Chapter 170: Daddy Was Cruel To Mummy
"I’m being serious here, Lauren. Jokes apart, you are not getting any younger as it is."
"Let go of my hand. I need to open the door for the children," Kathleen slapped Lauren’s hands away.
By then they were at the car park, she opened the door for the children to get in then stood by the car with Lauren.
"Tsk! Am I older than you?" Lauren hissed.
"If I rember correctly, you are several months older than I am."
"And that is why I am advising you as an elder that I am," Kathleen poked. "Don’t you think you should be obedient and listen to
when I speak?"
"How co I never knew you were this shaless? You have been so far away from
that I don’t understand you anymore."
"Whatever, but you can’t change the subject." Kathleen brushed her off imdiately. "I’ve promised your parents and I must deliver."
Lauren stared at Kathleen in disbelief. "So you would sacrifice
without thinking twice?"
Kathleen had a mischievous smile as she nodded. "As long as I fulfill my promise, I don’t mind sacrificing you. Better still you can cooperate with
willingly so that the process is not prolonged."
Lauren suddenly shifted back in mock fright. "I’m no longer comfortable around you. You are becoming scarier by the minute."
"You don’t need to be sweetheart. It’s still the sa old . Go and get ready, I will soon call you for your first suitor," Kathleen teased.
"I will block your number imdiately." Lauren threatened and disappeared from Kathleen’s sight before you could say Jack.
The children laughed at the back of the fleeing Aunty. "Mummy, you have scared her away."
With a smug look she laughed. "Isn’t your mummy aweso," she praised herself as she settled herself behind the steering.
Amidst her giggles, Eleanor said, "I bet she will hide from you from now on."
Elvis saw a slim opportunity to pursue his quest and ceased it without delay. "Why doesn’t she want to get married, mummy?"
"Maybe she is scared to get married because daddy was cruel to mummy" Eleanor said innocently.
Kathleen was startled. "Hey, what made you think so? Your daddy was never cruel to ," she hastily corrected.
Despite the sour relationship between Shawn and her, she didn’t want them to grow up hating their father whom they have never seen.
Apart from the broken trust between them, Shawn was kind to her in the past and didn’t deserve to be hated by his own children even though they were not together anymore.
"Then why doesn’t he want us and why are you not together anymore? Is he dead?" Elvis ventured further. He wanted to have a clear view of their mother’s disposition towards their father.
If she says he was dead, he will understand that she never wants them to acknowledge him, and he will stop his investigation. Difficult as it may be, he didn’t want to hurt her feelings.
"Mom?" Eleanor’s voice peered into her thoughts.
"Yes, baby. What is it?" Kathleen feigned forgetfulness but Eleanor didn’t mind reminding her what they were talking about.
"Brother had asked you if our father was dead," Eleanor patiently reminded her.
Little did she know that their mother didn’t forget the question but the problem was how she was going to answer such a direct and sensitive question.
Kathleen was conflicted and didn’t know how to go about it.
Even though their father was still very much alive, to her, he was as good as dead, but how can she explain that to the children.
Was she going to uphold her teachings on integrity by setting a good example or lie to them in a situation as dicey as this?
Before she could bring herself to say sothing, Elvis decided to bail her out.
"Forget it mummy, if you don’t want to answer. We won’t bother you again if it makes you uncomfortable."
Kathleen was moved by their consideration but she also felt guilty about keeping such important information from the children.
She could guess the internal struggle within them to know the truth or endure the pain of being kept in the dark.
Was she really a good mother, allowing the children to make such sacrifices just to protect her? How about their own feelings?
She believed and knew they were sensible enough to stay within their bounds. Wasn’t she being selfish denying them this one thing they longed for?
"I’m sorry my babies for not telling you what you want to know and keeping your father’s whereabouts from you for so long."
Seeing Kathleen’s distress, Eleanor and Elvis exchanged a glance filled with empathy.
"Mom," Elvis said softly, reaching out to gently touch Kathleen’s shoulder from the back seat where he was seated with his sister.
"You don’t have to force yourself. We will wait for you until you are ready to confide in us." His voice reflected a mixture of curiosity and concern for his mother’s feelings.
Eleanor nodded in agreent, her eyes also expressing a mixture of understanding and concern for her mother’s well-being. "We love you, Mom. We don’t want you to feel pressured, so we will not ask you about daddy again."
Once again, Kathleen’s heart swelled with gratitude for her children’s understanding.
Overwheld by their consideration, tears welled up in her eyes. Despite their longing for answers, they still put her feelings first.
However, instead of the intended comfort, their understanding was hurting her more than she could imagine.
Why can’t they just throw a tantrum and insist on knowing who their father was so that she can angrily shut them up and threaten them not to ever bring up the topic again?
Unable to contain the flood of emotions any longer, Kathleen broke down, feeling the weight of their curiosity and her own emotional struggle.
Through her tears, she managed to speak in a shaky voice.
"Your father..." A sob caught in her throat as she closed her eyes tightly to stabilize her emotions.
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