Chereads / Be my happiness / Chapter 15 - Chapter 14

Chapter 15 - Chapter 14

Chloe took out of her pocket the business card the man had left for her the day before so she could contact him. For a long moment, she considered whether she should do so. Eventually, she transcribed the number into her phone and pressed the green handset to speak with him. She decided to meet the man and ask him about her mother. Since there was such an opportunity, she wasn't going to waste it.

She swallowed her saliva harder when he answered after the third beep.

- It's me. You left your number for me to contact you. Do you still want to reveal the truth to me regarding this woman? - she asked directly.

- I'm glad you thought it through though and decided to trust me. - Chloe bit her cheek on the inside. - I was waiting for a call from you. If you are ready, you can still see her today. - A strange feeling of warmth appeared in her stomach.

- Good," she replied without thinking because curiosity was eating her up from the inside. She wanted to see her, to see who this woman was and what she looked like now. - Where should we meet?

- Can we meet in front of the company? I think that would be most convenient," he stated. For a moment, she felt apprehension about trusting this man, but finally agreed to his suggestions.

She hid the phone in her pants pocket and left the apartment. Although anxiety had been running through her the whole time, she couldn't pass up such an opportunity.

All the way on the bus she was thoughtful. She nervously bit her finger as she dreaded this meeting. Could it have been her mother? Why had she abandoned her in the past? What reason did she have?

As she stood in the parking lot, she noticed that a man was waiting for her in front of the car. With a confident step, she approached him, nervously looking around to the side. Her only concern was that she would be noticed by James.

He opened the passenger-side door and literally only hesitated for a moment. She looked at the company, then took a deep breath and got in. Perhaps now she wasn't as afraid of the man as she was of meeting her biological mother.

She took her phone out of her pants pocket and glanced at the display when she noticed that James' number was on it. She rejected the call and buckled herself in with her belt. Furthermore, she guessed that she would get a sermon from him like a small child when she returned to her apartment.

*

Chloe sat with a man at a table, curiously looking around the interior. He took her to a small restaurant that belonged to the woman in the photo. The place was not distinguished by anything special, and there were few customers.

It turned out that the woman just happened not to be in the restaurant. She was the boss and was rarely there. He suggested to the girl that he call her and ask when she would be there, but Chloe immediately denied it. She realized that it was better this way and was not yet ready to see her.

- Are you sure about this? - She nodded again. - I have a close relationship with her, so she will definitely appear.

- No. I think I am not ready to meet her. Maybe it was just meant to be," she stated hastily, nervously playing with her toes. - How long have you known her? - She fixed her curious eyes on him. The man leaned his elbows on the table-top and looked at the cup. Steam was rising from the hot coffee.

- For more than twenty years.

The blonde opened her eyes wider.

- That's quite a long time. You must be good friends.

- Let's say so," he replied, and a smile appeared on his face. He took a sip of black coffee and set the cup down on the saucer. - Tell me... how are you doing?

- It's not too bad. I have a person at my side who helps me. It wasn't too interesting before," she replied reluctantly. She decided to change the subject. - Does she know about me? About the fact that you met me?

- No.

In a way, she felt relieved. She preferred the woman not to know anything about her for now.

- So keep it to yourself.

- I'm not going to interfere between you," he replied hastily. - Not until you decide for yourself about your meeting.

Chloe looked at the window and watched the people passing by for a long moment.

The man remained silent.

- Do you know why she left her child? - She asked unexpectedly, shifting her gaze to him. She noticed that he was confused.

- I think it is not my duty to start telling you about it. She knows best why she acted the way she did, so it's up to her to explain it to you.

The girl squinted, but did not continue the subject.

She let the man go.

- When I am ready, will you arrange our meeting?

- Of course.

More customers entered the restaurant. It was a group of young people who looked like students. They were all laughing and happy with their lives, so for a moment Chloe felt a stab of jealousy. She, too, would like to live like this.

*

She closed the door behind her and stood as if scalded when she saw an angry James. With his arms crossed over his chest, he was leaning against the wall in the living room.

- I saw you get into the car. Are you not serious!

The blonde rolled her eyes because she expected it. She walked over to the couch and sat down on it, waiting for him to start preaching to her.

- Why did you reject my call? I don't understand... after all, you were afraid of this man, so what tempted you to get into his car?

- He knows my mother. The man is not bad," she stated, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. - After all, nothing happened! I came back safe and sound," she muttered, seeing how angry he was at her.

- I thought you had begun to make prudent decisions, but I see that you can still be reckless.

She was nauseating like a child. He offended her with these words.

- I'm not reckless, okay? He just knows my mother and took me to her.

- And will you tell me that it was a wise decision to get into the car of a stranger!!!? After all, you saw what he put away that evening!

- Never mind. - She wandered her eyes all over the interior just to avoid looking at him. She would rather not see his enraged face. - I trusted him, and he actually took me to a restaurant that belongs to my mother.

- So you met her? - He wasn't going to stop questioning her. He wanted to know everything.

- No. She just happened not to be there. Maybe that's a good thing. I wasn't ready to see her yet," she replied, rubbing her hands on her knees.

James laughed nervously.

- And you believed him? He took you to a restaurant that belongs to your mother, and she just happened not to be there? Since he knows her so well, shouldn't he have found out in advance what hours she would be present?

He was adamant and found deception in everything. She could see that he didn't trust this man and tried to hammer it into her head at all costs.

- Don't meet with him again. - She lifted her face and fixed her surprised eyes on him. - I got to know him. I started working with him in the company and I see that he is just playing a decent guy. Something doesn't suit me about him.

- You're exaggerating," she burbled. - At the most, he will drive me to the forest, tear me to pieces and bury me in the sand.

- Chloe! - He raised his voice at her. She wrinkled her eyebrows. - Never see him again.

- He knows my mother! Thanks to him, I will get to know her and finally ask why she gave me to the orphanage! - The girl was outraged by his attack, so in the end she too jumped on him.

- Now you might as well meet her without his help, isn't it?

She fell silent. Apparently so, but she couldn't without his help approach this woman and introduce herself as the daughter she had kicked out of her home in the past.

- Nevertheless, she wants to use his helping hand.

- Chloe, for fuck's sake! - he yelled, causing her to tremble. This was the first time she had seen him so angry. - Are you really that stupid?

- Yes, I am stupid! - she exclaimed, measuring him with her eyes. She clenched her fists in anger. - If you were in my shoes, would you just give up this chance?

- I'm just worried about you! - he shouted in her face, and she froze. She opened her eyes wider and did not take her eyes off him for a long time. - The man seems suspicious. I don't trust him.

The blonde tightened her lips, and then she shed tears.

- She would rather not get close to her mother. I hate her for what she did to me, but she just wants to ask her why she gave me to an orphanage. Why couldn't she provide me with a normal home? Perhaps her explanation will make me finally get over it," she whispered, looking at him with weeping eyes. - She just wants to know why she turned my life into a nightmare....

James walked up to her. He took her face in his hands and penetratingly looked into her eyes. He wiped the tears from her cheeks then hugged her. Chloe became numb as this was too close a contact for her. She had never been embraced with such tenderness before, and no one had ever cared for her like this before.

- I'll help you, but don't ever see him again, understood?

*

Chloe waited outside the building for James, who had forgotten some important documents. He decided to give her a ride to the store on his way to work.

The blonde looked around the parking lot and stuck her puzzled eyes on the man who approached her with flowers. She was so surprised that she pointed a finger at herself for reassurance. The stranger nodded and confirmed that they were for her.

- Who are these from? - She asked, unable to accept them. She felt uncomfortable.

- From the man who claims that you are the most beautiful woman in the world.

James, who appeared right behind her, snatched the flowers from the man's hand and threw them on the sidewalk. He guessed who the gift was from.

- So tell him not to do it again because every, next bouquet will be in the trash.

Chloe looked around the parking lot and then spotted the man who was sitting in the car watching them the whole time. He nodded to her in greeting.

How did he know where she lived?

And then she felt a distinct anxiety. What if James was indeed right and she should not trust this man?