*Unedited*

I hadn't expected to end up here, especially not after the day that I have had. I was exhausted mentally, as well as fighting physical exhaustion. Yet, here I was.

It wasn't that I hadn't wanted to come, it's because I knew how raw it would leave me so I took my time after James moved out. I couldn't face his mother after that, not when I was still so mad at her son. I took a deep breath and made my way to the receptionist's desk.

"Hello, I'm here to see Melinda Darcy?" I said after the woman greeted me. She had a pleasant smile but you could tell years of working in this field had shown her a rough side of human life.

"Is she expecting you?" She asked as she looked at her computer.

"I'm sure she had been expecting me for some time now." I replied, making her look up at me, a slight puzzled expression on her face. I cleared my throat and smiled warmly. "She's my mother in law. I'm surprising her. She's been wanting me to come visit for awhile now." I explained without a second thought. before catching myself. "I mean, I'm a family member." I corrected myself, not wanting to get into the ins and outs of our complicated familial links.

"Oh, I see." She added, mirroring my smile. "Are you Charlotte? The mother of those two beautiful grandkids that come to visit her?"

My heart skipped at the mention of this. I knew James had taken his daughter to meet his mother, I just didn't know how often he had been taking Sebastian as well. I cleared my throat again. "The little boy is mine." I replied but immediately felt as if I had said the wrong thing. Yes, it was true that only Sebastian was mine, but did I have to get into these details with this stranger?

"Okay, if you'd give me a moment, I'll go see if she is done with her session with the doctor." She got up and pointed to a few empty chairs in the waiting area/ lobby. I thanked her and silently took my sit.

While waiting, I took a moment to look around me. This place was clean, with mordern art displayed all around to look nice but not overwhelming. Near me was a table with some magazines and pamphlets properly stacked. It was warm as well, but that could be due to the heater being on, as it has gotten increasingly cold now that it was almost winter.

James did not blink an eye when it came to finding the right place for his mother's rehabilitation. This place cost a fortune but at least it seemed to be helping. The last thing I knew was that Melinda was doing extremely well but had decided to stay in longer in order to make sure she will be okay, when she finally leaves. As for the fiancé, that's another issue on itself. So more on that later.

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It wasn't long before Melinda walked out of the French doors with the woman at her side.

"Charlotte?" Her face instantly brightened at the sight of me. I returned the smile, feelimg ashamed that it had taken me so long to finally come see her.

I took my time to get out of my seat and on my feet which has been getting increasingly harder since I hit my third trimester. I was about to give birth to that baby in less than four weeks and it was definitely showing.

"Hi, Melinda." The warm feeling that traveled through my body to my face was familiar and welcomed.

"You make my heart so happy." Melinda called out as she was approaching me, her big smile hadn't left it's place on her face.

"I'm so sorry I hadn't come earlier, I know you've been waiting." I took her in my arms and hugged her as tight as I could. I've realized, the moment she appeared in front ofme, that I've missed her insanely. She's been there for me and had taken into her life and accepted for who I am. I had never had a mother figure in my life, not really. So, even though Melinda had her flows, she's still been more than what I have ever had.

"It's okay, you're here now." She pulled away enough to look me over. She chuckled when she placed her hand on my tummy and the baby started kicking. "Baby girl is cooking up nicely in there, I see." She joked and I laughed. "Come on, let's get you off your feet." She turned towards were she had come from and waited patiently for me to follow behind.

"We have much to talk about." I chuckled as we walked through the french doors and towards her room.

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My body was exhausted by the end of the night but my heart was content and happy. I hadn't realized how much I had missed Melinda until she was in front of me. She looked better than I had seen in awhile. She had gotten her colors back, gained a little bit of weight which looked amazing on her, and her hair had gotten longer and fuller.

We talked a lot. Of everything and nothing, of me and how the pregnancy was going, of my work which I had taken a maternity leave from a week prior, and of Sebastian who could not stop growing and getting bigger, even though I warned him that I was not okay with it.

We talked a lot. But, what I hadn't fail to notice was that she danced around the sore subject of my relationship with her son. I knew it would come up and I thought I had prepared myself for it. I was wrong.

"So, how are you handling things?" Melinda asked, after she calmed down from laughing about something Sebastian said about my belly being so big that it looked like a big ballon. His words, not mine.

"I'm okay." I replied.

"Are you really?" I took a moment to analyze that. I thought I was okay, but I had days were all the pain and hurt and frustration were so vivid that it was impossible for me to do anything but to wallow in my misery. Had my life had I known it and had dreamed about come crashing down at my feet? Yes. But, I also had many blessings that I was thankful for like my son being healthy and happy and my baby girl growing and kicking. So, in the grand scheme of things, I was okay. What I failed to mention or even look closely at, is the pain of not having James with me. But I was a big girl and I could deal with that.

"Yeah, I think so." I replied honestly and took a sip of my tea I had been nursing since we got to her room.

"Has it been harder to deal with things knowing that she had moved in with him? She asked. And the second my eyes met hers, she cussed under her breath.

"They live together?" I asked dumbfounded, trying to get the words to make sense in my head but failing miserably.

"Oh, Charlotte I thought you knew already. I am so sorry. I was certain James had told you." Her face looked pained and remorseful. I cleared my throat and put the cup of tea on the coffee table. I met her eyes and tried a smile.

"It's okay, it must have slipped his mind." I replied but didn't fail to notice the sinking feeling in my gut that this just sealed the faith of my relationship with James. In a way, this must have been what I had been wanting for all this time; the sign that maybe it was time to let go and as I let that feeling travel through me, I realized that though the pain was present, it wasn't paralyzing.

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James was waiting for me in the lobby of our penthouse when I got home. A part of me knew he would be there as he had been calling my phone non-stop since the moment I left his mother. I knew we couldn't have this conversation on the phone so I didn't bother to answer, instead spent the car ride on the phone with Rose and Eva, both begging me to calm down and talk to James, to hear him out. So I said okay because I knew what needed to happen and for the first time in a very long time now, I was finally okay with that.

"James." I greeted him when I was standing close enough to him, refusing to acknowledge anything else about him, though that was before I noticed the box that he was carrying in his hand.

"Charlotte, I can explain it all."

"Okay, let's talk then." I said before making my way towards the elevator that had just dinged open. I didn't have to look back to find him following me.

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Hiiiiguys!!! So, When I say keep me accountable, I meant do so in a nice and respectful way. Lol Remember, I make zero money on this. This is a hobby and life takes precedent over anything.

Enjoy guys! Another chapter coming later in the week.

Much love ❤