|Arranged With You|

Chapter 6.

❝You told me where you
hid your heart,
drew me a map to your
secret hiding place.
I stumbled along
the narrow path,
listening for the sound
of your heartbeat.
The days were lonely
and the nights were cold,
but I never stopped
searching for your warmth
before I finally found
your love in the
place we called home.❞

Felix

"Daddy?" Owen looked up at me after dinner. As my eyes met his, that sparkle in his eyes was enough for me to realise that he was about to ask something from me.

"Yes, Owen?" I smiled at him and sat over to his side of the table while Evelyn did the dishes; she wouldn't budge.

"May I sleep with you and Mommy tonight?"

His wide eyes held innocence as he looked up at me, expecting an answer. It's been ages since he asked me for a favour in this manner. And after being at my parents', I guess he has learnt this a lot, not that I mind it. At least I know we are connecting. All my life is now dedicated to Owen. The only precious thing to me is the sparkle in his eyes when he is happy, I would do anything for that sparkle.

"Sure, Owen. Why not? That'd be great. Right Evelyn?" I called out to Evelyn. Having dried the dishes, she took off the apron and walked to us. I inhaled the scent of dishwash mixed with her scent-something floral and peachy and babylike-and almost sighed out loud.

"Of course you may sleep with us, dear." She planted a soft kiss on his forehead.

"Okay then, I'll bring my Iron-Man toy too." With that, he ran off to his room leaving us in a comfortable silence.

"I love him." She blurted out all of a sudden. When I looked at her, I found that she was herself shocked at the sudden display of emotions. "I don't know why I said that all of a sudden-but I love him."

"I know."

Evelyn

We smiled as we looked down at the sleeping form of Owen between us, squirmed deep under the blanket, the toy lying on his tummy while he clutched our hands tightly. With his mouth slightly parted, he would inhale slowly, then exhale as we felt the movement of his abdomen underneath our hands.

"He's a great child." I whispered and my eyes met his blue ones in the faint dark.

"Indeed." As some moonlight entered through the windows, I noticed the presence of a smile.

I couldn't handle it anymore. We needed to talk about so many things, so many people. We couldn't just keep going always, I needed to know more about her. And why she wasn't with them anymore. We'd been hiding from ourselves since long.

"Why did you...separate?" My statement caused a few seconds of silence, he was probably looking for an answer. Unsure of his words, he sighed gently.

"I've told you already. She left."

"But I want to know it all, Felix. I told you my story, but you never told me yours."

"Alright." I sensed him shuffle out hands out of Owen's grip and get out of the blankets. "Living room?"

"Sure." I walked out too, wrapping my arms around myself, following him as he sat heavily on the couch.

So, he's going to sit here in this baggy t-shirt and boxers and expect me to think clearly? This would be very, very distracting. However, I compelled myself to sit not so close to him on the couch. He probably noticed my attire-the silk nightgown-too, because he sat up straight and coughed.

"You must be cold."

"I'm fine." I waved a hand. "Just go with the thing."

"Look," He sighed audibly. "Don't judge."

"Felix," My voice lowered. "You out of everyone should know that I do not judge. I might judge her, but I would not judge you."

"I know, I know." He stared at his hands placed over his lap. "We met at a party. A business party."

"Mhmm." I knew what I had to do. Make the appropriate sounds and reactions at the appropriate time and we'd be able to get past it.

"I don't know how...we just clicked, you know." He shrugged, then let out a sarcastic laugh. "All along, I felt it was physical, yet I kept going back at her. She kept pulling me in."

I placed my hand over his, even though I was expecting it to be drawn away. However, he entwined our fingers and gave my hand a squeeze. I almost widened by eyes in surprise, sensing progress.

"A few days and I believed I was in love. I did not have anybody then. Mom and Dad were busy with the company's loss. We would hardly talk. I've never had any friends." Another chuckle. "You know that already."

"I do." I whispered.

"Literally all the love and care I received was from her. She used to be so sweet to me. I-I don't know how and why, but I fell for her. And you know what the worst part was?" He stared up into my eyes and it took all my energy to hold his gaze. "I knew I was insecure about it, I knew I was wrong."

He stopped for a while, leaving a silence. I decided not to speak anything. He needed the silence to think everything over and gather himself up. He looked back up after a few seconds.

"A-all this time," I heard a crack in his voice. "I knew I shouldn't have done it, I knew something felt wrong. But still, everytime she'd call out for me, and I would go to her."

"The power of beauty." I smiled.

"I guess." His lips too curved into an honest smile.

"So, why did she leave?"  I questioned.

"Do you know Mike Thompson?" He questioned back.

"The businessman?"

"Yep. That's the one. They had an affair." Again, I left him with the much needed silence, not just for him but for me too. I also needed the silence to register everything, to think about the best assuring words to say.

"F-Felix, I don't even know what to say this time."

"It's alright." He looked up and smiled. "I didn't know what to say then too."

There was so much I could've said, so much I should've said. But, for the first time, it felt as if i was at a loss of words. There was nothing I could do to sympathise with him. I knew saying sorry wouldn't matter, so I stuck with asking him questions.

"When did she-when did you come to know about it?"

"After she left." Oh shit. "She called me saying she'd eloped. Owen was what-two or three?"

The audacity of the woman...first she pushed him into loving her. And then when he gave her everything he had, she left him for another man, for more money, as it probably seems. And not only him, she left her own son behind. How cruel can someone be?

"It must've been so hard." I whispered and tightened my hold on his hand again, rubbing small circles on the back of his hand.

"It was, till you stumbled along."

~