The Workaholic's Wife

22. Someone New, Someone Old

Scarlet

Another week had passed, another week of my boring life with Mr. Evan Parker. He spent most of his time in his office and mostly returned to home late. It was Cara who kept me sane otherwise the deafening silence in the huge mansion would have eaten me alive.

Today, I decided to visit the nearby park with Cara. Instead of taking Evan's car, we strolled on foot to enjoy the weather. The sky was covered with clouds today and it looked like it was going to rain. As a precaution, I had taken an umbrella with us.

"Mama, I want that popsicle." she said, pointing towards a small shop where a tall man was selling Popsicles.

"Cara, you'll get sick." I said.

"Please," she pouted and my heart melted at her cute expression. She was becoming a small, manipulative devil who knew she could make me do anything with her pout.

"Okay. But only a small one," I finally relented.

I took her with me to shop where she chose a strawberry flavored popsicle for her. While doing so, I felt eyes on me. My head whipped to my left where a man was gazing at Cara with narrowed eyes, as if observing her with full focus.

I felt scared all of sudden. The man didn't look like someone who could harm us. He was wearing a decent T-shirt with faded jeans and his dark brown hair were pushed back in style. But one can never be so sure.

"Let's go Cara," I said in apprehension when his eyes didn't avert.

"What happened?" she asked in confusion.

"Nothing. Its just getting late." I said and wrapped my hand around her wrist. I tugged her along and that's when I saw from my peripheral vision that man started moving too.

I hurried Cara as fast as I could but I could still feel that man's footsteps behind us. There were many news of attacks on women and children these days so fear automatically crept in my heart.

"Excuse me," he ran behind us and I increased my speed.

But at the end, he finally reached us and blocked our path. Slowly, he took off his sunglasses, revealing his light blue gleaning eyes that somehow looked familiar. "Cara," he said and crouched in front of her.

"Uncle Nate," she exclaimed excitedly and jumped on him for a hug. He wrapped his arms around her and they both looked like they had known each other forever.

"Who are you?" I asked when they finally parted.

"I am Cara's uncle. The real question is who are you and where are you taking my niece?" he asked with suspicion in his voice.

"I am her mother," I said and pulled Cara close to me. He was her relative but I still had to be conscious until I was sure he was safe.

"Really? Because last I remember, her mother was my late sister." He said with a frown on his face.

"Sister? Oh, so you are Eliza's brother." I said as the realization dawned upon me. He actually looked a lot like her, same dark blonde hair, same colored eyes. "Actually, I got married to Evan few weeks earlier."

"Evan got married? Wow." His facial expression told me that the news didn't settle with him and I could understand why. I was married to the guy who was his late sister's husband so it won't be a surprise if he hated my guts. "Well, we haven't been introduced properly. I am Nate Dixon."

"I am Scarlet Ray... Um I mean... Scarlet Parker." I replied as I shook his extended hand. He smirked as he assessed me keenly with his bluish grey eyes. He was quite handsome and his stare was making me nervous.