The Makeup | Five Hargreeves x Reader Story

SIX

Y/N'S POV

"Mommy?" Ezra's sleepy voice rang in my ears as I carefully laid him to bed.

"I'm here, my precious angel," I whispered. I held him tightly, shielding him from the world outside. I kept hugging him, gently caressing his hair and inhaling his scent. It felt like my only soothing remedy. Until he drifted into dreams. Then, I gently tucked him in and tiptoed out of the room, still lost in my thoughts.

"Are you okay, dear?"

I turned to see Betty; her gentle eyes were fixed on me. Concern crossed her face. I took a moment to collect myself. "Yeah, I'm just lost in my own head."

Betty nodded, offering me a faint smile. I knew she read through the words I left unsaid and chose to give me the space I needed, which I was grateful for. She'd been with me since Ezra was born back in Malta, and she was the only person I trusted to take care of him. Ezra had gotten extremely attached to her, treating her like a grandma he'd never had. And that he probably would never have had. Of course, that thought hurt me, but after everything I'd been through with my parents, I wasn't sure I wanted them around my son . Not that they'd care anyway.

My father had never cared about me, never loved me, never seen me as his daughter. I'd always been just a pawn in his games for success, wicked ambitions, and desire for power, to the extent that he was even ready to sacrifice my life so that his impeccable reputation would remain intact. My siblings , in turn, had protected me from him, another than Jayme. They would watch him hurt his own  children and do nothing about it.

I'd often wondered whether they didn't dare stand up to him, whether he manipulated them so that they unquestioningly agreed to all his wrongdoings, or whether they didn't care about me either. After I started my relationship with Five, their arch-nemesis, they disinherited me, and I had no intention of seeking contact with them. Not that they deserved it. I was better off of them. My son was better off of them.

"I'll keep an eye on Ezra, you go rest. You need it." Betty's soft voice brought me back to reality. She reassuringly squeezed my arm, her smile softened.

With a grateful nod, I headed towards my room. I knew that my son was safe and taken care of with Betty by his side. Betty was like an angel. A guardian angel for my son when I couldn't be.

I changed into a shirt. Five's shirt. The same one that I wore that fateful night when I left four years ago. I had no idea why I kept it. Perhaps, because it was a reminder of the memories of a time when I was the happiest. Fours years had passed, yet I couldn't bring myself to throw it away like I should. What an irony. I hated him, despised every fiber of his being, and yet, there I was, wrapped in a piece reminding me of him. I was one big, twisted walking contradiction. I hated him, yet I longed for him... his scent, his warm embrace, his presence.

What a mess my life had become... What was I doing?

At first, I wanted to teach Five a lesson. Show him how it would feel if I had fake a car crash. After all, that was what he initially wanted. He approached me with a wicked plan of revenge. He saw me merely as a task to be done. I was fueled with pain, this kind of excruciating pain that tore a soul apart from within. I wanted to make him feel the emptiness after I was gone. Let him suffer. Face the consequences of his choices. But then... I wanted to return to him and tell him that I was expecting a child. His child. But everything changed when Zachary confessed things about Five that I never knew... It shattered everything I believed was true. After that, I knew I had to protect my son from... his own father. I had to stay away and make sure he would never find out about his existence. He didn't deserve to know. Not after I found out what he'd do if he knew.