Chapter 55 — Rising Fear

Clave.

Finally.

Finally, Kavita left the city after two long weeks.

Kavita finished 'exploring' her life as she quoted. She realized it was time she actually returned home and got married. This time, she was mentally prepared to settle down, which was a good thing. I guess, she also realized she couldn't win over Draven no matter how hard she tried; Draven would never leave his mom Zinnia. So it was better for her to start a new life away from him so that she didn’t feel any sting from seeing her son with someone else.

Zinnia and Draven were at the airport to see off Kavita.

I glanced at my wristwatch as I was starting to miss them. They were supposed to be home in a few more minutes.

As my time was barely passing without my family, I went to check the mailbox. It had been a while since I checked it.

There were plenty of letters so I compiled them and carried them inside.

I sat in the living room with them and started checking them one by one. There were a few letters for Zinnia, which I kept aside for her. Everyone who knew her well knew that she preferred letters over emails. This weird liking of her always amused me.

As for the letters I received, they were related to my spy work. The confidential job information was sent to me via handwritten letters so that there wouldn’t be any risk of anyone hacking into the system. There were few letters compared to what I was used to receiving before Zinnia and Draven became permanent in my life.

I actually lessened going on missions to stay more with Zinnia and Draven. I would manage my company mostly and assign duties. Only the duties I thought others couldn't perform well, or it was a high priority case, I would take on those jobs.

All of a sudden, I found one very unusual letter. It wasn’t related to my work for sure. It was addressed to 'the Taylons.' It was in a brownish envelope with a court seal, and it seemed like it had some official documents inside.

I felt the need to open the letter immediately. Once I opened it, my eyes fell on one word, making me go numb.

'CUSTODY'

I finished reading the entire document, and as soon as I was done, the bell rang. It was probably Zinnia and Draven.

I had to inform Zinnia, I know, but they just got home. I couldn't break this news to her like this.

I rushed to the nearby cabinet and put all the letters there as one of our maids opened the door.

"Dad!" I turned to Draven as he ran to me. "Look, Aunt Kavita gave me this chocolate." He showed me the chocolate bar in his hand. "I wanted to eat it with you."

"It's one of his favorite chocolates," Zinnia spoke up. "I told him he could eat it right away and we would buy another one for you, but no! He wanted to eat this with you and rushed to get home. He really wants his superhero to like his favorite chocolate." She chuckled as she said that.

If I hadn't read the document, I would've happily enjoyed eating this chocolate with my champ. But how could I eat happily with him now when my heart was burning with anxiety and fear?

"Come, Superhero, let's eat this." Draven grabbed my hand and walked to the couch.

"You guys enjoy while I freshen up," with that, Zinnia walked upstairs.

Draven and I sat on the couch as he started unwrapping the chocolate.

My chest felt heavy even just by looking at him. How would he feel when he would learn the truth? I always thought he would learn the truth when he was in his teenage or as an adult. But now was not his time to learn the truth. He was only six years old!

"Here, Dad," he spoke up, bringing me back out of my trance. He held the chocolate toward my mouth to feed me. "Take a bite, hurry!"

I could feel a lump in my throat. I managed to take a small bite of the bar, which made him smile. He happily took a bite as well. Then he again held it to my mouth, urging me to eat more.

No, I can't do this to him. My champ will be broken.

I assured Zinnia earlier he would return to us, but I said that thinking he wouldn't know everything until he was old enough. He wouldn't be able to take this harsh truth.

"Dad!"

I glanced at Draven, who was slightly annoyed, but still held his chocolate toward me. I just looked at his innocent face, and immediately, I felt my eyes stinging with tears.

I shifted my gaze to the opposite side, unable to see his face anymore.

"What happened, Dad?" he asked as softly as possible.

Dad—a term I would never get tired of hearing from his mouth. How would he react when he would learn his real father came back for him?

Would he call someone else dad too?

"Nothing, Champ," I let out in a quivering voice.

"Is something wrong?" I could feel his small hand over my shoulder as he tried to face me. "Did you not like the chocolate? It's okay, I will get you another one."

"Even if you don't like my favorite chocolate, I still love you," as soon as he said that, I turned to him and pulled him into a tight hug.

He just hugged me back, not knowing what was the real reason behind my strange behavior.

I wish it was only the chocolates, Champ, I really wish.

"It's okay, Dad. It's okay," he patted my back, trying to assure me. The more he tried to assure me everything would be fine, the more I felt like nothing would be alright. Because we had been happy for so long, and now… it felt like it was time to go through one of the worst times of our lives. “It’s going to be okay.”

I really wanted that, too. But would it be okay? No, everything had to be okay! Just when we had our lives going smoothly, this couldn’t be happening. Why couldn’t our peace last longer? Why did Draven have to be demanded back now?

I would go crazy if Draven went away from us. And Zinnia? She would die.

I wiped my tears and freed myself from the hug. I could feel Draven scanning my face, so I got up from the couch before he noticed my teary eyes.

"You enjoy the chocolate. I… have some work," with that excuse, I walked to my personal office in the house.

I sat on the chair and looked at the photo frame on my table. It was our family photo. I caressed Draven's picture as tears again poured out of my eyes.

Clutching the photo frame to my chest, I closed my eyes to find peace.

I had no idea how I was going to break this news to Zinnia, but before that, I had to brace myself. I had to be strong. Because if she saw I was vulnerable, she wouldn't have any hopes, either.

I promised Zinnia I would never let anyone take Draven away from us. I would do anything if needed. But for the first time in my life, I was clueless.

I just wanted time to freeze—if only it was possible.

"Mom!" I heard Draven's loud voice, and keeping the photo frame back in its place, I ran as fast as I could, my heart thumping loud in one fear. That fear came true when I reached the living room.

I saw Zinnia lying unconscious on the floor with that brown envelope in her hand.