Against All Odds!

Welcome Home

"I would never say no to having my grandkids sleep over its just that... this is so sudden", Valentina said making me smile. "Well, Leo returns from the business trip today and I want to make it special for him. I can't do that with the kids around Valentina pleaseeeee", I said making her smile. "Oh, you could have started with that. Go go go!", she chased me out making me laugh.

I hated lying to her but I didn't want distractions. This was going to get ugly. I reached the house, took the envelope from my purse then went to the dining room and sat with a glass of whiskey in my hand. I was glad that Sofia was not around too.

I heard the front door open. Hank passed with Leo's bag then there he was, looking tired. No doubt he overworked himself as usual. "Hey, baby. Why is the place so quiet and why are you drinking that?", he asked with furrowed brows while approaching the dining room. I remained silent and sipped some more. His eyes moved from mine to the envelope on the table. He took it and opened it. He looked shocked. "What the hell is this?", he asked looking pissed. "What? They're fake?", I asked sarcastically making him pull a chair and sit. He looked at all the photos and then turned to me. "They're not fake... I know how this looks but I didn't cheat on you. We're just friends baby come on. I'm tired can we just go to bed?", he said making the anger that I was holding at the bay surface.

I threw the glass on the wall making him stand the same time I did. "Even after showing you those pictures you still lie to my face?", I asked as my body trembled to make my hands turn into fists. "Angel what are you talking about?", he asked looking lost. "You're unbelievable. Ok... let's play pretend then... does you almost running away with someone ring a fucking bell HUSBAND!", I asked and it was like he was hit by a tone of bricks. "Who told you that?", he asked in a voice just above a whisper. "FUCK YOU!", I said then walked out of the dining room making sure to push him out of my way on the way out.

"Angel... Angel... baby I was planning to tell you", he pleaded but all I thought about was getting away from him as fast as I could. I packed my bag then went to the nursery and did the same with the twins as well. "Angel, let's talk about this. Fuck! It's not like I fucking cheated on you, she's just an ex", he said sounding frustrated. I turned and glared at him making him shut up... finally. I took the bags to my car and left for his parents.

It was all peaceful and quiet until I got out of the car on Ivan and Valentina's compound and found his car right behind mine. "Angel, please. Talk to me, baby. I'm sorry... I was just scared of how you'd react when I told you who she really was", he said looking sad. "Oh, that's the part that got you scared of? Not the part that you allowed her to be that close to you and take a selfie walking by the beach or holding hands during dinner? You were only worried about telling me who she is? Thank you very much for clarifying that. Let me go find my ex and we try that and see how that goes for you then you will know exactly how I fucking feel!", I screamed at him, and this time around he only looked at me with sadness.

"What's going on?", Ivan emerged from the house making me walk in after wiping my tears away. I went to the room that I usually slept in and got settled. I did some more pumping because I had to get rid of the alcohol then slept.

I woke up to the sound of Valentina screaming at someone. I followed her voice to the living room and it was a mess. "I raised you better than this Leo. I can't believe all of you knew about this and didn't see anything wrong with it. Even if she has problems she's not your responsibility. She was a side chick for crying out loud! You don't owe her anything except an apology. You're not her sugar daddy. You're someone's husband, a father! You know what? I can't do this, I need to go feed my grandkids", she said angrily then turned and her eyes fell on me. 

"You're here? You slept here?", she asked with concern. "Yes. I hope that's ok. I didn't know where else to go", I said and I felt a tear run down my face. She pulled me in a hug as I sobbed on her shoulder not caring that all her kids were looking at us from the living room.

They all looked sad except for Sofia. She had the same expression she had the day she humiliated me in high school. Something told me, she was enjoying my frustration. I followed Valentina to one of her guest rooms she turned into a nursery and found one of the maids finishing a bath with the twins. They looked happy to see me. One look from my babies and everything else didn't matter. "Thank you, my dear, we'll take over from here", Valentina said and she left. She carried Aaron and I carried Audrey. We helped them get dressed and then I breastfed them at the same time with Valentina's help both of us avoiding the obvious topic.

When they burped we put them on a paying mat helping them learn how to sit. Aaron hated it. He started crying the moment Valentina put him down. "Oh come on, man up handsome...who will take me on dates if you don't want to learn how to sit huh?", she to him playfully distracting him from the crying. There was a knock on the door and Leo entered. 

"I just want to say hi to them",  he said in a low voice. He looked sad. Valentina looked at me and I nodded. She stepped aside giving him space to sit on the mat. I moved away from him, keeping my distance. They started opening their tiny arms to him the moment their eyes fell on his. They missed him. It was cute and upsetting at the same time. Snitches.