Always Been You

~Lola’s POV~

It’s been a week, and I still don’t have a good grasp on what’s been going on with me-the headache, the anxiety, and the strong urge to figure out what it is that is missing. Why does my boss always look at me as if I’m forgetting something extremely important? If Dante Monroe is my brother, why doesn’t he greet me? The only thing he does is gaze lustfully in my direction. That man eye-rapes me every time he gets a chance. Why would a brother be hard when looking at his own sister?

I brushed it off and continued doing what I was doing. Mason has been gone for 3 days, and he’s coming back today. I called ahead and made a reservation at the restaurant located on the ground floor of the hotel. I went down the stairs and waited for my fiancé to arrive. It looks like there’s a party going on downstairs, but it’s more of a children’s party. The decorations are appealing to the eye. While I was waiting, I asked for a glass of water to keep me hydrated, and just as the waiter was setting the glass of water in front of me, a woman approached me.

“Hey baby, I decided to stick around till you guys sort things out. I have been at the house since the birthday preparations started, but to my surprise, you weren’t there. What is going on?”

I looked at the woman. I have never seen this woman before. What preparations is she even talking about?

“Sorry, ma’am, I don’t think we’ve met before. Who are you?”

“Your acting skills have gotten pretty cool; are you high on something?” It seemed as though she had me confused with another person.

“I’m sorry; I think you have mistaken me for someone else. I came here to wait for my fiancé; he might get angry when he finds people he doesn’t know around me.” The woman gave me a suspicious look while she leaned back in the chair that was supposed to be Mason’s and folded her hands in front of her lap.

“Mommy!” A young girl and two boys came running up to me as soon as they saw me. The girl jumped to sit on my lap; I had the urge to push her away, but the girl kissed me and said, “I’ve missed you, Mommy. I miss you so much.” Then all of a sudden, my boss showed up with another woman, his hands stuffed deep inside his pockets as he eyed me with such intense hostility, as though there was something I had done wrong. I rose to my feet to show my respect to him. He’s my boss, after all.

“Mr. Monroe, it’s fancy to see you here.” His frown deepened, and for a moment he appeared perplexed, but then he resumed his icy gaze.

“Mother, what did you buy me for my birthday?” I turned my attention to the boy. He must be an angel in a state of confusion. I got on my knees and knelt down on his level.

“What’s your name?” The boy looked at me, then at my boss, then at the two women, one of whom was sitting with me and the other of whom had just walked in with my boss. His eyes became red, and it appeared as though he was about to cry. When he didn’t give me his name, I just continued, “Look, I am not your mother.” After saying that, I heard gasps, and the girl started crying and ran to my boss along with the two boys. I looked at Mr. Monroe. I should talk to him. He’s my brother, after all, but I don’t think this is a good time. The next thing I knew, I was getting smacked across the face.

Slap!

“What the heck is wrong with you?” The woman raised her hand to slap me again, but the other woman, who was with me, held her hand.

“Catalina, stop it! It is not worth the trouble.”

Catalina?

Why did this Catalina woman slap me?

“You didn’t even bother to call to wish them a happy birthday, and here you are telling them that you are not their mother. I never in my life thought that you would do something to hurt our children in this way; you didn’t even bother to call to wish them a happy birthday. I have taken so much from you, Lola. I have been keeping my fingers crossed that you will eventually return home. But it seems as though I have been clinging to a hopeless dream all this time. I have no problem enduring any kind of discipline from you, but when it comes to my children, I… ” The woman interrupted him before he could finish his sentence.

“Dante, she is not Lola; she is right. We should get going.” The lady gave me a wry grin before looking back at me and saying, “I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name.” She uttered those words as she put her hand out for me to shake.

“Janet, Janet Monroe.” The woman smiled, but everyone’s eyes widened.

“Nice to meet you, Janet; I hope we can meet for coffee sometime. Here, take my card.” The woman gave me a business card, and there I got her name, Martha Monroe.

Why does it seem like everyone is a Monroe? Is Martha Monroe related to me? Mason appeared while I was in the midst of my struggle with my own thoughts.

“Hey, Hun!” He smiled and greeted me, but what caught my attention was how Martha looked at Mason.

“Martha, this is my fiancé, Mason,” I said, then extended her hand to shake his.

“Doctor Blackwoods, we meet again.” Mason appeared to be a little out of control, and for some reason, out of nowhere, he mentioned the need to use the restroom. I have no idea why. When Mason was on his way to the restroom, one of the other boys sprinted over to him and began calling his name.

“Uncle Mason!” Mason gave the boy a cursory glance before continuing on his way to the restroom without acknowledging his presence. The boy looked sad; he cast a glare my way, and I could almost feel all the emotions he was feeling. I don’t even know when I reached the boy, but I went to his level and gave him a hug. I don’t know why, but I felt connected to him, and then the other two kids joined in the hug.NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.

“Happy birthday,” I said to them, but before they could answer, my boss immediately took them off the hug. He seemed to be very angry. It’s almost as if he had it in for me,

But why?

We worked well together, even with him eye-fucking me every time he got a chance at the office. Why does he hate me now?

“I don’t play with my kids, Lola, and I don’t want to see you near them ever again. As for your job, if you so wish, you can move back to Ozark and stay there for the rest of your life.” Martha cut him off again.

“What Dante meant is that you can continue working at the office so that you can see your family.” She smiled and dragged my boss as she flashed me a grin.

Family?