SELEN was humming as she walked out of the house. She was in a good mood since yesterday afternoon. Her relationship with Sage was progressing better than she imagined it would be. He was not treating her cold anymore, and he was showing her his side that no one knows. That only meant that Sage had put his trust in her.
She hopped on her bike and pedaled out of their front yard. But she did not get too far. She had to stop when she noticed that she has a flat tire. Selen fished her phone out of her bag and called Reinald. The other line kept on ringing until she heard the operator speak.
The number you dialed is now unattended or out of coverage area. Please try your call later.
She tried calling him again and again, but he would not answer the call. It seemed that her dear friend hates her now after what happened between them last time. She heaved a deep sigh and returned her bike home. Selen will just walk to get there.
And because Sage was living a couple of blocks away from her house, it took her more than thirty minutes before she arrived.
Before going inside Sage’s house, she went to his friend’s house to look for him. She tiptoed and peeked to the other side of their gate and saw Reinald planking on their porch.
“Rei!” she called to get his attention. But the dimwit did not even pay attention.
Her nose crinkled. Selen knew Reinald heard her voice, but he just chose to ignore her because he was freaking mad at her. She heaved a sigh. Maybe she has to wait until he cools down.
Selen sauntered towards Sage’s house and stood in front of the gate as she opened her back to get the keys. But heck, the keys were not there. She even took out everything inside her bag but still could not find the keys. And that only meant one thing, she forgot them.
She shut her eyes and tried to recall where she put the keys. Then, she suddenly remembered that she changed her bag into a bigger one and she must have left it on her bed.
“Argh!” She pulled her hair. “I can’t go back at this rate.”
She was too exhausted to walk back home. The sun was already up, and it was hot. So, Selen decided to climb over the walls. It was not that high, though.
“Hiyaaa!” Selen jumped to the other side of the wall.
She was brushing off the dust in her hands and jeans when she felt someone was staring at her. When she looked in front of her, she saw a little boy standing by the doorstep holding a teddy bear almost as big as him, drinking milk from a bottle. From Selen’s estimation, the child was around four years of age. She wondered who he was. As far as she knows, Sage was an only child.
Could it be that he was Marceline’s child?
Selen sauntered towards the little boy with a smile and bent in front of him so they could see each other at eye level.
“Hello, there.” She pinched his plump, pinkish cheeks. “Who’s with you, baby boy?”
“Daddy,” he replied as he bit the rubber nipple of his feeding bottle.
“Where’s your daddy?”
“Out. Buying milk.”
She stood up. “I wonder who’s your daddy.”
“Sage,” the little boy said.
“Huh?” Selen looked down at him.
“Daddy Sage.”
Her eyes grew wider.
I-is this some kind of joke?
Does Sage have a son? With whom? When? Was he hiding his son from the public? Was it the same reason why he was so private? She cupped her head but managed to suppress a scream.
If it was indeed true that the little kid was Sage’s son, then she has a big problem. What if Sage was just living separately from his son and his mother? She paced back and forth, occasionally biting her lip out of anxiousness. Does Reinald know about it? Her friend must be waning her when he said that Sage would only make her cry.
Oh, no! What should I do know?
He already consumed two doses of the love potion. It must already have an effect on Sage. And there is no way to undo the love potions effect.
Selen was pulled back to reality when she heard a car honking outside. She immediately ran to the gate and opened it.
Sage’s car went in, and seconds later, he got off from it.
“Oh, at last, you’re here. What took you so long?” he asked upon seeing her.
The kid ran towards him, and Sage carried him swiftly.
“S-Sage…” She swallowed hard and mustered all the remaining strength that she has. “Is that kid really your son?”
“Why are you asking?” he countered.
Selen’s fists clenched so hard, she felt her fingernails dug on her palms. “Is it really hard to answer a simple question? All you have to say is a yes or a no.”
She tried to contain her emotions. Quarreling at that rate was not good.
“There’s this orphanage that I’ve been sponsoring since I started earning from my acting career. This year, I participated in their share a home program.” He caressed the little boy’s back and kissed his cheek. “This cute baby boy is one of those kids in the orphanage. I’ll be his foster dad while I’m on hiatus. Biologically, he’s not my son, Selen.”
She slowly drew her breath. Dang! She jumped to conclusions. It was always better to ask to know the truth.
Selen felt relieved. So far, everything was going smoothly according to plan.
She smiled at him. “I’m sorry about being late. My bike’s tire broke so I had to walk.”
“You should’ve called me so that I could pick you up.”
She winced. “But I don’t have your number.”
“Oh. Then, I’ll give it to you later.” Sage went inside the house.
“You must be starving. What do you want for breakfast?” She followed them inside.
“I already ate breakfast on my way to the orphanage.”
“I see…”
“A refreshment will do.” He put the child down.
“Wait for a second.”
Selen went to the kitchen and made a refreshment for Sage just as he requested. She then mixed the third dose of her love potion and came back to the living room.
“What’s his name?” she asked as he handed him the glass of juice.
“Sean,” he said. Sage drank the juice in one go.
“Hi, Sean. Nice meeting you.” She brushed her palm against the kid’s hair.
The little boy looked at her with narrowed eyes. “Witch!”
“A-aha! What?” She slowly turned her gaze at Sage, who was leaning against the sofa.
“Sean, that’s bad.”
“Yes! I-it’s bad to call someone—”
“Your bad.” Sean threw a ball at her and hid under the center table.
“Sean.” Sage’s tone was firm. She knew it was his way of reprimanding the kid. “Say sorry to her. That’s bad.”
“No!”
Selen laughed awkwardly. “It’s okay. We both know he’s just a little boy. Kids can be naughty sometimes.”