Chapter 53 — Rising Bond

Zinnia.

Shocked.

I was shocked at Kavita's request.

Obviously, I didn't expect this from her, especially not after so many years.

"All of a sudden?" I couldn't help but ask.

Earlier, Kavita barely used to talk to Draven, and now, she wanted to bond with him. What changed her mind? She always tried to ignore Draven's existence, which was why Draven was more attached to his Aunt Zara, instead of to Aunt Kavita.

"I know it's weird, and I will return home soon after the wedding shopping is done. So before going, I just want to spend some alone time with Draven, you know. I never tried to bond with him, which was really silly of me," she let out openly. "I cannot believe how I ignored such a sweet child."

I smiled fondly at that. "Indeed, he's a sweet child."

"Are you okay with that, Zinnia? Like only if I have your permission, I will take Draven to the amusement park with me tomorrow." She was looking at me eagerly, trying to read my face.

I stayed silent for a while, giving it some serious consideration.

Why did she want to bond with Draven all of a sudden? I was getting mixed feelings about it, honestly speaking. I mean, did her motherly instincts come out as she started talking to Draven? Or was she regretting everything?

"Is it a weird request?" her words brought me out of my trance.

"Kavita… even if I agree, the only way you can bond with Draven is the way Zara does, as his aunt," I told her directly without beating around the bush. As I scanned her face, I could see the disappointment as clear as the blue sky, which she still tried to cover with a tight-lipped smile.

"I am his mother, Zinnia. How can I try to bond as an aunt?"

I felt uneasy the moment she called herself Draven's mother. I felt the need to correct it to her, whether she liked it or not. I wasn’t going to compromise with my son.

"We already talked about it. I am Draven's mom and you cannot change it, Kavita,” I clarified in a firm tone. But I still felt bad for her. “However, as I am a mother, I can relate to your arising emotions, which should have evolved in you six years earlier. But better late than never, I guess,” I added.

"I am sorry, Zinnia. I know I should have felt this earlier, but now I am feeling it. Please let me spend time with him. I don't even live in this city, so I won't be able to see him every day like you."

"I won't stop you from bonding with Draven, Kavita. That's your right, but just keep in mind that he thinks of you as his aunt," I concluded.

Kavita nodded and smiled. "Thank you so much, Zinnia. Really, thank you."

###

"I cannot believe you agreed to send our child on a day out with Kavita!" Clave snapped. "I don't approve of this, Zinnia. You better call her and cancel the plan because my son will not go with her."

I placed a hand over Clave's shoulder and tried to calm him down. "Clave, listen, they will just get to bond. What's the harm there?"

"What's the harm? Are you serious, Zinnia?" he let out with a humorless chuckle. "She might start thinking that she can be Draven's mom too. I can judge people really well because of my profession and I don't trust her even a bit."

"Kavita is not like that," I tried to protest.

"Then you don't know Kavita, I'm sorry to say," he mumbled. "She is trying to get close to Draven now, and then, one day she might end up revealing the truth to him. What will you do then?"

"She cannot take him away from us. She signed the custody papers, Clave."

"He will be with us, sure, but do you realize we might end up losing his trust? He will be devastated," he pointed out, making me go silent.

Clave was right. Even if Kavita gave Draven to me willingly, she could end up revealing the truth to him anytime she wanted. There was no guarantee. And the day Draven learned the truth—I didn't even want to picture the scenario. He could never learn the truth.

"Now do you realize the gravity of the situation?" Clave uttered, which made my eyes widen.

"Clave, I am a mother and I couldn't stop another mother from bonding with her son. I just went with the flow.”

At that moment, when Kavita told me her request, I tried to think from her point of view and felt so horrible just by imagining the pain she must feel from seeing Draven with me. But right now, after talking to Clave, I was starting to realize that she had done this to herself and she didn’t deserve to spend that time with Draven after giving him up nonchalantly. On top of that, I might have increased the chances of Draven knowing the truth of his birth.

“What will I do now?" I freaked out as I sat down on the bed.

Clave sucked in a deep breath and sat next to me, pulling me to him. "Look, we cannot undo this anymore. But make sure tomorrow is the first and the last day out of Kavita alone with Draven. Next time if she requests, we will accompany them or Zara will. Just keep that in mind, okay?"

I hummed in response and laid my head over his chest.

We stayed in silence for a while until I decided to break the silence. "Clave?"

"Hmm?"

"No matter what happens, Draven will always return to his mom, right?" I always had faith that he would, but I couldn't help but feel insecure at the thought that if he ever learned the truth, he might end up calling Kavita his mom as well.

Clave patted my back. "Obviously, he will always return to his one and only mom named Zinnia."

"But you said he would lose trust in us if he learned..."

"Still, he will always consider us as his parents. No matter how broken he gets, he will come to us and cry because that's what parents mean to their children. If he loses trust, we will regain it. But know that he will never call anyone else his mom and dad except us. Got it?" he explained to me.

I nodded my head.

Even if Draven ever learned the truth, we would always stand by his side.

Our chain of thoughts broke when we heard knocks on the door and I pulled apart from Clave's hold.

"Come in," Clave said, and Draven walked inside by opening the door, his innocent puppy eyes on display. I already knew he was here with some request which he had doubts I might oppose to. "Hey, Champ.”

"Can we play hide-n-seek? I am really bored and I don’t want to go to sleep yet," Draven mumbled and sat next to us.

“Aren’t you the one who was eager to get home soon?” I asked, arching a playful eyebrow.

“Yes, that’s because I wanted to play hide-n-seek with you guys,” he reasoned.

I glanced at Clave, and he blinked his eyes slowly in agreement.

"Alright, we can play," I also agreed. "But not for too long as you have to wake up early tomorrow."

"But tomorrow is Sunday," he pointed out, making Clave chuckle.

"Yes, but you will go to the amusement park tomorrow with Aunt Kavita," I informed him.

"Amusement park? Yay! But wait," his enthusiasm didn't last long when he realized I only mentioned Kavita's name. "Only Aunt Kavita?"

"Yes," I confirmed.

"What about you, Mom and Dad?"

"We have to work at your grandma's shop, so we cannot join you." Before he could ask anything else, I added, "Since it's Sunday, the shop will be busier than usual. So Zara, Mom, Clave, and I, all of us will work together."

Draven frowned as he said, "Fine, I'll go with Aunt Kavita."