Love’n’Lust

“Here we are.” Nathan stopped the car when they got to the junction.

Belle quickly got down, it was an awkward moment for her throughout the drive and she was happy to get down.

“Thanks.” She smiled at him before closing the car door.

Standing there, she watched him drive away and only after that, did she start towards her apartment building.

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Ben got down from the car after the driver opened the door for him. He was on a call, he was talking to his assistant, he was asking her to cancel his schedule for the next three hours because he almost forgot about his plan of visiting his adopted mother.

“Welcome sir.”

“Welcome sir.” The workers and helpers at the Larkson mansion greeted as he made his way into the magnificent house he grew up in. He had stayed here till he was eighteen years old and it was legally possible to get a mansion of his own.

Even though he had more than one mansion now, he didn’t visit them regularly, just like he didn’t visit home, it got lonely, too lonely for a young man his age even if he did bring home ladies from time to time. Now, he just spent his nights in hotels or one of the flats in the apartment buildings he owned in city S.

“Ben, my son.” He heard his mother say as she elegantly made her way down the stairs. Ben thought she looked beautiful as always even if she was getting older.

“I’ve missed you.” She said again when she was close enough to give him a hug. Wrapping her arms around him, she hugged him tightly, a wide smile on her face.

“I’ve missed you too.” He said after she freed him of her hug.

“Your father will be so happy to see you here.” She told him making his smile fade.

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Come on son, don’t be like that.” She begged. The one thing she couldn’t have and wanted badly was for her son and husband to fix their relationship.

She didn’t know why Ben was angry at his father and why he had left home as soon as he was of age to own a private property. Her husband, Ben senior, didn’t help at all when it came to easing the tension that usually came up whenever his son came around.

“I will ask someone to let him know you are here.” She said still smiling, hoping to restore the smile that left her son’s face the moment she mentioned his father.” And yes, I made all of your favourite dishes, you will love them.”

“What do you mean ‘you made’?” Ben asked concerned.

“Well, I decided to get into the kitchen and make some of tonight’s dinner myself, for you. I just hope you are hungry.” She explained.

“Why did you do that? Don’t we have people here for that?”

“I didn’t make all the dishes, just your favourites. I made them specially for you.”

“I don’t like when you stress yourself over things like this mum and you know it.”

“It won’t kill me if I do it once for you, will it?”

“No, it won’t.”

“Exactly, so stop complaining. Come sit.” She pulled him to one of the fancy sofas decorating the open living room.”You are going to stay for the night right?” He heard his mother say and had no choice than to nod because he knew she was requesting rather than merely asking at this point and saying no would make her sad.

All three of them, Ben, his mother and his father sat in the dining room. It was silent as they ate and Ben’s mother didn’t like it.

“Ben?” She called making both men look up from their dishes.”My son.” She added and Ben knew she was referring to him.”How do you like your meal?”

“It’s delicious, as always.” He smiled at her.

“If you come back and live with us again, I’ll cook for you everyday.” She said with hopes of her son seeing enough reason to return home.

“Then I will surely become overweight because I will be tempted to eat more than I should.” Ben joked and she laughed.

“I miss your presence here,” her smile turned a little dry. Ben didn’t know what to say after that.

He wanted to make her happy and did whatever she asked of him but returning to the Larkson mansion was something he couldn’t do; for his good and the good of his mother.

He was doing his best by sitting at the same table with his father but he was usually angry at his father. He knew something about his father that his mother didn’t and for her emotional and mental well-being he had chosen to keep it to himself and make sure she didn’t find out. It would break her, he knew how much his mother loved his father, that was why he had being keeping this secret for the past twenty three years of his life.

He could never forgive his father for what he did, his father was the reason he didn’t believe in love. His father had been cheating on his adopted mother even before he(Ben) was born. Ben knew that because he real mother was a stripper and a sex worker and his father had been cheating on his adopted mother with her.

It was all planned by his father; his adoption as a child, he lied to Ben’s adopted mother that he was helping a child from the orphanage but instead went ahead to bring back the child he had with another woman. Another woman who was Ben’s real mother.