Chapter 63

Nathaniel’s POV.

As promised to Yaden, I was up early and presented myself professionally in court. I could see Yasmine’s mother, and to be quite honest, not much had changed about her. She looked just as unfit as the first day. I couldn’t believe someone like that would want to be a mother again, but then I saw the way Yasmine’s aunt was acting.

Something wasn’t right. I knew something didn’t add up about the two. I knew Yaden would never want this, so I never asked him for his permission when I hired Jake to do some digging for me. I was hoping this evidence wouldn’t be needed. I hoped that Yaden could officially be granted full custody of his daughter. She never even saw her mother; she didn’t know the woman who fought to see her.

I met up with Yaden in the parking lot after court and leaned against my car as I watched Yaden pace around frantically. He finally stopped pacing and looked at me, inhaling deeply.

I wondered if this was Selene’s nightmare. That I would’ve come into Roman’s life and ripped him away from her. I don’t think I’d ever be able to do that unless Selene was an unfit mother if perhaps she neglected or abused our son. But she wasn’t; she was the perfect mother in more ways than I could ever explain. I love my mother, but she had never been there like Selene is there for Roman. Selene was kind, smart, caring, and loyal to her child. She’s the epitome of the perfect life partner; it’s her I want, and I was so close to getting all of what I wanted.

“Nathaniel, I’m freaking out right now,” Yaden admitted, letting out a frustrated sigh as he ran his fingers through his hair.

“Hey, man, it will all be okay,” I assured him, placing a hand on his shoulder and giving it a slight squeeze.

“With all due respect, you don’t have a child; you don’t know what I stand to lose,” Yaden said rudely but meant every word of that. I opened my mouth to speak right away, to tell him I was a father too, but even then, I wasn’t a father like he was. I was only just in Roman’s life, and despite doing anything and everything I could for him, it still didn’t compare to the number of years Yaden spent raising his daughter.

“You’re right… I don’t,” I admitted and politely said, “I’m sorry.”

I could tell him I had my best PI snooping, but that would either make him angry or get his hopes up too high, and I didn’t want to risk getting him excited for no reason.

“It’s just—since when does she even have a job?! She never had a job before; she never held down a job. She cleaned up and suddenly cares so much about Yasmine—she’s the mother, Nathaniel, court always favors the mother,” Yaden ranted, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Something about her sister doesn’t sit right with me,” I admitted out loud.

“Nat? No, Nat was always stable. Yasmine’s mother always fought with her, and when she got pregnant, she pushed Nat away,” Yaden explained, refusing to call the woman by her name. The pain she had caused him was unbearable, but he never cared about that; he only cared about the way Yasmine had been abandoned.

Yaden and I spoke a bit longer before we parted ways. I met with my parents for dinner, and right after that, I went on a shopping spree. Anya requested a specific chocolate from the US; some were found in Australia, but it wasn’t manufactured in the US, which is the one she wanted. I bought a great amount of the chocolate. I’d do anything to earn brownie points when it came to Anya and Kai.

For Roman, I purchased some puzzles, books, experiment kits, and of course, a stuffed animal. He’d love it. It was a turtle, and he was just talking about them. I only picked up some local gummy candies, and for Selene, there was a dainty necklace with a nice dress to go with it. I couldn’t wait for her to wear it on a date night of ours.

It was late at night, and I was on my way to the airport, ready to head back home, when my phone started ringing.

“Well, I sure as hell found some information,” Jake announced as I picked up the phone. “You were right not to trust the matter,” he then said, and I smirked. I was always right, no?

“Go ahead, tell me,” I urged.

“Well, Nat promised to offer the mother money for the daughter,” Jake said bluntly, and I almost spit out my tea.

“What the fuck?” I asked again.

“Yeah. Nat’s husband is unable to give her a child, and they come to the conclusion that they could fix the mother with a job and all, and then offer to buy the child. The mother bragged about taking the money and flying out to Florida to live her best life,” Jake explained, and I could feel my blood boiling. This was never about Yasmine’s best interest; it was about money.

“There’s proof?” I asked again, needing everything to protect this little girl.

“Oh yeah, Nat too told her friends. I’ll tell you, those friends are backstabbing and easily spilled everything, but hey, it’s in your friend’s favor. These pieces of information will show their true character,” Jake said proudly.

“Thank you for this,” I said, pleased with the outcome, and it only took him less than a day.

“Of course, I’ll be sure to send my invoice,” Jake said lastly, then ended the call.

I received the invoice and evidence he had collected. There were consented recordings, photos of messages, and statements of people. I paid the invoice in full and then sent the evidence to Yaden. Within a span of 10 minutes, my phone rang, and I answered him.

“I don’t know whether to be angry or happy right now,” Yaden said. I had a feeling it was more the latter, though.

“Feel free to be both. I was merely looking out for Yasmine,” I said truthfully.

“Thank you, Nathaniel,” Yaden said sincerely. I could hear it in his voice. “You have no idea how much all of this means to me,” he sighed.

“I can imagine,” I replied, thinking of Roman for a moment.

“Have a safe flight,” He wished me.

“I shall.”

I ended the call and then boarded the jet. I made sure to have all the gifts with me and settled into my reclined seat. I planned on napping, and right after that, I could get ready and head straight to visit them. I couldn’t wait to see them again.

***

Selene’s POV.

Since Nathaniel left, things have suddenly become much more difficult for me. I had gotten adjusted to having his help when it came to our son. Even besides all that, I missed him. What was meant to be three days became five days, but I was happy he could help his friend. I missed the time we spent together, though. It was basically every day. At work, after work, and even sometimes at night. He helped out so much with Roman that I only now realized how helpful he had been. He had been pulling his weight, and I now appreciate it.

I think Roman’s being a bit difficult because he misses his father, so I let him be. I was patient with him and tried to assure him everything would be okay despite my struggles. Not to mention how busy Anya is with her business as she was asked to help several weddings and parties with distributing snacks and desserts.

We were all very proud of her, and finally, she was starting to see the growth she wanted. This meant I had no proper daycare for Roman, and I didn’t trust strangers so much with him, so I had to take him to work with me. Work, as well, has become a lot busier now, and Kai and I are busy looking into hiring more people so the workflow could be great. Usually, in cases like these, Nathaniel would come in handy, but sadly he wasn’t around, and I didn’t really mention it to him because he deserved to have some time with his family.

Roman had been constantly asking for Nathaniel, and even FaceTime wasn’t enough for him. Whenever Roman demanded to call Nathaniel, Nathaniel would drop what he was doing and call immediately to speak with his son. I could tell he missed his father a lot and kept asking when he’d come back. The cutest thing Nathaniel did was buy the same book about a turtle and read it to him while Roman looked at the pages in his book. It wasn’t the same as when he’d actually be in the room, but it worked for little Roman, so we were all happy with that.

Today, however, Nathaniel would be coming back and straight to my house! We had this whole day planned out. In the morning, we’d make breakfast for Roman, cooking as a family. Then we’d play some games and do some catching up. Roman would go to bed for his midday nap, and afterward, we’d get lunch and head straight to the park. The planning didn’t end there, though. We’d also go to Nathaniel’s house for dinner, and Roman and I would spend the night there. I just couldn’t wait to see Roman’s reaction when he saw his room.

I was done combing my hair and put it in a simple ponytail. Picking an outfit was easy today; I put on a red sundress for the day. I noticed Nathaniel loved it, a lot. He never stopped staring whenever I wore it, so of course, that was the option I picked. I put on the necklace Nathaniel bought me along with a bracelet. I applied a sheer coat of lip gloss, then got up and went to check on Roman. He asked to get dressed by himself, and well, I wasn’t exactly sure how great that would go.

I stepped into the room and saw a pile of shirts on the bed and floor. I looked over at Roman, who was looking at his mini mirror.

“You good over there, buddy?” I asked, leaning against the door frame. Roman looked into the mirror and rested his hands on his hips.

“Can’t find the right shirt!” He groaned dramatically and walked over to his bed, falling face-first into the mattress. My god, I really raised a drama king, thanks to Kai… He’s the one to blame for sure.

“What’s wrong with this one?” I asked, holding up the red shirt with a white duck on it. It was one of his favorite shirts, plus it was super soft.

“What if Daddy doesn’t like it?” Roman looked over at the shirt.

“Your daddy loves everything about you, don’t you know?” I helped him sit up on the bed and leaned down to fix the cuffs of his pants.

“Mhm… Fine, I’ll wear this one,” He decided and took the shirt, sliding it on perfectly.

“Yay, we’re matching in red,” I pointed out and picked him up. I brought us in front of the mirror and stared at us.

“You’re pretty,” He grinned, then looked over at me and kissed my cheek.

“Thank you, baby, you look very handsome right now,” I commented as I fixed a few of his loose strands.

“Aunty A said I look a lot like Daddy,” He fumbled with the necklace I wore, admiring the stones.

“Well, you do have his pretty eyes, and your hair is similar to his. The lips, the nose,” I always knew he looked more like his father than me. He had my brownish streaks in his hair and my tan skin, but that was it. I have hope that when he grows older, I’ll be able to see a lot more of me in him, but I don’t mind him looking like Nathaniel—although it wasn’t fair at all.

We heard the doorbell, and the moment I set Roman down, he sprinted to the front door, of course. He waited there for me impatiently, knowing he wasn’t allowed to open the door without an elder person’s permission. I took a deep breath and fixed my hair before opening the door and saw Nathaniel standing right there dressed in a white shirt, dark jeans, brown boots, and of course, a brown belt. He wore one of his less flashy watches; his hair was recently trimmed, and he looked so delicious right now.

“Daddy!” Roman hugged his legs tight.

“Hello, Roman,” Nathaniel first handed me a big bag full of whatever, then leaned down to pick Roman up and hugged him so tight. I watched as Nathaniel walked away to the car with Roman. Was I witnessing the kidnapping of my own son? Nathaniel then came back with a bouquet and handed it to Roman.