Chapter 13
“Bad woman!”
“Britney’s a bad woman!”
Noah and Simon pointed right at Britney as they spoke.
Britney stepped in from the balcony, her eyes already red and brimming with tears by the time she reached Calvin.
“Calvin, I can’t believe Noah and Simon would accuse me like this. How could I ever hit them?” she said, biting her lip and sounding genuinely hurt.
Calvin hesitated for a second, then asked, “Just tell me what happened. What’s really going on?”
Britney let her eyes well up as she explained, “They didn’t want to go to school. I tried to convince them, but then, they started slapping themselves. They figured if they looked hurt, you’d let them stay home. I didn’t want to worry you, so I kept it to myself, but I never thought they’d make up lies to get back at me…”
She didn’t finish her sentence, but her pitiful look said it all.
Calvin turned to his sons, his face dark with anger. “You two tried to blame Britney? She’s always had your best interests at heart. How can you lie like this?”
“No, Dad!” Noah cried out. “It really was Britney! She hit us and wouldn’t let us eat!”
Simon was sobbing uncontrollably. “She’s mean! She’s not a good woman at all. We’re not lying!”
But after a long day at the office, Calvin just felt tired of their crying. He called Regina to take the boys
back to their room and told her to keep them in there so they could think about their behavior.
Then, he turned to Britney and pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry you had to go through this, Britney,” he said, feeling guilty.
Britney wiped her tears and said softly, “It’s okay, Calvin. They’re just little boys. It’s normal for them to act
out sometimes.”
She leaned in, her red lips meeting his. Soon, they were kissing, completely lost in each other.
There wasn’t much left to say. Desire flared within Calvin, and he pulled her down onto the bed. He didn’t hold back, letting the heat between them take over.
Meanwhile, in the other room, Noah and Simon lay on their beds, hungry and angry, the sounds from their dad’s room echoing in their ears. Both of them had tears streaking down their faces.
“I miss Mom,” Noah whispered through his sobs.
“Me too. She never treated us like this. Britney’s nothing like her. I want my mom back,” Simon said, crying just as hard.
But Calvin was completely oblivious. In his room, he and Britney lost themselves in each other, trying every position until they were both exhausted and collapsed on the bed.
Britney fell asleep right away, but Calvin couldn’t rest. He stared at her face, but his mind kept drifting to Avery, who still hadn’t come back.
He kept thinking about the divorce certificate and the note she had left behind.
No matter how much he buried himself in work or tried to stay busy, Avery was always on his mind. Work had become his only escape, because the moment he stopped, all he could think about was her.
Avery had never been like this. She was always gentle and shy when she came to bed. She might’ve been a stand-in for Britney, but she wasn’t like Britney at all.
Calvin’s hand traced over Britney’s face. They didn’t even look alike.
He finally got out of bed and stood out on the balcony for a long time, staring into the night. Eventually, he sent a message to his assistant, Gabriel Irwin.
“Find out where Avery is. Tell her Noah and Simon miss her and ask her to come home. Let her know I won’t hold anything against her, not even the divorce. I’ll just pretend it never happened.”
With that message sent, he finally felt a little better. He crawled back into bed.
Britney stirred, half asleep, and murmured, “What’s wrong, Calvin?”
“It’s nothing. Go back to sleep,” he said, pulling her into his arms. Still, all he could think about was the warmth of another woman.
