"How is your day going?"
"Good" Her chest tightened at the thought of Damon coming to threaten her but she could not let Ethan know about that.
"I wanted to remind you of your outing with Anna"
They talked for a while and it managed to take her mind away from what just happened.
"What are we having for dinner, Mom?"
Hazel was prepping the seafood she got from the market on their way back home.
"It's a surprise baby"
"I love surprises!"
*****
Ethan was surprisingly having a great time at the exhibition with Anna. They looked at so many artworks and tried to read meaning into some.
Ethan met a lot of people in his line of career and enjoyed talking to them about art.
"I dreaded painting when I was younger, I would be lying to you if I told you I'm not surprised it became a career" one of the men Ethan met at the exhibition said.
Ethan chuckled " Really?"
"Of course. You know what made me venture into painting?"
"What?" Ethan asked excitedly.
"There was this girl I was head over heels for. She told me she liked artists and the only way I could make her like me was to tell her that I'm an artist."
Ethan burst into laughter.
"I will never forget that day in my life because I had to steal my uncle's painting to show her that I'm the one who did it. Then, I had to learn to paint to keep up with the lie and honestly, I think I did a good job because she is now my wife"
"That's amazing man!"
As Anna was enjoying their conversation, she grabbed her phone when it made a notification sound.
"Anything for me yet?" The text read.
She replied "She is home alone with her son. Ethan is here with me"
"Good".