Silent with a blank stare, that's what Damian did. He sat in the living room, carrying a small photo showing Daniel sitting with a big laugh and holding a blue dinosaur doll in his hands.
'Am I wrong if I'm angry and can't turn back time... If only he had been aware of her pregnancy before the bachelorette party, maybe I wouldn't have been tempted by Clara. But whether she's pregnant or not, I shouldn't be tempted by Clara...' he exhaled roughly. "I'm stupid ... stupid..!"
"Stop cursing yourself."
Damian glanced at Valerie who came with three shiny dark green photo albums. He immediately turned his head away, as if he couldn't look at her anymore.
"I was wrong too," said Valerie, giving the photo album to Damian. "I'm sorry that Daniel didn't spend his first time with you, but... I often memorialize every moment with him."
Damian took the three photo albums and then started to open one of them.
Valerie immediately sat on another sofa and took her cell phone from her trouser pocket.
"I have lots of pictures, I will send them to you. And on my laptop, there are also lots of videos, I will send them via email... Just tell me your email address," said Valerie carefully, as if she didn't want Damian to get angry again.
"My email has never changed... It still uses your name and the date we first dated," Damian replied without looking.
Valerie swallowed her saliva, her throat suddenly dry as if she was suffocating.
'I thought he would replace it,' she thought.
"How long was he in the hospital after birth?" Damian asked, his gaze fixed on a photo of a very small Daniel wearing warm clothes and a maroon blanket, lying on a carrycot in a sleeping position and still wearing a tube in his nose and attached to his cheek.
"He was in the hospital for a month," Valerie answered.
"And you watch it alone."
"No... Every once in a while Jerry comes... With Samuel. Then Hannah." Valerie was a little nervous, as if worried that Damian would immediately get annoyed. "But, I often ask them to just leave because I need to focus on writing while looking after him, sometimes I even replace the nurse to look after the other baby too... Because I don't want to leave him even though the doctor advises me to."
"You're overprotective."
"Yes, of course."
Damian sighed and turned to look at another album, showing photos of Daniel who was able to crawl, sit, learn to eat on his own, and then sleep in Samuel's arms. He immediately took the photo and tore it while clenching his teeth, as if in emotion.
Valerie gaped, as if surprised.
Damian gave all the photo albums to Valerie again.
"Don't send me anything!" he exclaimed.
"Oh my God..." Valerie sighed.
"I can't stop myself from getting angry every time I see Samuel with my son, especially since they are so close….I'd better never see that... It'll blow my head off!" Damian got up and went straight to the room.
Valerie was silent, feeling strange, sad, and again feeling guilty.
'But that's something that can't be changed, and it all happened because of his fault,' she thought, trying to be strong.
The cell phone rings
Valerie took her cell phone, saw an incoming call from an unknown number, and then answered it.
"Hello?"
"Valerie....I think you want to change your mind," said the man over the phone.
"What?" Valerie frowned. "What do you mean? Who are you?"
"You are like a stranger now... You even forgot the voice of the person who was most embarrassed by your actions on your wedding day..."
Valerie was silent, trying to guess who the person behind the voice was until she remembered Damian's father, Darius McCourtney.
"Still don't remember?" asked over the phone.
Valerie immediately returned to focus.
"It seems like you don't deserve to be Damian's wife...You're so bad!"
"I remember you, Mr McCourtney," said Valerie curtly. "And I will no longer be a future daughter-in-law in your family," she continued.
"Then why are you still with him?"
"He forced me... He forced me to immediately retrieve Daniel's birth data...I told him that I would take it with my boyfriend, but he insisted!" said Valerie irritably, glancing at the door, imagining Damian was with Daniel.
"Boyfriend? So, you already have a boyfriend?" Darius sounded surprised. ." Or could this be the reason you don't want to go back with Demian?"
"Yes, that's my reason. So you don't need to worry anymore. I will never give him false hope again...He also knows about this and he should try to love another girl besides me!" Valerie said firmly as if she didn't want Darius to continue insulting her.
"Alright... I hope you're not tricking me..."
"Your son tricky me..."
"No, you are the cheater. After dealing with Daniel's birth data, there is no longer any reason for you to always be with him... If you break it, I won't give anything to Daniel!" Darius sounded so cynical.
"I don't need that..."
Valerie simply hung up and put down her cell phone in annoyance.
"There's no reason to be with him anymore... He and his family are nothing but trouble to me!" She said angrily, then immediately got up from the sofa.
She walked into the room and found Damian, who was shirtless, sleeping while hugging Daniel.
The sight made her suddenly stop in the doorway, her heart was cut, imagining having to separate them when they had just been together, but she also couldn't accept him anymore, especially since Darius was so cynical towards her, and she was still imprisoned by trauma.
"Mama... Hiks!"
Daniel suddenly raised his head while whining, making Damian immediately get up and sit.
"Oh, my little man. You're so hot..." Damian saw Daniel's neck which was so sweaty, and his hair was also damp.
"Just take off the jacket," asked Valerie.
Damian immediately took off Daniel's black jacket, even his shirt until he was only wearing black trousers.
"Mama... Huhu... I want milk..." Daniel crawled towards Valerie who was sitting on the edge of the bed.
Valerie immediately greeted him and took him on her lap. She immediately opened the two buttons of her top shirt, then took out her breasts and let Daniel directly suck her nipples.
Damian frowned and swallowed saliva, immediately looking away as if he didn't want to see them.
"Where is the birth data?" he asked.
"I'm putting it in the box, along with other things," answered Valerie.
"I will ask my lawyer to arrange a name change and put my name as the father. And maybe I will also make a letter of agreement for us."
"What kind of agreement?"
Damian glanced back at Valerie as if he was thinking about something.
"You don't want to come back to me, and you are also already in a relationship with Samuel... I won't make a big deal about it anymore... I won't bring up our past again... But there must be an agreement between us regarding Daniel," he said worriedly. "Maybe the contents of the agreement are about me being allowed to meet Daniel or even bring him to my family or spend time with me on holidays..."
"No!" Valerie immediately refused.
"Please let me finish my words!" Damian frowned.
Valerie is silent anxiously.
"Please let me be a good father to him, have the opportunity to play with him... Please don't hinder our relationship anymore... the relationship of father and son...I would never kidnap him... I'm not that crazy. I won't hurt you anymore by taking him from you... No... I'm not that crazy!" Damian explained firmly. "As you know, I don't like seeing you with Samuel... For now, I can't accept that he is paying attention to Daniel. So every time Samuel comes to see you, my mother or I will take Daniel to just play at the mansion or take him to an entertainment place not far away... My mother will be involved so you don't need to worry..."
Valerie was silent with her blank gaze as if she was considering Damian's request.
'I should have never started a relationship with Samuel... This will only keep me away from Daniel... Damian will often pick him up because maybe Samuel will also come often,' she thought irritably.
"I will not accept rejection on this matter..." Damian got up and walked out of the room...