He's My Husband

Twenty Eight

           "Hey buddy? What did you bring your favorite uncle?"

"You're my only uncle and I brought you a shirt. Dad said you would love it" Zander said.

"If your father said I'd love it then I will definitely not love it. Let's see it, the sooner the disappointment, the faster I'll get over it"

"Let's go. It's in my bag" hand in hand, Zander and Darren went up the stairs. Emilia smiled, sitting on the arm of the chair Max had just sat on.

"Darren's right. It's as if he knows you picked something awful for him"

Max grumbled "It's not awful. I like that shirt"

"Then why didn't you buy one for yourself?"

"It's too bright" he said then realizing he was contradicting himself, he grinned up at her "I guarantee Dar will love it. He's my brother and I know him"

"It's your birthday that's coming up soon. Let's see what he'll get you"

"I forgot about that" he said springing up "I'm going to hide it before he sees it. Knowing him, he'll get me a matching one so that we can wear them together. Just the thought of it is giving me a headache" he rushed up the stairs, leaving her behind laughing.

Max thought it would be funny to buy Darren a really awful bright shirt. According to him, he was doing some women a favor. One look at him and they wouldn't think twice about approaching him therefore they would still have their hearts intact. It wasn't so funny now that he'd remembered his birthday was around the corner. Getting up, she wondered what he would like. A big lavish party or an intimate dinner? So deep in thought, Emilia almost missed it when she walked past Genevieve's room. Almost.

Zander was laughing at something Genevieve had said. That had to be it, otherwise why would he be laughing? Standing beside the door, she pressed her head on the door to listen in. Sure enough the woman was talking.

"Don't worry, I'm sure your uncle will come up with a better idea"

"But dad said he was sorry"

"I don't think so. He did it on purpose knowing that your uncle will hate that shirt"

"Do you like the bracelet I got you?"

"Yes. It's lovely....." Emilia moved away from the door. They were talking as if they did it every other day. Like it was nothing. Max said that his mother hadn't spoken a word since her accident. The doctors thought that she was depressed about not being able to walk, that's why she hadn't said a word. But it turned out that she really did speak. The question was if she had just started or was always pretending. And if so, how many things was she lying about. Could she walk? Was her paralysis a lie?

It scared her to think that Genevieve could be lying. What reasons could she have to not talk? And why of all people did she pick Zander to talk to? What were her plans? Was she capable of hurting her own grandson? She'd tried once. The purpose of pushing her down the stairs was so she could lose the baby she was carrying. But Zander wasn't in her stomach anymore. He was a living, breathing, healthy boy. Would she try to hurt him? Could she talk to Max about this?

Emilia thought about it and came to the conclusion that she couldn't. Anything that had to do with his mother was off limits. To him she was incapable of hurting her own flesh and blood. There was a possibility he would believe her if the threat was against her. And that was just a possibility. But if it was Zander? He'd think she was trying to create a rift between them. So until she was sure of that woman's intentions, she was going to keep her suspicions to herself. That didn't mean she couldn't protect her son.