(A/N : next two chapters are uploaded on GoodNovel.)
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3 years later
Waking up in the morning and being able to see the world was something Jade was thankful for. It had been three years since she gained her eye sight and she didn't miss any moment to cherish the blessing or take it for granted.
Getting out of the bed, she walks into the bathroom attached to the room. Doing her normal morning business, she comes out of the bathroom. An instant smile travels her face as her eyes catch the sight of the small figure siting up on the small bed or crib.
Walking towards the crib, with the smile still on her face, she watches as the tiny figure sat inside the crib, with their back facing towards Jade, as they played with the soft toys that they went to sleep with in the night.
"Hey" Jade says, so she could capture the person's attention, which she managed to do successfully.
A smile graces their face as they turn their face towards Jade, their blue-green eyes sparkling as they watch Jade.
"Mama" standing up on their crib, the tiny figure raises their hands up, showing her that they wanted to be picked up. Which she gladly does.
Lifting them into her arms, she smiles as they wrap their arms around her neck.
It's been two and a half years since she had given birth to her baby. He was her lifeline and the person that kept her going. With midnight black hair and blue-green eyes, he was a looker.
Adonis Romano was her two and a half year old son and her world. She loved him to death and would protect him at all costs with her life.
"Come on, we need to get ready. Don't you want Aunty Scarlett's cookies?" She asks him, knowing how much he loved Scarlett's baked cookies.
She watched as he bounced up and down in excitement, while she carried him to the bathroom, so she could get him ready.
After bathing him and dressing in his winter clothes along with a small beanie on his head. Since it was December, and it had already started snowing. She gets ready herself afterwards, leaving Adonis to play with his toys.
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She locks her apartment with her keys, turning to the side she watches as Adonis giggles softy as a snowflake lands on his small button nose. A small smile plays on her lips as she watched him.
"Come on" extending her hand so that she could his tiny ones in hers, even though he was just a toddler he was adamant on walking, sometimes refuses to be picked up. Who was she to deny him that?!
The normal green and grassy surrounding was covered in a layer of thick white snow. Sure her werewolf genes kept her warm, Jade liked to sometimes go along with it ; act like any normal human you would find, sure it was a delusion of her to think that she could live like a normal human being who went about their lives without a care in the world, had the free rein to do anything.
Sadly, nothing about Jade was normal, because firstly, she was a Hybrid ; the species that shouldn't even exist in the first place yet here she was, squashing that myth/theory with her presence. Secondly, she had a mate who was trying to find her, and this supposed mate doesn't have a clue about their son.
Jade had been living in her own apartment, for the past two years. A few months after she had given birth to her son, she had moved out of Scarlett's house, which the woman wasn't happy about but after a lot of pleading and assuring her that she would be alright with a new born.
But there was a catch, obviously. Scarlett only let her move out after Jade had agreed to her demands, which was that Jade was to live close to Scarlett's house, so that Scarlett could come visit them whenever she wanted to. Which Jade was happy about and happily obliged.
Jade had also managed to work for the past one and a half years. Scarlett owned a bakery not too far away from where Jade lived. It was a win win situation really, Jade got to make money plus she would take Adonis with her to the bakery, which he absolutely loved. Why wouldn't he? After all he got to eat all the sweets that his lovely Aunt Scarlett would feed him. The boys' got a real sweet tooth.
Finally after a fifteen minute walk Jade stands outside the 'La Douceur'. This was the bakery Scarlett owned in the heart of Winston. People here loved the baked goods the bakery had to offer hence the hustle and bustle infront of Jade, she watched as people sat in the booths, chit chatting, and smiling. This was the one of the few bakeries in town, so it was obviously famous among the locals.
Winston was a small town slash village kind of community. A tight-knit community of people. Tall trees and thick rain forest areas were common here, this place oozed calmness and brings peace to one's soul. People here were friendly and hospitable.
She can't count the amount of people who had offered her help during her pregnancy. She was almost at the verge of crying, which might've made some people look at her in concern. The small town hosted nearly three thousand people.
Opening the door to 'La Douceur', she inhales in the addicting aroma of coffee that seemed to waft around the air. The Café had a homey feeling to it, with it being decorated in brown tones of shade.
Feeling someone tug at her hands, she looks down only to see big blue green eyes staring at her with excitement and then staring at all the baked goodies that seemed to be put up behind the glass counter, not so long ago.
Jade shakes her head at her son's obvious excitement. She's going to have one hyper toddler by the end of the day.
As soon as both the mother and son duo walk in, a chorus of 'Good Mornings' are thrown their way, which she replies back to.
"Good Morning Jade." Frank, the barista, instantly chimes up upon seeing Jade wake in.
Frank was a chubby man in his early forties, he was one of the barista's of the Café, also one of Scarlett's close friend. He had dark blonde hair and kind brown eyes, that were always shining brightly and made Jade feel at home.
"Good Morning to you too, Frank, having a good day so far?" Jade asks back, greeting him.
"Yes, yes, you know it" he replies with a smile.
"Ah, oh, who is this young man?" Frank suddenly asks playfully, his eyes on the tiny figure that now seemed to get suddenly shy, hiding behind his mother's legs while staring at Frank.
"Oh come on, kiddo, you don't want this?" Frank holds out a sprinkled cookie covered in a transparent paper in his hand, of course he knew about her son's addiction to anything sweet related, and taking the advantage of his weakness. Jade shakes her head. This was a normal occurrence for her.
Frank crouches down in front of the small toddler, his one hand extending the cookie towards the blue green eyes boy who looked at the cookie like it was a piece of treasure, maybe to him, it was indeed one.
Adonis extends his small hands, taking the cookie in his own, and stares back at Frank who still had a smile on his face.
"What do you say after someone gives you something, Adonis?" Jade asks as she closely watched them interact with a smile on her face.
"Thankyou" the small boy said, but it mostly came out as thanchu since he was still learning to pronounce things, and had difficulty in pronouncing certain words since he was a toddler after all.
Frank pats the little boy's head and stands up from his crouched frame.
"Have you seen Scarlett? I haven't seen her around" She asks him, as Jade looked around the bakery, which was also a part café. She couldn't spot the brunette haired woman anywhere around here.
"You know her Jade, she's always baking something" Frank says in a playful tone, with a playful roll of his eyes.
"Of course she would be, see you later Frank" she says, to which he replies with a 'see you later'.
"Hey" Jade says, walking into the back kitchen only to stop dead in her tracks when she takes in the scene before her.
Her eyes take in the brunette haired older woman before her, who had a bit of flour present on her hair and face, while she rolled the dough, probably to bake another batch of cookies Jade had seen people outside munching away at.
Jade's voice seems to capture Scarlett's attention, making her stop rolling the dough for a moment. A smile forms on her face, the slight laugh lines appearing near the sides of her eyes and mouth.
Scarlett was a pleasant woman to be around. She always looked around others and especially Jade. Scarlett treated her like her own daughter. Sadly, Scarlett didn't have any children of her own, but the woman never seemed down or sad.
"Hey, when did you get here?"
"Just a few minutes ago, and you're still baking to death I see" Jade takes in the sets of cookie laid out in the baking tray.
Scarlett glared at her playfully, her eyes move down and immediately lights up as she takes in Adonis, as he munched on the cookie Frank had offered him.
As soon as Adonis takes notice of the older woman, an ear splitting smile forms on his face, running up to the older woman he gives her a hug, which she returns careful not to rub off the dough on him.
"Aww, that's my grandson" Scarlett coos at him as she takes in the small toddler. Caressing his face lovingly and placing a soft kiss on his forehead. Jade smiles at their interaction, her heart melts at their sweet interaction.
Seeing them both interact with each other reminded her of her own parents, thinking how happy they would've been to see and play with their grandson, sadly they were taken away from this world too soon.
Scarlett considered Adonis as her own grandson and treated him like one too. Scarlett and her husband, Joe, spoiled the boy every chance they got.
"Scarlett, I'll be working outside. Call me if you need anything" Jade says as she pulls on her apron over her dress, removing her jacket in the process. Leaving Adonis with the older woman, since he was used to Jade's work routine.
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Jade walks towards one of the tables situated at the corner of the café with a notepad and pen clutched in her hands.
She approached the table where one man seemed to sit, dressed in a suit.
"Hello, Good morning sir. What would you like to order?" She asks him politely, with a smile on her face.
Grayson looks up from his newspaper, his eyes widens a fraction as he looks at the woman that stood in front of him.
Jade's face scrunches a bit when he doesn't reply to her question.
Now that she notices it, he was a werewolf. It wasn't uncommon for wolves to be spotted around the small town. Many people crossed through to get to the city, often bringing in new people at the Café, who stop by to drink coffee or have some snacks during the day time.
His presence didn't make her feel threatened or anything, she was used to being a werewolves' presence by now.
A clearing of the throat catches her attention.
"A black coffee please" he says and Jade nods her head.
"Anything else? Any pastries, cakes, croissants, cookies?" Jade lists off the items from the menu by heart.
"A croissant would do" he replies with a small smile after thinking about it for a few moments.
"Sure, I'll be back in a moment with your coffee and croissant" with that said she leaves him to get his order.
What she failed to notice was how his eyes followed her through out the room.
ADONIS ROMANO
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