CHAPTER 70: 70-A VERY DISTURBING TRIP TOGETHER

Iris:

I stopped dead in my tracks. We were still standing right outside the door when I turned around to shoot a quick, judgmental glare at Luca, reminding him that it was because of him my son was asking me these questions.

But he only shrugged, acting completely indifferent.

I cleared my throat, trying to speak up, when my mother stepped out.

"No, not yet," she said.

The way my children exchanged glances and smiled at each other told me they already had ideas forming.

"Okay, kids, enough talking about it," I said, trying to move forward.

But Amy held my hand, stopping me.

"Does that mean you two can get together again?" she asked innocently.

My heart broke for her, because I was about to shatter her hope.

He had cheated on me.

Just because I was dealing with worse demons now didn’t mean I would forgive him.

"It’s never going to happen." But it wasn’t me who said it, it was Luca.

"I’m just wondering, why has the rejection never been initiated?" he continued, this time addressing both my mother and me.

"Well, that’s because it’s none of your or my mother’s business," I said, trying to shut down the conversation.

But he had already said enough to capture my mother’s attention.

She started to smirk, which immediately irked me.

"You’re right. I think when you two return from this little trip, we can start thinking about it," my mother suggested.

I raised a hand toward her, a gesture to make her stop. They were exhausting themselves for no reason.

There was absolutely no way I was going to let them make decisions for me.

"You can all rest easy on that because I’ll be the one to make an announcement when and if I decide to do anything. So please," I said, turning to my mother, "don’t start this again — especially not in front of the kids."

I was growing tired of repeating myself. These adults were acting like children.

"Mommy, I heard what rejection is, and I don’t want you to get rejected by Daddy."

As expected, my children had caught on. Amy was the first to speak up, while Colin moved closer to my side, holding my hand softly and protectively.

"Because if Daddy rejects you, that means you’ll never talk to each other," she continued.

"That’s not how rejection works, my dear. We’ll still see each other. It’ll just mean things are–different, and maybe even more comfortable," I tried to explain gently, but of course, she was a child. She wouldn’t understand.

"No! I said no, no, no!" she protested stubbornly, stomping her feet.

"Okay, listen," I said, lowering myself to her level. "You will not worry about that, okay? Not right now. Mommy has to work today, and she doesn’t want to think about all this. Promise me?"

She began to pout sadly but nodded faintly.

"Well, you have to train your kids and prepare them for that day. You can’t keep avoiding it," my mother commented before walking away.

I felt there was nothing I could do at that moment except change the topic.

"Okay, let’s go. We’ll head to the mountain, get the tents set up—" I paused when I noticed my mother talking quietly with Luca, their eyes locked on each other. "—and then we’ll have a perfect trip. After that, we’ll talk about everything, alright?"

I patted my daughter’s cheek and stood up.

It was the best way to distract a child, I was sure they’d forget about the conversation soon enough.

"Goodbye. Have fun," my mother said, faking a smile after realizing she’d been caught stirring trouble again.

As we reached the parking lot and waited for Kash to arrive, I saw him walking out of the house, with none other than Lara behind him.

He was even carrying her bag.

As soon as he appeared, Luca chuckled beside me.

"And here you were, worried about him. I guess he already thought about bringing his lover without worrying about what you would think."

"Oh, by the way, I suppose we’ll be heading out in our car now, because lovers would want to go together," Luca added, chuckling some more.

Even before Kash could suggest anything, I began walking toward our car.

I realized I had been overthinking.

I should stop worrying about whether Luca’s presence would bother Kash.

After all, he was bringing Lara everywhere too.

"Mommy, are we not sitting in Daddy’s car?" Amy asked.

We were all quiet for a moment before I got into my car with the kids.

I noticed Kash looking at us, but it was too late, we had already shut the doors.

Still, he walked over to my side of the car and gently tapped on the window.

I rolled it down, keeping my eyes straight ahead.

He leaned closer, the chain around his neck dangling, his shirt slightly unbuttoned to reveal his chest and abs.

I tried hard not to glance at him directly.

"Well, we’re going in our own car," I said, assuming that’s why he had come over.

"I was just asking if the kids wanted to stop by the nearby mall to grab some food and a few things for the picnic on the mountain?" he questioned, making me clench my jaw in secret frustration.

"Oh, yeah, sure. We will," I answered quietly, hoping he wouldn’t linger any longer.

"Cool then. Let’s get going," he said casually before turning away.

I was so annoyed.

"We’re taking drivers with us," I called out from my car, making sure Kash knew that neither he nor Luca would be driving this time.

The two of them didn’t look very pleased.

"I think I agree with Iris this time. Last time you two drove together, you went crazy," Lara added, thankfully without arguing.

Luca got into the car with me and slammed the door hard, clearly showing how much he hated the idea of sitting idle and not racing like he had last time.

"You and your ex are equally annoying," he commented before the car hit the road.

This time, both of us had drivers with us. Lara and I had insisted after the last time the two drivers got into a race.

I didn’t want them racing with my children in the car.

I could tell Kash would still be considerate, after all, they’re his children, but I couldn’t say the same about Luca. He wouldn’t give a damn.

The kids were busy with their tablets or talking to each other, enjoying the ride, while Luca and I stared out of our separate windows.

Then I got a text from Kash.

Ex: What happened? Why didn’t you want to sit in my car?

I read Kash’s message and rolled my eyes.

Me: Well, we all couldn’t fit in your SUV, could we?

I texted back, tapping the phone with my fingers.

His reply came almost immediately.

Ex: well, that is because Luca decided to come along.

I frowned at the screen. Our SUV was following close behind his so we wouldn’t be out of sight.

Me: Well, I didn’t know Lara was coming too.

I shot back the same kind of reply he’d sent me.

Ex: Well, then we are both guilty.

He responded. I was annoyed because my situation was different.

I had a mother controlling my life. But he seemed to let Lara in on everything because he didn’t want to upset her.

Of course, I shouldn’t get jealous of it because he was now her fiance and not mine.

I put my phone in my lap and stared out the window, more anxious now.

"Who are you texting with?" Luca asked out of the blue, which surprised me. I hadn’t expected him to pay so much attention.

"None of your business," I replied in a harsh tone so that he wouldn’t take me lightly.

"Well, it is if it’s Kash." The moment he said that my fist clenched, but I didn’t react loudly.

My kids could still hear and I didn’t want them caught in the middle of our argument.

"I hope that’s not the case, Iris." Luca repeated himself because I hadn’t answered at first.

"I’m sure you know this isn’t something you should worry about. Remember what my mother said, you’re not supposed to come between me and Kash to the point that Kash completely moves on and stops looking for a cure."

I tried to scare him off with a statement from my mother, but he already knew what to expect.

"Well, that’s not what she told me. Besides, what kind of father would forget his children just because he has no chance with their mother? So don’t fool me, and you better put that phone down." There was a quiet threat in his voice.

He smirked when he saw me clench my jaw and glare at him angrily.

"Don’t keep looking at me like that, or I’ll do something reckless and you won’t stop me. Remember, you were supposed to react to my intimacy in public." When he said that my head snapped away to avoid his gaze, which only pissed him off more.