Chapter 52 What if he takes him away?
Ophelia’s POV
I was jolted out of my siesta by my phone vibrating against the nightstand with an incoming call.
I grumbled as I gently disengaged myself from Jeremy’s vice grip before I retrieved the offending device and answered the call without glancing at the caller id.
“Who’s this?” I mumbled, scrubbing a hand over my face to clear the lingering bits of sleep in my eyes.
“Hi, babe. I’m sorry I haven’t called you in a while,” Ava said, which made me sit up properly and rest against the headboard.
I yawned, “Nah, it’s fine, babe. How’s work and how’s everything over there?”
“Fine, fine. I have an off day today. So, I can stay on the phone for as long as I want,” She squealed, to which I giggled.
“Oh, really?”
“Yup. Can we FaceTime or are you busy with something? It’s been a while since I last saw my nephew, and I want to see him,” She said, which made me sigh.
“Sure, let’s do that. I’m not busy, I don’t have work today. I had to call in sick because Jeremy suddenly started throwing a tantrum. I’ll tell you everything soon, let’s just FaceTime,” I mumbled, tenderly patting Jeremy’s hair as he slept peacefully.
“Okay, let’s do that,” With that, Ava hung up.
A few minutes later, my phone buzzed with an incoming FaceTime request from Ava which I immediately answered.
I smiled as Ava’s cheerful smile came into view, and she waved at me, “Hi, babe. How are you?”
I waved back with a grin, “I’m good. How’s everything over there? I really miss you, Ava. Jeremy also wants to meet aunty Ava,”
“Soon, Lia. Very soon, I’ll see you again,” Ava darted a reassuring grin at me which I mirrored with a nod.
“By the way, why do you look so sleep-deprived? Have you been overworking yourself?” I asked, with a worried undertone conspicuous in my voice.
Ava still worked at Rodrigo’s club but she was now a full-time stripper. Some years ago, she dropped out of school some months after I left Texas, and she confided in me that college was not her thing.
As her best friend, I had no other option but to support her even though I wasn’t really happy about her decision, but what could I say?
“No, of course not. I’m fine, you are probably stressing over nothing like a mother hen. I’m not Jeremy. I’m older than you, so I should be the one fussing over you,” She scoffed, raking her fingers through her recently-dyed pink hair.
“Yeah, alright,”
“Can I see Jeremy? Or is he at your neighbor’s?”
“No, he’s right here but he’s asleep,” I said, angling the camera, so Ava could get a clear vision of him.
Ava cooed as she clasped her hand over her mouth, “He’s so adorable. I have to agree that bastard made a cute one with you,”
I stiffened at her utterance as I brought the camera back to my face, “I saw that bastard again yesterday,”
“What? What are you saying? You saw HIM?!” Ava screeched, which made me shoot up from the bed and exit my bedroom to Jeremy’s room.
Before I left Texas, I told Ava everything about Ryan, and how I became his sex slave but she still had no idea what he looked like. She only knew him to be Ryan.
“Sorry, I didn’t want to wake him up,” I mumbled as I sat on the rocking chair, and faced Ava once more.
“No, that’s fine. I can understand. Start explaining. Tell me everything that happened in full detail. What did he say? Does he know Jeremy is his?”
I shook my head in negation as my heart sank in fear, “No, he doesn’t and he never will. You remember when I called to tell you I couldn’t find Jeremy?”
“Yeah, I do,” Ava nodded eagerly.
“I later found Jeremy with him, and he tried to apologize, saying bullshit about how sorry he is, that he shouldn’t have done something so inhumane to me. I almost slapped him but I managed to refrain from doing so,” I huffed, recalling Ryan’s lingering touch on my forearm.
What the hell? I chided myself inwardly and shrugged the stupid feeling off.
“He also looked very thin and emaciated,” I concluded.
“Wow, that’s crazy,”
“I know, right?” I agreed.
“So, what are you going to do? Did he say anything about residing permanently in London?”
“No, he didn’t. Honestly, I didn’t ask him. He only told me he was here for a seminar, and I wasn’t in the mood to converse with a psychopath who ruined my life,” I mumbled.
“That’s great then. You just have to hope you never come across him again. But if he tries anything funny, you should immediately inform the cops, and file a restraining order against him, okay?” Ava advised.NôvelDrama.Org © 2024.
“Yes, I will. I hope things between us don’t get to that level of craziness though. I really hope he never finds out about Jeremy’s true identity. I can’t imagine getting separated from my son,” I confessed, with a sigh.
“Don’t worry. That’s not going to happen. Just file a restraining order against him, if you sense anything suspicious. I will never accept him as my nephew’s father either,”
“Yeah, about that. I have no idea what has suddenly come over Jeremy. Can you imagine he woke me late in the night yesterday to tell me that he wants Ryan to be his dad?” I said, with tears clouding my vision.
I was gradually starting to feel incapable of being a good parent to Jeremy. I was already quite insecure about my parenting skills, but his saying stuff like he wanted a dad, and asking me why I didn’t want him to have a dad made my insecurities grow worse.
“Maybe I’m not enough for my son anymore,” I sniffled, wiping away my tears with a hand.
“He won’t stop talking about Ryan. About how tall and big he was. He literally cried for three hours just because I said no to him. If this continues happening, I have no idea what I’d do. I feel so lost and guilty for keeping him away from his dad,” I paused to take a deep breath.
“It’s not like I’m being selfish, I just don’t want Ryan to ruin my son’s life as he did mine,” I confessed.
“I can understand, babe. Don’t worry, he’ll get over it. It’s just a phase. You know he’s never had a father figure in his life,” Ava uttered, to which I nodded in understanding.
“Yeah, I know,”
A heavy silence ensued between us as I mindlessly stared at the screen.
“So, I have to go now. Extend my greetings to my nephew. I’ll call you soon, take care,” Ava said, breaking the silence.
I nodded and waved at the screen, “Okay, bye. Thanks for calling. I love you,”
“Love you too,” Ava said and waved back before the line went dead.
I clutched my phone tighter as my gaze dropped to the floor, and a thought crossed my mind.
Was I doing the right thing, by keeping Jeremy away from Ryan?