Chapter 32 - Sylvia’s POV

I must have slept late because I did not hear my alarm go off. The harsh sunlight seeping through the windows woke me up and not the sound of my alarm. It’s almost noon. Fuck.

Forget about eating. I’ll just have one on the expressway. I should be in Baguio by now, but my lazy ass slept in. It’s a good thing travel time up north decreased significantly because of the new expressway, otherwise, I’d reach home past dinner time.

The drive going out of the metro and into the expressway went without a hitch. The roads were free of traffic jams, and I did not encounter any red light along the way.

I hope I could say the same to the roads after the expressway. Of all the times the government did road widening work, it has to be during the holiday season when tourists pack the roads. The car queue was so long I could not see where it ended. Great, just great!

Had I known traffic would be this congested, I would have taken the bus. I could have gotten some shut eye rather than sitting on my ass waiting for the car ahead of me to move.

It’s already dark when I got to the zigzag. As expected, the roads had zero visibility because of the thick fog. I could not drive as fast as I wanted because I might get into an accident.

It was past dinnertime when I finally parked my car at home. The house was quiet. Jax must already be asleep. Jax might be asleep already. The lights in the living room were still on so my parents were still downstairs and resting.

I froze at the sight before me when I opened the door. Cold sweat ran down my spine and my heart felt like it was beating not in my chest but in my throat.

Dean sat in our living room, his eyes shut as he carried my son, who slept soundly on his chest. Both looked exhausted. What is he doing here? How did he know this place? Why did my parents let him in? Shit! This is the price of sleeping in.

“Oh, Via, you’re here. I thought you won’t come home until tomorrow,” Papa greeted me as he walked down the stairs.

Dean slowly opened his eyes at the sound of my father’s voice. His blue eyes scorched me, further cementing me from where I stood. I held on to the doorjamb for support as I felt my knees giving in.

“Pa…” My voice almost couldn’t come out of my throat. I couldn’t take my eyes off of Dean. They’re nailed in the arms that held my son. I watched his every move.

My heart drummed in my ear, and my chest tightened, making it difficult to breathe.

“W-what… Why?” I didn’t know what to say. Seeing him with my son short circuited my brain and fried my brain cells.

“Via, you’re here. Didn’t you say you’d travel tomorrow?” It’s Mama. She just came out of the kitchen.

Why are my parents calm? Didn’t they know who that person holding my son was?

“Ma…” I looked at my mom with my questioning and pleading eyes.

“You two talk about your issues and don’t drag my grandson into your mess. Bring your son upstairs so he can sleep comfortably.”

I wanted to scream and break things. Of all the places where Dean would see my son, it had to be here, the one place I thought he’s safest. Dammit!

My feet brought me in front of Dean. “Give me my son,” I said, leaning forward to get Jax from his arms.

“Your son? Just yours?” Dean’s hands tightened around Jax’s. His icy blue eyes challenged me.

“Please, Dean. He’s uncomfortable.”

“I’ll bring him up. Show me where to go,” he said and stood up, towering over me. I had no choice but to march up to my room and hold the door open for him.

He placed Jax in the middle of the bed while I looked for Jax’s change of clothes. My fingers shook as I took his clothes out of his closet.

I went to the bed in silence and laid down Jax’s frog suit on the bed. I gently undressed him and wiped his body clean. My son must have played to exhaustion because he did not even stir in his sleep. After changing his diaper, I button him up in his clean frog suit. The task looked arduous, but it did not take me long to complete it.

When I finally finished changing my son’s clothes, I had no choice but to address the elephant in the room.

“What are you doing here?” I asked him. I gathered all my strength as I tried to make my voice steady and not sound scared. Yes, I am scared. Scared shitless.

“I’m tired, Sky. Jax and I played all day and I want to take a rest,” he said. Did he say he wanted to rest? Oh great! I walked towards the door and opened it for him.

He sneered at me. “I’m not that easy to shake me off, Sky. We’ll talk tomorrow,” he said as he stripped off his top.

I shut my door and walked up to him. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Sleeping, unless you want to do something else.”

I closed my eyes and counted to ten. “Sleeping? Here?”

“Yes. Here.”

“No. You’re not sleeping here.”

“Try me.”

He crossed his arms around his bare chest as he stared down at me. He smirked at me, as if daring me to oppose him. “Use your best martial arts to drive me out of this room, Sky. I dare you. And if you fail, I am getting out of that door with my son when I wake up in the morning.”

My instinct to protect my son kicked in. I rushed to Jax’s side, but Dean’s hand was quicker than my feet. He grabbed my arm, stopping my movement. “Don’t. Don’t think of taking my son, or running away from me, Sky. I am an impatient person and honestly, I am running low on patience right now. So, if you want to sleep with your son tonight, do nothing stupid.”

Dean’s voice was calm but frightening. His menacing look told me he would do every word he said, which sent shivers down my spine. Is this why my parents allowed him to be with Jax? Did he threaten my parents? He let go of my arm and continued to undress.

“The fuck, Dean. What are you doing?”

“I told you, I’m sleeping.”

“I heard it but why are you stripping your clothes?” I turned around; my face felt like burning coals.

“I sleep in my birthday suit.”

“Are you dumb? You’ll sleep in your birthday suit beside my son? If you insist on being naked, you can sleep in the guest room.” I berated him.

“Fine. I’ll keep my boxers.” he said, then slid on the space beside Jax.

Argh! I really should have taken the bus today. I shouldn’t have exhausted my body sitting in that fucking traffic jam. Looks like I’d have a vigil tonight. I shouldn’t be complacent. He might run away with Jax once I’m sleeping.

I remained standing at the foot of the bed, watching father and son sleep. Damn, not only did they look alike, but they also even slept the same way. Dean slept with one arm covering his eyes while the other on stomach. Jax had the same pose.

I walked towards my cabinet and took out a pair of pajamas. Then I walked into my bathroom to clean myself and change into a clean set of clothes. I had just secured the last piece of button on my pajama top when I heard Jax’s cry. I hadn’t put on the bottom piece of my pajama when I bolted out of the bathroom and checked my son.

He sat at the center of the bed. Man and child looked at each other. My son looked confused and wailed like a siren while his father looked panicked and did not know what to do.

I rushed to my son and hugged him. Dean’s round eyes were on me and were looking me up and down.

“Jax, darling, Mama’s here,” I called my baby while I positioned myself to lie on the opposite edge of the bed. My son looked at me with his confused and scared eyes, tears falling from them. Then his face changed from panic to relief as he crawled into my arms.

“Mama.”

“Yes, darling, Mama’s here.”

I lied beside Jax. He stuck to me like a magnet. He smelled my neck and kissed my cheeks.

“Miss you, Mama.”

“I miss you too, baby.” I said, kissing his cheeks.

“Wuv you, Mama.”

“I love you too, Jax.”

He smiled at me and gave my cheek another wet kiss. Then his tiny hand felt its way inside my clothes. I opened the buttons of my pajama top to feed him and help him sleep.

Dean lied on his side and supported his head with his hand and watched me feed our son. I have breastfed without a cover in public before and I did not feel a bit of shame. I’ve always been proud of breastfeeding my son because I know I’m giving him the best. But the way Dean looked at me made me feel a little uncomfortable. There’s tenderness in his eyes, yet there’s also a hint of teasing.

“You know Sky, you owe me this. I missed a lot of things about my son.”

Were those tears forming at the edge of his eyes?