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REBECCA
“Mommy, I want Froot Loops,” Damian, my four-year-old son, yells from the small round dining room table, pointing to the colorful box of cereal on the counter.
“I know,” I giggle, grabbing the box. I just had to get you a bowl and spoon first.” I bring the ingredients over to the table, helping him as he pours his own milk, because I’m not ready to clean up the mess that would happen.
As he digs into his breakfast, I stare at him, still in disbelief that I made such a beautiful child.
From the moment he was born, he’s had my heart. Since then, I’ve dedicated my entire life to protecting him at any cost.
If it were possible, I’d stay here with him all day long.
Unfortunately, I have to be at my new job in just one short hour.
It’s my first day, and my father got me the job, so I have no idea what I’m in for.
Dad assured me that he was close with the owner.
And since the pay is enough, I have high hopes that I’ll be able to move back out of my parents’ house soon. I want to start a new life, something that Damian can be proud of me for.
After Damian was born, I moved away from home, two hours away to be exact, to Ann Arbor, Michigan.
While I love my family, I wanted to do things on my own.
Not to mention, get as far away from my child’s father as possible at the time.
I couldn’t even begin to tell my family that the father of this beautiful creature is none other than my father’s best friend, Steven Ricci.
A fueled, but short fling five years ago, resulting in a child that I had every intention of telling him about, but his family had other plans.
It all started with one drunken night, but I soon fell for Steven, hard.
I was scared, but ready to start a life with him, no matter the repercussions.
But when his parents saw me walking out of our local ob-gyn’s office, they went into panic mode.
It was then that they threatened me.
His mother and father, Savanna and William, confronted me, telling me that my family name is tarnished.
That my grandfather was a liar and stole from them.
I still remember the anger spewing from Savanna.
I was in a fragile state of mind, and she told me that she knew we were sneaking around because she saw me a few times coming and going from their home when Steven was staying with them.
She went on to tell me that Steven had a bright future, and I was only dragging him down.
The moment of realization came when she told me that if I didn’t keep this from Steven, she would make sure I could never show my face in Grand Rapids again.
My heart was broken, and I had every intention of telling Steven the awful things his parents said to me, but after some thinking, I knew they were right about one thing.
If I stayed with Steven, I would only drag him down.
He was so bright and had a great future ahead of him.
How could I, just a twenty-one-year-old who had no plans moving forward, be beneficial to Steven Ricci?
