Chapter 71

Carla sighed " He doesn't Jenny, he just wanted a baby from me and he has gotten what he wanted "

Jenny imitated her and sighed too " What can I do to drum it into your head that this guy loves you? "

Carla shook her head " You can't convince me baby, my mind is made up, I'm leaving Jenny "

" You're making a big mistake, just so you know " Jenny said with a shake of her head.

" Even if he loves me, it isn't enough reason to stay Jenny! I have to go live my own life too and that's outside of this marriage " Carla said quietly and adjusted her baby in her arms.

An old passed by their table and they came back, their eyes on Dom.

" What a cute baby you have there, Mrs Blake right? " The old lady said in admiration.

Carla looked startled for a moment, wondering how they knew her because she was sure she had not met them before. She had forgotten she was a public figure now too, all thanks to Liam.

Jenny nudged her lightly on the arm, jolting her back into presence

" Ah... Yeah, I'm Carla Blake " She replied politely, mustering up a small smile.

The old lady smiled " Nice to meet you Mrs Blake, I'm Shelly Winters and, " She pushed her husband forward " This is my husband, Will Winters "

The man's cheeks became flushed and he stuttered " Uh... Nice to meet you, Mrs Blake "

Carla smiled " The pleasure is all mine sir "

" Wow I must say, he really takes after his father in good looks and the aura of wealth " Shelly gushed out in awe.

" Aww thank you " Jenny answered for as she looked to be lost in thought.

The old couple left shortly after and Jenny snapped her fingers in front of Carla.

" Hey! " She snapped.

Carla looked up, startled " Oh... Yeah, did you say something? "

Jenny shook her head " What are you thinking so hard about? "

Carla shook her head quickly " Uh... Nothing, I'm just tired, that's all "

Jenny stared at her as though she didn't believe a word she said but she didn't made it known to her. It was obvious Carla had a lot going through her head. Jenny only prayed she made the right decision or she would regret it all her life.

************

Things got from bad to worse as Liam and Carla slowly drifted apart. They hardly spoke to each other unless it was really necessary, about Dom probably. Liam stayed out late often and often and their communication skills became so poor that they only talked when necessary.

One evening, Liam came home and met her in the living room, watching a movie.

" Hey " He said casually and strolled past her.

" Hi " She replied but he had disappeared into one of the spare rooms. Yeah, they slept separately these days, Carla in their bedroom while Liam moved to one of the guest bedrooms. He only came into their bedroom whenever he needed a change of clothes. But recently, he wasn't coming into their bedroom anymore. She had no idea how he managed to move most of his clothes into the spare room but he did.

She sighed and focused on watching her movie. It got to a scene where the lovers displayed intimacy and they started kissing. Carla's eyes were glued to the screen, longing for such intimacy but she would rather die than ask Liam to satisfy her sexual needs. She was sure he would be feeling the same way anyway and if he couldn't make the first move and come to her, why should she go to him? She asked herself and decided that, she could be stubborn if he wanted to be too.

Liam came back after some minutes and stood at the doorway for a full minute, staring at her back view, happy that she didn't notice him yet. God, how much he missed her body, he thought longingly. Celibacy wasn't for him and he was sure she couldn't do it too. But both of them were just too stubborn to admit that they wanted each other. Well, he could remain stubborn if she wanted to be too.

He coughed discreetly to make his presence known and she whirled around , startled. She shifted a little bit on her seat, suddenly uncomfortable as she waited for him to say something.

" Dom needs your attention upstairs " He said coolly and Carla stood up quickly.

" Oh my poor baby " She muttered and dashed past him and into the hallway.

Dom looked like he had been crying for a while. She scooped him up and into her arms. Immediately, his crying fits reduced until it became soft whimper. Carla fed him and carried him downstairs. On getting to the living room, Liam was nowhere to be found and she sighed. She had planned to use their baby as an excuse to start a real conversation with him but it looked as though he wanted to be alone. Well she would give him space if that's what he wanted.

************

" Mum...mum... mummy "Dom struggled with the word and Carla laughed at her son's effort. She decided to spare him the torture and walked over to where he sat, his toys discarded at his feet. He looked up, but wasn't looking at her. Something or someone seemed to have caught his attention behind her and she looked back, only to find Liam behind her, holding up some chocolates he grabbed on his way home. The laughter on the her lips died down as she stared at Liam wordlessly.

" Hey " He greeted and Carla nodded.

" Hey " She replied softly

" Da da... Da da... " Dominion stuttered and fling his hands in the air at the joy of seeing his father. He raised his hands up in an indication for him to be carried.

" Oh boy! How are you? " Liam asked and walked over to him then scooped him up.

Dom squealed in excitement and he made some gurgling sounds only he could understand " Da da... Da da... Da da... " He exclaimed.

" Hope you didn't stress out Mom with your energy? " Liam asked , throwing Dominion up in the air. Carla blushed at that, happy that he at least made some efforts to talk to her.

Then he looked up and stared at Carla for a while without a word. Carla returned his stare and both of them remained that way, each of them not wanting to be the first to break the eye contact.

" How is he? " He finally asked when the eye battle was over.

She coughed slightly " Oh... He's fine "

He nodded and focused his attention on Dominion again.

" Diana is coming for dinner, do you know? " She spoke up.

He shook his head " No I don't, is she coming alone? "

She shrugged " I guess she's coming with Donald "

" Okay... Uh.. I'll go take a shower now " He said and placed Dom gently in her arms

At least, they were on talking terms now, she thought happily.

" Hey baby, your grandparents are coming for dinner, alright? " She told the kid who just stared at her cluelessly. She pinched his cheeks and he giggled.

Later that night when the old Blakes arrived, Liam and Carla played the perfect couple as they seemed to dote on one another. Diana doted on Dom so much that Carla's eyes welled up with tears. Even Donald was not left out in the display of affection. They showered Dom with so much love and affection Dom felt he had had enough of it already and he struggled to be carried by his mother. All of them bursted into laughter at his tactics.

" So, " Diana started " How have you guys been? "

Liam nodded and shoved another mouthful into his mouth, not bothering to reply her.

" We're good Diana, we're all good " Carla replied and sent a smile in Liam's direction. Liam, understanding the message, decided to play along and he returned the smile. He snaked his hand around her thighs and she gasped, an action which didn't go unnoticed by Diana and smiled secretively at her husband.

" Yeah I can see that " She said knowingly and smiled.

Carla's eyes widened as she understood what she meant " Oh... No, no it's not what you think... "

Liam cut her off " Our apologies Mom, Dad, Carla has been a little stressed out lately "

Diana nodded in understanding " Yeah I understand, You stressed me out more when you were your son's age so I understand "

" That reminds me, " She continued " When exactly is Dom's birthday? "

" He'll be one in a week's time " Carla answered.

Diana nodded " Aren't you gonna throw a party for him? "

This time, it was Liam who answered " Yeah we will, right honey? " And he looked at Carla for confirmation.

" Yeah yeah " She answered and forced a laugh up her throat. She had already made up her mind to leave immediately after Dom's birthday. The contract she signed a year ago would expire so they would finally go their separate ways. She sighed, she had thought it would be so easy to walk away from him but now that the time had finally come, she had second thoughts.

***********

The night before Dom's birthday while the maids were preparing for the Big Day, she had packed up her things in her suitcase. She intended to leave immediately after she put Dom o sleep after his party. Now the day came and everything went as she planned until it was time to leave everything behind, her baby, the love she had for Liam, the life she had gotten used to within the period of time. She put Dom to sleep with tears in her eyes. She went back into their bedroom and looked around. She knew she would miss everything about the life she had shared with him.

She met him at the doorway, standing with his hands shoved into his pockets and he stared down at her, his face expressionless.

" Where are you going? " He asked quietly.

She braced herself up for whatever was coming " I... I'm leaving " She said.

" Okay " He said emotionlessly and stepped out of the way.

It felt as though her whole world crumbled. He was not going to stop her? So he really didn't love her at all? Wow, all this while, she had believed that maybe, just maybe he really did love her but now, she had confirmed his true feelings for her.

She passed by him and walked away in tears. She hadn't walked five steps away when he ran to her and hugged her from behind.

" So you really wanna leave, huh? " He asked hoarsely but she couldn't reply as tears flowed freely down her cheeks.

" All this time, I've been hoping and waiting for you to see how much I care about you, how much I love you... " His voice broke and he closed his eyes as though he was in pain.

She looked up slowly " You... You love me?? " She whispered in disbelief.

" Isn't it obvious that I do, Bella? " He teased.

She smiled, feeling confident suddenly " I don't know what to think, Mr Blake " She sighed softly as he nuzzled her neck.

" Shall I show you then? " He asked eagerly, already aching for her body beneath his.

" Yeah I would like that " She whispered seductively and placed her hands in his outstretched ones.

" Ready to make a junior Dom, Mrs Blake? " His eyes twinkled with mischief.

" Yes Mr Blake " She replied, smiling and he scooped her up in his arms and tossed her into bed, their laughter filling the room.