Contract And Marriage

Sarina

“Why is my grandson so handsome?” Grandma Sol asked Chase. She sat beside my son on the couch, happily chatting with him. I watched them together, and even though the old woman was still mad at me, I was happy to see how fond she was of my son.

I didn’t expect her to accept our child with Maximus like this, even though Dr. Jerold and my husband assured me she would love him. So even though Grandma Sol’s anger toward me still lingered, I couldn’t stay mad at her. I guess now I’ll just have to understand her better, especially since I know she’s one more person who loves my son.

I had texted Maximus about his grandmother’s arrival. He called me, but I canceled it because I didn’t want the old woman to think I was tattling. So, my husband and I ended up texting each other.

“Daddy, handsome.” I heard Chase respond, which made Grandma Sol even happier. Her smile was so wide it looked like her face might split.

The old woman stayed for lunch at our house and happily fed Chase. Lisa glanced at me because she knew how Grandma Sol usually treated me, but I just shrugged. What mattered was that Chase was starting to warm up to her.

To summarize, Grandma Sol and Chase had a great time together, even though she was still furious with me. She didn’t acknowledge me, talk to me, or even glance in my direction until she decided to leave when it was Chase’s nap time.

She didn’t wait for Maximus to come home and instructed Lisa to bring her great-grandson to her mansion on the weekends. I heard her say this because we were facing each other, but she didn’t want to talk to me. After that, she turned her back on me and left. Carlito said that she had a driver with her and that they gave him something to eat because Grandma Sol had apparently forgotten about him in her excitement over seeing Chase.

After the old woman left, I went to our room to rest. Lately, I’ve been engrossed in reading medical books. Maybe it’s because my husband told me I was a nurse, and my parents had planned for me to become a doctor.

When I entered the room, I immediately grabbed a book from the floor-to-ceiling bookshelf in the corner that Maximus had built. He also often used the office table since he preferred working from home. He had a mini office on the first floor but liked working in our bedroom and seeing me.

I settled on the bed, leaned against the headboard, and began reading. I wanted to refresh my mind with my knowledge as a nurse. It’s important not to forget those things because of my son’s condition. Even if I can’t return to work, I can still use what I know for our family.

I was so engrossed that I lost track of time until I felt my phone vibrate beside me. I picked it up to see who was calling, and I was surprised to find an unregistered number. I ignored it and put the phone back down, continuing to read. But the caller wouldn’t stop, so I finally answered.

“Hello.”

“You finally answered, babe…” My hair stood on end when I heard his voice. How did he get my number? “Babe, why aren’t you answering? I miss you so much.”

I still didn’t respond out of sheer fear. His voice sounded strange as if I were talking to a demon, even though his words seemed sweet.

“You’re hurting my feelings, babe… I’ll get mad if you still won’t speak,” he warned, but I knew it was more of a threat.

“Who are you?” I asked after calming myself down. I needed to pretend I didn’t know him. “I think you got the wrong number.”

“I could never be wrong, Bella, babe. I already warned you, didn’t I? If you ever leave me, I’m going to kill you-” I didn’t let him finish because I was so scared, so I quickly ended the call and tossed my phone away. My whole body trembled as I stared at the device, unwilling to hear that voice again.

I curled up, hugging my knees, my eyes never leaving the phone. What should I do? What if he’s already found us? What if he’s lurking nearby, waiting?

I didn’t know what to do or think because of the overwhelming fear when the door to our room suddenly opened, and Maximus rushed in. My eyes widened, and I jumped off the bed, running toward him.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Did Grandma hurt you?” he asked, worried, while I kept shaking my head, my face buried in his chest.

I couldn’t hold back anymore, and I started crying. I was terrified that Maximus might get dragged into this, too. “I think he’s found me,” I said, clutching him tightly.

I felt him hug me even tighter before he started asking questions. “What? Who? What happened?”

“It was his voice. I’m sure it was him, and he was threatening me.”

“My love, look at me,” he said, pulling back slightly and holding my shoulders, looking intently at me with furrowed brows. “Calm down, my love. You have to tell me what’s wrong so I can understand. Don’t be scared; I’m here and won’t let anything bad happen to you, okay?”

I nodded, trying to stop crying while he wiped my tears. I was still hiccuping, almost like I was sobbing. I hadn’t realized how hard I’d been crying. I looked at my husband, who was waiting for me to explain why I was like this.

“It’s Ralph.” That was all I needed to say, and I saw his face darken, his jaw clenching. “He called me. He knows my phone number, so I’m sure he knows where I live, too. What should I do? What if he suddenly breaks in here and takes my son? He already threatened to kill Chase in front of me if I tried to leave him…”

Maximus suddenly hugged me tightly, and I buried myself in his arms. I cried even harder after finally telling him what I needed to say, and my chest felt tight. I was struggling to breathe, my body shaking with all the scenarios running through my mind.

I felt Maximus gently rubbing my back and softly kissing the top of my head. “Shh… He can’t do that. He can’t hurt our son, and he can’t hurt you because I won’t let that happen. Not on my watch.”

But that didn’t calm my heart. Everything he did to Chase and me came flooding back because of fear. I couldn’t calm myself down, and I became hysterical. “My love, please calm down.”

I couldn’t hear what Maximus was saying anymore, just seeing his lips move while hearing Ralph’s voice instead, along with his threats against me and my son. The events kept replaying in my mind until everything suddenly went dark.