She saw him stare at her as though he wanted to say something. He was evidently ashamed of himself but she knew that he was not sorry—he was only sorry that his words had come back to bite him, not because he had been rude. She didn't spare him an extra glance and neither did she show him to the door. She was already done with him.
Ignoring him, she sat the little boy on her lap to check on him. She sighed in relief when she confirmed that there was nothing wrong with him.
"What happened?" Avery's question was directed at the nanny, who had been the one to call her back home. The elderly woman was standing at the side close to them and waiting to be given orders or asked to leave.
"Young Master woke up from his afternoon nap and started looking for something or someone from his room and looked disappointed when he couldn't find them. I thought he was looking for you so I told him that mummy would be home soon. That's when he started crying and threw a tantrum." Explained the nanny, and Avery dismissed her. She bowed and left the living room.
Avery continued to gently pat the back of her son who was drifting to sleep. She knew him well enough and perhaps out of maternal instinct, she had a gut feeling that the matter was not entirely as the nanny had described. She knew that Angel's emotions were volatile and that he could throw a tantrum with little to no provocation, but a foreboding feeling crept into her heart. It was as though trouble was brewing, and she had a feeling that she was not ready for it.
The toddler stirred in her arms out of discomfort, probably because she had unknowingly squeezed him too tight. She checked on him and carried him to the nursery to put him to sleep.
She lowered him onto his blue little football-themed bed and just as she was about to withdraw her hand, he started out of his sleep and hugged her arm.
"I'm here." She whispered to coax him as his eyes drooped to close once again.
"Papa," Muttered the boy, making Avery's blood drain off her face.
It took a moment for her to believe what she had just heard and when she did, he was deep into slumberland.
A pained look crossed her eyes as she gazed at him. "He has never been part of your life. He doesn't even care whether or not you were born successfully. Why do you still dream of him?"
So that was what he was looking for earlier. Great, just when she was starting to believe that he was out of their lives forever. Was that man a demon? Even after breaking her heart and dumping her without a care, her son couldn't forget about him?
The point was, there was nothing to forget. He had never been with him. Where was this crazy thought emanating from?
…
The following day was the weekend so Avery took Angel out to play. He especially loved the theme park, where he could go on different rides that made him happy.
Like any other mother-child pair, she wore a furry skirt that was according to her son's preference, while he wore matching furry pants.
There were other kids with funny or cute drawings on their faces and snacks and toys in their hands, which made Avery understand why her son would be so crazy about it. Angel was not too different from the others. She bought him a funny leopard mask while she placed a cat ear tiara on her head at his request. It was only for her son that she would do things that were so much unlike her. While she was indifferent to everyone else, she would do anything as long as it made him happy.
The boy stuck to his mother's hand the whole while and pointed at a cotton candy then tugged on her clothes to get her attention.
"Of course, baby." She smiled and got him the cotton candy along with everything else he wanted, and when he finished the snacks, she bought him a ticket for the kids' roller coaster. She then helped him onto the train.
He saw the seat belt and started fumbling with it with his small hands, so she helped him fasten it with a chuckle. "Go, Angel! It's going to be fun." She urged, earning a happy giggle from him.
She stood a few steps beside the roller coaster and watched him wave at her, then she waved back with a smile. As she watched him yell in excitement along with the other kids when the ride got a little high, her heart was filled with joy.
"It's so much fun, right?" A masculine voice came beside her ear. She was about to roll her eyes in annoyance, thinking it was Markus, but her heart almost stopped beating when she clearly saw the person beside her.
"Avery Vaillant, long time no see." Grinned the man, as the breeze tousled his hair away from his face. It was a face she would never forget even in a million lifetimes. Those eyes had haunted her in so many of her nightmares that they were etched in her heart as the demon's eyes.
He hadn't changed much from the last time she saw him, he still liked to wear suits even when the occasion least needed it, and his face still held the same greater-than-thou smirk.
"You… who are you?" She asked and tried to sound indifferent but the obvious panic she was feeling gave her away.
"Are you pretending not to know me now? But I didn't forget you." He smirked, letting out his perfectly shaped teeth.
She swallowed a gulp and knew that she could no longer pretend.
The man beside her was none other than her ex-boyfriend, Damon D'aboville. Just when she was about to forget about him, here he was like the demon he was. No wonder she had a bad feeling since the day before. She must have picked up a streak of bad luck for this to be happening right now.
"What are you doing here?" She turned to face him, hoping the ride didn't end while he was still here. He couldn't see her Angel.
He gazed at the train as though he was looking at a specific child. "Just hanging out here and there. Watching as a child rides the roller coaster. It's quite fun. They look happy, don't they?"
So he had a child now. She was somewhat relieved but that didn't mean she was comfortable about his presence. . "I don't care how fun it looks to you but don't bother me. Stay away from me."
Damon laughed at her scared demeanor. "But the ride isn't over yet."
She finally felt dreadful. It didn't matter whether or not he was married now or whether he had a child who he had brought to the roller coaster. If he saw her picking Angel up…
No, she couldn't let that happen.
She wanted to call the nanny over hurriedly to have her pick Angel from the train and get him out of the theme pack, but she thought of a tragic outcome. What if the boy threw a tantrum because he couldn't find her later? Making him cry just because of a scumbag was not worth it in the slightest.
Decisively, she waited for the ride to end and hurriedly unfastened Angel's belt, then carried him with his face against her shoulder. She let out a small sigh of relief, only for Damon to stand in her way.
"What do you want?" She asked in annoyance.
He glanced at the boy in her arms then at her. "Aren't you going to introduce me to our son?"
"Whose son?" She frowned at him, recalling that Angel had a mask on. It was impossible for anyone to see his little face that was a miniature copy of that of the man in front of her, but that didn't lessen her urge to keep him away from this monster.
The said monster let out a laugh and poked the little boy, who was too tired to feel it. "You don't have to hide him, Avery. I already know that we have a son together. Nice job trying to hide him from his father."
How did he know? She wondered. The only person who knew about her son was Markus. Did he tell Damon about it? That was impossible, right? They didn't even know each other. Even so, it didn't matter whether or not they knew each other. They were both scumbags of the same variety.
At the thought of it, she felt disgusted. "Your son?! Damon D'aboville, what right do you have to claim my child as yours? Are you insane?"
He raised an eyebrow at her upset tone. "You are the insane one. To keep a child from its dad, have you no shame?"