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“A certain, um, Julia Van Den Bosch.”
Holy fuck! The phone slips from my grip as grim flushes run up my spine. I’m utterly shocked that Julia has found out where I live. My heart is in my throat and I can’t help but shiver at the thought of having her here in my apartment.
“Hello? Are you still there, ma’am?” I hear the receptionist asking from the other side of the line.
Quickly, I pick up the phone and put it back up against my cheek.
“Yes,” I reply, sensing the touches of anxiety in my voice. “Um, that’s fine, let her in.”
Right after hanging up, I put a call through to Andries. He doesn’t take the call, and my heartbeat quickens knowing that Julia is coming upstairs in a few minutes. Fuck! Fuck! And fuck! It’d be crazy to have Andries run into her while she is here. As I hold this thought, I thumb on my iPhone, sending him a text:Your mom is at the reception desk. Stay at the gym until I get back to you.
A gush of air rolls off my lips after sending the text, hoping he’ll see it before leaving the gym. I start roaming through the living room, hiding Andries’ belongings and removing anything that could give her any indication he’s spending the weekend here. I’m simultaneously afflicted with a mix of fear and trepidation. A rash of gooseflesh sweeps through my arms as Iwait for the arrival of his mom. Only, the longer I think about it, the more I realize there is nothing I can do to change how she regards me. Julia will always see me as someone unsuitable for her son. What is there to prove?
All of a sudden, though, a knock pervades the living room. Despite my effort to calm myself, I’m still slightly shaken by the sound of the knock. A mix of acids sweep through my stomach, weakening my resolve. The knock comes again, compelling me to move from where I am. I’m suddenly lumbering like an old woman suffering from severe arthritis. Mercifully, my phone beeps as I was about to give the first step toward the door. And thank God, it’s Andries:Fuck. Elise didn’t waste time. Tell her I’m not here.
I take several deep breaths, shutting my eyes for a brief moment as I try to recenter myself. A knock comes at the door again. This time, though, I try to be more emboldened. I leave the living room, reach the foyer, and finally move to the door. I open it, and my eyes lay on the intimidating frame of none less than Julia herself who stands tall in front of me. She might exude elegance thanks to her formal knee-length dress and high heels, but she greets me with nothing more than a wry, disdainful smile. She nudges my shoulder and storms into my place, uninvited. She then crosses the hallway, looking right and left, until she makes her way to the living room, obviously in search for her son.
I shut the door as she trudges inside, and, after following her back inside the living room, I say, “Good afternoon to you too, Julia.”
Julia just ignores me as her eyes scan around the open layout. It’s clear she simply wants to take her son from the house of the woman who’ll always be a whore in her eyes.
“Where is he?” Her high-pitched question resonates through the walls, and I can’t help but smile at her annoyance for not finding him.
I remain a few steps behind her, watching Julia proceed toward the TV, the biased discussions about the case still airing. She takes a perfunctory look at the screen first before she turns her attention back to me.
“How did you find my address?” I ask, keeping my tone under control.
The disdain in her eyes hasn’t changed a bit, and I can see a smirk spreading across her lips.
“I’m a judge. A well connected one at that. Surely you’re not that dumb.” Standing inches from me, she looks me right in the eyes and repeats the same question, her tone more threatening than before. “Where is my son, Roxanne?”
I hold her gaze, keeping my chin high, and I savor the silence between us while her distress keeps growing.
“You won’t tell me where he is, will you?” Julia asks as if reading the answer in my gaze.
“He isn’t here,” I lie, dropping my face.
“Fine,” she spits out. “I’ll just sit here and wait for him, then.”
Before she can do so, I step in and say, “Julia, your son knows that you’re here. He isn’t going to come back until you leave.”
She stops at the side of the couch, her eyes widening in shock at the news. Despite her best attempt to hide her astonishment, her face is contorted, and her lips are pressed together in perceivable fury. Her right hand convulses to a fist, and she inhales deeply, sucking in her breath.
I can hear the sound of her heel hitting the tiled floor as she starts walking back in my direction. “Look, I’ll be very frank with you; for your own good, you better leave my son alone once and for all.”
The seriousness in her tone makes me snort, and I can’t help but shake my head in dismissal. “Or else what?”
She gives a few more steps forward until standing inches from me. She then leans down to my ear and says, “Or else I’ll make sure to find a way to close down your business for good.”
“You don’t have to bother yourself with my agency, Julia.” I pause, observing the frown forming on her face. “I’m selling it. In fact, I’m turning the page, and I’m doing it for Andries.” Despite the tension between us, I can’t forget she’s just trying to protect her son, so I decide to open up and tell her the truth. “I never wanted to hurt him, I swear. I made a mistake, but I intended to tell him the truth about my business.”
Her stern expression remains just the same. “I know exactly what you are doing,” she says, sounding dismissive. “You have power over him and you’re unwilling to let it go.”
My brows crease together in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“You’ve been in this business long enough to know exactly what you’re doing to him,” she says, looking at me with the same judgmental eyes as her daughter. “He’s the catch of the century for you, but guess what? Being with someone out of your league won’t erase your shitty past.”
I drop my gaze to the floor, heaving a sad sigh. I’m trying to keep myself composed and calm, but I think Julia is deliberately poised to push me to the edge. “Julia, everyone deserves a second chance in life. I’m trying to move on. I’m trying to—”
