A Woman Scorned

CHAPTER 41

Michael's POV

Michael watched the car drive away, he was furious beyond measure. He hated how Sibusiso infiltrated his family, sinking his claws on them. He lost it when he saw his little girl whimper when Sibusiso gave her to him. He wanted so hard to smash something. He saw the possessive way Sibusiso was hovering over Kayla.

He was lucky that he bought the baby car seat because Kayla didn't give him one. Ever since he had been in Ayanna's life he carried the car seat with him. He strapped Ayanna who had by now calmed down and drove to Phakalane. He stopped by a restaurant and ordered his supper along with baby food. The lady who was helping her advised him to buy some good baby food from the grocery store.

He went to square mart mall and he was glad that there was an open baby store. He bought everything that he thought he would need. The ladies were attentive to him and helped him pick up even extra stuff for Ayanna. It seemed like a single man with a cute baby in his arms was very much attractive to the ladies.

Ayanna started being cranky when he was on the way to the house. He thought that maybe she was hating being confined in the car seat. When he got to his house she was now fully angry, she was crying so loud that his heart felt for her. He checked her diaper and realised that it was soiled. After changing the diaper she was a little bit calmer.

The problem started when he tried to feed her, she blew away all the food she was fed, making  a mess on his kitchen table. Michael didn't mind because he thought it was cute.

All of a sudden the wailing started, he tried humming to the baby but she was having none of that. He gave her a bath and tried to make her watch her favourite cartoons but she was still angrily crying. Her little face was by then red and swollen. Her warned up her bottle and tried to give it to her but she just chewed on the nipple.
He pulled the bottle from her mouth and she started wailing again.

He wanted to pull his hair off. How was he to know what she wanted when he did everything humanly possible to calm her down? An hour elapsed and she was now settled in little whimper and hiccups. She finally fell asleep and he could finally hear his thoughts. He poured himself scotch and thought about how Kayla managed to deal with all the crying, spitting of food and throwing away of toys everyday.

He went through his laptops and started responding to some emails. He was deeply immersed into work when he heard her crying starting. He groaned to himself before going to pick her up. He cuddled her and started rocking her back and forth. She didn't settle down. Her face was starting to redden again. He tried everything to calm her down but this time nothing worked. He decided to swallow his pride for his daughter's sake and call Kayla.

He tried her a few times but she was not answering. He started thinking that maybe she was not answering intentionally as a way of getting back at him on how he talked to her and her boyfriend. He was beginning to get annoyed at her when it was the seventh time he called and she didn't answer. He thought her action to be childish and irresponsible, how can she ignore him when he had their daughter? What if it was an emergency and Ayanna really needed her?

His anger was slowly starting to reach a boiling point. He tried her for the eighth time but this time on the third ring she answered.

"Michael is Ayanna okay? Is that her crying?" Kayla asked drastically.

"Thank God you answered. She has been crying for a while now." Michael let out a sigh, he didn't realise that he was holding his breath for her to answer.

" Check her temperature, is she hot?" Kayla enquired.

"No, I don't think so." Michael said after he placed her hand on Ayanna's forehead.

"I'm on my way okay." Kayla said before terminating the call.

Kayla and Sibusiso dressed in record time and he drove her to Michael's place. When they arrived he opted to stay in the car to avoid the tension between him and Michael. Kayla thought it was a good idea because she didn't think she would have time for their macho tension. Her main concern was her baby.

Michael opened the door for her with Ayanna who was screaming her lungs out. Kayla took her from Michael's arms and went to the couch. She rested Ayanna on her lap and checked her temperature with her arm. She was a little warm but it was not that alarming. She realised that she was chewing on her toothless gums. A clue came invaded her thoughts.

She rested her on the couch and rushed to the kitchen to wash her hands properly. After she was satisfied that they were clean she went back to her daughter. Kayla inserted her finger inside Ayanna's mouth and the little girl chewed on her finger. Her crying stopped as her gums chewed on Kayla's finger furiously.

Michael watched with fascination as Kayla dealt with their daughter. She had not panicked but she had accessed her carefully before she did what she did. He couldn't understand how she knew that giving the baby her finger would work out for her.

"What's wrong with her? How did you know how to do that?" Michael blabbed.

"She is teething. Unfortunately I didn't pack the teether that's why I'm using my finger. I'm sure her gums are itching so she is rubbing them against my finger to alleviate the itchiness." Kayla explain without taking her eyes of her baby.

"That is intriguing. I would never know how to do that." Michael said.

"Well you have to learn. Being a parent is all about learning and knowing your child."

"I'm sorry for saying you are a bad mother earlier tonight." He sounded genuinely sorry.

"I didn't take it to heart. I know I'm a good mother to my daughter." Kayla snapped unintentionally. It was just that Michael frustrated her most of the time.

"I'm trying to apologise here Kay."

"That's what you do lately.  All you do is apologise and quite frankly I'm so over that. Can I take Ayanna home? I will make sure to have her ready for a sleep over with you next time."

"Why don't you both stay the night? That way we both spend the night with our baby girl." He charmingly asked.

"I'm sorry Michael but Sbu is waiting for me and even if it's not for him I can't spend the night." Kayla said sternly.

"I'm trying Kay. I want you and our daughter. I want us to be a family again. I want to provide a loving home for our baby girl." He sounded almost hopeful.

"That's not going to happen Mike. You can't always get what you want. I moved on and so should you, Ayanna will grow up with loving parents but we won't be the family that you want."

"Kay...."

"No Michael. It's late so you will tell me when you want Ayanna over for a sleep over. Can you give me her bag, we have to go." She picked up her baby and walked out his door.

Michael felt defeated as he watched them walk to Sibusiso's car. He didn't want to believe that he had lost her for good. She had moved on with someone else. He finally understood the saying "you realise the value of someone when they had left". He had taken her for granted and now another man had her. He decided to do the most sensible thing and let her go. He was doing it for her because he saw how happy she was. Letting her go didn't mean he had to like who she dated. He poured himself a glass of Johny Walker and wallowed in his self pity.

As for Ayanna she decided to spend the night at Sibusiso's place as first planned. They passed by the mall where they bought Ayanna a teether. She was now chewing on her teether as they watched Boss baby. She had long stopped crying and occasionally her giggles could be heard as she watched the cartoons. Kayla leaned against Sibusiso who gave her a kiss on her forehead. After they had put Ayanna to bed they decided to go to sleep. It has been a long night for them. Dealing with Michael always exhausted Kayla. That night she slept peaceful snuggled against the man she was falling in love with.