The Other Woman |Charlie Barber x Reader|

~The Turning Point~

Nicole Barber takes a deep breath as she steps into her mother's kitchen. The smell of caffeine and crisp toast invades her nostrils. Rays of sunshine filter through the windows, casting a glow over the cabinets and counters. She braces her hands on the cool surface, leaning forward curiously to observe the weather. There was less smog than usual, allowing the sun to make its debut again. The view of the front yard certainly was a welcome one, with its lush green plants and neatly trimmed hedges.

The perfect weather to play with Henry. The kid had too much energy for his own good; it was best to tire him out earlier on in the day so he would be more calm for whatever plans they had. Maybe she could even put him down to bed earlier if she was lucky. But who knew where the day would take her?

"Rargh!" A vicious cry tears through the big house as if on cue.

Nicole swerves to the side just in time as her son comes barreling through the archway. He clutches one of his Lego Ninjago toys above his head, zipping around on the tile in his dark blue socks and mismatched clothes. His head of brown-blonde hair bounces with every energetic step. Battle cries and engine roars leave the little boy's mouth as he swoops and veers through the kitchen.

"Henry!" Nicole shouts over the sound of him slipping and sliding into a cabinet. "Be careful. Have you eaten?"

"Yeah!" He yells back with little to no enthusiasm.

"You're going to give Grandma a heart attack if you charge at her like that," his mother warns as she lifts a mug of steaming coffee to her lips.

Henry pauses, fiddling with the wings of the toy. "She smells funny."

"What does she smell like?" Nicole raises her eyebrows, amused.

"Like," he drags out the 'i' innocently, thoughtfully. "Old people."

"You're going to be 'old people' one day." She reminds him, voice muffled as she bends into the refrigerator in search of some milk.

"You sound like Dad," Henry replies matter-of-factly.

Nicole freezes at her son's words. She remains silent as he charges back out of the kitchen, completely unaware of the distress he had just caused his mother. It was funny how he could say something so innocently and not understand the connotation behind it. Nicole glances down at her wedding ring like she dreads seeing it. It feels heavy on her hand, like it was weighing her down instead of lifting her up like it was supposed to.

She loved Charlie and would always carry a love for him. But he didn't feel like her husband anymore. They didn't communicate, they didn't laugh, they didn't just sit down and have a normal conversation about anything. He was a stranger to her. She was a stranger to herself.

Nicole gently bites her lip, worrying it between her teeth. She tugs open the top drawer and plucks out the card that had been resting on a mountain of paperwork. She stares blankly at the inked words. Her lawyer's name stares back at her.

Nora certainly was helpful, but she put on a good front. The woman was ruthless and could be cruel, at times. Nicole knew very well what kind of damage this would do to Charlie. Nora would come in swinging and she wouldn't stop swinging until they were out of the jungle. It didn't matter what she cut down in the process as long as she saw the end of it. More like who she cut down.

The mug slides across the counter with a low scraping sound as Nicole's absentmindedly spins it around. Its dark contents slush around, sending swirls of translucent steam into the air. Nicole watches the steam rise and disappear in the rays of sunlight. She sighs, closing her eyes for a moment to pull her thoughts together.