Chapter 41 — Growing Closer Again

Zinnia.

The senator.

The senator, Darvis Taylon, was standing at the doorstep with Nina next to him.

I stood confused as to why he said no. Their expressions gave away nothing.

They stepped in as Darvis said, "You cannot go anywhere right now, Zinnia."

"Why?" I ended up asking.

"Because Clave's announcement has already gone viral," he responded calmly.

"Announcement?" I was dumbstruck. For a moment, everything that happened outside slipped my mind.

Being kind as ever, Nina reminded me, "The news of Draven being his son and you being his long-term girlfriend."

"So what, Mom?" Ryker interrupted impatiently.

"So if Zinnia goes away, the paparazzi will spread more rumors and follow her wherever she goes," Clave spoke up. "Besides, the election is nearby."

"Does this mean I have to stay in this city till the news dies?" My eyes widened at the mere idea. I had to go home. I had so much work to do and...

"Not in this city, but in this house, dear," Nina clarified.

I shook my head. "No. None of this will be necessary. I will stay careful, I promise. The paparazzi won't be able to reach me and I—"

"What about Draven?" Clave pointed out when he knew I wouldn't agree to their plan.

"They won't even spare a child? Draven is five for God's sake! Where is humanity?" I clenched my fist, my voice rising at the unfairness of the situation.

"They didn't spare the lad today, then how will they spare him tomorrow?" Darvis cut in. "Also, with the election around the corner, they will be watching us like a hawk. Think wisely, Zinnia."

"Draven is at stake," Clave mumbled.

All four pairs of eyes were on me, eagerly waiting for me to make a decision.

Realizing the gravity of the situation, I sighed and asked, "How long do I have to stay then? Draven has school. I don't want him to miss out much."

"Wise choice." For the first time, Darvis let some expression cross his face, which showed that he was impressed with me for not making a rash or stupid decision.

I ignored the twins' happy gazes and looked at Nina.

She placed a hand over my shoulder, and with a friendly smile on her lips, she added, "As long as the news doesn't die, you have to stay here. It might even take a few months."

My eyes grew as wide as saucers.

Months?

###

I ran my fingers through Draven's hair as he lay next to me.

"Mommy, how long will we stay here?"

I wish I could tell you.

"I don't really know, baby. But treat it as a vacation, okay?"

"Does this mean I get to stay with Superhero? I want to sleep in his room an–"

I interrupted him, "Draven, it's already two in the morning. It's better to let your superhero rest. All of us had a rough day today, right?"

Draven nodded obediently. “Okay, goodnight, Mommy?” With that, he closed his eyes to try to sleep.

“Goodnight, baby.” I kissed his forehead, and soon, he was in a deep slumber, showing how exhausted he actually was.

I watched his peaceful face as I continued caressing his hair, many thoughts running through my mind.

Why didn't Draven question me about what happened today? Didn't he want to know? All of today's events should have brought questions to his curious mind.

"I am sorry, love," I mumbled, "You didn't deserve what happened today. I wish my mind hadn't gone blank at the wrong time."

When I was sure that he wouldn’t wake up, I decided to check up on my mom. What if she needed something?

I tucked the blanket properly on Draven and put a few pillows around him so that he felt I was there. Then I got up from the bed.

As soon as I opened the bedroom door, I almost jumped out of my skin at the tall figure in front of me. I placed a hand over my chest and heaved a sigh in relief. Then I put a hand on my hip and glared at Clave, who was standing outside my door with his hand raised into a fist to knock.

He smiled apologetically and held his ears, mumbling a small sorry.

Shaking my head in disbelief, I stepped outside with him and closed the door behind me so that we wouldn’t disturb Draven.

"Is he asleep?" Clave whispered.

"Yes, he is asleep," I whispered back, suddenly feeling a rush of adrenaline at the fact that we were somewhat meeting secretly in the middle of the night like a couple of lovebirds. It reminded me of the initial days of our relationship. But I kept those memories and the feelings that came along with them under the bay and said, "One thing is bugging me, Clave."

"Which is?"

"Why didn't Draven ask me anything today?"

"Maybe he doesn't have any questions in his mind?" Clave defended.

Crossing my arms against my chest, I narrowed my eyes at him. "Why are you defending him? Did you answer all his questions?"

Clave shook his head almost immediately which cleared all my confusion. He must have explained some things to Draven.

"We just had a man-to-man talk and I told him not to ask anything about any of this," he said as innocently as possible, "and that's it, Zinnia, trust me."

"Whatever you said in your man-to-man talk, only the universe knows." I rolled my eyes. "I know if I ask you, you won't tell me in detail so I am just going to trust you in this matter."

He took my hand in his and assured me, "You can always trust me, especially when Draven is involved."

A smile formed on my lips with his assurance. How can someone care for a child so much when he is not even blood-related?

I wished everything was fine between us and we could start afresh. However, I couldn't—not until Clave was keeping me in the dark. This time if we start dating, it will only start with pure trust and no secrets.

"Where are you going, by the way?" he asked, and I removed my hand from his.

"I am gonna go and check on Mom."

"It's half past two. Isn't she asleep already?"

I shrugged and said, "I will just check up on her."

"I know you always used to check up on Draven at night, but I didn't know you check up on your mom as well."

"I do a lot for people I love, okay?" I mumbled and started walking toward Mom's room.

"Then someday you will come to check on me too, won't you?" Clave, who was walking with me, said. I slowed my steps, picturing the scenario.

Did he indirectly say that someday I would love him too? Only if he knew that I was already having an internal battle with myself regarding my growing feelings for him.

Not daring to look at him, I said, "Keep dreaming, Mr. Clave Taylon."

"Dreamt a lot, Ms. Zinnia Anemone. Now is the time to watch my dreams turn into reality." I could feel his gaze on me, which I ignored, and thankfully, soon reached Mom's room.

I peeked into the room a little and saw Mom was in a deep slumber. I got inside and fixed her blanket nicely. Then I changed the lights in the room to dimmer before getting out.

Clave was waiting for me outside. When he saw me, he raised his eyebrows. I just showed him a thumbs-up.

"Where do you want to go now?" he inquired.

I was about to reply that I would sleep, but a familiar voice chimed in, "I know a perfect place!"

Clave groaned, and I looked at Ryker, who had a bright smile on his face.

"You are one of th—no, the only reason why I never introduced Zinnia to anybody before," Clave grunted.

"Oh, but we already met, and for your kind information, we are hitting it off," Ryker smirked. "Besides, now you introduced her to the entire world as your girlfriend and to-be-wife. These two years of distance definitely taught you a lesson."

Before Clave could further argue, I decided to cut their banter short, "Ryker, you wanted to show me a perfect place. Where is it?"

"Oh, it's literally two rooms away. Follow me," Ryker instructed and marched ahead of us.

"Do you really wanna follow him?" Clave asked me, and I nodded my head.

He let out a sigh as we started to follow him.

Ryker brought us to a huge room. The walls were covered with shelves and shelves were filled with expensive-looking alcohol bottles. There was a bar counter, shaded in black and golden, giving it a classic old vintage vibe. I had never been one for bars, but this one I would love to come to again and again.

"Wow," I let out awestruck.

"In case you ever want to get drunk or throw wine at Clave’s face, you know where to go. There is no need to step out of the house," as soon as Ryker said that, Clave smacked his head. "Ouch. What was that for?"

"For showing this to Zinnia." Clave glared at him.

I laughed at their actions. "It's okay, Clave. Not as if I will ever come here, but thank you for showing me this place, Ryker. It's literally two rooms away from my mom's."

"You are welcome, Zinnia," Ryker gave a cheeky grin and continued, "Also, welcome to the family."

"Ryker," Clave warned, but Ryker being himself didn't even budge.

Those two started bickering while I decided to walk around the bar, admiring the collection of bottles.

Once I stepped out, I found Draven standing in front of my mom's room. He was rubbing his teary eyes and mumbling, "Mommy... Superhero, where are you?"

I rushed to him and kneeled down to his level. I rubbed his cheeks lightly and asked, "What's wrong, baby?"