TARA'S POV
"You're seriously going to keep this up? Well let me juggle your memory a little then, you little gold digger! Remember when you try to murder my child and my woman? Remember how you failed to be a good wife to me, trying so hard to leave me without a heir??"
"No matter what you try to tell yourself, you'll never be this important woman you're pretending to be now." He concluded.
I was furious as hell but with reporters left and right, I won't become the thug he wanted to turn me into.
"Sure," I smirked. "Whatever you like to tell yourself to sleep at night." His eyes flung wide open in shock and he was about to spew out other nonsense, but I cut him off. "No really, because here I am, making this deal possible for you. Remember, Mr. Derek, that you need A&A Enterprise, not the other way around! So I would be on my best behaviors tonight if I were you."
Somehow, that seemed to have calmed him. Or at least it kept his lips shut, and made him more reasonable. "Fine. But if you think this is over, you're so fucking wrong. I still have the upper hand here–"
"Oh please. Can you wrap this up? Some of us have to head back home to meet interesting loved ones." I cut him off.
He frowned. "So there's another victim of a husband at home with you who you'll probably never be able to honor with the gift of an heir. By the way, why isn't he even here with you? You're here alone with no family members either." He looked amused for some reason.
"Really? Well I don't seem to see that husband snatcher of a wife you have here as well. Or is she somewhere in the background trying to snatch another woman's husband?" My statement produced a low grunt from him but I cared less.
"Listen, Mr Derek. Are you suddenly forgetting that I can make you lose all of this so-called fortune in just the blink of an eye, so really, you do not want to get on my bad side." I warned.
"I suggest you go on and sign the papers staring at you on the table and let's get over this already." I picked up a pen on the table with documents of our contract neatly placed on it, and signed my own part. He grunted, and for a while, all he could do was stare at me.
In his eyes, you could almost see the fear residing there, even if it was for a brief moment. But at least it was there. He had to be reminded that he can no longer mess with me. Finally, he picked up the pen and signed his own part, making our partnership official.
He must have been wondering whether what I'd said was possible or not. Mission accomplished. I had to put out his goddamn pride and that just made me feel a whole lot better now that I thought about it.
"Enjoy the rest of the evening, Mr. Derek." I said to him before waltzing away from his sight. I could still feel his eyes on my back, watching my every move.
Back at home at last, I was excited to just crawl up in my bed and lay there till tomorrow, or whenever my eyes would shut. My plan was however disrupted as I heard his voice.
"Mommy? You're late."
What? I couldn't start crying. I love my baby boy, but I just wasn't in the mood that evening. But alas, part of being a mother meant I had to keep smiling at all times because he didn't deserve any of my tantrums.
"Oh my baby, Richie, I thought you would have been fast asleep in your bed!" I said through gritted teeth, specifically at the nanny who quickly apologized.
"He didn't sleep no matter what I did. He said he would wait for you."
"You lied to me, didn't you?" Richard said so coolly and I couldn't help but smile at his stern angry face with his lip pouting. He was so fluent now compared to before when he struggled with words. For just a brief moment in those heavenly eyes, I saw Derek. Of course I should have imagined that Richard would pick up some of his dad's genes but I was not expecting most of his genes like the color of his majestic gray eyes and hair, deep and brown.
I had always hoped he would have my blonde hair. I smiled as I remembered foolish me always dying my hair brown so it could match with that of Derek's. I had done a lot of foolish things for him.
"You said you were going to meet daddy. Does he even exist? Why do you keep dodging that man, removing him from my life?" It didn't sound like it was a six years old kid talking! I reached up to face the nanny and head of maids, Margaret, and she smiled but quickly walked away. She didn't even have an answer to Richard's questions.
"Okay, honey." I heaved in a deep sigh. I would just have to keep lying to my poor sweetheart, but it was for the best. "Your daddy exists. He's just been really busy. In fact, he's in China now for a business meeting and won't be back until–"
"--lies. More lies again!" Richard spat out and ran off, but I knew where he would be going. I quickly followed. You would think I was preparing for battle as I prepared my arguments against him.
We were in the open space by the wide balcony room, watching the night sky and enjoying the cool breeze.
"I know you want to meet your daddy. And you will someday, I promise you that. It's the 'when' that is a little difficult to arrange." I confessed to him. Richard was not a kid. He was my best friend and was growing matured day by day. I still feared telling Derek about him, what if he took Richard away from me? I knew his mother would make attempts.
A while later, I tucked him in his bed and we said our goodnights. I was in the wine lounge enjoying a glass of my favorite drink, thinking of what my future would be like now that Derek was coming back in it. For seven years, and you would think I was over that bastard. I hated that I still liked him and couldn't move on. "I bet the bastard is happy with twenty kids from his mistress by now." I scoffed, sipping my wine.
My phone rang, and I saw it was from an unknown caller. I hadn't even had time for phone as I'd been dealing with putting Richard's mind at ease. Then I realized my phone had been ringing for a whole now.
19 missed calls! From the same caller.
I was getting irked now. "Who the hell is this creepy called? Wait, what if it's an emergency! Damn it!" I was forced to answer it on its twentieth ring.
"Hello?--"
"I know everything now." The voice cut me off. It was a male's, bold and annoyingly familiar. "I know what you did, and I am not going to keep my mouth shut!"
I still couldn't believe it but I had to be sure. "Derek?"