Chapter 3

• Closing the door to the fridge after taking out a bottle of water, Adam internally rolled his eyes when he sighted Tessie standing at the entrance of the kitchen.
• He acted like he didn’t see her, and just focused on the bottled water in his hand.
• “11:39 pm. So who were you with, tonight? Natasha, Lucia, Cynthia, Sera or Alicia.” Tessie mocked with her arms folded as she leaned against the wall by the entrance.
• Adam gulped down the water from the bottle.
• “I bet it was Diane! Where did you guys fuck? In the car, club restroom, your office or in the middle of the road.”
• Adam finished the water and tossed the bottle in a nearby bin. He was about to exit the kitchen but Tessie had blocked the way. She was standing in front of him with her arms folded.
• “Get the fuck out of the way!” Adam said with gritted teeth, trying to stay calm.
• “And what if I don’t? You will tie me up and fuck the shit out of me?”
• Within a twinkle of an eye, Adam reached for Tessie’s hand and pushed her out of the way, approaching the staircase that led to his bedroom.
• Tessie was tiny and with someone as powerful as Adam, he didn’t find it difficult to clear her out of the road.
• “You egoistic bastard! Who gave you the right to touch me with your filthy hands?” Tessie yelled, walking behind him.
• “I’ve never met anyone who’s as shameless as you are. You cheat on your wife, you have no ounce of respect for me, You’re the shittest father ever and yet you’re so fucking proud! Who would have thought the world’s most admirable Adam Sleeves would turn out to be a douchebag and a fucking manwhore?`”
• Adam was just a few steps away from the staircase when he stopped in his tracks and turned around to face his so-called legally wedded wife.
• Tessie swallowed painfully upon seeing Adam’s facial expression.
• “One more word from you, I promise that you’re going to regret ever knowing me,” Adam said with so much venom and hatred in his voice but that didn’t stop Tessie from responding to him.
• “Regret ever knowing you? Oh, please, I already did a long time ago. And don’t think I’ll ever give in to those mere threats. NEVER!!!”
• “Don’t push me to my limits, Woman!” Adam warned, pointing a finger at Tessie.
• “Fuck you, Adam Sleeves!!! In fact, I would prefer you lay a hand on me so I can sue your ass and make sure you spend the rest of your existence in jail.”
• “You aren’t worth my time!” Adam mumbled, glaring at her. Then he made a u-turn, proceeding to his bedroom, ignoring all of Tessie’s outbursts.
• Once Adam got to where could be termed his ‘safe haven’, he made sure he locked the door, then proceeded to undress, after which he took a shower.
• Getting all dried and dressed up for the night, He reached for his cellphone on the nightstand and got into bed.
• Adam spent a short while on his phone replying to messages and going over a few emails after which he decided to call it a night.
• Hardly had Adam closed his eyes when a loud cry came through. With a frown on his face, he sat up. The cry was continuous and that prompted him to get up from the bed.
• Stepping out of his room, Adam went straight to where the loud cry was coming from which was just a couple of steps away. Opening the door, he saw his seven-month-old daughter in her crib, crying her eyes out. His four years old son stood beside the crib, pointing one of his younger sister’s toys to her, hoping to calm the little girl but it wasn’t working.
• Shutting the door behind him, Adam approached them with fast steps.
• “Hi buddy,” He ruffled his son’s hair before reaching for his daughter in the crib.
• “Fuck!” He cursed silently when he felt her temperature.
• “It’s okay, darling.” He whispered as he gently placed her on his chest.
• “But Martha should be here!” Adam mumbled, referring to his children’s nanny.
• “Martha is no more!” Calvin, Adam’s four year old whispered.
• Adam frowned, “What do you mean?”
• “Wait, do not tell me that your mother sent her packing?” Adam said in disbelief.
• “Martha was about to give us food when she got into a fight with Mommy. Mommy hit her and told her to leave the house.”
• “Oh, God!” Adam mumbled as he ran his free fingers through his slightly wet hair. He held his daughter well with the other hand.
• “But you’ve had dinner already haven’t you?” He asked, hopefully.
• Calvin shook his head.
• “Tessie didn’t give you food?” He asked in shock.
• Calvin shook his head again.
• “She sent me to my room after hitting Martha.”
• “Later, I got so hungry so I went to the kitchen to take some cookies for me and Anna. I didn’t mean to take it Daddy but I was too hungry.” The little boy said with remorse in his eyes.
• “It’s okay, buddy. Come let me get you something to eat.” He connected his hand with Calvin’s own and led him out of the room with Anna in his arms. The little girl had calmed down a little but he could still hear her soft sniffle.
• On getting to the kitchen, Adam placed a now calmed Anna on her high chair, then he helped Calvin sit on the stool.
• Adam couldn’t be more grateful that his son requested cereal because that was literally one of the few things he knew how to make.
• While Calvin dug in, He went ahead to make Anna’s formula. He waited a while for the milk to be warm, then he took the little girl out of her high chair and fed her. He didn’t care that his children were eating at almost midnight. It was better than them going to bed on an empty stomach.
• Once done, Adam cleaned both kids up, then burped Anna.
• “I’ll have to take your sister to the hospital tomorrow. I think she’s coming up with a fever.” Adam mumbled, feeling the temperature on Anna’s forehead with his palm.
• Calvin nodded. “But we don’t have a nanny anymore! Who’s going to look after us?”
• Adam sighed internally. “Don’t worry, I’ll figure something out.”
• Turning off the kitchen lights, Adam exited the kitchen with his children. He had no idea why but instead of taking them to their various rooms, He took both Anna and Calvin to his room.
• Little Anna who was in his arms still had a little temperature and that prompted him to pick up his phone. He was sceptical about her pediatrician picking up the call at past midnight but he still wanted to make an attempt.
• Adam was almost giving up when she eventually answered. He heaved a sigh of relief and explained the reason for his urgent call. The doctor told him what to do and he proceeded to do just that after he ended the call.
• “You want to come with me while I give your sister a bath?” Adam asked his son who nodded immediately and they all proceeded to Anna’s room. He gave her a lukewarm bath, dried and wore a lightweight cloth for her as compared to the heavyweight clothing she was putting on. He went over to where her medications were and gave her the particular vitamin prescribed by the doctor.
• Once done, they all went back to his room. Feeling Anna’s temperature, Adam was relieved to know it had gone down a little. He could see that his little girl was feeling sleepy so he rocked her to bed.
• Once She was fast asleep, Adam gently placed her in the middle of his king-sized bed. He covered her body with a light blanket he took from her room earlier.
• Adam saw Calvin place a soft kiss on her cheek and that made him smile. “You love her, don’t you?”
• Calvin nodded. “I love her very much and I hate to see her cry.”
• With a sad smile on Adam’s face, he ruffled his Son’s hair.
• “You need a haircut, buddy.”
• “Martha said so before mommy sent her away.” He mumbled.
• “Don’t worry, I’ll take you to get it done.”
• “Really?” Calvin said, with a smile tugging at his lips.
• “Yeah!” Adam chuckled at his Son’s reaction. He was always so busy that he didn’t have the time to do a lot of things with them so he could guess why Calvin was surprised about wanting to take him for a haircut.
• “Can you watch your sister for a while? I need to go see your Mother. I’ll be right back.”
• Calvin nodded.
• Adam kissed his Son’s forehead before helping himself down from the bed and out of the room.
• In a couple of seconds, Adam got to Tessie’s door, then barged in.