6. Genevieve
Chapter six
Genevieve
After a sleepless night, I finally managed to rest for a few hours before waking up to get ready for the day.
Gregory had already left for the office, his absence marked by the half-empty coffee cup and the faint trace of his cologne still clinging to the hallway.
Saturdays were supposed to feel lighter, but lately all of the days pressed down heavier, every tick of the clock dragging me closer to the moments I dreaded.
I tied the sash of my robe tighter as I made my way to Eugene’s room. His door stood ajar, a slant of morning light spilling across the floor. I expected him to be half-buried in his blankets with the toy cars he insisted on taking to bed, but the sheets were messy and empty.
“Eugene, Lovebug, are you up?” My voice came soft, my gaze moving to his empty closet and bathroom.
No answer.
Then I heard it… his laugh. The gentle sound bounced down the corridor, warm and bright, and for the briefest moment, it calmed me.
The giggles pulled me to the kitchen. I stopped short in the doorway, every step bringing the feeling of dread back to the surface.
Eugene sat at the table, a plate of French toast and fruit in front of him, legs swinging beneath the chair. He looked up mid-bite, cheeks full, and grinned at me like nothing was wrong.
And then my gaze shifted past him.
Reid leaned against the kitchen island over a cup of coffee. Navy blue dress shirt clinging to him, his forearms on display with his sleeves rolled up, upper chest on display from the few buttons that weren’t fastened. His lazy, calculating grin didn’t falter when he saw me.
My pulse jumped, sudden and violent.
“Hi, Mommy!” Eugene chirped, his lips sticky with syrup.
I almost didn’t answer. All I could see was Reid, standing there with that smile carved into his face, like he’d been waiting for me to walk in.
Plastering on a fake smile, I finally ripped my gaze from him, walking over to my son as I placed a soft kiss on his forehead.
“Morning, Lovebug… Enjoying your breakfast?”
“Mhmmm.” He hummed, stuffing his mouth with the last bite of banana slices. “Uncle Reid made it for me.”
My stomach twisted. Uncle Reid.
I forced a soft laugh, though it caught in my throat. “Did he now?” I brushed a crumb from Eugene’s cheek, my fingers lingering longer than they should as he nodded.
“Hope you don’t mind.” Reid’s voice slid in smoothly, “Gregory left early, and you were still in bed while this little guy was running around.”
I straightened, smoothing Eugene’s hair to keep my mind occupied instead of spiraling. “I don’t mind,” I lied, my tone clipped, polite. “But you didn’t have to trouble yourself.”
Reid tipped his head, the corner of his mouth curving as he lifted the mug back to his lips. “Wasn’t any trouble at all.” His dark eyes lingered over the rim as I cleared my throat, looking away from him.
“Done, Uncle Reid!” Eugene declared, and I froze as Reid chuckled, walking over, his smile wide as my face paled even further.
“Look at you… If you keep eating like this, the Hulk is gonna have nothing on you.” He winked, and I watched in still horror as my son, the only thing grounding me, was ripped from my hold…
his uncle holding him on his hip as giggles filled the air.
I said nothing, watching silently as he walked over to the sink, wiping Eugene’s hands and face clean before he let him down.
“Now go on, scamp little guy.”
Eugene dashed off, his toy car clutched in one small fist, his laughter trailing down the hall.
The moment he disappeared, silence settled heavily over the kitchen.
Reid stayed where he was, one hand still braced against the counter, watching me like he hadn’t just ripped my son from me in only a split second. “He’s a good kid,” he said.
I tightened my hands on the back of the chair. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be around Eugene.”
Instead of getting angry, his smile widened, a soft chuckle escaping him. “Thought you didn’t mind me giving you a hand. Thought you’d be grateful. Breakfast handled. Happy kid. House still running while you were asleep—”
“I didn’t ask for your help.”
I didn’t like the look in his eyes. It was the kind of look that told me he knew exactly what he was doing to me. I didn’t like the easy shrug of his shoulders either. “It was only breakfast, Vieve. Getting his day started.”
“He has me for that,” I snapped, watching helplessly as his smirk deepened.
“Of course he does.” His eyes dragged over me before cutting back to the empty hallway where Eugene had gone. “Still, he didn’t seem to mind. Little guy just wanted someone to give him a little attention this morning, that’s all.”
“He has a father for that,” I snapped, not knowing where it came from, and Reid stilled, his grin fading into something sharper.
“Does he?” he asked quietly, the weight of his stare pinning me where I stood. “Because from where I’m standing, all I see is a boy who’s lacking that same man in his life… and a man who’s too busy trying to prove himself to notice.”
“You don’t know anything about their relationship.” My voice cracked, and I cursed myself for it.
Reid’s smirk didn’t return, but something darker flickered in his eyes.
“I don’t have to. Kids don’t lie the way adults do. Not when the truth is all they know.”
He took another slow sip of his coffee, his gaze never leaving mine.
“He laughs easily with me, clings when I lift him up… That tells me he’s missing something he’s not getting elsewhere.”
Grabbing the dirty dishes, I ignored him, my pulse spiking despite the low thrum in my chest at his closeness, the hazy feeling in my mind as his scent engulfed me.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. Gregory loves him. He works hard to provide for him. For us.” The lies spewed out of my mouth like they were rehearsed, almost too good that I’d believe them myself.
I stepped away from Reid as his brow arched, that dark glint sharpening. “Provides. That’s the word you choose?“ I didn’t say anything. “He can’t even satisfy you.”
I froze, the plate slipping from my fingers and clattering into the sink.
Slowly, I turned, my chest heaving as his words sank in, poisoning the air between us. “Excuse me?”
Reid didn’t flinch. He leaned back against the counter again, arms folding over his chest smugly.
“You heard me. The man can barely keep himself afloat. Relies on everyone else to survive. How can you even say he provides in a home that isn’t his, in a job position he didn’t earn, as a man who can’t even take care of you.
” He shrugged. “He falls short. Always has.”
Heat burned across my face, blood roaring in my ears. Despite my better judgement, I crossed the kitchen, fury in my voice, anger coursing through my veins as I closed in, pointing at his chest as I dug my finger into it. “You don’t get to talk about him like that.”
“Why not?” His voice cut through me. “Because I’m right?” he asked, standing to his full height, towering over me as my finger remained pressed to him. “Because when he’s inside you, you close your eyes and picture someone else? Picture me?”
My breath caught, the moment shifting into one that was humiliating. “Shut your mouth.”
Reid leaned down, so close I felt the heat of his breath against my cheek. “At least you didn’t lie and deny that part. That’s all you’re good for these days, it seems.”
My hand raised to slap him, but he caught my wrist, jerking me forward until I was flush against him.
I didn’t care how close we were or that I could feel his heat against me again.
I didn’t care that part of me missed it, either.
Because all I could think of was slapping some sense into him.
Something that would get him out of my life for good.
“Tell me something, Vieve,” he muttered, his fingers trailing down my spine as I glared at him.
“Let me go,” I breathed.
“When they started to push me away, when they cast me out of their precious family… were you already fucking him?”
The question detonated in my chest. I could hear my pulse in my ears, loud enough that I wanted to scream, to hit, to yank free and shove him until he staggered. I wriggled in his hold, his grip only tightening on my wrist as he glared down at me.
“When you were still with me… when I thought I still had you… were you already with him? Letting him touch you so you could forget about me? So it would be easier to let me leave?”
Finally, having enough strength to pull out of his hold, I crossed my arms over myself, and heat blurred my vision as he eyed me.
“You stay away from my son… and stay the hell away from me.”
For a long moment, he didn’t move. His jaw tightened, eyes locked on mine, and I hated how calm he looked when every inch of me was shaking.
Then, slowly, he released a breath that sounded almost like a laugh. “There she is,” he murmured, voice low, edged with something cruel. “I knew your little facade could only last for so long.”
I crossed my arms tighter, nails biting into my skin. “I mean it, Reid.”
The smirk that ghosted across his lips didn’t reach his eyes. He let the silence stretch long enough that I almost faltered under his gaze. But then, with the quiet scrape of his mug, he pushed it onto the counter before striding out, his footsteps fading down the hall.
Only when the silence swallowed him did I feel my throat clench, my chest straining as I tried to hold myself together. My mind replayed his voice, each word sinking deeper, twisting tighter around me until I could barely breathe.
I’m not here to save your family, Vieve… I’m here to take back everything that was taken from me. Starting with you.
I pressed my arms harder against myself, nails biting into skin, as if I could hold myself closed against the memory. But it was useless. His vow clung to me like smoke, suffocating me and seeping into every corner of my life.
The words echoed, colder now in silence than when he’d said them.
Not agreement.
A warning.
One I wouldn’t understand until it was too late.