CAKE

One Hundred Forty-Two

Kathryn

Furrowing my brows, I exit the bedroom and make my way to the front door. I glance through the peephole just as a knock sounds through the apartment just as it did seconds prior. My brows raise as I spot Mateo's mother on the other side of the door. Frowning, I step away from the door for a second.

How does she know where we live? Letting out a breath, I unlocked the door and opened it, knowing there was no use in acting like I wasn't home. She probably saw my truck. "Hi Linda," I greet. 

She frowns. "Mateo isn't home?" she questions.

I purse my lips as I eye the woman. Clearing my throat, I shake my head. "No... no ma'am. He hasn't been home for the past week. Have you heard from him?" I question. 

She let out a breath and entered the apartment despite me not inviting her inside. "No. I was hoping he was here so I could beat him," she voices, shocking me. I raise my brows in confusion, wondering what Mateo could've done to make his mother want to beat him.

Sighing, she turns to me, her brown eyes taking me in. She immediately notices the confusion on my face and explains. "Do you know Stephanie's boyfriend Paul?" she questions.

Pursing my lips, I nod my head slowly, wondering where she was going with this. The older woman frowns before she turns her head. "Where's my grandson? It's been so long since I've seen him. I bet he's getting bigger," she tries to divert our attention.

"I just put him down for a nap before you came. Linda, what about Paul?" I question.

The older woman's frown deepens as she glances at me. She makes her way to the couch and takes a seat before glancing back at me and patting the spot beside her. My heart pounds against my ribcage as I follow her instructions and take the seat next to her, wondering why she was acting so somber. 

"I met Paul in June when the two first got together. I liked him, he was a nice gentleman. I wanted him to meet Mateo, I thought they'd get along if they ever got the chance to meet," she smiles at the thought.

I can't help but frown, remembering Mateo's indifferent behavior after meeting the man. "I recently ran into Paul at the supermarket and invited him and Stephanie for dinner when he told me they were no longer together," she voices, brown eyes landing on me.

My brows raise in surprise. I had no idea they broke up. How long ago did they break up? My brows knit together. Why did they break up?

"When I asked him why... he told me it was because he saw her and Mateo kissing."

The words bounce around my eardrums as I let it sink in. A part of me knew all along that he was cheating but I never wanted to believe it. You'd think I'd have learned my lesson after everything that happened with Thomas but Mateo and Thomas weren't the same man. Mateo had morals, he didn't lie to me, and he treated me like his girlfriend and not a prize he'd won.

So hearing that I was right all this time, hurt. It broke my heart deeply. 

Tears well in my eyes and I force myself to blink hard, not wanting his mother to see that his actions affected me. When I open my eyes, the tears fall anyway. My lip quivers as I turn my gaze away from the woman.

"Oh, honey, I'm so sorry," Linda whispered as she pulled me into her. "I know I wasn't an ideal role model but if there was one thing I taught my kids, it was to never cheat on their partner no matter what," she voiced, upset with her son.

I inhale deeply and pull away from the woman. "I suspected," I mutter honestly. She furrows her brows. "I've been cheated on before and there were signs that were similar but there was a huge part of me... still is, where I just can't see Mateo as that kind of man. He's always been the most selfless person I've known since we got together," I voice.

Clearing my throat, I run my hand through my hair. "I know I haven't been the best girlfriend, I'm not saying I was but I never cheated on him. There were so many times I could've and I didn't because I respected myself and him too much to stoop that low. But now... I just never would've expected that from him of all people."

Linda eyes me sadly, wishing she could do something to change this. I sniff. "I knew sooner or later he'd realize how much Stephanie liked him or he'd realize how much he likes her. I just thought he'd be man enough to end things before it got to the point where he thought cheating was okay."

Letting out a breath, I lay my head against the back of the couch. "I'm just tired of crying," I voice.

- - - - -

The sound of the door opening and closing grabbed my attention away from Antonio. I turn my head, my gaze landing on Mateo. He glances around before his gaze lands on me. His brows knit together. "Hey, are you okay?" he questioned as he stepped further into the apartment.

I frown at him. "No. But we'll talk about that. You should go wind down for a bit before we talk."

The dark-skinned man eyes me for a few seconds before his gaze lands on Antonio. "What do you want to talk about?" he questions.

"The hickey on your neck for starters," I voice, keeping a straight face. His face falls in realization as he lifts his hand to hide the made-up mark. I scoff and roll my eyes, "There's no hickey, Mateo. I just wanted to see what you'd do. Please go in the room because I want to throw something at you and I would like to not do that in front of Antonio," I hiss.

Mateo eyes me before nodding his head slowly and leaving. 

Silence filled the apartment for 30 minutes before Mateo eventually made his way out of the room. "My mom told me she came over," he mutters, eyes on me. I frown, "Yeah, she did. And she was kind enough to tell me that her son has been cheating on me, something even you didn't have the balls nor guts to do," I spit.

The man frowns. "Can you even blame me? You've been pushing me into her arms since Casey's been back to Houston," he spits with a scoff.

"Do you even hear yourself right now? You're justifying cheating?" I hiss, appalled by his words.

Mateo rolls his eyes. "What did you expect Kathryn? You're the one who's still in love with another woman! You're the one who's given up on us! I just finally took the fucking hint!" 

My mouth falls open in disbelief. "So now you're blaming me for your cheating instead of owning up to it?! I will admit I haven't been the best girlfriend but these past few months I have tried my hardest to make up for that!" I spit.

"Don't act like you're the victim here, Kathryn. You never loved me to begin with, you were always with one foot out the door waiting for something to end our relationship. I'm the reason we were even still together. You were always so worried about Casey this and Casey that, all over her, and for what? She's not even in love with you anymore."

"That's not... what?" I yell, wondering what Casey had to do with any of this. "This isn't about me being in love with Casey. If... if you're trying to somehow blame this on me maybe you should've done all of this months ago! I moved in with you Mateo! I fired Casey because you were starting to get annoyed with her! And you go behind my back and cheat! And I'm not even upset that you cheated because I knew it was going to happen. I'm upset because you didn't just be a fucking man and end things before you hurt me the way you did!"

"And you've been hurting me this entire relationship, Kathryn! I've dealt with it all. Your lies, your indecision, your petty behavior. Don't even get me started on the fact that you had a child with me to spite Casey in the first place! And don't think I didn't realize you only wanted to move in because you wanted to get away from Casey. And no, not for my sake, for your own."

"You know, you're a real piece of shit. At least I still have my dignity. I never cheated on you."

"You're not a saint, Kathryn. You can guilt-trip me into feeling bad but we both know you weren't a gold prize of a girlfriend either. At least with Stephanie, I can expect the truth. At least if we ever want children, it won't be because she wants to upset her ex," he spits making his way toward the door.

"You pushed me to this. You pushed me to be this person," he voices before exiting the apartment. 

A/N: I know this was a short chapter too... but I can't help it. I think you'll get a longer chapter in about... 3-4 chapters. Speaking of chapters... there's only 20 left!