Mismatched

Chapter 16

I woke up the next morning to see a message that ruined my mood. It was from that woman: Hey, sorry to bother you again. Dinner last night went terribly. I want to have lunch with you to clear things out. Please.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" I hollered. I looked at the time. There are four more hours to go. What the hell does she want from me?

Jace rushed into my room. "What happened?" he asked.

I cried, "Stepmum wants to see me again! She wants to meet up with me for lunch later. Isn't it bad enough that they made me cry for the entire night? Do they want to make me cry for the rest of today?"

He patted my back and sighed, "Chill. Can't you read? She said she wants to have lunch with you. Not we. That means it'll just be you and her. She didn't seem that bad. As far as I know, she has never done anything bad to you."

"Okay, I'll go. But only if you come along," I replied.

"Definitely," he replied, ruffling my hair. "By the way, good morning. I made breakfast. Tuna and egg sandwich!" I jumped out of the bed and followed him to the kitchen. This certainly fixed my morning.

***

Lunchtime came way quicker than I wanted it to. We agreed on meeting up near my place. After all, she was the one who wanted to meet me. She'll have to go with my terms. I'm not going to travel so far just for an hour of coffee with her.

"Good afternoon, Belinda. I'm glad you agreed to meet up with me," she said.

"I just wanted to see what you had to say," I replied.

She nodded. "Regarding what happened last night, I'm sorry. I swear I didn't know how your mother died. I honestly only heard of it yesterday. Your father never talked about it. I am here to apologise on his behalf."

"What makes you think I believe you? You're the other woman in my parents' relationship. I wouldn't say you're the reason they didn't work out because he never loved her. He married her for her money. But you still committed adultery," I replied.

"I didn't know he was married. I swear. He tricked me into thinking he was a single father. I didn't know he was married all this time until I heard what you said. I was pissed at him for lying to me but what can I do? We're married," she said.

"What makes you think I believe you? How could you not know?" I asked

She shrugged. "You have only my words and I have never lied to you."

I thought about that. It was true, but it was mainly because we hardly spoke to each other. "Do you remember the day we met?" I asked.

"Yes, it was very shocking. You were a very angry child," she replied.

"Of course, I was angry. How dare you expect me to call you my mother when I've only met you once? How dare you think that you can replace my mother? Who do you think you are?" I demanded, banging the table.

Jace rubbed my back and whispered for me to calm down.

That woman shook her head and replied, "I never expected you to call me 'Mum'. It was all your father's idea. I was quite shocked when he asked you to do that but I could not change his mind. I'm so sorry if it caused you any trauma."

"Oh, it caused me a lot of trauma. My mother died and all of a sudden I have a new mother. It's like the role of a mother can be played by anyone," I muttered.

"Belle," Jace warned.

The woman sighed, "You've never addressed me by my name. It would be nice if you could call me by my name. That's the first thing I'm going to ask from you."