Chapter 8
Andera’s pov.
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“The curse was broken and the beast transformed into a handsome prince. The prince and beauty got married in a grand ceremony, people gathered from far and wide to join their celebration, and they lived happily ever after the end.”
I closed the bedtime storybook with a soft thud, watching a small smile spread on Tiffany’s lips. Her eyelids dropped, and she snuggled closer to me, her small body relaxing into mine.
“This is my favorite bedtime story, mommy.” She mumbled.
“It’s a great story,” I whisper back.
Timmy, my little caretaker, took the book from me, climbed down from the bed, and carefully placed it on the book rack. My heart swelled with pride as I watched him climb back onto the bed, his little face beaming with a sense of accomplishment. Timmy, my little man.
“Mommy, when daddy comes back, you’ll get to live happily too, just like Beauty, and then Timmy and I can make new drawings of the four of us in our own happily ever after. ” Her voice slurs.
I closed my eyes for a second, feeling a lump work in my throat. Patting her hair lightly, I reassure her.
“I’m happy as I am sweetie. Now go to sleep.”
“You should rest too, mommy.” Timmy urges as he climbs into his bed by Tiffany’s side.
“I will. “I stand up and kiss him on his cheek.
“Mommy, when daddy comes back, can we have a dog?” he asked, his eyes sparkling with hope.
I smiled, trying to keep my emotions in check. “We’ll see, Timmy. But even if Daddy doesn’t come back, we can still have a dog,
okay?”
Timmy nodded a small smile on his face. “Okay, mommy. I love you.”
“I love you too, Timmy,” I replied, hugging him tightly.
I sighed, feeling a pang of sadness. I don’t want Thane anywhere near our lives. I was back to make him pay, not to play happy
families with him.
As I stood up to leave, Timmy’s voice stopped me.
“Mommy?”
“Yes, sweetie?” I replied, turning back to him.
“You know how you’re always calling me your little man?” he asked, his gray eyes sparkling
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Chapter 8
“Yes, I do,” I replied, smiling.
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“Well, if Daddy doesn’t come back, I’ll be your prince charming, and you can have your happily ever after,” he said, his face
serious.
Another lump formed in my throat as I looked at my son. He is so young, so innocent, and yet he was trying to take care of me.
I sat back down on the bed, hugging Timmy tightly. “You’re already my prince charming, Timmy,” I whispered, trying to hold back tears. “You and Tiffany are my happily ever after.”
I sit on his bed till he drifts to sleep, and only then do I leave their room, keeping the night light on.
As I walked back to my room, I couldn’t help but think about Rosa’s lie to the kids. As much as I wanted to be angry, I couldn’t completely blame her.
Growing up without parents is extremely depressing, and so I try to give both my kids the best and make sure they never feel unloved. But after today, I’m not sure if I can be enough.
I think back to my marriage with Thane. The first time we slept together, he had forced a pill down my throat, making it clear that he didn’t want kids with me. So, why should I bother telling him about Tiffany and Timmy now? Would he even want to have anything to do with them?
I wiped my eyes tiredly. It’s been a long day and I should get some sleep. I picked up my phone to put it on my nightstand when I got a notification. I checked it out, and my eyes widened.
Thane Renihardt had just liked one of my pictures from six months ago. It was the picture I took on the beach that Rosa had forced me to upload.
He’s… checking out my socials? Thane Renihardt, CEO of Renihardt’s Infrastructures, is stalking me online?
I blocked him immediately, bursting into a laughing fit. A sense of absurdity washes over me. Reacting to my pictures must have been a mistake, but searching for me online was deliberate.
Dear God. I haven’t even started anything yet, and he’s already so intrigued as to try and stalk me online. Hysterical! I try to
smother my laughing so as not to wake the kids.
Just as I was about to put my phone down, an SMS message came from an unknown ID.
“I have to say, Andera. I’m impressed. You blocking me? Wow. I can still remember when my father took you into our home out of pity. It’s unbelievable how that scared little girl is now a woman who thinks she has all the power in the world, have to admit, I never thought you had it in you.”
As I read the message, all I could see was red. I felt like smashing my phone against the wall; no, I wanted to smash it against his head instead. My anger boiled. Some things never change; Thane has always been such an arrogant dickhead, and boy does that makes me want to take revenge more.
Here I am, enjoying my peace, and just one message from him has me on edge.
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Chapter 8
What was Rosa saying again? Screw all of that!
I would throw myself off a cliff before I could let this disdainful man anywhere near my life or my kids.
Convinced that I wouldn’t be able to sleep peacefully if I didn’t retort back, I decided to send him an equally sarcastic text
message.
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“Well, Mr Renihardt, Checking out my socials, and reacting to my pictures? The one where I’m wearing a bathing suit? Let me
guess, you like what you saw? I would advise that we both maintain our professional boundaries.”
I hit the send button, feeling a small sense of satisfaction. What I really wanted to say was for him to go to hell and burn, but I
knew better than that.
I need to keep my plate clean, just in case, because by the time I’m done dealing with Thane, when I have gotten my sweet
revenge, he’ll look for every evidence he can to slander me, and he’ll find none.”
