RedNovelChapter 87~ She's trouble
ALEX
"You don't want this anymore? Am | too much?" Tears well in her eyes and | sigh.
You see the difference, when she cries it does nothing to me. But when Athena...
Fuck!
"Get In | drop you home. | have to rush back to the office."
"Okay." She givesa smile and steps closer, placing a kiss on my cheek.
Opening the car door, | seat in my driver's seat before glancing back at Rayen. He's quiet in the car seat,
clutching the little bunny plushie he refuses to sleep without.
His eyes are wide and uncertain as he watches me. | run a hand down my face and exhale slowly.
I'm supposed to protect him.
But how the hell do | protect him from ghosts that won't stay buried?
Leah is buckling up when the question slips out of my mouth.
"Rayen, buddy?" My voice is soft.
His wide eyes look up, "Yes, Daddy?"
"Why did you call Ath- that woman that?"
Leah flinches slightly, her voice suddenly softer as she responds instead.
"Haha, Alex, you can't tellyou're thinking so deeply about that! Maybe he's just confused... or maybe she put
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇthim up to it. You know how manipulative women like her can be."
| raise my head and stare at her like she's grown a second head.
"He's two, Leah. He doesn't get manipulated like that. Something's off. And she
has never met him before. At what point did she put him up to it?"
"| just wanted to help her up. She was on the floor and looked sad." Rayen's voice reaches my ears and | sigh.
This is going to be a problem.
| grip the steering wheel tighter, my knuckles turning white.
"She was on the floor and looked sad."
Rayen's voice echoes in my head like a siren | can't shut off.
Leah doesn't say anything now.
"| called for you, but you watcheddrown." Athena's words echo in my head. Pressing on my chest to a point
where it feels like I'm suffocating.
My mind goes back to that elevator.
Athena on the floor, knees drawn to her chest. Her arms trembling as she tried to breathe.
God, | can still feel the way her body shook under my hands.
1 didn't even think.
| just moved.
Held her. Grounded her.
Like something inremembered her even though | didn't want to.
I hate her.
That's the line | keep telling myself.
Over and over again.
But Rayen?
He looked at her for two seconds and called her mummy.
Does she have power over all of us?
A child included?
"Alex?" Leah's voice dragsout of the spiral.
"What?"
"You're gripping the wheel like you're about to break it."
| blink, glancing down at my hands, then quickly loosen my grip.
You see what | meant when | say Athena is fucking trouble?
"Did | make you angry? I'm sorry." A little voice reaches my ears again and my heart swells.
"Daddy can never be angry with you. He was just curious. Do you want to get sice cream tomorrow? Granny
has been dying to spend the weekend with you."
Rayen nods slowly, still gripping the bunny to his chest, and a small smile tugs at
the corners of his mouth. "Chocolate?" he asks, his voice hopeful.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm
"Double chocolate chip," | promise, letting a smile break through the storm brewing in my chest.
Anything to see that light return to his eyes.
Leah stays silent beside me, arms
crossed and jaw clenched, but | ignore her. The way she looks at my son like he's a trophy and not a little boy
with feelings makes my blood boil. And right now, | can't afford to lose my temper.
| pull into Leah's estate and park out front.
"I'll cget Rayen tomorrow morning," | tell her before she can open her mouth.
She huffs, "But | thought-"
"Not now, yeah." | cut her off,
stepping out of the car. | unbuckle Rayen, lifting him gently into my arms. His tiny hands wind around my neck,
and | breathe him in.
That familiar baby scent.
That weight that feels like home.
"| love you, buddy," | whisper as | pass him to Leah, ignoring her sharp gaze. "Be
good."
"Can't | sleep with you today?" He holdstighter.
"Daddy has to do something but from tomorrow you can be withfor as long as you want."
He givesa sleepy nod. " Okay, Daddy."
After kissing him goodnight, I drive off with a thousand thoughts running wild in my
head.
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