It was amazing to see how such a put-together, well-dressed and cold-hearted bitch like Regina was so easily softened and disarmed by a little boy with round green eyes and a wide grin. Her shoulders had been stiff with irritation at Raveena’s insistence of putting Henry into her death trap but one loving look from her little boy had melted away her annoyance to the point where she merely nodded at her ex-wife’s purposeful jab of try to keep up.
Regina Mills had become something of a hard and untouchable femme fatale over the years, gaining her renown moniker of the Evil Queen in the sex industry, but that image disintegrated into nothing when around the love of her life and saviour: her baby boy.
After clipping Henry safely in his car seat, and checking all of the straps three times to ensure that everything was plugged in and secure, she slid elegantly into the drivers side and turned on the engine. She turned the media player to play some of Henry’s favourite songs as the little boy sat there and kicked his feet out happily, shaking his head to the beat of the childish tunes and playing with his little teddies as Regina pulled away to follow Raveena’s ridiculously inappropriate car.
Hopefully the other woman’s apartment would be child friendly.
It was raining. It was pouring buckets and Raveena was cursing the entire time, checking her rearview mirror to make sure the car behind her was following even at the relatively slow pace she had set. Once she arrived at the large boom gates, Raveena breathed out a sigh of relief and clicked on the button of the remote to open them. It parted down the middle and allowed her to drive down the shoe-horse driveway, parking underneath the awning where, if the sight of the ridiculously large house was anything to go by, there should have been a valet to take the cars and park them in a garage out of sight. Unfortunately, Raveena hadn’t employed more than weekly cleaning services to keep the place spotless, and the English style house that was three storeys high placed in too large a land was missing much more than love. It was clear Raveena didn’t live here.
❝ We can’t drive in this weather! ❞ Raveena shouted over the rain, searching for the house keys in her cubby before finding the right set. She wasted no time in jogging up the three stairs to the large front door, clicking the key into place and pushing the wooden door open, ushering her guests inside.
If Regina’s mansion was large, Raveena’s could fit Regina’s house in here three times over and still have space. It was built to look cosy, homely in a way that had dark wooden flooring and stone walls broken up by tasteful art pieces and fireplaces that were still clean. Raveena shivered at the sight of it all, her fingers curling into fists at her side until she reached up to pull off her coat and hang it on a nearby coat rack. ❝ Mummy! ❞ Raveena heard, and she tensed when Henry ran into the house, touching and feeling everything as if it were a hotel. Little did he know that Raveena had built this house when she still had hope of finding Regina, of apologising and starting a family with her--- of getting her hopes up about an adoption that didn’t come through.
❝ I’ll go see what’s in the kitchen, you can--- ❞ a crash followed by a cry had Raveena rush into the house, her heels clicking against the flooring as she pushed open the door to her study, a wooden box laying on the ground with the shattered remains of a picture frame beside it, dozens of letters spread out all with REGINA MILLS printed on the envelopes in Raveena’s scrawl. ❝ Don’t touch it Henry, you could get hurt. ❞ Because Raveena was already hurting, and the picture she had taken from their marriage bed of the two of them the day she left was staring at her, elaborate frame brushed aside as she picked up the big glass pieces first, ignoring the pang in her chest as she thought about how all those letters had an apology in them, of how that photograph sat on her desk as of they were still married.
