Divorced Ex-Luna Returns With Triplets
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE: A Birthday To Remember

Maurene'S POV

It has been six days since the rumors were spread and today was my birthday. I did not even feel the air. I did not care. What had happened discouraged me. I could not even think of what to do today at all. All I just wanted is that everything that was posted about me was deleted and never to be spoken about.

Liam didn't even try to call me to even know how we would deal with them. He didn't even care to wish me on my birthday. I was really pained at how he just left me like that. He was mad. I was mad. My entire image was in jeopardy here and yet he didn't offer to help me. He was my best friend and he was not behaving like one.

Nathaniel had reached out through Grayson but I had refused their help. They have done the barest minimum they could do by bringing down the blogs and post but it had already gone viral. Everyone now sees me as the lady caught between two men. Two men that were sorted after by women, whether young and old. I licked my lower lip as I picked up the scarf on the arm of my chair.

I haven't heard from Evangeline and I was desperately worried. I decided that I was going to see today even though Diana had tried to convince me that I should not. She was worried about me. She had also seen the blogs and tried to warn me that it was dangerous to go. That was why I was going to use a scarf. My friend was in danger, who knows. I needed to make sure she was okay. Even in the midst of what I was going through, Evangeline has been on my mind for a while. I needed to check on her. After I was done tying the scarf to hide my face, I got into my flat and headed downstairs. A childish squeal made me paused briefly before I craned my neck forward to look who had caused little Farrah to scream like that.

Funny how I had known who it was before he appeared into his well-ironed tuxedo. He grinned at Kylie who let him lift her into his arms. He threw her into the air and she laughed out. I climbed down the stairs carefully, stopping at a distance from him. He noticed me and dropped Kylie before his lips tilted into a smile. I arched a brow at how welcoming he was. A week of giving each other's space and he could smile like this?

I didn't return it. I just watched him.

"Happy birthday!" What he said caught me by surprise. He remembered?

He remembered that it was my birthday?

I wanted to smile to accept it but I could not. When he saw that I didn't bulge, he moved closer to me and looked into my eyes, trying to reach for my hand to hold them but I stepped back. "Can we meet briefly?" His eyes pleaded with me.

I let my indifferent mask fall upon my face as I replied, "No, I have somewhere to go right now." I looked away from him.

"Maurene," He pleaded, his voice strained.

My left eye twitched as the way he called my name made me blanch. I peered a look at him and sighed. "Not more than five minutes."

I knew myself that we might exceed that time but again, this was boundaries. He nodded before I followed him to the yard. We both stopped at the center where the kids would not hear anything and Diana was doing a good job of distracting them.

"So what?" I folded my arms, staring at him with a blank look etched on my face.

"Maurene, the headlines..." He started. I maintained my indifferent posture. So he wanted to talk about it now, huh?

"Liam, you don't need to talk about it. Nathaniel reached out to me to see if we could clear it but it had already gone viral and what they could do was just limited." I said. I didn't want him dwelling on it at all. It still made me feel uncomfortable and it was even yet to be totally resolved.

"But Maurene, we have to." He insisted.

"To you, you have to because where were you when the entire world was blasting for trying to take away the potential bachelors from them. Do you even know how scared I am to step out of the house?" I asked him. I didn't want to tell him that I had once done it and the end was extremely bad because I was almost mobbed. That is what you get when you try to get two men that the country loved.

"Liam, we have pending argument and you adding this one to it won't help at all." I stated.

His eyes dimmed a little. "Maurene, actually, I wanted to apologize: I should not have spoken those words. It was insensitive of me to do that. I just felt like you were deliberately stopping me from doing something I wanted to do for the kids. I was scared that..." He hesitated, looking anywhere but me. "I was scared that you were already getting back with Nathaniel."

It was my turn to narrow my gaze on him. Why was he scared? I should be the one that is scared. Nathaniel was doing too much and it was starting to scare me. Why him?

"And why did you think I would ever want to get back with him?" I asked him, tilting my head to the side.

"You... you both... the way he looked at you and... everything. See, I know it is all in the past but let me do what I want for the kids and-"

"And what if what you want for the kids are against my standards and values? What if I don't want to raise my kids that way?" I asked him.

His throat bobbed. "Maurene, I would never do something to harm you or your kids. You all have always been my top priority and I would always protect you all. You need to believe me." He pleaded, a painful look etched on his face.

I did not know what to say or even think. "Alright." I whispered, wiping my palms on my dress.

"But Maurene," He stopped me. "You should not switch off your phone location. It is dangerous nowadays," he said.

I nodded, biting my inner cheeks. My guts gnawed at me about letting him go like this without a fight. After everything he said and did to me, yet I forgave him like this.

I felt disappointment thawed at my heart but I clenched my fist as a smile crossed Liam's lips.

"I brought you something special. And please, promise me you would accept this gift." His brows went up in expectation.

My eyes ran over his body and I released my cheeks before nodding slowly. There was nothing that he would do again that would surprise me. If he gets me another house, I would not be shocked. Even if he gets me a car, I would still be- "Congratulations, you have become a car owner too." His grin widened and my eyes went wide. My lips parted and I quickly reached up to palm it.

"W-What? I was just..." I really didn't mean that. He dangled the keys right before my eyes and I tried to speak but nothing was forming. I searched my head for words and it was completely blank. He really got me. I honestly wasn't expecting

it.

"Liam," I managed to say his name.

"It's yours, take it."