Case File 107

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♤Chapter One Hundred-Seven♤

I wiped my forehead, letting out a deep sigh when I finally finished squeezing the oranges over the juicer.

It was enough juice for a pitcher which we would probably run through within the next three days knowing Tahir.

He's been on a huge orange juice kick lately.

"Mil," I heard her familiar voice echo into the kitchen.

I glanced away from the breakfast spread I had prepared on the kitchen island—immediately noticing my wife walking toward me.

With a serious expression.

"Oh no," I said, eyeing her beautiful face as she approached me, "What happened?"

Tazmin sighed, "T is throwing a fit about his first-day outfit," she said, immediately leaning down to kiss my lips.

I smiled, briefly kissing her back before she pulled away to kiss my stomach, which wasn't showing yet.

I'm only a few weeks along, but I swear we can't wait for the new addition.

We decided to use Tazmin's eggs again—mostly because I want another mini her.

Hopefully a daughter.

Tazmin was against using her eggs again considering she wanted to use mine.

But maybe that's an excuse for a third child?

I don't know...

"I'll talk to him," I suddenly offered as Tazmin leaned up from my stomach, "Can you make sure his book bag is good to go?"

Tazmin immediately nodded, "Of course baby," she said, briefly kissing my lips one more time before she walked past me toward Tahir's red Spider-man book bag.

His first day of kindergarten came a little too quickly for our liking—four years had nearly flashed past our eyes. 

But I swear I'm so excited for him.

Even if he's been a little moody lately.

"Mr. handsome pants," I whispered, poking my head in the doorway with a playful smile.

But Tahir didn't look amused.

Instead, he sat on the floor with his two different school uniforms laid out—a stern look on his face.

"I want to be alone," he mumbled, staring down at his uniform with a determined look.

I let out a deep sigh, "Well, I don't want to be alone," I said, walking further into his room and sitting down beside him.

Tahir only stayed quiet, avoiding my light eyes.

"What's going on T?" I whispered, my tone nothing but soft and calm with him, "Mom told me you're having trouble with your outfit?"

Tahir shrugged, "It doesn't feel right," he said, keeping his arms crossed over his chest, "I don't want to go."

I nodded, "Is there another reason why you don't want to go?" I asked him, analyzing every detail of his perfect features, "Or is this only about your outfit?"

Tahir pursed his lips, shaking his head, "I-I want to stay with you," his small voice whispered, immediately making my chest grow heavy.

"You know I'll be right here when you get out handsome," I assured him, gently running my fingers through his messy blonde hair.

"But we don't have a lot of time," Tahir pointed out, his dark eyes finally meeting mine.

I tilted my head in confusion.

Until it suddenly clicked.

"This is about the new baby?" I asked him, eyeing his face as he nodded reluctantly.

"I don't want to share you," Tahir whispered, subtly scooting closer to me.

I let out a long sigh, gently guiding him closer to me.

Until Tahir crawled into my lap and leaned his small body into the front of mine.

"You know... it's not about sharing," I said, gently running my hand up and down his back, "It's about more love—imagine how much your little brother or sister is going to love you."

Tahir nodded once, but still remained quiet, closing his eyes as he relaxed in my arms.

"You get to be a big brother—and I know that sounds like a lot," I said, pressing a soft kiss to the top of his head, "It can feel very intimidating, maybe even scary."

Tahir let out a soft breath, "Yeah," he whispered.

I nodded a few times, "There's a lot of change and you aren't sure how everything will turn out," I said, running my hand up and down his back, "But me and mom will always be a constant—a new baby doesn't mean we're going anywhere."

Tahir remained silent for a moment—until he slowly nodded.

"Do you pinky promise?" Tahir asked me, leaning away from my chest to meet my light eyes.

I didn't hesitate to nod, "Pinky promise," I said, sticking out my pinky for him.

Tahir smiled slightly, looping his pinky around mine and kissing both of our hands before I did the same.

But slowly his smile dimmed, avoiding my stare as our pinky's detached.

I remained silent, knowing he wanted to say something but not pressuring him to speed along his words.

"I was... really mean to Mom," Tahir mumbled, fidgeting with his hands, "I hope I didn't make her sad, Mama."

I shook my head, "Mom loves you very much, T," I assured him, wrapping my arms around him for a hug, "I'm sure whatever you said can be fixed with an apology."

Tahir shook his head, "But I said I hate her picking out my clothes and that I wanted to be alone," he whispered, wiping under his eyes where his tears lingered, "You said hate is a mean word."

I nodded, "It is," I said, holding his small body closer to mine, "And apologies don't always fix what we say."

Tahir sniffled, "I know, but I'm sorry Mama," he said, leaning away from me to meet my stare.

I reached down to his face, gently wiping his stray tears away, "I know you are—and Mom will know too because we'll always love you no matter what," I assured him, hoping he registered the difference of saying mean things to us and other people, "But remember what sorry means?"

Tahir nodded a few times, "That I don't do it again," he said as I leaned down to gently kiss his forehead.

"Exactly baby," I said, smiling slightly as I stared down at him, "Now, what do you say we finish getting ready and then we go say sorry to Mom?"

Tahir immediately nodded, "I'll give her a big hug and kiss too," he said, smiling as he stood up from my lap.

A smile grew on my own lips, "I'm sure she would love that," I said, now focusing back on his school uniform.

And instead of a bow tie, we both decided on a regular tie, which matched the Claremont school blazer that he wore over his button-down shirt.

Considering how hot it was outside, we also decided on shorts before focusing on his blonde hair—which I slicked back with a part.

I swear he always looked so handsome with his blonde hair slicked back. 

"Now what do we say?" I asked Tahir as he sat on the bathroom counter in front of me.

"I am handsome," Tahir said, making a funny face at himself in the mirror, which naturally made me smile, "I am strong," he said next, earning a nod of approval from me, "And I am loved."

I hummed, "Very loved," I repeated back to him, helping him down from the sink so we could get his shoes on.

Which only took a few more minutes before we finally headed toward the kitchen hand in hand.

Tazmin already had Tahir's book bag on the counter with his lunchbox—now making our plates from the dishes of food I sat out.

"You look so handsome T," Tazmin said, smiling as Tahir approached her.

And inevitably hugged one of her legs, which naturally made my wife smile—suddenly glancing over to me.

I only smiled in response as I approached her, "T has something he would like to tell you, baby," I said to my wife, who had leaned down to pick Tahir up.

"I'm sorry," Tahir said, his tone growing shy as he kissed her cheek, "I love when you help with my clothes."

Tazmin only smiled at our son, "It's okay T," she didn't hesitate to say as he wrapped his small arms around her neck and hugged her, "I know you didn't mean it."

Tahir rested his head on her shoulder, "I love you a lot," he whispered to her as I sat down in one of the chairs at the kitchen island.

"I love you a lot too handsome," Tazmin said, briefly kissing his forehead as they pulled away.

"Does that mean I can have chocolate on my french toast?" Tahir subtly asked, glancing over to me.

Which naturally made me purse my lips into a smile, glancing over to Tazmin.

Who shook her head at us both, "Only a small amount," she told him, which made Tahir's lips spread into a wide smile as Tazmin carefully lowered him down in the chair beside me, "It's your first day so you deserve it."

Tahir nodded happily, "I do deserve it," he whispered mostly to himself.

Which naturally made me smile at him, pouring him a glass of orange juice as Tazmin grabbed the chocolate syrup to top his french toast with.

And soon we were all eating breakfast together.

Rather quickly considering we were running a little behind due to the whole fiasco with Tahir.

But luckily we made it to Montrose just in time for him to catch up with Nadia five minutes before the bell rang.

She's going into tenth grade this year.

I swear when she turned fifteen, I questioned where the time went these past four years.

"You're going to love it here, T," Nadia said, flicking her long dark hair behind her shoulder as she helped him down from the car, "And I won't be that far from you."

Tahir smiled, "So I can go to your class?" he asked her.

Which naturally made Nadia look to us.

But I swear all I could do was laugh, leaving her to form her own response to that question.

"Well... not exactly, but I'll see you in the hallways," she tried to explain to him as I leaned down to his level with open arms.

And Tahir didn't hesitate to run over to me, giving me the biggest hug before trailing over to my wife beside me.

"I packed you your favorite gummies," I heard Tazmin whisper to him, earning a few happy nods from Tahir as he backed away from us.

"Thank you for looking out for him," I said as I briefly hugged Nadia.

Who only waved me off, "Anything for family," Nadia said, now hugging Tazmin, "Did you see that TikTok I sent you?" she asked her.

Tazmin nodded with an amused smile, "Yeah, you send me the weirdest stuff," she said as they pulled back from their hug.

Nadia shrugged, "If I have to see it then so do you," she pointed out with a raised brow, gently grabbing one of Tahir's small hands, "Ready to go T?"

Tahir nodded a few times, straightening out his tie in the most adorable way, "I love you!" he called over his shoulder, following by Nadia's side as me and Tazmin repeated the three words back to him.

Until eventually he disappeared into the sea of students with Nadia.

Which naturally made me draw in a deep breath, feeling something ache in my chest.

"Only a few hours," Tazmin reminded me, gently sliding her arms around my waist from behind.

I nodded a few times, "Yeah, he's just growing up so fast," I whispered as Tazmin briefly kissed my cheek.

"And he's growing into an amazing person thanks to you," Tazmin whispered to me, placing another gentle kiss on my cheek.

I smiled, "Thanks to you as well," I corrected her, turning my head slightly to briefly kiss her lips.

Tazmin smiled slightly at my words as we pulled away, briefly kissing my cheek again as we naturally backed away from the busy school.

And soon we were in the car, discussing how we would spend our day together.

But by the time we ran our numerous errands and visited the twins downtown and later Marie at work—it was already time to pick up Tahir.

Who was beyond excited to tell us about his day on the way to his piano lessons.

We heard about the two new friends Tahir made, how the playground at recess had the tallest slide, and about the book Mrs. Riley read them.

It sounded like a perfect day, especially now that he got to play piano—one of Tahir's favorite pastimes.

Unfortunately, Tazmin had to drop me at home on the way so I could start on dinner while she supervised his lesson.

Which was only an hour long—but that gave me plenty of time to prepare baked spaghetti and breadsticks for us all.

It was the perfect dish for numerous people—considering everyone was coming to our house for dinner tonight.

Since it's Tahir and Nadia's first day, we figured we would all get together for dinner.

And hopefully, slow down time for just a moment.

"Of course, you had to bring Oreos," I mumbled, motioning Mav and Vic inside where Marie and Tazmin's parents already were.

Tahir's lesson was a little held up so they're running behind.

"You know T likes them," Vic pointed out with an amused smile.

I rolled my eyes at them, noticing my sister's car pulling into the driveway.

"I'll meet you guys in there," I said to the twins who mumbled a few words in acknowledgment as I waited at the front door.

Where I watched Morana and Zane get out of the car with Nadia—whose attention was strictly on her phone that she was typing on.

"Hi honey," I said to my niece first as she approached me, "How was your first day?"

Nadia immediately glanced up from her phone, "Pretty good—I rode home with my friend Freya," she said with a smile, briefly hugging me as she walked past me.

Which made my attention shift to my sister and Zane who I both hugged.

"How was T's first day?" Morana asked me as we walked into the house.

"Really good—he spilled every detail in the car for us," I said as Zane closed the front door behind us.

"I miss the talkative days," Zane said as we walked into the busy living area where everyone was doing their own thing.

Elena and Pierre were focused on helping set the table.

Marie was talking to Vic—her recently made fiancé.

And then Mav was seated with Nadia at the kitchen island both on their phones.

He had finally called it quits with Mila a little over two years ago after so much of the back and forth. 

Now he's happily single and focused on himself. 

"Nadi still talks but you know how it is," Morana said, lowering her voice as we walked further into the open space.

I smiled slightly, "Trust me, I know," I said.

Nadia is much quieter these days, but she's so much more polite than most teenagers which I appreciate.

Most of them won't even say a word to you—or even catch a random attitude due to something going on with them internally. 

Nadia is different—she spills small details and catches up with us mostly over text. 

She also takes the time to be present with us.

I suddenly glanced over, hearing the loud vibrations of the garage opening.

Which meant Tazmin and Tahir were finally home.

I couldn't even wait for them to walk through the doors—I went ahead and excused myself, walking past Morana and Zane toward the garage door.

And as I walked out into the garage, Tazmin and Tahir were already walking toward me.

Tazmin held his book bag and other belongings while he held—

Flowers?

"For you Mama," he said, extending the small bouquet of flowers to me.

Which naturally made me look at my wife, who subtly smiled at me.

Now I see what took them so long.

"Thank you, handsome," I said, lowering down to his level to hug and kiss him.

Before he naturally ran past me in excitement, hearing all the different voices inside.

Meanwhile, I stayed back with Tazmin, running one of my arms around her waist as I leaned in to kiss her.

"Thank you baby," I whispered against her lips.

Tazmin ran her arms around my waist that she gently squeezed, "Of course beautiful," she said, trailing soft kisses past my lips to my cheek.

I hummed, relaxing in her arms as she hugged me closer to her.

It was only a moment of stillness, but I swear it felt like so much longer.

I could hear the distant chatter and Tahir's giggles as I remained in Tazmin's arms, making me feel so unbelievably warm.

It's insane to think I never wanted to date—much less marry or build a family.

Now I couldn't imagine anything different.

Even with all the amazing ups and terrible fucking downs, I wouldn't do it any differently.

"Isn't it beautiful?" I whispered to her under the chatter that spilled out into the garage from inside the house.

Tazmin nuzzled her face into my neck, "So beautiful," she murmured softly, holding me presently in the moment.

I let out a soft content sigh, "That contract turned out to be pretty long-term," I said jokingly as Tazmin gently ran her hands up my back.

"You're tied to me for a lifetime now baby," Tazmin whispered to me, smirking against my neck as she massaged her fingers into my lower back.

"I'm tied to you for every single lifetime," I said, smiling wider as I leaned deeper into her body, "It will always be you, Tazmin."

She hummed against my neck, "Always us, Milena," she didn't hesitate to say back.

The faraway chatter slowly faded as we fell even deeper into our private moment away from everything—truly basking in the life we made for ourselves.

It always felt like Tazmin had corrupted me from my previous way of living.

But in reality, she saved me from it all.

We had somehow turned the darkness around us into a home.

Maybe love really can save all.

The End.

♤Authors Note♤

Hi angels. I'm so sad yet so happy that Corrupted has come to an end. I'm sad because we're officially moving on from this era in time, but I'm happy because of the sequel to come. Yes... you heard me. There will be a sequel to come after this!! I'm beyond excited to share what I've been working on with you guys later down the road. As for now, I hope you enjoyed Corrupted, and I thank you for all the support you've shown me. I wouldn't have gotten this far without it.

I love you all endlessly,

-Weekendlustt