Chapter 160
Lake:
About an hour and half a bottle of wine later, my mother returned to the table. Her apron was off her body and her hair was woven into a neat french plait at the back of her head. Shimmering beads of sweat rested on her forehead, I took note of them when she lowered herself to place the food on the table.
I looked into the plate to find a steaming delicacy of curry rice and two magnificent grilled and peppered turkey laps. It was absolutely sensational. I found myself salivating, drooling, even when I had not known I was hungry. The meal pleased River as well, both our stomachs cried out for it.
She placed a glass of cold orange juice by my side and bottle of water. She pushed the wine away, saying something about how too much alcohol was not good for my health, especially as I was just recovering from an accident.
I started to eat slowly, while we discussed about running the restaurant. How she had found the place and how Mel and Jojo had been off immense help. She went ahead to say that she as grateful to the goddess for bringing Jojo and Mel, she did not know how she would have gone through those boring and lonely days.
“I would have probably started touring the world again. Staying one place would have frustrated me, maybe even driven me to my own death. I do not like to admit it, but I needed them. I still do.” She said. Her blue eyes were warm and dreamy, her voice was as soft as silk. My mother was a beautiful woman, and I was so lucky to be her son.
“Which is why I need you to give Jojo some time, Lake. She might not tell you this, but she does need time.” She continued.
I knew that she cared about me, she as concerned about Jojo and she did not want to take sides, I understood. I was not going to make her pick a side, this was my mess and I had to take care of it accordingly.
I dropped my utensils and coughed to clear my throat, before I turned to her.
“I understand, mother. Believe me when I say I do. But I really need Jojo in my life, mum. I finally feel like my life is in place, it is slowly starting to make sense. You’re in it, my son is in it, Jojo is in it. This is all I have ever wanted.” I paused and moved closer to her.
There was still a lot of things I needed to say to her, we had twenty-five years of our lives to gather back, I was determined to do so with her. I placed my hands on her knees and squeezed them gently.
“And mother, I want to formally apologize for all the hurtful things I said to you, all the words I used against you. There is no excuse for my actions, but I did not know any better then. Father… he, he made sure that I never had a clue of the truth. It was only until Mrs Lockwood…”
My sentence came to a halt when she gently touched both my cheeks. Her eyes danced around my face for a while. She stretched her right thumb to my pale lips and rubbed it gently.
“It is okay, my boy. It is alright. I knew everything, I knew that he would have done all he could to keep the truth away from you. It was not your doing, you do not need to apologize.” She dropped her hands slowly and leaned into her seat.
I knew that she had forgiven me. Infact, she might have never held a grudge against me. Still, it did not make me feel better. I hated that I had hurt her in such a manner, even when she had done nothing wrong.
“About your father, I need you to make sure that he remains ignorant of Jojo and the baby for as long as it necessary. I do not trust Cole one bit and I know what he is capable of doing.” As she spoke, she did seem absent minded. I had never seen my mother’s face that way before.
The warmth in her eyes was gone, leaving only an emptiness and hollowness I did not recognize. Her jaw hardened and she clutched the hem of her gown, squeezing it tight.NôvelDrama.Org (C) content.
How could I tell her I had already made the mistake of exposing the child to my father? I thought back to how I had blurted out of anger and my something seemed to have set my cheeks on fire. My face started to burn and I knew that I had turned a deep shade of red. She was too deep in her own thoughts to take note of mine, so I knew I had to come clean to her.
I coughed in order to get her attention, and it worked.
She turned to me and blinked rapidly, I could tell I had her full attention now.
“Actually, mother. We might have a problem with that. Father called this morning and I… I yelled at him, I told him about the child, but it was unintentional.” I confessed.
Her face fell in horror, before her shoulders followed. She threw her head back against the chair and murmured something underneath her breath. Even with my wolf’s sharp hearing, I could not make out the words she had spoken.
When she raised her head up, she looked directly at me.
“Seriously?”
I nodded, although I wished it was prank. I wished my father did not know about my child, I could tell my mother and I shared the same wish.
“He is on his way to Ten now, isn’t he?” She asked, staring at me with a knowing look in her eyes. She knew her ex-husband and I knew my father.
The both of us knew he was not someone to take lightly.
I heaved a sigh, confirming her worst fears.
“Yes. That’s the reason I do not want to go back just yet. The plan was to return to Rush after seeing Jojo and the baby today and return some other time, but after that call, I knew I couldn’t. I need to stay back and protect Jojo and my child, mother. I know that my father would want to make a fuss, I know that Jojo is in trouble now and…”
“Mrs Smith! Alpha Lake!”
The loud and troubled familiar voice cut into my statement and caused me to look up at the speaker.
Mel stood in front of my mother and I, visibly troubled. Her eyes danced around the small room, as though she was searching for something.
“Is something wrong, Mel?” My mother asked.
I knew something was wrong. The girl might have been the most dramatic person I had ever met, but there was never a smoke without fire and Mel was the smoke in this scenario.
“There is something you need to see, right now.” Mel replied over her shoulder.
My mother and I exchanged uncertain glances, before returning our gazes to her.
She picked up the remote that controlled the TV in the room and pointed it towards the TV’s direction.
When she turned to us, I could see the dread and confusion in her eyes.
Whatever she wanted to show us, it was not good news.