Shouldn't Have Gone - BOOK III

Chapter 32 - Strawberry and Champagne

Chapter 32 – Strawberry and Champagne

It took Angel and Sarah three days to prepare the party but it was all worth it because their neighbors and some town people came to celebrate. Of course, they wouldn't have it done weren't it for the help of Sarah's amazing female friends who make the most delicious Colombian foods like empanada, a savory stuffed meat pastry, and lechon, a roasted pig.

It was a happy and fun time, but Angel was missing Hunter. For those three days, he did not even call, and that got her wondering. But last night, just before she went to bed, she heard his voice.

"Why aren't you calling?" she asks him, rolling over to the edge of the bed to turn the lamp on. "And you're not even answering my calls, Hunter."

She thought she heard him sigh.

"Is there a problem, babe?" She puts herself into a sitting position, her back resting on the head of the bed.

"No. No," answers Hunter.

"You sound dismal."

"I'm just missing you. That's all."

"Well, it's been three days." She is very excited to tell him about the success of the party and how she was able to meet a lot of good natured locales.

"There are just some problems in the company, babe."

"Are they that bad?" Then, she hears through the speaker Hunter's downcast laugh. "Well, I guess they are. You want me to come home?"

"Oh no, babe... I mean, spend as much quality time with your parents."

"Mom's been acting quite strange lately. She's become more melodramatic, you know. She's more nervous than me about this whole wedding thing," she tells him.

"Ah, parents!"

"But seriously, babe, I'm missing you. I wish you are here with me right now." The bed does feel cold and empty without him, she thought.

"How much do you miss me?"

Even if Hunter is at the other side of the globe, he does not fail to make her uncomfortably giddy and warm inside. Her face is painted with scarlet as she is purely astounded by his question. "How much do I miss you?"

"I miss you to the moon and back," he says.

"I miss you as much as the sun if it were gone," she answers, chuckling.

"I love you, Angel."

"And I you, Hunter."

How is he going to tell her?

Hunter wishes he has a basin of cold water to pour into himself to get his brain working. He knows he can't just casually break the truth out to her.

The words were at the tip of his tongue; he knew what he was going to say, it's just that he was short of courage. What if after he had said it, he'd lose her? What if she realizes he's not worthy of her? What if she'd hate her?

He pours champagne into his glass and munches the strawberries that are in it.

For days, he's been watching over Candice's activities. He could not let go of the fact that his child is being carried by a woman who threatens to have it aborted if her plans go the wrong way. She's been out in the night for days, partying with friends, and probably without Damien's consent. And he had to go wherever she goes.

He does not know what to do.

You can only have one: the baby or Angel. You can't have both. Damien's words still ring in his ears, and every night they haunt his dreams. Jesus! He would do anything for this point not to happen. He would not be able to choose one over the other. He loves Angel with all his life, and he's willing to lose anything but her. But how about the child? Despite the fact that it is Candice's too, Hunter would not want him to grow like him, to feel underappreciated and unloved. He would not let the child grow without a father, with hatred on the man who is not there for him. He's been in that situation, and he knows how terrible it is. He would not want his son to be like him, to grow continuously seeking for fatherly affection, and to resort to silly stupid things just to earn what he's always wanted. Because of that, he met bad people. He opened himself to this dark and dangerous world. There was no one to pull him out of there. He found that great sense of importance and care from these strangers who transformed his entire life.