Evelyn rolls her eyes and pushes away from the door frame, walking over to my bed.
“Nothing if you’re going out to brunch with some friends. But you are going out to dinner with your husband.”
I once again look at my outfit. Mira and I both agreed that this was nice, especially paired with my six-inch-high heels.
“It’s not that bad,” I reply, not so sure anymore.
My mother shakes her head as she comes to stand behind me. Her reflection in the mirror gives me that stern motherly glare, which is weird since she knows nothing about being a mother.
“Look,” she starts, and I turn to face her. “You’re right about me. I know nothing about being a mother.”
Damn, she must’ve read my mind.
“But there is one thing I know very well, and that’s how to move in this world you’re currently in now.”
She turns away from me and heads into my closet. I follow behind her.
“Rich men are like children.” She looks through my rows of designer clothes. Most of which my husband has bought me or had a stylist bring over. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve done my fair share of shopping for this closet as well. Just not as much as Nico.
“They love shiny new things. It’s in their DNA,” she goes on to say as she pulls out the hunter green satin wrap dress that is made to look like a man’s dress shirt but in a feminine, stylish way. The way the dress wraps leaves a split up one thigh. The dress is brand new and still has the tags on it. She lays the dress across my closet island and then goes over to my shoes.
“Their infatuation with new and flashy things is part of how they make their money. They are always chasing a new great venture.”
“That’s not Nico,” I argue.
Evelyn places a pair of brown strappy heels down beside the dress before going into the island to my jewelry section.
“That’s all rich men.” She places a pair of gold chunky hoops down on top of the dress.
“Not Nico.” I feel the need to defend my man. “He loves me.”
Evelyn chuckles before searching through the other drawers until she finds my bracelets.
“Johnathan adored me.” She pulls out my stack of gold bangles and puts them out beside the earrings. “He used to write me poetry.”
Johnathan was her second husband. He was an athlete.
“Mitchell spoiled me. He never wanted to sleep a night away from me. Samuel,” she sighs and looks away longingly. “He was obsessed with me. If I even looked as if I was unhappy with him, he would take me shopping.”
When she looks back at me, the look of longing is gone, and there is only neutrality on her face.
“Do you know what all those men have in common?”
I felt like I knew the answer to this, but I wanted to hear her response anyway. Swallowing the knot that has formed in my throat, I barely get out my next word.
“What?”
She grins. “They all left me and moved on to the next shiny new toy.”
Still feeling the need to argue against this case, I say. “He wouldn’t do that. We have a child together.”
She shakes her head. “So did the wives of two of my ex-husbands and five ex-boyfriends. You think a child will keep a man?”
Look, I know that children have not, and never will make a person stay where they don’t want to be. I’m not naïve. I even know that tossing a baby into an already failing marriage won’t save it. My response is because I know Nico. He loves Noah. The thought of him traveling without his son with him bothers him; he’d never want to live without him.
Who says he wouldn’t? He could take you to court and get half if not full custody.The thought comes so quickly, I gasp at the realization.
Shaking my head, I try to force that voice away. No need to add problems. Nico hasn’t shown me any signs of not wanting me. Hell, my pussy still aches from how much he showed me he wants me.
