Another week had passed, another week of my boring life with Mr. Evan Parker. He spent most of his time in his office and mostly returned to home late. It was Cara who kept me sane otherwise the deafening silence in the huge mansion would have eaten me alive.

Today, I decided to visit the nearby park with Cara. Instead of taking Evan's car, we strolled on foot to enjoy the weather. The sky was covered with clouds today and it looked like it was going to rain. As a precaution, I had taken an umbrella with us.

"Mama, I want that popsicle." she said, pointing towards a small shop where a tall man was selling Popsicles.

"Cara, you'll get sick." I said.

"Please," she pouted and my heart melted at her cute expression. She was becoming a small, manipulative devil who knew she could make me do anything with her pout.

"Okay. But only a small one," I finally relented.

I took her with me to shop where she chose a strawberry flavored popsicle for her. While doing so, I felt eyes on me. My head whipped to my left where a man was gazing at Cara with narrowed eyes, as if observing her with full focus.

I felt scared all of sudden. The man didn't look like someone who could harm us. He was wearing a decent T-shirt with faded jeans and his dark brown hair were pushed back in style. But one can never be so sure.

"Let's go Cara," I said in apprehension when his eyes didn't avert.

"What happened?" she asked in confusion.

"Nothing. Its just getting late." I said and wrapped my hand around her wrist. I tugged her along and that's when I saw from my peripheral vision that man started moving too.

I hurried Cara as fast as I could but I could still feel that man's footsteps behind us. There were many news of attacks on women and children these days so fear automatically crept in my heart.

"Excuse me," he ran behind us and I increased my speed.

But at the end, he finally reached us and blocked our path. Slowly, he took off his sunglasses, revealing his light blue gleaning eyes that somehow looked familiar. "Cara," he said and crouched in front of her.

"Uncle Nate," she exclaimed excitedly and jumped on him for a hug. He wrapped his arms around her and they both looked like they had known each other forever.

"Who are you?" I asked when they finally parted.

"I am Cara's uncle. The real question is who are you and where are you taking my niece?" he asked with suspicion in his voice.

"I am her mother," I said and pulled Cara close to me. He was her relative but I still had to be conscious until I was sure he was safe.

"Really? Because last I remember, her mother was my late sister." He said with a frown on his face.

"Sister? Oh, so you are Eliza's brother." I said as the realization dawned upon me. He actually looked a lot like her, same dark blonde hair, same colored eyes. "Actually, I got married to Evan few weeks earlier."

"Evan got married? Wow." His facial expression told me that the news didn't settle with him and I could understand why. I was married to the guy who was his late sister's husband so it won't be a surprise if he hated my guts. "Well, we haven't been introduced properly. I am Nate Dixon."

"I am Scarlet Ray... Um I mean... Scarlet Parker." I replied as I shook his extended hand. He smirked as he assessed me keenly with his bluish grey eyes. He was quite handsome and his stare was making me nervous.

"It's nice to meet you, Scarlet. And how is my little princess?" he turned towards Cara and picked her up in his arms.

"I am not little, Uncle Nate. I am five now." she said, pulling out her five fingers.

"Oh, how could I forget? You are so big now." he said and then acted like picking her up was taking up all his effort. The scene caused me to chuckle.

"How come I never saw you before?" I asked him.

"I live in Washington. Just came two days ago for some work." he told me and I nodded in understanding.

"Oh, so where are you staying?" I asked in an attempt of small talk.

"All the hotels were already booked so I am staying in a cheap motel nearby." he told me.

"Why don't you stay with us, Uncle Nate? Like you did last time." Cara asked him.

"Because last time, it was just one day. I am here for a whole week, pumpkin." he told her. He was being so gentle with her and it warmed my heart.

I pondered whether to invite him or not. I think Evan wouldn't want Eliza's brother to stay in a motel and he would probably like me to offer him to stay at his place.

"Yeah, you should stay with us while you're here. Motels here aren't very safe." I offered him.

He put Cara down and then looked down at me from his tall height. "You should ask Evan first."

"I am sure he won't mind. And Cara would love to have you with her." I said.

He looked like he was in some deep thoughts for a minute. "Well, if you insist." he smiled, showing me his perfectly straight teeth and I mentally swooned.

...........

It was about 8 when Liam dropped me back from the bakery. My stomach growled in hunger and I rushed to the dining room to have dinner. Knowing Evan, he won't be back till late so there was no point in waiting.

"Kelly, can you please serve the dinner?" I said once I reached inside. "And where is Cara?"

"She ate a lot of fruits earlier so she wasn't feeling hungry anymore. Geena tucked her in the bed." Kelly told me.

Nodding, I made my way to the dining table and sat down. Kelly set a plate in front of me and put the dish of lasagna in the middle of the table.

"Wow, it smells delicious." I said, inhaling deeper. The delicious aroma teased my nostrils and my mouth watered. "Thank you." I said. She nodded and then left to have dinner with George.

"Eating alone?" A masculine voice said from behind me and I turned around to find Nate entering inside. He had changed into a baby blue T-shirt that matched his eye color. It was a different shade from Evan's piercing blue gaze.

"Yeah, Evan would be late probably," I smiled. "Did you have any issue settling in?"

"Not at all, Kelly and George helped me a lot." he said and adjusted himself on the seat beside me. I had asked George to open the guest room on the second floor for him. He said he was staying for a week and would be gone by Sunday.

"Great." I said and offered the dish to him. He resisted at first but then served a slice in his plate.

"So what do you do?" he asked while taking the first bite.

"I run a bakery." I told him.

"Oh. How did a bakery owner meet a CEO of a multinational company?" he asked me with curiosity in his voice.

"Uh..." I gulped, not knowing what to tell him. He looked like he had doubts about Evan and me, and I didn't want to add to them any further. "We had a mutual friend."

"When did Evan Parker start having friends?" he chuckled and I felt the need to defend Evan. Antisocial or not, he was my husband. But well, Nate was right in the end, he didn't have any friend.

"Well, what do we have here?" The voice of a certain workaholic individual echoed in the room and both of our heads whipped to his direction. "Who let this piece of shit enter my house?" My jaw hung low on hearing those words from his mouth.

"Evan Daniel Parker, still an asshole I see." Nate replied in the chillest tone possible. While he had a smirk on his face, Evan's face was burning in anger. His fists were balled and his jaw was clenched, his way of showing fury.

"I... I met him in the park. I thought I should invite him to stay with us." I interfered and the murderous look on Evan's face told me that I should start counting till my last breaths.

"Come see me in bedroom." he said and with precise large steps, walked away to our room's direction. Fear filled my being and I realised I should prepare myself for the worst reaction possible.

I am so screwed.

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