Rayla, who had just finished arranging some things in the house, sat down to take a break.
Today was Saturday and she didn't have much to do so she had decided to stay home with Will and do some mother-son bonding.
Her plan didn't work so well. She knew that she didn't like any of the games that her son played neither was she able to play them.
Apart from that, her son had been keeping to himself ever since the day he had a fight at school; he barely came out of his room.
This and other factors added to the loneliness she felt. She felt disconnected. In her heart she knew that Will blamed her for his father's predicament.
It was after a little persuasion that Will agreed to play video games with her.
Unlike before, her son seemed enthusiastic about spending time with her. He appeared a little more cheerful when facing her but her motherly instincts told her that he was having a hard time.
On the other hand, Will was doing all he could to hide the horror in him. He wasn't intentionally trying to shut his mother out; it wasn't also his fault that their relationship had hit the rocks when his father was taken away.
For weeks it hurt him to look at his mother who had refused to even try fighting for father in court or try finding clues that could prove his innocence.
Now, he would do whatever it took to repair that relationship. He had to be alone some times in order to battle the petrifying fear that threatened to overwhelm him.
He couldn't tell anyone, not even his mother. That person is so unpredictable and seemed so ready to take action and he didn't want to risk any more lives.
He was content with being the only one who knew about this secret….
"Mom, let's play some more games together and later, we can go jogging!" Will suggested enthusiastically.
Rayla was taken aback at first.
Was he taking the initiative to play with her? Rayla curved up her lips as she felt her mind calm with excitement and anticipation.
"Whatever you say, we can even run around the whole street!" Rayla gestured animatedly. Will laughed at her body movements.
He loved to jog around some times but had stopped for a while and he just thought that it was a good idea to run with his mother.
"Let's play cards first." Rayla pushed over a deck of playing cards. They played a few rounds and joked with each other.
Rayla forgot all about her chores. What could compare to a happy moment with her son?
Afterwards, they played loud music and ran around the house throwing pillows and other soft objects.
They played like this till they both exhausted and fell to the ground panting.
"How are you so strong?" Rayla joked.
"I've been working out!" Will flexed his imaginary muscles, he wasn't so muscular but he had a lot of stamina and agility.
"Maybe I should take extra time to do exercise, or just gain weight."
"Why would you want to gain weight?" Will asked a bit confused.
"When I'm heavier, I'll become stronger!"
They both laughed over it.
Rayla got up and dusted herself, "Let's go for the jogging."
"Now? You sure you don't want to rest some more and catch your breath?" Will noticed that she was still panting.
"No need, I can borrow strength from Hercules!" she made an awkward gesture which was supposed to resemble Hercules' moves…
"Then I'll borrow mine from Zeus!" Will stood up and made a lightning sound with his mouth.
"Go and change your clothes and let's head out." She patted his head lightly.
She also changed into more comfortable attire and put on her sneakers.
She had to wait a bit since Will took a little longer to get ready.
After a while, her phone rang.
She went over to the table and picked it up. The caller ID was unknown. She hesitated before finally answering the call.
"Hello,"
"Is this Mrs Rayla Aeres?" the person on the other end asked.
"Yes, it is. What's the matter?"
Rayla felt as if she could guess what the person was going to say; she had received similar calls before in the past.
"I'm from the estate management company in Mizzleport, and we need you to come over for few things."
"What is it?" she took a deep breath and asked again.
"It's regarding your husband…"
"What have you found on him again? He is already in prison for goodness' sake!"
She felt a surge of anger rise within her and she would have smashed the phone.
"It's nothing serious, we just want you to come over and sign some documents." The person explained without giving further details.
"When should I come?"
"Better if you could come over as soon as possible."
Rayla tersely agreed and ended the call.
She slumped into a chair and closed her eyes.
Was this another piece of evidence linking him to more crimes?
Rayla found it absurd that evidences were being dug up and used against someone who had already sentenced to jail for a very long time.
What else did they want? For him to be placed on the death row?
"Mom, what is it?" Will came out just in time to notice his mother's troubled face.
Rayla struggled to put on a smile but failed miserably.
She didn't know how to tell him this. She had kept it away from him for a long time. She didn't know how he would react if she told him that his father was being accused of multiple crimes which kept piling up.
She would rather that he believed that his father was an innocent man who was framed for embezzlement rather than break his young heart.
Personally, she didn't want to believe that Jeffrey was capable of such despicable things but the evidence kept coming up and each was so heart-breaking.
She could remember how he was before he was arrested. He wasn't the type of man who would do such things. If he really did take so much money then why didn't he live an overly extravagant life?
Rayla looked at her son and decided to tell him a watered down version of the truth.