Gaze
SARAH POV
“Mommy, can we play, please? Daddy is saying he is sleepy.” I looked to my side and saw Bella and Ivan walking toward me.
Ivan did indeed look sleepy. And I felt bad for him. Sometimes I wonder why he works so much. He is always running here and there.
I will be lying if I say Ivan is not marriage material. I know he has a liking for me, but I don’t know if I can reciprocate it.
He is so easy to deal with. I wish I could feel the same, even a bit, for him.
When I left Sean’s house, I took a bus and went to three different states, finally settling myself in Florida.
I always like the weather here.
After staying a few days at a cheap motel, I finally found shelter at Natalia’s house. I started living with her.
She wanted to rent out her apartment.
I started living my life in the basement.
Her house was beautiful, and the basement I was staying in was really cute. Small and cozy.
I guess I have some strong connections to basements.
One day, while I was searching for something in my bag, I found the ring I had to return to him.
I wanted to call him, but because I wanted to stay away from everyone, I knew I did not buy any cell phones, so only mailing was the option I left with.
I now understand the value of the last memory of the people you love, so I wanted to give him this ring as soon as possible.
I had his card with me, so I went up and borrowed a laptop from Natalia and sent him a message asking him where to send the ring.
I received his reply the next day, asking me why my phone was not reachable.
I know he must have thought I ran away with his ring, but well, I had completely forgotten about the ring.
I informed him I have lost my phone and now I am traveling, so I will buy the phone once I am back, and I got to know he was traveling too, so he asked me to keep the ring with me till he is back if I am ok, and as usual, I did not mind, so I said yes.
He said he would mail me once he was back to the contrary, and I agree.
I have started checking my mail on and off, as this was the ID Nathan also used to send mail to ask for my wellbeing.
And when I thought I was bothering too much, one fine day I bought the new phone after getting a phone number from Nathan.
I have no idea who this number belongs to, as a bill was also paid by Nathan, so I never cared until now, nor do I need to.
I dropped the mail of my new boyfriend off with Ivan, and after a few days, I got a call from him.
And that’s how we became friends. When I got Bella into my life, he was the first person after Natalia who supported me with this.
When Bella came into my life, she gave me a new Ray of life. Now I want to do something for a living.
Though my hacking work was still on, I still wanted to do something daily, and one fine day I got the idea to get my flower field.
I started looking for land and the right place with great weather, and then I got this land.
We are still in Florida, but this place is far away from town.
When I got to this land, I had just fallen in love with the greenery we had around, so I built a small house here only.
I and Natalia got very close over time, and leaving her alone wasn’t an option, so I asked her to move in with me.
She did not want to leave me and Bella alone, so she happily agreed and shifted here with our crazy couple, who take care of this business on my behalf.
After what has happened with me till now, Nathan has stopped believing in humanity, and when I told them about the surrounding people, he did a background check on everyone to see if they were connected in any way to Sean, but thankfully none were.
“Mom, what are you looking at?” I looked down, hearing Bella’s voice, and blushed hard, looking at Ivan, who noticed I was looking at him, but I was lost in my thoughts.
Amm, sorry, princess.
Yes, sure. Let dad go to sleep for a bit while you and Pam (Baby Perminder) have some great time outside.
Look, the weather is really beautiful today.” I said, looking outside the window.
“Yes, let’s go.” She squealed in happiness and ran outside while Pam followed her.
Sorry, Sarah, I am really tired today.” I heard Ivan’s voice and looked at him.
“You don’t have to say sorry.
I’m glad you always take out some time for her from your busy schedule, and that’s all that’s needed, I suppose.
“I am genuinely thankful to him for always being there for me and Bella, especially. He has filled the role of father for her.
“Oh, come on, I will do anything for her.
” He shakes his head and walks back towards his room, and I smile, looking at this selfless man.
I look back, and Simmi and Parminder are both looking at us admiringly. I know they both ship us, but honestly, there is nothing to ship, as I have never thought about Ivan like this.
He is just a good friend for me and a father figure for Bella, and that’s all about it.
I know Ivan has some likings for me, or maybe more than likings, but he is well aware of my thoughts, so apart from healthy flirting, he has never done anything that makes me feel uncomfortable.
“I can see you both do not have any work,” I said, folding my hands to my chest.
They stopped smiling instantly upon hearing me and said, No, ma’am, we do-we do.” They ran out, I guess, toward the office, which lives next to my house.
Shaking my head, I walked toward the girls, who were busy talking to Natalia and helping her pick the vegetables.
“So, what do you girls want to play?” I asked them, looking at them turn by turn.
“Can we play basketball?” Pam looked at me with hopeful eyes, and I smiled, nodding to her.
I never miss a chance to play with these two little munchkins. They make me feel alive.
We started playing basketball and laughing and giggling. I can see how both girls are drenched in sweat, and I believe they must be hungry.
Girls, I guess we should get in the house. You must be hungry. I said this while stopping them from playing more.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.
I could see how their faces fell, but again, I couldn’t ignore their mealtime, so I waved them off.
“Ok, can we play the last five minutes, please?” Bella asked me.
“Ok, but only for five minutes,” I said sternly, and they both nodded like dolls. I smiled, looking at their cute antics.
Bella pushed the ball with force, and before I did anything, it bit me, and I looked back. Now both of you girls get inside the house. I will get the ball and be right there.” I started walking toward the flower field and looked at the ball here and there.
I looked around when I felt a sudden gaze on me, and when I looked around, I found none. I looked around again, but I did not see anyone.
Who can be here? This place is anyway far away from the town.
Maybe some villagers? I thought so, but I looked again and found none.
I could be wrong in thinking I went back to the house, but the heart was getting some uneasiness, and again I thought it might be acidity, so I waved off.
After lunch, I sent the girls with Natalia to play in their room while I finished some work that needed my attention.
After finishing my work, I padded toward the girl’s room, where I saw them both watching TV.
“Girls, let’s pack the bags for tomorrow,” I said while clapping my hands to grab their attention.
“Squealing, they both ran and got their two small bags. And started stuffing things they had in mind, and I started packing things they would need tomorrow.
“Pam, most of the time, stays here with us, and many times she sleeps here only, so she has more than half of the stuff lying here, and that makes my job easy.
By the time we finished, it was already evening. After finishing dinner, I tucked the kids in bed and came out. I noticed Ivan was sitting on the patio, looking ahead to the dark flower field.