CHAPTER 3

Maries Pov:

The wind whipped past me so fast as I continued to run, heading to nowhere in particular as long as I was far away from him.

I could hear Sam call my name right behind me, but I continued to go wherever my legs took me. I just couldn’t believe it, I kept telling myself that he wasn’t the one that my brain just made up an image of him.

It just couldn’t be him, after how many years, and then he just suddenly appeared from nowhere when I had decided to move on.

Nothing hurts more than the look that he had when he saw it. He looked like he didn't even remember me and he had the guts to give me his hand to shake.

My house became visible from sight and I wiped my tears dashed towards my house and slammed the door shut behind me.

I wasn’t ready to face Sam and explain that the person he was casually talking to was the father of my girls; Michael Evans.

I went in to check on my girls and realized that they were still fast asleep.

Furthermore, I looked at their innocent faces and just imagined how I would tell them that their runaway father was not only back but in town, and he didn’t even bother to look for us after all these years.

That night I didn’t sleep at all, I kept on tossing around on my bed and kept replaying seeing Michael in the Supermart.

Could it be he doesn’t remember me, or could it be he never cared about me that it was all a lie? I stood up with a heavy heart and planned to avoid Sam at all costs because I wasn’t ready to face him and I knew If I saw Sam, I would see Michael, and I’m not ready to have my heart broken all over again.

I stood up to go on with my daily business, Jada was already up, but Jasmine was still asleep. The aroma of what I was cooking spread through the air, which was a distraction from the chaos I felt within. I made scrambled eggs but due to my lack of concentration, I burnt them.

I began to cry, I hate what he does to me, he makes me feel vulnerable and weak hence what I was feeling at this moment.

Lost in thought, I hadn’t noticed Sam entering the kitchen. He was surprised to see me crying and for a second our eyes were just fixed on each other.

How can I explain to him that the man he happened to talk to easily yesterday was the father of my kids? How can I tell him that with all that had happened, I was still very much in love with Michael?

My mind kept on spiraling and I just couldn’t figure out what exactly then made a few steps to wipe my tears away. With a gentle voice, he whispered “Rose, are you okay?” I forced a smile and said “Nothing Sam, I just had a rough night that’s all.

Don’t worry.” It was so obvious he didn’t believe me and I knew he contemplated asking me what happened the previous night, but he said nothing and let it go. I told him to stay for breakfast and he did.

As we sat down for breakfast, I tried to avoid eye contact with Sam. I just had a feeling that he was going to sense what was going on in my mind. I battled with keeping a straight face and pretending like nothing happened to prevent him from asking questions.

We were done eating, and he had to go to the farm, so he left and promised to be back in the evening. After he left, I continued to find some tasks to busy myself with, just to distract me from anticipating questions from Sam and to distract me from thinking of Michael.

As the day goes by, I find myself doing nothing and my mind still isn’t settled. I decided to take a stroll with the kids to the beach just around the corner. They love the beach and were so excited when I told them we were going there.

They giggled and chattered excitedly and raced around. I felt at ease anytime I came here. As I lay back on the sand, I felt a sort of relief and found myself relaxing. Here, I had no worries and was happy.

The sun began to set, I stared ahead and saw a woman who was moving towards us. We exchanged pleasantries, and she told us she had come on a vacation with her husband.

She said she saw us from afar and liked the way my girls were playing like it was only them against the world. We began to talk and to tell the truth, I enjoyed her company. She was the first lady I’d be talking to apart from my friend Maya since we moved to this town.

We talked and talked, and we didn’t even notice it was dark already. I called my girls, so we could go home and thanked her for keeping me company.

She then surprised me and invited me over for dinner with her husband the next day. I told her yes that I would be there with my girls. We exchanged goodbyes and we headed home.

As we got closer, I could see Sam from afar waiting by our doorsteps. I knew there was no avoiding the matter anymore. I quietly tucked my girls to bed.

Then I sat down beside Sam in the sitting room. “Sam, there’s something I need to tell you”. I began, my voice trembling. Then I said;” The reason why I ran last night was that I thought your friend was someone I knew who had died a long time ago”. I lied.

I just couldn’t bring myself to tell Sam the truth. Sam further explained that who I saw was his sister’s husband. My heart seemed to break with every word he said.

I had to stop him and lie that I was feeling dizzy. He said Ollie told me goodnight and left. That night, I slept with tears in my eyes and a broken heart.