349 Deal with the Wests (1)
"In your fucking dreams!" Desmond glared at Oliver, then at Zaria. Why did she come? She knew it would be dangerous. He would have blamed Evan for bringing her but he knew his wife all too well.
"Since it is settled, you and your daughter may leave." Oliver dismissed his protest.
He shot a glare at Oliver. "Don't tempt me."
Oliver thought it was the best time to laugh and make fun. "Stalling won't help you. You're just delaying the inevitable. How about you simply leave and let us have the discussion we need to have. The sooner you leave, the sooner your wife will follow you home. Now, move along."
"I'll be fine." Zaria assured him.
He knew the Wests weren't stupid enough to actually cause her any harm. No one wanted to get on Lucy's side. Even so, that didn't guarantee her safety. There was always the tiny chance they were willing to self-destruct just to get revenge.
However, Zaria was giving him that look that he should trust her.
"Fuck." He ran a hand down his face in frustration. Was she sure about what she was doing?
"I would like to have a word with her in private." He demanded.
"Not a chance." Oliver didn't feel the need to explain himself. There was no way he was letting Desmond and Zaria talk on their own when he could very well give her an escape plan.
It was exactly what Desmond expected but it still bugged him.
Thinking about it, Zaria couldn't put herself in a situation she wasn't certain to get out of. Even if she were to be careless about her life, she would care about him and their unborn baby.
"I'll be outside." He relented. "But if she's missing a single strand of hair on her head…" he warned.
"Don't worry. She will be in exactly the same state as she is right now." Oliver grinned, then he cast a glance at Veronica. "Except, she will no longer be hungry. I'm aware of how often pregnant women get hungry so we will feed her. Why don't you be a doll and bring some food for our guest, Veronica?"
Veronica groaned in frustration but left the room anyway, to return a few moments later with a tray in her hands. She had brought cupcakes and what must be coffee or tea in a mug, as well as sunny-side-ups and bacon. The aroma was so enticing that Rosaly nearly ditched her ice cream cone for it.
"I'm not eating any of that. Let's just cut to the chase." Zaria dismissed, making Rosaly change her mind about asking her father for some of the delicious treats.
"Right after your husband leaves." Oliver insisted, 'your loss' written all over his face.
With a last glance at Zaria, Desmond held Rosaly's hand and they left the room to wait outside. Of course, Oliver had to be super annoying about it. The door had pretty good sound insulation but he made excuses to make sure Desmond was at the end of the hallway instead of right outside the door. If they didn't have his wife hostage, he would never have tolerated such treatment.
______
Only half an hour had elapsed before Zaria left the room but it felt like ages. Desmond had paced the hallways close to a hundred times until Rosaly asked him if he wanted to peepee, then he took her downstairs for a snack. That was a welcome distraction. He didn't have to pace for much longer before Zaria returned.
"Zaria! I got you chocolates." Rosaly held up the bar she had gotten—or at least what was left of it. She had devoured most of it on their way back.
Zaria bent down to hug her. "Thank you, sweetie.
Desmond took the chance when she straightened up to check her all over. "Are you alright? That nutcase didn't do anything to you, did he?"
She cleared her throat. "Uh, Desmond, we have a child with us."
Luckily, Rosaly was too busy eating her snacks to hear a word they said.
"They wouldn't try anything. Mother rigged the whole place and made sure they knew it. If they did anything to hurt me, it would be the last thing they got to do."
That did sound like something Lucy would do. He grinned in satisfaction. Although he couldn't wait to hear all about what the Wests wanted from her, he wanted to get away from there more than anything else. He sent a quick text message to everyone to tell them both Zaria and Rosaly were safe and they were on their way home, then he hailed a cab.
When it arrived and Zaria had helped Rosaly in, he grabbed her by the waist to pull her closer to him and whisper in her ear. "I'm still going to punish you for that stunt."
She smiled at him over her shoulder. "You just want an excuse to spank me—make no mistake, I'm not complaining."
"I can't wait to have you all to myself again so we can continue our honeymoon where we left off." He whispered.
"Sir, are you coming or not?" The driver was irritated by their delay.
"Coming." Zaria answered before Desmond could say something inappropriate and got in the car.
While she didn't think it would make any sense to go right back to their honeymoon as though nothing happened, they could still spend the rest of their planned honeymoon days together.
_____
That evening, they ordered pizzas for dinner and cuddled up in the den to watch a movie. For the first time, Rosaly was interested in trying something else.
When it ended, Desmond struck up a conversation. "Zaria and I have something to tell you."
Rosaly looked at him then at Zaria and perked up. "Tell me! Tell me!"
"Are you sure?" Zaria asked him, though there was no way she couldn't tell her right now. She was too excited. Desmond nodded in confirmation so she went right ahead. "Remember how you said you After telling Rosaly what was probably the best thing she had ever heard, Zaria accompanied him for 14:05
Rosaly's bath time and bedtime story. It was clear how much she had missed Rosaly. She was wish I was your mother?" She asked, making Rosaly nod. "Well, that wish came true. I adopted you."
"Well, adoption is when…" she stopped mid-explanation when Rosaly squealed and threw herself into her arms, hugging her neck."
"Can I call you mommy now?" She asked.
Zaria patted her back. "Of course. That doesn't mean Angela is no longer your mommy. It only means you now have two." She added.
Desmond grunted in dissatisfaction, but it was true. And no matter how much he hated Angela and what kind of woman Angela had turned out to be, he wouldn't be the father of this amazing bundle of joy if things didn't pan out exactly the way they did. Besides, if she wasn't such a horrible person that the court decided she was harmful to Rosaly, Zaria would never have been able to adopt Rosaly. Courts usually wanted to keep the biological mother in a child's life, especially a little girl. What an odd thing to thank someone for.
After telling Rosaly what was probably the best thing she had ever heard, Zaria accompanied him for Rosaly's bath time and bedtime story. It was clear how much she had missed Rosaly. She was reluctant to leave her room.
Desmond finally managed to lure her into the master bedroom and kissed her cheek. "Are you scared she will go missing again if we leave her room? We have a baby monitor."
"I know. I just…" she shook her head. "She went missing under what would be assumed to be the safest circumstances and Angela was in on it."
And that was the biggest problem. No matter what Angela claimed was the reason for her return, she had too much access to Rosaly's trust. How did she even make it to Rosaly's side, anyway?
The worst part wasn't even using her daughter for her selfish reasons. It was how easily she could do it. It didn't make her feel the slightest bit of guilt.
"If only Rosaly didn't care about her so much. She would be six feet underground." He half-joked.
She playfully smacked him. "Let's take your mind off that. We can do more exciting things."
Hey darlings, I'm back! I was feeling drained and decided to take a week break to recharge. Before I knew it, it was two months. Oops.
Anyway, I will not take any more long breaks for this books since it's already nearing its end.
Avalorian_
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