Broken Hearts

by S. G. Sonysa

  “Relax Hailey. Don’t worry. I’ll handle it,” he said, hurriedly changing into his sweatpants and shirt.

  We walked downstairs where Noah was sitting on the couch. His head snapped up when he heard us coming.

  “Daddy, look at my art,” he said, showing Chase and me his art paper.

  “Wow. It’s good.”

  He turned to me with a hopeful face, waiting for me to compliment him.

  “It’s really nice. We’ll keep it in your art folder, okay? Now come. Let’s have dinner,” I said, making my way towards the table.

  I placed dinner, and we ate in silence. Then I took Noah with me to his room. After changing him into his nightdress, I made him brush his teeth. When he fell asleep, I left his room and went to study. Chase was sitting there on the chair with his hands folded, looking deep in thought.

  “Hey, what happened?” I asked him.

  He glanced at me and extended his hand. I placed my hand in his, and he pulled me on his lap.

  “She wants to meet my wife. I didn’t tell her that it’s you. She told me to come to New York next week because she has planned dinner for the whole family,” he said with a grim face.

  “Chase, we’ll go. Sooner or later this secret has to come out. We can’t hide this our whole lives.” I caressed his jaw.

  “You’re right,” he said, placing his head on mine.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Attending Dinner

  Hailey

  My head was resting on Chase’s shoulder while he was busy watching a movie with Noah. Noah was becoming so attached to Chase that I sometimes felt neglected. He was always asking him to go and play in the park, not me. But inside I knew he was a kid who just got his father, and if you had a father like Chase, I thought it was very hard not to love him and get attached.

  Chase was now completely a changed man. He was very different from the boy I fell in love with. He was so caring towards us that sometimes I was forced to think how I had lived this long without him.

  Chase always knew what to say to make me laugh. He always knew how to convince our son to do something or not to do something.

  Without even hearing me ask, he understood that I needed his help for my thesis. He would just come to me and help me even if he was tired himself.

  When he knew I was on shark week and felt like laughing hard then crying in a blink of an eye, he took care of me like a newborn baby.

  He told me I was his princess and now I had really started to feel like one. I regretted the day I wished would die because of what happened in our past. I regretted thinking about death because if I knew that I would get him after surviving all the pain, I would have never begged for it in the first place

  I felt a light kiss on my head, making me open my eyes.

  “Huh. Thinking about something intense again?” he asked.

  That was what I was talking about. He always knew everything before I could tell him personally.

  I was starting to get suspicious that he was a mind reader.

  “I’m just thinking about us and tomorrow’s dinner,” I said, giving him a small smile then my eyes went to the sleeping Noah on his lap.

  The laptop was still on Noah’s small lap; they had been watching a movie.

  Chase saw me looking at our sleeping son and said, “He must be tired after the long flight.”

  I nodded my and picked the laptop up from his lap and kissed his forehead.

  “Make room so I could lay him there,” Chase said.

  I nodded and cleared out some space in the center of the bed. Chase lay him there and kissed his head mumbling a good night.

  We were in a hotel room in New York. We decided to come here a day before dinner, just to make sure we would not chicken out. Everyone was coming to this family dinner: Allison, Cameron, and Kate with her husband and son.

  No one knew that I would be coming to dinner, and I had no idea how they would react upon seeing me after three years.

  “You’re thinking again, Hailey,” he said, taking my hand in his and pulling me off of the bed.

  “Sorry, I just I think I’m a little nervous about tomorrow,” I told him honestly.

  He dragged me to the balcony that had a view of the sparkling New York night. This city never slept. It was young and filled with enthusiasm like the youth that lived here.

  “Hailey, you know I won’t force you if you don’t want to meet them. I will just go alone tomorrow and tell her some fabricated story then come back to the hotel. We can just enjoy our visit here than go back home,” he said, looking ahead.

  “Chase, please don’t give me ideas. We have to do this, you know that. I’m just nervous about their reaction. I know Allison, Cameron, and your dad would be happy to see me, but Kate and your mom is another story. They are unpredictable.” I looked into his eyes.

  He cupped my face in his hands and pulled me closer. Placing his head on mine, he said, “You know, I don’t give a fu*k what they both think anymore. The day she tried to kill you, and my son then made me leave you was the day she lost all my respect.”

  I sighed. I could feel his pain with every word, and I understood his feelings now.

  “Chase, you can’t stay mad at her. She is your real mother. You have seen with your own eyes how Melanie changed, so maybe your mother will change as well. She used to be so sweet to me before she found out that I was pregnant. I don’t know what made her hate me.”

  “I know, Hailey. I wish she could change, but she hasn’t changed. Listen here, whatever happens, tomorrow, you keep this in your pretty little head that I am always with you. If they don’t accept you and create drama we will leave right away,” he said to me, making me nod my head in a silent yes.

  “Now tell me, do you want to eat ice cream? All four flavors?”

  I blushed.

  He remembered my craving during my pregnancy. When I wished to eat ice cream, he came to my door with them.

  “I’m not pregnant, so I have no crazy cravings tonight, Mr. Edwards.”

  “Are you sure?” he asked me.

  I nodded my head.

  “Then Mrs. Edwards, I think I need to work hard. I promised our son that he will have a brother to play with soon,” he said, pulling me to his chest.

  “Chase, shut up!” I slapped his chest.

  “What? Don’t you think it would be nice if he will have a brother to play with him? We will get more alone time to spend with each other,” he said again, luring me in with his talks.

  “Chase, we have talked about this. You know, I have to graduate from my college first. I’m not saying that I don’t want more kids, but I want to finish college first.” I glanced at his face.

  “I know, Hailey. I am just teasing you,” he said, pecking my lips lightly.

  Then the small peck on the lips morphed into a heavy make-out session on the balcony.

  [Dinner night]

  I glanced at Chase in the mirror. He was looking mouthwatering in his casual fitted jeans with a white shirt, and that color just made him look even sexier.

  His unshaven face was something I cherished. He knew how much I liked it, so he tried keeping it that way most of the time.

  I glanced at Noah who had been trying for the past five minutes to tie his shoes. I got up from the chair to help him, but Chase kneeled down and showed him how to tie his shoes.

  I smiled at them and said, “Hey, come on stand up. I want to take a picture of both of you.”

  Chase picked Noah up in his arms, and they both made the cutest pout I had ever seen. Clicking and uploading the picture, I gave them a thumbs up and turned around to take one last look at myself.

  I picked a simple white knee-length dress and applied light makeup to give my skin a fresh look. I had put my hair in a bun on my head, which wasn’t looking that bad. Simple diamond studs were adorning my ears, another gift from my handsome husband, and the anklet he gave me on our wedding night was clasped around my ankle.

  It made me recall
the memories of our wedding night, and a shiver went through my body.

  “You’re looking magnificent. I would love to ravish you here,” Chase said, placing a kiss on my neck while standing behind me.

  His kisses made my inside mush. It was usually hard to resist what he offered.

  “Chase, please I’m already too nervous, and your antics will make me hot and bothered then we will end up not going to dinner,” I said pleading with him so he would stop looking at me with those lustful eyes.

  “I don’t know how to control myself around you, Hailey. Sorry, if I made you uncomfortable.” He distanced himself a little. I hated it when he doubted himself or thought that he was making me uncomfortable.

  I moved closer to him and placed my lips on his. I gave him a deep, passionate kiss, which he fully enjoyed.

  Then I pulled away breathless and said, “You’re looking so handsome and sweet that sometimes I don’t even know how to resist you. I would love it if you ravish me, but Noah is here, and we really need to go. Most importantly you never make me uncomfortable. Instead, you make me feel so many other things, which I would love to show you, but this is not the right time,” I said, stepping away from.

  He was staring at me with his jaw dropped. I thought my little speech left him stunned.

  “Wow. You just… Wow. Let’s go, woman,” he said, dragging me out of our room and my sweet baby followed behind us.

  He was looking cute in his small jeans and shirt that was the same color as his dad’s.

  We reached the hotel lobby and waited for the valet to get our car, and that was when some people stared at us. I even saw some girls checking out Chase, which made me really jealous.

  After thirty minutes of driving, we arrived at Chase’s house. We got out of the car, and I reminded Noah that this was his grandparents’ house and he had to be on his best behavior. Being a sweet and understanding kid, he nodded his head.

  I gripped Noah’s hand in mine and Chase gripped my hand in his as we walked towards the door.

  A man opened the door and looked at Chase wide-eyed then glanced at Noah and me.

  “Hailey, this is Evan Thompson. He is Kate’s husband. And Evan this beautiful woman is my wife, Hailey and this is Noah, my son.” Chase introduces us.

  The man, Evan Thompson looked so shocked. He was just staring at us, and for a second I thought he would drop dead.

  “Hi, Evan.” I extended my hand, which he took it.

  “Hi, sorry. I’m just shocked. “Aren’t you his ex-wife?” he asked.

  Chase glared at him, and I nodded.

  “You’re really beautiful. I heard a lot about you from Cameron,” he said, glancing at me up and down.

  I blushed, and Chase cleared his throat. He was glaring at Evan nonstop. I knew Evan used to be a lady’s man before he got married to Kate.

  “No need to feel jealous, Chase. I just like to appreciate beauty when I see one,” Evan said and picked up Noah in his arms.

  Chase just clenched his jaw. Then Evan ushered us in and lead us to the back garden of the house.

  “Everyone look who we have here,” he said loudly.

  Everyone’s head snapped in our direction, and they looked at us in complete shock.

  Cameron was the first one to recover from his shock. He got up from his seat and walked towards me.

  “Hailey, it’s you. Oh, God,” he said and hugged me.

  I patted his back, giggling at his shocked face.

  “Yes, it’s me. Here is Noah,” I said, pointing at my left.

  “Uncle Cameron,” Noah yelled and wiggled out from Evan’s arms then jumped into Cameron’s arm.

  Cameron kissed his head and hugged him, spinning him around making Noah giggle.

  Allison got up and came to hug me. Then, Chase’s dad came and hugged Noah and me. Everyone was smiling, looking happy except Kate and his mom. Their eyes were filled with disapproval.

  His mom got up and walked to us. She stared at our faces angrily.

  “Chase, what is this? Is this some kind of a joke? What is this witch doing here with you?” she asked.

  Suddenly, there was complete silence.

  “Mom, mind your language when talking about my wife. She is not a witch, but you’re an evil mother,” he said.

  I gasped at his cruel choice of words and squeezed his hand.

  “Allison, can you take the kids inside?” I said, already guessing what was going to happen next.

  She nodded and hurriedly ushered Noah, Susan, and Chris inside the house.

  “Please, you don’t need to be cruel to each other. It will only make things complicated,” I said, trying to convince them to be polite to each other.

  “Shut up, girl. Because of you, my son left this house. Now don’t act innocent,” she shouted at me.

  But before I could say anything, we all heard some woman’s voice from the back. “Is everything alright here?” she asked us, making me go stiff.

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Disastrous Dinner

  Hailey

  Everyone had gone silent and looked at the woman like she was some alien who crashed into our house from a different planet.

  Chase’s booming voice broke the heavy silence.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” he asked the woman, scaring her.

  “Your mother invited me.” She glanced at Chase and Eva.

  “Great. Mom, can you please explain to me, why the hell have you invited Clara here?” he asked angrily.

  He was glaring at his mother and was having a hard time controlling his anger.

  “I… I thought you married her and you were both keeping it a secret from us. I thought I should invite her to show my acceptance towards your relationship,” she said, making me flinch.

  It felt like she just slapped me by telling me how she thought Clara was the more deserving one to stand beside her son.

  “How generous of you mother,” Chase murmured, gritting his teeth.

  “Excuse me. I’m a little lost here. Who married whom and keeping it a secret?” She was looking at Chase curiously while asking him.

  “Clara, meet my wife, Hailey Edwards,” Chase said, placing his hand on my back and pulling me closer to him.

  I awkwardly gave her a small smile, but I could feel she was going to explode. Her face was completely red and was giving away how angry and jealous she was at that moment.

  Clara stared at me from head to toe and then turned her attention back to Chase.

  “Chase, you’re joking, right?” she asked him.

  “No, I’m serious. She is my wife.” He answered her in a monotone voice.

  “How can you do this to me, Chase? We were engaged,” she said, looking sad.

  I felt sympathy for her and her obsession towards Chase.

  “Oh, so when did I propose to you? Do you have any ring? No? Did I ever show interest in you? Have I ever hinted that I want anything more than friendship with you?” Chase asked, glaring at her.

  Instead of answering him, she attacked me like a crazy woman, pushing me backward. It was because of Chase’s arm on my lower back that I caught my balance on time and saved myself from falling.

  “You bitch! How dare you steal my man? You whore! You’re leaving me just because of some one-night stand. I’m going to kill this bitch.” She was out of control and tried to attack me again.

  But Chase gripped her arm tightly and dragged her away from me. A whimper escaped her mouth, and her eyes turned glossy as Chase’s grip tightened on her arms.

  “Listen here, Clara, and listen well because I will not repeat this again. She is my wife for the last four years, and we have a three-year-old son. We had some misunderstanding because of some people, but we have cleared things up now, and we are back together. So I’m warning you to never show your face to me again. And if you ever think of hurting my wife, I will kill you,” he said to her.

  Clara didn’t talk back instead she was crying lightly.

  “Do
you understand me, Clara?” he asked her, and when she didn’t answer him, he tightened his grip on her arms, making her cry in pain.

  She nodded her head hurriedly in a silent yes, making Chase release his hold on her arms.

  I shivered, looking at Chase. I had never seen this side to him before. He never got this angry at anything, and I never wanted to see this side ever again because he really looked scary. All the softness on his face vanished, and his voice sounded really harsh, making him look dangerous and threatening.

  His eyes met mine, and they instantly softened. I saw a glint of regret in his eyes as he glanced at me. He realized how scared I felt finding him this angry.

  He was about to walk towards me when his mother spoke, making him stop.

  “Chase, you are acting like you have never treated her badly. And if my memory serves me right, you hated Hailey. You were the one who divorced her, and now you are protecting her? Tell me. Is she blackmailing you to make you act like this?” she asked Chase.

  After spending so much time with my husband, I could tell by looking at him how much he loathed those memories.

  I started feeling uneasy and wanted to say something before everything went out of hand, but Chase’s voice stopped me from saying anything.

  “Mom, are you calling her a blackmailer when you know very well who blackmailed whom? Yes, I treated her badly because I thought she was ruining the future you planned for me. I was scared of disappointing you, so I pushed her back. But I was so wrong, Mom. She was my freedom. She was my freedom from all the plans you made for me since the day I was born,” he said, looking straight into my eyes.

  I could understand what he was feeling. The constant pressure to be someone who people would appreciate was too much for him. He was something else, and his mother was trying to make him someone else.

  “I fell in love with her, Mom. I tried really hard to stop myself from falling for her, but at the end, my attempts were all futile. I realized that no matter what I do to make her hate me, we would still end up together. I had to make her leave because if she had stayed, you would have made her life a living hell.” He continued, making everyone’s eyes misty.