Chapter 23

Damon didn't hear what his mother said after that. She had already ruined his day and probably all his chances of seeing Angel along with it. His eyes were glued onto Avery.

"I swear, I didn't agree to any such thing. I was not planning to take Angel to meet them either, I would never do that without your consent."

She didn't say a word and that made him even more worried than he would be if she yelled at him. What was she thinking about?

"Papa," Angel's voice distracted them both from their thoughts to look at him. The boy flaunted his empty plate to his father. Because he disliked vegetables so much, eating them was like a task to him and whenever he finished them, he would show off to his mother. Well, in this case, he showed it to his father.

Catching on the situation, Damon glanced at Angel's empty plate and patted his head. "That's a good boy."

The boy was happier as he dug into his bowl of cookies and stuffed his mouth as though he was rewarding himself for the good job.

Damon gazed at him dotingly before looking at Avery. "Is he allowed in the kitchen?"

She didn't know what he was getting at but she nodded. "He is, but only under supervision. He once acted up because I was going on a business trip that was meant to last two days." She sighed.

He didn't want to ask what Angel did but he knew it was not anything good, and he wanted to know regardless.

She blew out a breath. "He hid away. The whole house went crazy looking for him and I had to return prematurely. I found him in the refrigerator. He had passed out from insuffient air."

"Oh my God!" his eyes bulged.

She nodded. She couldn't get over it either and was frightened just thinking about it. "Luckily, the refrigerator had been cleared out to be cleaned and was yet to be powered on. I don't know what would happen if…" Her voice trailed off and she shook her head.

After the ordeal, she had rearranged the trays in the refrigerator and added more so he would no longer fit between them. But then again, the boy had removed a few tray to create space for himself at the bottom. The only way to ensure that—and any other dangerous thing that he could think of when his mood spiralled out of control—did not happen was to not let him wander around on his own.

Damon was speechless for a few minutes. Who would have thought that the little boy had it in him? However, he couldn't put it past an autistic child to do things that were out of the ordinary.

"What were you going to suggest?" She knew that he was about to say something regarding the boy's dislike for vegetables.

"Right." He let out another breath and forced himself to stop thinking of what she'd had to deal with for all these years. She was waiting for his response so he spoke. "What if we made a game out of cooking vegetables? We can get him to wash his own vegetables. The colorful ones like radishes and carrots might spike his interest and he may find it easier eating them."

She crossed her arms. "Thanks for the million dollar suggestion. I have never thought of it." She scoffed sarcastically. Of course, she had tried that! That was an understatement. She had not even managed to explain that she wanted him to wash the vegetables. He had protested as soon as he saw them, which was why she thought of using cookies to lure him.

Damon smiled awkwardly. He didn't want to say that he could try. That might just get him kicked out. Even so, he wanted to try it out if Avery would let him come the next day.

When they finished eating, Angel was quick to grab his toy gun and point it at Avery.

She crouched to his level and cupped his face. "I'm sorry. Your papa is very busy so he has to leave soon. You can only play with him for five more minutes."

The boy looked disappointed but nodded nonetheless. For the next five minutes—which had actually turned into fifteen—the three played their game of 'two angels and a devil'.

Avery then walked Damon to the door.

"Do you have something to say to me?" He asked. He knew that there was no way in hell that she would see him off unless she wanted to tell him off.

She had her arms crossed. "I don't know why you are back, Damon. Call it whatever you want; missing your son, trying to make up for the years of his life that you missed or covering your shame…" She closed in on him and their eyes met, hers filling with warning. "But if you and your family are planning anything against my son, I will wipe you off the earth's surface."

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AN

My keyboard finally arrived. They also sent me a gift; a car-shaped mouse with realistic wheels that roll against the mouse pad like a toy car. It's so cute!

Daily updates will resume immediately. Thanks for being patient.