Chapter 88

He glanced at the location sent to him by Abby; even though she was Maya's friend, she had a lot of sense left, but Maya, on the other hand, he clenched his fist at his side; how could one person be so bullheaded?

He walked up the stairs, looking at the neighborhood he had just entered; it wasn't fit for anyone to live in, let alone children. How had she even survived here?

Tiny compartment, not enough space to stretch out one's legs, and light? It was not enough. He felt like he had just walked into another part of hell.

Now in front of the door, he stuck his phone into his pocket and knocked; he waited. Not only was he angry, but he was also curious.

Curious about the children.

About to knock again, she pulled open the door and came face to face with him, wincing, even though he hadn't touched her; her blue-dyed hair was packed in a ponytail so he could see her face. She looked dressed.

She swallowed.

"You know what I'm here for," he said, his hands feeling itchy; he sure as hell wanted to pop a bullet into her head, and just as he was about to pull the pistol from his side, she opened the rickety wooden door wide.

His hands froze at his sides when he saw them—three of them, about the same height, sitting on a couch.

They looked the same age—triplets, surely.

Abby said, "I got your kids prepared in case you'd want to take them; they know you're with their mother." 

He stiffened.

His kids, she had his kids?

At the same time, they looked up at him, and all three stood up, coming close, peering into his face in curiosity.

They weren't so identical, but they did look alike; the one wearing a white singlet and black shorts was now right in front of him.

The boy frowned. "I know you somewhere, mister."

Confusion pulled at every angle; he felt the words stuck in his throat. He stared down at them.

No one had ever made him this speechless.

Another asked now, beside his brother, "Is he the cool guy you met in the hospital, Milo?"

Milo observed him without fear, then he frowned, disappointed, and said, "No, Nico, they just look alike."

The third kid, who looked taller, suddenly stood before his brothers, shielding them with his hands. "We don't know him, guys; we only know he has our mother."

"Zaynnne," Nico laughed at his elder brother, "yeah, he looks angry at Aunt Abby, but he doesn't look like he steals people."

"Zayne is right," the one named Milo suddenly came forward, charged, "Mister, we demand our mother; bring her back so we can eat fine; aunt Abby makes bad porridge."

If Abby didn't feel like she was about to die, smacking that little guy on the head would have been possible.

His mini, three of them. He looked at Abby, who turned away immediately, and then back at the charged little boys, who were about to beat him up because he held their mother.

"Why didn't she tell me?" He asked without looking at her.

"Maybe because you made her get rid of the first, Maya had always wanted kids," Abby said now, "so she came to me for help."

Damn woman! He pulled his hair, shaking his head, hoping all this was a dream. How could she? He was clear on not wanting a child. 

Now she had three of them.

Was this God's way of punishing him for making her get rid of the first?

Standing before them felt like being in a burning furnace, especially with the one with the gray orbs that wouldn't stop staring at him.

The little guy was his replica.

He had children. Fuck, how was he going, to begin with, all of this? All of them?!

Zayne looked at him, "Mister, we demand our mother right now!"

Damon looked up at Abby, who was signaling for them to cut it out; seeing him, she straightened up.

"Get their things," he ordered, turning to go, "then meet me in the car."

*******

She was there for hours, mouth moving and eyes blank, looking ahead without seeing anything when she heard their voices.

She scrambled up to the door, placing her ear on it. That was them, alright, their voices getting closer.

She banged on the door, "Zayne, Nico, Milo?!"

She couldn't believe Abby had sent him the address! What was he doing to her babies? Was he hurting them? How could he hurt innocent children?

Fear tugged at her chest; she felt like she couldn't swallow.

Until the voices came even closer, she heard Nico say, "Aunt Abby, this house is so fine, so Momma is here."

"Yes, Nico," Abby said.

They seemed close now, so they weren't screaming in pain then; they were chattering in happiness.

Though it was just a few minutes, she felt it was for eternity.

Finally, she heard the turn of keys in the door, and it pushed open.

In came Damon, whose eyes felt like hot lava as he looked at her; he looked angry, and she swallowed, pulling back—not until her three rascals walked into the room, each holding a cone of ice cream and a backpack.

When they saw her, they shrieked, "Momma."

In a twinkle of an eye, they were all hugging her, their heads into her skirt. "Momma, we thought he hid you, but then he bought us ice cream."

"Oh," she couldn't help staring at Damon, meeting his angry countenance. Did he know? If he did, why was he so calm about it then?

He began to walk out, saying, "I give you ten minutes with them; after that, we'll talk about what the hell all of this is."

He walked out of the room, and Abby immediately entered. Seeing her friend holding the kids, she ran to her and wrapped her hands around Maya's neck. "Oh, thank God you're alive."

Maya pushed her away, anger tearing at her skin. "You should have run away with the kids. Why did you let him get you, Abby? You just put the kids in trouble."

Abby looked bored, staring at Maya. "You know what's wrong with you, Maya? You don't think before acting; you rely on emotions to do all your thinking for you."

Maya snarled, "What do you mean?!"

Abby went back to the door, shutting it gently before she came back to Maya, then whispered, "He thinks they are his kids."

She gasped, "How, what did you do?!"

Abby waved her questions off. "That doesn't matter now, Maya. All you should be thinking of is how to keep this going for as long as you can."

"Then what?"

"Just keep this going for as long as you can," she said, then pulled herself closer, whispering, "This kid should not see you weak; don't allow him to break you for their sake."

She swallowed hard, nodding. How was she going not be weak when he was way stronger than her, both in strength and in power?

He came in then and stood by the door, glaring at Maya. "Abby, take the kids out. The servants have a room ready for them."

Abby nodded, hurriedly gathering the children before guiding them out of the room and whispering fiercely to Zayne, who couldn't stop staring back to see his mother.

Once they were out, he walked up to her, face on the ground, hands in his pocket. She was about to press herself into the wall when she remembered Abby's voice: "Don't allow him to break you for their sake."

He stood in front of her, staring down at her face. He placed his thumb below her cheekbone, down to her lower lips, and then whispered.

"I said I didn't want kids," he shook his head, applying pressure to her lower lips, "You gave me three, Maya; how bad do you want to go against me?"

She turned her eyes to the side, not wanting to look at him, but he held her chin, turning her to face him.

"When I'm talking to you, look at me!"

She froze when he suddenly leaned down and kissed her right on the lower lips where he had just touched; then he leaned back so his face was just a hair's breadth from hers.

"How would you like me to give them out? They seem like a handful; giving them up for adoption doesn't seem like a bad idea, does it?"

She was breathless when she began begging, "Please, Damon, don't do this; I'll do anything you want me to do; just don't..."

He silenced her, his finger meeting her lips. He whispered, "You mean anything? Anything at all?"

She nodded desperately. "Anything you want me to do?"

He smiled, pushing her damp hair from her face. She had been crying when he went to get their kids. 

Her kids. He corrected himself.

Oh, how he wanted to break her the same way she broke him by running away.

He cupped her face. "How about pulling off that tacky uniform? Was never a fan of black anyway."

She nodded, her breath shaky. She reached for her back slowly and pulled the knot of the apron free before dragging it over her head and dropping it on the ground.

Her hand went to the top button, popping the buttons open as slowly as possible. Her bare body under the monster's gaze was something to be calm about.

She was on the fifth button when there was a knock on the door.

His eyes narrowed, a slight annoyance on his countenance: "Ignore it; it'll go away."

She was about to continue with the rest of the buttons when the knock came, even more furious than the last.

Damon growled, "Who the fuck is that?!"

Derinem's voice came up almost immediately: "Damon, we need to talk."

Maya gasped.