Chapter Thirty–Six
Ava’s POV
+0 Points>
The morning started rough with Zareon’s loud cries filling the apartment. He was cranky, his tiny hands tugging at my nightshirt as I carried him to the bathroom. The warmth of the water calmed him slightly, but even after dressing him, he continued to whimper and I could feel the heat radiating from his small body. However, by the time I was fully dressed for work, he was already asleep, his soft breaths even, his lips curling slightly as he made cute sounds in his sleep.
For a moment, I let my fingers trail his chubby cheek, my heart aching at the sight of him being stressed out, while I let my thoughts drift for a while before I scoop him up and off to work.
At work, I handed him over to the caregiver like I always did. Even as I walked away, I lingered for a second
longer than usual, hesitating at the door, watching as he curled into the caregiver’s arms, his tiny chest rising and falling in a peaceful pace. He had been restless all night, and his body had felt unusually warm, but there was no fever thankfully. But now, he looked calm and peaceful as he slept that I felt reluctant to leave.
With a sigh, I forced myself to turn away and head toward the conference room where an important meeting was about to begin. But my mind refused to stay present. Even as presentations were made and discussions unfolded around me, my thoughts were elsewhere.
Was Zareon noticing something missing in his life?
The thought had bugged me throughout the night, especially after how he had been uncharacteristically fussy. And that is what baffled and concerned me because Zareon had always been a happy and cheerful child, but yesterday and this morning, he had been different. He was out of his character, like he never acted that way ever before only when he was sick. He had never acted that excited to see someone before nor had he callled Elson who had been the only constant male figure in his life since his birth ‘dada‘.
Could he be sensing something or rather someone missing in his life? Could he sense the absence of a father figure? Or was it time to set my feelings aside and think of what was best for my son?
I barely realized I had gripped the pen in my hand too tightly until it snapped, startling the woman beside me. “I’m sorry,” I muttered an apology, but I couldn’t shake the unease coiling inside me.
“Are you okay?” Autumn whispered, her face not turning toward me so as not to grab more attention. “You looked worried since you came in.”
“I’m fine,” I whispered back. But then, a sudden urge to check on Zareon took over, and before I could second–guess myself, I whispered to Autumn, “I need to visit the powder room.” Without waiting for a response or checking to see if anyone was looking at me, I quietly slipped out of the meeting room. The moment I stepped into the hallway leading to the daycare center, I heard Zareon’s laughter. A bright, joyous giggle that sent warmth straight to my chest. Relief flooded me, and for the first time that morning, a smile spread across my lips.
Maybe I was just overthinking things.
Reassured he was fine from how loud he was giggling, I pushed the door open, prepared to see him playing with the caregiver. But nothing could have prepared me for what I actually saw.
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<Chapter Thirty–Six
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A man dressed tightly in a dark suit stood in the center of the room, swinging my son in the air, his deep, husky laugh blending with Zareon’s delighted giggles. Zareon’s little arms flail forward above the man’s head and he let out another shriek of laughter as the man shook his little body in the air.
The man’s back was to me, but the moment he turned and our eyes met, he froze.
The air in my lungs vanished as my eyes locked with his.
Kyle.
He slowly brought my panting, giggling child to his chest. His arms instinctively tightened around Zareon as though afraid I would rip him away, but his lips parted, and in a whisper stretched with disbelief, he said my
name.
“Ava.”
Anger, hot and vicious, surged through me. Without thinking, I storm toward him, my footsteps echoing
through the room. Before he could react, I yanked Zareon from his arms. The force of it startled him, and he
burst into a loud wail, his small hands grasping for Kyle and that alone pissed me off the more.
His cry? I couldn’t care at the moment.
All I could focus on was the man in front of me, standing there, guilty as sin. The man I had spent the past
year trying to erase from my life in a room with my son.
Kyle winced at Zareon’s cry. “Ava, give me….”
I didn’t let him finish. I spun around and stormed out of the room with my son’s cries ringing in my ears and the hall, ignoring the stunned stare of the caregiver who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
“Ava, wait!” Kyle’s voice was urgent, but I ignored it. I didn’t stop and my heart was pounded against my ribs the more he called my name. The hallway seemed impossibly long now, my steps hurried, my arms tightening around my screaming child.
This couldn’t be happening.
Had this been happening all along? Had Kyle been sneaking into Zareon’s life behind my back? Was the company, the people I worked with in on this? Was that the reason they allowed the caregiver service? I scoffed. What else would be the reason? I had been the fool for not realizing sooner all along.
The weight of those thoughts made my breath come out in ragged gasps as I reached my office. By now, the few staff still in their offices were giving us curious and alarmed stares. I snatched my bag and phone from my desk before dashing toward the exit, my only focus on getting the hell out of there.
Kyle stormed after me, calling my name to stop while Zareon shrilled in my arms, yet I didn’t stop. It was like the three of us didn’t care about the amount of attention we were gathering.
By the time I reached the parking lot, I was trembling with rage. I fumbled with my bag, trying to find my keys when a strong hand grabbed my wrist.
“Ava, stop!”
“Get your hands off me!” I hissed, jerking away with all the strength I had that I stumbled back a step. My furious glare met his guilt–ridden expression.
And then, before any of us could speak again, a small voice broke through the tension.
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“Dada.”
The sound was small, innocent but it struck me harder than any blow ever could.
+8 Points >
My breath hitched, and my eyes snapped down to Zareon. His tear–streaked face was turned toward Kyle, his little arms reaching in his direction.
A slow, chilling realization crept into my mind while Kyle stood frozen, his lips slightly thinned, his expression that of guilt. And in that moment, everything clicked.
The masquerade party. The masked man Zareon had excitedly called out to. The way he had reached for him then, just as he was doing now. It wasn’t just some random slip of the tongue. He had known. My son had known his father even before I was aware.
A bitter laugh bubbled out of me before I could stop it.
“You,” I murmured, my voice trembling from the shock of the realization. “You were the man behind the mask.”
Kyle didn’t deny it. He didn’t say a word. The guilty look in his eyes was enough.
I scoffed, shaking my head in disbelief and anger. “You made a fool out of me.”
Kyle stepped forward, his hands open as if to calm me. “Ava, listen to me.”
“No.” My voice came out sharp, and cold. “I don’t want to hear your excuses. You went behind my back.” My voice was tight with rage. “When I thought you were finally gone… when I thought you were out of our lives…
you did this.”
Kyle stood there, his lips pressing into a stubborn thin line as I watched his eyes transform from guilt to something fierce. “I did what was right.” His voice was unapologetically steady. “You might not like it, but I did what any father would do.”
Whoa! The audacity.
I let out a sharp, bitter laugh. “Any father? Any father?” I repeated, my voice rising, not caring if my voice was too loud. “A real father doesn’t sneak around in the shadows like a thief, Kyle! A real father doesn’t lie, manipulate, and take without permission!”
Kyle’s jaw clenched. “I didn’t take anything that wasn’t mine to begin with.”
My breath hitched, rage boiling in my veins. “Yours?” I hissed in disbelief, my grip tightening around Zareon’s trembling little body. I can’t believe his audacity wrapped in a sick justification. “You manipulated your way into my child’s life, and you have the audacity to stand here and justify it?”
I just can’t believe this. He dared to go behind my back, inserting himself into my child’s life without my knowledge, yet he felt justified. He dared to make me think I was finally free of him, that he believed Zareon wasn’t his son and finally out of our lives only to show up like this to justify his sick actions.
Kyle’s eyes darkened, his hands balling into fists at his sides. “I did what was best for him. He is my son and he needs me.”
“No,” I snapped, shaking my head violently as fury boiled intensively inside me. “He is my son. Mine! And he doesn’t need you. Not now or ever.”
Zareon wailed louder now, squirming in my arms, his small hands tugging at my clothes and hair. He didn’t understand what was happening. He just wanted the warmth he had grown accustomed to, the one I wasn’t
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aware of until a few minutes ago.
Seeing the boy cry, Kyle took a hesitant step forward, but I raised a hand, stopping him in his tracks.
“Stay back.” My voice was cold and final.
+8 Points >
The staff had started to gather by the entrance, watching the scene unfold in stunned silence, but I didn’t
care.
This wasn’t about them and their damn curiosity. This was about the man who had broken me once and was now trying to weasel his way back into my life through my son, especially without my permission or knowledge. That was what pissed me off. How could he do that?
“Just stay away from us, Kyle,” I murmured, turning toward my car.
“Ava, please…”
“I said stay away!” I shouted, my voice cracking.
Kyle flinched, but he didn’t move this time. He just stood still, his posture rigid, his face red and tight as if he were ready to explode in anger if someone as much as poked him.
I didn’t spare him another moment of my attention. However, as I strapped my still crying son into his car seat and drove away, a part of me knew this wasn’t over. In fact, it was far from being over.
#
The oddluna
Hi! How is the book so far? Are you enjoying it? I hope you do because your lovely comments keeps me going.
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