Finn opened his eyes in shock.
“What did you say?"
He couldn't possibly have heard correctly.
He wasn't even searching for her anymore. So how could she be found now? And back in town?
He turned his chair to stare at Melanie, looking like an i***t instead of a powerful and scary CEO.
“I said that Ms. Gwen Miller was seen today at a mall here in town," Melanie explained with an odd expression on her face.
It was like she was at the same time trying to hold her laugh, probably because of the look on his face, and also apprehensive, like she didn't know how to proceed with this information.
After all, they had never thought they'd reach this point.
“What should we do, sir?" she continued, seeing that Finn wasn't reacting at all.
He didn't know the answer to that question. At first, when he started to search for Gwen like a crazy man, he had a whole dialogue ready in his mind.
He'd go after her wherever she was and demand that she gave him a plausible answer for leaving him without even saying goodbye.
But now, after years of disappointing outcomes, Finn had given up hope, at least in his heart.
Five years was a lot of time.
Many things could've happened and changed in her life. Of course he couldn't say the same about his own, since it didn't change much at all. He had become richer, that was a fact, but it didn't matter. He wasn't a greedy guy.
Although he couldn't say the same about his family, especially his mom, but that wasn't the time to think about her.
He was suddenly overwhelmed by the anguish he had felt in the last five years, and he realized that he was a fool to have searched for Gwen in the first place.
She had left him, right? So why should he go after her and show that he was a stupid man in love?
But at the same time, all the good moments he had with her stood out. She was the only woman that ever made him feel like himself.
Like she wasn't interested in his money, his status, his surname. It was him and only him that mattered to her. Or at least, that's how it seemed back then.
“Sir?" Melanie's voice took him out of his daydreams.
“Yes." He didn't want to sound indecisive, so he had to make a decision fast. “Tell my men to follow her and keep me updated," he ordered.
Melanie nodded and left the room in a hurry, apparently very pleased that he didn't ask her to do anything more complex.
As soon as she closed the door, Finn lit up another cigarette and inhaled the smoke very slowly, trying to ease his erratically beating heart.
Why was she back? Why now?
Deep down he wanted to know everything about her, what she had been doing in the past years. But then he had to remind himself that the answers to those questions could be very unpleasant. Did he really want to go after her?
But the thought of that brown highlighted hair, those honey-colored eyes and the bright smile that could make his world feel lighter and happier was enough for him to make up his mind.
Whatever the consequences were, he had to see her. He had to ask why she left. It was all he wanted after she broke his heart. He deserved at least that.
***
Stephanie called Gwen a few hours later to tell her that she was already at home.
Cody was asleep in her arms, completely exhausted from the flight, and she was feeling a bit jealous of her own son for being able to sleep so easily.
All she wanted was a hot bath and a soft bed to lie down in.
So as soon as she hung up the phone, Gwen grabbed the suitcase with one hand, while still carrying Cody on the other, and managed to call a cab with the help of a very sweet old lady outside of the mall.
“Oh, dear. How can you manage to do all this by yourself? Where is your husband?" she asked Gwen as they waited for the cab.
“I don't have one, ma'am. It's not that hard once you get the hang of it," Gwen replied, but the pant she let out from supporting Cody's weight for too long told otherwise.
Of course no one would believe that. And of course it was also a lie. It wasn't easy. It wasn't easy at all to take care of a four year old boy by herself.
She did get used to it with time, and the beauty of being a human was that every day was a new experience. She was growing with Cody, and as he started to learn something new, she also had to learn in order to explain to him why things were the way they were.
Perks of being a mother.
“Come, child. Let me help you with that." The kind lady grabbed the suitcase and placed it near a stool outside. “Come sit here, I'll call a cab for you."
Gwen smiled in return and sat, as the lady made a sign to the driver.
“Thank you very much," she said as she tried to put Cody on her other arm. The one he was on was already numb.
“How come you don't have a nice man by your side? You are so beautiful." The old lady gave her a warm smile, but Gwen could almost sense her pity towards her.
She sighed, thinking of all the glances and whispers that followed her, when society thought that she needed a man by her side. She had gotten used to it, but it still stung.
Not that she was against the love and companionship. She loved the idea of having someone to share her life with, or even help her. She didn't mind asking for, or receiving, a helping hand.
But she wasn't a china doll. She could do it by herself. She could manage to raise a child without a man. And it was not like she had much choice anyway.
Being pregnant and giving birth to a baby alone was one of the darkest periods of her life, if not the most.
And at the end of the day, nobody had anything to do with her life, so… Screw them!
Nobody was paying her bills for her.
Gwen didn't want to give that rude answer to someone so nice like that woman helping her, so all she could do was shrug her shoulders and wait for the cab to stop in front of them.
It took a few minutes to get to Stephanie's house, but as soon as the car stopped in front of her door, her friend was already waiting for them.
Gwen felt her heart warm with her friend's welcoming hug. It had been so long since she had felt such a feeling.
It was only her and Cody for years.
Her parents weren't alive anymore and her best friend was hours away, so she admitted that it was hard.
But now, receiving such an embrace almost made Gwen forget about all the hardships she went through.
“Finally! I can't believe this day has finally come," Stephanie said as they entered the house, with Cody still asleep. “Come, I'll show you your room so you can put this little man to sleep properly."
After getting acquainted with the house and putting Cody in bed, Gwen could finally take a shower and put some comfortable clothes.
It was already dark when Stephanie opened a bottle of wine and invited her to catch up on all the gossip.
After a few hours and some bottles of wine, Stephanie mentioned a topic that Gwen was certain was going to come up eventually, but wasn't ready to deal with yet.
“So… I have to ask you this. Have you thought about what you're going to do if you meet him again? Or even worse, if he finds out that he has a son?"
“Well, I'm not going to stay here for a long time, so all I can do is hope that he's busy with his rich world and won't even have the chance to know I'm here. After all, he probably doesn't go to the same places as someone like me, right?"
If only she knew.
Aksara