Next To Love [Book 2]

Chapter 33 : Toxic Altercation

Melanie

I was foolish to think Harry wanted to redeem his relationship with me when he has possibly redeemed the one with his wife.

I was so foolish. I always have been, and I always will be.

Juniors warm and welcoming embrace only lasts a matter of seconds before his dumbfounded mother pushes herself off the cushioned sofa and stands superiorly on her expensive heels, looking enraged as she stares at the sweet interaction between her son and I. Her thin brows furrow in both confusion and fury as she gawks at us for a moment longer before her head snaps over to the father of her son then back to us.

"Junior, what has mommy told you about talking to strangers?" Samira scolds her son in utter bewilderment, both shocked that in here and that her son seems to enjoy my company while not trying to make her anger seem to obvious for her young son to notice.

Junior is quick to let go of me once he hears the evident disappointment in his mother's tone, giving me the opportunity to stand back to my 5'6 height (nearly 5'9 in these heels).

"Melly not a stranger, mommy," he shakes his head, his sharp curls slightly prancing. "She's daddy's friend, mine too." He innocently smiles.

With a forced, false smile, Samira looks down at her four year old son whom naively stares up at her, waiting for some sort of response. "Is she now?" Her ocean blue eyes part ways with Juniors emerald ones to viciously glare into my dull brown ones, but I'm quick to aimlessly look alway.

"Mhm!" Junior sings, his red lips pressed together to hold back a playful, dimpled grin. "Can I take her to my room and show her my pictures?"

"Actually," Harry speaks up first, beating Samira to it as he slowly crouches to he's knees in order to level with his short son whilst subtly glaring up at Samira, causing her to roll her eyes. "Daddy has some business to discuss with Melly first."

"But!-"

"How about this; you go wait in your room, have all your pictures laid out and maybe later Melly can go take a look at them?" He offers, kindly smiling as he looks at his son with a soft, warm eyes he only seems to have for Junior and I, perhaps not for me anymore though.

"Ugh," Junior groans as he throw his head back in distress. "What if I end up going night-night?" He pouts with frowned brows.

"Then you can show her tomorrow."

"She's spending the night here?" Samira abruptly intervenes, pondering in utter shock.

I'm quick to shake my head before I'm interrupted. "No, I'm no-"

"Okay." Junior finally agrees and lumberingly climbs up the grand spiral staircase to get to his spacious bedroom.

Once the only person who can prevent Samira from lashing out without a filter is gone, Samira is swift to snatch that opportunity before her husband had the chance to speak first again.

"I'm not letting her sleep under the same roof as my son." Samira assertively demands, her frail arms crossing over chest angrily, her posture tall and superior amongst me at least.

"Last I checked you no longer live in this house, meaning you don't get to choose what happens here." Harry sternly and effortlessly speaks, yet is unable to make Samira remotely flinch in reaction to her husbands harsh words. "I want Melanie here." He finalizes.

Harry and I both watch Samira's tongue poke the inside of her cheek to refrain from letting a chorus of cathartic chuckles slip pass her rosy pink lips. However, she fails at doing so when the sound of her mocking giggles fill the tense atmosphere. Confusion was written all over my expression whilst Harry only looked at her in amusement, his expression I found nearly unreadable and rather unexplainable. Samira's giggles soon fade away into tense air as the evil glint her eyes accompany her sinister smirk smugly plunge across her lips before they part. "You might want her here, Harry... but does she want you?"

Harry's amused grin soon cracks, now his turn to begin to hysterically laugh whilst Samira waits for the sound to come to a halt with a quirked brow and patient smirk. I stare between the pair in nothing but fright and confusion, knowing well they are extremists and their arguments aren't the most pleasant sound to listen to.

Harry inhales sharply, an amused smirk still prominent on his effortlessly handsome face. "Now you not only think you hold some sort of superiority over me, capable of figuring out my untold truth, but Melanie's also?" He inquires in sarcastic disbelief, his eyes narrowed at the poisonous snake standing wickedly before us yet manages to never break his facetious grin.

With a petrified racing heart, I observe as Samira's teeth graze her bottom lip seconds before she releases it. The words that effortlessly roll of the tip of her venomous tongue were definitely ones I would have never expected.

"Melanie's a lesbian." Samira bluntly stated without hesitance, without remorse and without sympathy.

My breath hitched in my throat, my heart accelerating and I'm certain I'd start hyperventilating if I don't exit this scene as soon as I can.

My wide eyes snap towards Harry when he begins to chuckle, though this time they sounded forced and uncertain. I wanted to speak up for myself and not let this situation get out of control. I wanted to put a stop to these absurd accusations, but the moment I opened my mouth to speak nothing but a silent gasp slipped from it.

"I know for a fact Melanie isn't a lesbian," Harry confidently retorts. "In fact, I can take her right here, on this damn couch and show you that your pathetic accusations are false."

The fact I also am both sexually and romantic attracted towards women wasn't a hidden secret anymore and it's been unveiled for quite a long time. Harry had suspected of me since the day we reunited, and though I tried keeping it hidden I'm sure Harry's suspicions are no longer active now that they have been evidently confirmed, recalling the night prior. Still, I didn't know why Harry was defending me.

"Perhaps," Samira's shoulders shrug, her heels slowly clinking against the tile floors as she takes short and tedious steps closer to us. "But the fact that she also has a preference for women is now at light." Her blue eyes find mine and I saw something in them tick when she saw the tears welling up in mine. "Your mom called me, told me she was back in the city and invited me to meet her at the bar. Of course, I had no clue I was walking into a lesbian bar to catch the sight of you and another woman leaving the bar hand in hand. You were far too drunk to see me... but I clearly saw you."

My heart was pounding against my chest to the point that I could hear the thumping in my ears and my once fractured rib cage could not control it. The sound felt almost piercing to the point that it felt like someone had ripped the organ out my chest and forced it near my ear so the noise would only amplify. I could also sense the churning in my stomach and I feared the drinks from the farcical night prior were soon going to make a reappearance. To make matters worse, to think that my mother invited the ex-wife of the man she knows I was in a relationship to the same place I was in made me feel a feeling way past furious.