Avery was so stunned that she was speechless. He had the audacity to call her shameless? Just who was the shameless one? Not wanting to speak to him anymore, she patted her son's back and led him away.
The boy remained calm as though he hadn't noticed anything, much to her relief. She had been scared that Damon's presence would trigger him, what with him suddenly calling for his father in his dreams. She gently ran her palm down his small back, trying to lull him to sleep. He kept gazing out the window and pointed out of the window out of the blue, then hit it with his small palms when she didn't react to it.
She followed his gaze to find that he was gazing out at the mall.
"You want to go to the mall?" She asked gently while pointing out, and he nodded.
"Pull over at the mall." She instructed the chauffeur. As soon as the car stopped, the boy tried to get out of his mother's grip to run around.
"Slow down." She chuckled. "Is there anything you want? A new toy car?" She led him to the toys section, but he didn't seem to want anything to do with the toys. He only swept them a glance and continued looking around as though looking for something.
Angel rarely spoke, so he couldn't answer her even if she asked what he was looking for. She could only follow his lead around the large shopping mall, patiently finding whatever he was looking for.
He quickened his tiny steps towards the restrooms area, making her wonder whether all the fuss was about him wanting to go to the bathroom. When she asked about it, he nodded so she chuckled and let him into the washroom while she waited outside since he didn't need help.
"Excuse me, miss. This is the men's restroom and you are in the way." A cleaning staff appeared next to her as she waited for Angel.
"I'm waiting for my son." She responded with no intention to leave.
As they spoke, Angel left the bathrooms, running through the corridor.
"Angel!" She followed him in panic, luckily catching him before he could go too far. She held his arm and sighed in relief. "Where are you trying to run off to? You…" She suddenly froze when she noticed a man a few steps in front of them, who turned around at her words.
"What are you doing here?" She blinked as she asked the man who had suddenly appeared like a phantom. Was this man a ghost? Why did his presence keep haunting her?
"You can try to hide him all you want, Avery." Damon raised an eyebrow with a smirk on his face. "However, you can never deny that the boy wants to be with his dad."
"You…" She was suddenly confused. When exactly did he appear?
"Aren't you curious what he has been looking for all this time?" He asked tauntingly, letting her imagine it even though he knew that she did not want to believe her own thoughts. "Of course, he was trying to follow me. I can't believe that I'm invisible to you after only five years."
"What kind of devil are you, to let a child follow you without being in the slightest bit responsible?" She yelled at him, not believing that this bastard had the audacity to claim Angel as his son, yet leaving the boy to run around on his own. What if he lost his way?
However, the man chuckled. "Of course, I wouldn't be irresponsible over my own son. I had my eye on him." He crossed his arms while looking down at her, then at the boy glancing up at him curiously while hugging her legs. "I wanted you to know that he followed me all the way here."
Suddenly understanding why Angel had wanted to go to the mall in the first place, Avery picked her son to hug him protectively. "Do yourself a favor and stay away from my son. Otherwise, don't blame me for hurting you!" She threatened.
Her threat didn't make him flinch. Instead, he shook his head indifferently. "You seem to misunderstand something. I'm not trying to take him away from you."
She was slightly relieved. Angel was her whole life, she would die if anyone took him away. But if that wasn't why he was back, then why was he troubling them?
"We can forget the past, Avery." He looked pained as he swallowed, but his pained expression was immediately replaced by indifference. "As long as you can explain why you hid our son from me. Why would you do that?"
She glared at him fiercely. How dare he even ask? Without bothering to answer the scumbag who was doing a poor job at feigning innocence, she turned to leave.
"Papa?" The boy on her shoulder stretched out his hand, trying to catch Damon who was getting farther away from his reach with each step that his mother took.
"He is not your papa." She glared at Damon over her shoulder, warning him to not make any such mistake as try to get close to them.
When she got back into the car, she realized just how hard it was going to be to pacify her son this time. Angel already knew that Damon was his father, and couldn't understand why his mother did not want him to be with his papa.
He cried sadly, making her torn in between letting him have his way and protecting him from the man who might just break his fragile heart later.
When he finally fell asleep, they had arrived home so she put him to sleep and rubbed her thumb gently against his tender cheek.
"He dumped you once. He could do it again." She sighed. If she knew that it would come to this, she would never have fallen in love with Damon in the past. She was naive and thought that they were in love with each other, until he finally opened her eyes with the most ruthless kind of twist.
Opening a drawer in Angel's wardrobe, she took out a white t-shirt which was already five years old, yet looked brand-new like it had never been worn. She didn't know why she still kept it all this time.
_
Five years ago.
Avery held the pregnancy test kit in her hand, her eyes staring wide at the two red lines on the small screen. She was pregnant! It was unexpected, but she knew that her boyfriend would definitely be overjoyed. Even though they were yet to discuss marriage and kids, the baby that she now had in her womb was a sign of their love, and she couldn't wait to tell him about it.
Hence, she excitedly called her old friend who was a custom clothes designer, to have him print her a pair of t-shirts, and purchased a bunch of decorative items before calling Damon over.
It wasn't long before she heard the sound of an engine pulling into her compound, and she nervously rushed to the door to receive him.
"What's the grand occasion?" He was pleasantly surprised to see that the living room had been colourfully decorated, and he pulled her into a tight hug. If his memory served him right, it wasn't his birthday and neither was it hers.
She pulled away bashfully. "Damon, I have news to share with you." She chirped excitedly. "Close your eyes…"
He did as he was told, and she pulled a box from the drawer of the coffee table and took out a white t-shirt. "Now, open your eyes!"
"This is…" Before he could complete his statement, his phone rang.
"It's a call from the hospital." He stated apologetically, letting go of the t-shirt.
"Okay." She waited as he spoke to someone, then had to rush out of the house.
That was the last time she saw him before he gave her a call to apologetically break up because he supposedly had no choice.
_
The present.
Avery opened up the t-shirt in her hands.
"Daddy, see you soon" read the caption in an adorable font. It was the very t-shirt she had given to Damon five years ago, the last time they met before he jilted her. He clearly didn't want the child. He dumped them even before she directly told him that she was expecting their child.
What right did he have to come back now? How dare he claim that Angel was his son?
She was capable of giving her son everything he wanted—she had not been working this hard in vain. If what the boy wanted was a father, she would be willing to get married and give him a complete family.
However, the last thing she wanted was a man who couldn't be trusted.
____
AN
So, Avery thinks Damon dumped her for being pregnant, while Damon thinks she hid the baby from him. Want to know what really happened? Keep supporting the book to read more!
PS: This is my second entry for spirity, themed First love. I hope you support it, and good luck to us!