Chapter Forty–Six
Ava’s POV
“You know you f****d up, right?”
Phoenix’s voice cut through the silence like a sword. She didn’t even wait for me to respond before adding.
“You should’ve slapped her. Hell, you should’ve dashed her a punch to the throat for laying a damn hand on
Zareon.”
She rounded the sofa, her fingers twitching like she wanted to physically act out the violence just before picking up the bottle of juice on the table and taking a huge gulp. My eyes remained fixed on nothing, just the invisible specks of dust swirling in the air where the sunlight hit the table, still not saying a word.
Phoenix continued her rant regardless. Although her words sounded like a joke, they didn’t hide the fact that
she was angry.
“I’m not saying you should’ve turned it into a wrestling match in front of the kids, but God, Ava… I wish you didn’t hold back. I wish you had grabbed her hair or something until she begged.”
She kept talking, but her words became a blur. I could hear her ranting, throwing her hands in the air, and cursing under her breath about how she should’ve been the one to teach Lillian a lesson if I hadn’t. But all I could do was breathe in and out, like I was floating inside my own body, unable to find a balance.
Because deep down… I hadn’t recovered from the fear of the event of the day before, and I didn’t know if I had made the right choice.
I wanted my son to be happy.
I wanted him to feel love from me, from Kyle, from anyone who could give it without a motive. I wanted him to have the love of a father. I wanted him to have Kyle, but the fear that wrapped around me like a second skin whispered a fearful truth. What if Kyle’s love would eventually hurt him? What if Zareon got used to it, clung to it, only for it to be torn away one day when Kyle’s priorities shifted?
What if he feel like a second choice?
What if he grow up thinking he wasn’t enough?
That… that was what terrified me the most.
I didn’t want my son to go through such pain or feeling. What happened yesterday was a testament that my fear was valid, that he would get hurt the more Kyle got closer. That was why I said what I said yesterday, coupled with the fear that came from the sight of the blood. But after everything had settled, I couldn’t help but feel somehow after rethinking the moment. I mean…..
The doorbell rang suddenly, pulling me out of my thoughts.
We both turned to look at the door. Phoenix’s brows furrowed. “You expecting someone?”
I shook my head.
She narrowed her eyes at the door for a moment before rising. “Well, whoever it is, better not be selling nonsense,” she mumbled as she walked away.
1/4
D luna
|||
O
<Chapter Forty–Six
I sat up a little straighter on the couch, reaching for the bottle of juice across from me. A lot of thinking had me parched. But it hadn’t reached my lips when what came next made me freeze.
It wasn’t a casual greeting as expected. It was the sound of the door slamming shut, followed by Phoenix’s voice, loud and livid: “What the hell are you doing here? You got a damn nerve showing your face here!
I blinked, confused,
I stood up fast, my feet padding across the wooden floor as I hurried to the entrance, only to stop dead in my tracks when I saw what caused the sudden commotion, Phoenix stood nose–to–nose with Kyle, her posture tight as if ready to unloose and swing if he as much as breathed wrong. Kyle, on the other hand, just stood a few meters away from her, his eyes trained on Phoenix, clearly trying to stay calm, but the tension in his jaw gave him away.
“Kyle,” I couldn’t help but whisper. I wasn’t supposed to be surprised he knew my house after all the stunts he had been pulling, but I was still surprised, and somehow uncomfortable by his presence after what happened yesterday. It was hard shaking off the memory of him looking genuinely worried about Zareon.
As if he heard me, he looked past Phoenix, eyes meeting mine. He looked exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes, pain etched into every line of his face, making him look older. His voice, however, was low and composed when he said. “I’m here to see Zareon.”
“It’s the nerves for me. It’s the fact that you think you can just walk in here like a snake with a shot spine, demanding to see a child you were never there for, especially when the duckling you called a wife….” “Phoenix,” I murmured, touching her arm. My face had turned red from embarrassment while my friend was seething with rage.
She turned to me, her mouth already open with a protest, but I nodded my head to stop her. “It’s fine. Let him
in.”
Phoenix’s eyes burned with disbelief. She looked at me like I had lost my mind. “Seriously?”
“Yes, it’s fine. Let’s just let him see Zareon.”
“Ava…”
“Please…”
Phoenix’s jaw clenched, her eyes burning with disapproval, but she eventually stepped back, shooting Kyle one final glare and simultaneously muttering something under her breath as she walked away.
Kyle stepped in quietly. Although his tall and huge frame filled the room, making both me and the space feel small, I couldn’t help but think he looked leaner. His jaw was sharper. His eyes were hollow and tired. Maybe it was my imagination. But that shouldn’t be any of my concern, right?
He stood there for a moment, hands buried in his pockets, saying nothing, until…
“How is he?” he finally asked, eyes roaming the space like he expected Zareon to appear.
“He’s fine,” I said in a calm voice, even though my heart hadn’t stopped beating fast since I laid eyes on him.” Sleeping.”
He nodded, but didn’t move or say anything more.
We stood in an awkward silence until I motioned toward the living room. He followed me in, and I sat, curling
2/4
O
<
<Chapter Forty–Six
into the armrest like I needed a wall between us.
“I didn’t come to argue,” he said after a moment.
“I know.”
He rubbed his wrist, then said. “I saw the CCTV footage.”
I met his eyes but didn’t say a word.
“Lillian didn’t push him,” he said carefully. “But she didn’t handle it right either.”
+8 Pomits)
My throat tightened, and I sat straight. “Are you here to defend her? If that’s your reason for being here, then you better have a reasonable explanation for my son’s injury.” I was angry now. I couldn’t believe he came all the way here just to defend his wife when I thought he was here solely for Zareon.
“I’m not defending her,” he countered.
I couldn’t help the scoff that escaped my lips. “Then what are you doing, Kyle?”
He exhaled hard, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Trying to make sense of all this.”
I looked at him then. Really looked. There were bags under his eyes. His knuckles looked bruised, like he’d punched something or someone. I couldn’t tell.
“I didn’t think she knew he was mine,” he said, his voice low. “Maybe she did. But that’s not why I came. I’m sorry, for bringing pain, for bringing chaos into your and Zareon’s lives. That was never my intention. Honestly, I just wanted to know if you were okay. I was worried about you…” he paused and swallowed hard. “But then I found out about Zareon, and I got greedy.”
I didn’t respond. What was there to say?
“I should’ve handled things differently,” he went on. “I should’ve done better, reacted better. I ruined everything, over and over again, when all I had to do was be sensible.”
Still, I stayed quiet. Just listened to him with a blank look, even though my inside was the opposite. Somewhere in the house, a door creaked open, followed by slow but heavy footsteps approaching. And then Elson appeared from the hallway. His hair wet as if he had just left the shower, his shirt loose, and a towel hanging around his neck.
Kyle’s entire body went rigid. And my stomach dropped.
It was like time stopped. The air grew so thick I could hardly breathe through it.
Elson’s eyes widened, and his brows rose slightly when he saw Kyle. “Oh!” he said, freezing in place. His eyes darted from Kyle to me, clearly sensing the tension.
“I didn’t know you had company,” he said to me.
I couldn’t speak. All I could do was stare at nothing. My throat had gone dry from the shock.
Kyle turned to me slowly. His eyes weren’t angry or accusing. They didn’t hold pain or anything that could give away whatever he was feeling at that moment. They were just cold. Cold enough to make my chest tighten. And I suddenly wished the ground could open and swallow me, or I could disappear.
“Kyle…” I don’t know why I said his name.
But he cut me off, voice colder than ice. “Take care of him,” he said. “Zareon. That’s why I came.”
3/4
111
O
<Chapter Forty–Six
Then, with a tight nod, he turned for the door and left while I stood there, frozen.
+ Ponte
Elson disappeared into the hallway, probably to give me space, but I didn’t move for a long time. Because it
hurt.
I can’t explain why it did, but it hurt watching him walk away like that. It hurt more than I thought it would. Because deep down, I wanted to run after him and explain that it wasn’t what it looked like.
I wanted to tell him Elson was here only because it was too late to drive home the night before. That he had stayed with me and Zareon through one of the darkest storms in our lives, and that he was more like a second guardian, nothing more. That Zareon trusted him. And I did too, but not in the way Kyle might think. Not in the way it probably looked.
I didn’t even know why I felt the need to say all that. He doesn’t deserve an explanation. And yet… I felt like I needed to clear myself. Not for him. But for me. Because I didn’t want him to think of me like that. Especially
when it wasn’t true.
And maybe… maybe it’s also because he’s still Zareon’s father. Still, the man who held my son when he was scared and hurting. Still, the man whose presence makes my chest ache in ways I wish it didn’t.
God!
I don’t even know what I am anymore.
The_oddluna
I took a break to construct better outlines for this book because I’m not an expert at constructing long novels, as many of you have noticed. But I’m really trying to make you all enjoy the book. I see so many people angry with Kyle, but I write my characters in a way that makes their emotions feel real, more human–like, because humans are different. We handle things differently and are allowed to make mistakes. I might not be very good at character profiling or their growth yet, but I’m learning, so I apologize. Still, I implore you to wait until the end, because there are a lot of secrets to unfold, and in time, you all will understand. Thank you all.
8
Comments
Watch Ads (0/20) >
