Don't Be Afraid To Love

Chapter 27

Whoever saw me with those scars must've thought I got beaten or something like that.

I put a ton of concealer and foundation on, in order to hide them as best as I could when I went to the mall the next day to buy a new phone.

The cost of the phone set me back more than half of my salary, which meant I had to be really careful how I spent the rest of my money until the next paycheck. I could have always asked my mother for a loan, but I was too proud to. I had to be able to get by even without her help.

When I left the mall, I ran into none other than Carmen on my way out.

Great...

"Oh, hi there, you're the babysitter... Diana, right?" Carmen greeted me.

I could tell from her voice that she was being sarcastic and mocking.

"I'm not a babysitter, Carmen," I contradicted her.

"Look, Diana, I know what you're doing... but you're not going to succeed," Carmen said, having an air of superiority when she spoke.

"What are you even talking about?"

"I know you're acting so sweet and cool around Robert's little girl only so that you can get with him."

I laughed at her comment.

"What is your problem, anyway?" I asked her.

"My problem..." she said and came closer to me, "...is that Robert is mine. Now that he's single, I'm not gonna let this chance slip. I'm not gonna let someone like you ruin it for me."

"He's not single. He's a widower," I corrected her.

"Semantics..." she said, looking at her freshly done nails. "Wouldn't it be a pity if he spent by himself all that money he has, with no one to share it with?"

I started to laugh again.

"Oh, I see... So it's after his money you're after," I confronted her.

"No, Diana, it's him I want. The money just comes as a bonus," she snickered.

"Well, good luck with that! Because I don't think that's going to happen too soon," I assured Carmen.

She let out an evil smile and slapped her hand on my shoulder, and I flinched since I still had parts of my body that hurt from the fall.

"Oh..." Carmen exclaimed, surprised by my reaction. Then she frowned and looked closer at me. "What happened to your face?"

"I fell," I replied and stroked my shoulder where she touched me.

"Did Robert...?" she trailed off and gasped.

"Did Robert what?" I asked her confused.

"He hit you, didn't he?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, don't you know Robert has quite a temper sometimes?"

"He's the calmest man I know!" I told Carmen.

"That's because you don't know him that well. He can be quite...aggressive sometimes. That's why he needs a strong woman, like me, who can handle him. Not someone so soft like you. So, please, darling, let him be! I can take care of him," she said, snickering and winked at me. "Eventually, he's going to be mine again," she added before she left.

"Again?!" I asked in disbelief.

She turned around and came back towards me, having a surprised look on her face.