The Girl He Craves

Aiden’s pov

I’m marching down the lengthy staircase, cursing every living thing I can think of.

I’m frustrated. I’m confused. I’m hurt.

Thad not expected something like this from Sophie. Not the innocent girl I painted in my head years

ago.

But then I remembered how she abandoned me in jail and then I realized Sophie was never the

innocent girl I portrayed her to be.

I opened the old door, shouldering a woman who was just entering. I’m too angered and frustrated to

apologize. She curses me and I ignore her as I march over to the SUV waiting for me.

Mitch is ducked in a way that you’d not notice him at first glance. And though the sight is rather

amusing, I don’t laugh nor smile.

The only thing I feel is anger. Towards Sophie. Burning rage.

Mitch notices me and fixes himself on the seat and unlocks the door. I open the door and got in. I’m

breathing heavily and literally breathing out fire.

Mitch looks at me through the rearview mirror and looks confused and worried. “Are you okay Mr.

Xavier?”

I ran my shaky hand through my nose and looked at the apartment. I shake my head in disbelief.

“I have a son.” I breathed out slowly in disbelief. Now saying it out loud, I can’t help but think that

maybe I had gone mad.

Maybe I didn’t have a son and this was all an illusion.

I shake my head. That was impossible.

Ashton was as real as anyone. I felt him, I held him in my arms. He’s mine. He’s my son. He’s not a

hallucination and a fragmen of my imagination.

He was real.

I groan in frustration and anger. Him being really made it all the more hurtful that Sophie didn’t tell me

about him.

“Pardon Mr. Xavier?” Mitch asked, looking at me confused.

I shake my head and passed a hand over my face. “I have a son Mitch. A fucking son that I didn’t know

about.” I groaned.

Mitch looks stunned by my revelation and then winces. “You

didn’t know about him?”

I shook my head no. “I didn’t. She kept his existence from me.”

Mitch shakes his head. “Well that’s not good. What are you going to do about it, sir?” He asked and

then rushed out. “If you don’t mind me asking sir.”

I shake my head and looked at the apartment one last time and then looked at Mitch. My eyes met his

but they also met the familiar old car that she owned through the mirror rearview mirror.

It’s so old that the poor thing looks ready to collapse at any time.

There is no way in hell I’ll have her driving around with my son on that old death trap everywhere.

I’m getting her a new one tomorrow morning as soon as possible.

Maybe by tomorrow or tonight, I’ll have a functioning brain and know what to do. Because right now, all

I want to do is punch a damn wall.

“I don’t know. All i know is that I’ll never let her keep him away from me any longer. Whether she likes it

or not, I’m now in my son’s life. And there’s nothing she can do about it.” I said and after a few more

words passed between us, I told him to drive me over to the closest hotel from here.

Sophie’s pov

Tears are trailing down my cheeks like a river. Ashton’s head is on my shoulder and by the soft little

sounds that came from his lips, I knew he had fallen asleep.

I would’ve been a sobbing mess if I didn’t want him to have that nap. When I’m sure he had fallen

asleep completely, I put him to rest.

He shifts a bit but goes right back to sleep.

My heart aches.

Aiden was right, I was a demon for keeping Ashton’s existence away from his knowledge.

My fear of him rejecting Ash the same way he rejected me and hurt me messed me up enough to make

the worst decision in my life.

And now I was about to pay the price.

It was clear that Aiden would try to take Ashton away from me. He had the money and clearly, he had

the links to do whatever he pleased.

I can not compete with him. He was superior in every way.

I was nothing compared to him and I’ll lose the case. Not only was I clearly not financially stable

enough to care for Ash and me, but I also couldn’t afford a lawyer.

I sobbed lowly, playing in Ashton’s soft curls.

My baby boy.

My heart.

My everything.

Would your father be this cruel to take you away from me?

Flashbacks of how Aiden treated me when we were still in high school rang through my head like a

storm.

My heart is tearing apart the more I realized that Aiden could be this cruel enough to not care about me

and take Ashton away.

“Soph?” Mila called out softly.

I lift my head at the sound of her voice and turn toward the door. She’s standing in the doorway, her

gaze on a sleeping Ash in worry.

Ria creeps up behind her, peeking behind her head to look

around.

“I’m sorry.” I whispered, shaking my head. “I’m sorry you two had to hear all of that.”

Mila’s brows raised in shock. “You’re apologizing?” She gasped as if in disbelief that I actually was. She

steps into the room and walks over to me. She crouched beside the bed, her hands going to my knees.

Mila shakes her head. “You have absolutely nothing to apologize for Soph. If anything, Ria’s the one

who should apologize to you for allowing that asshat to enter our home.”

Mila turns around to give Ria a pointed look.

Ria is quick to defend herself. “How was I supposed to know he was Ashton’s dad? The guy was

brooding and Ash is cuddly and cute. I didn’t think they could be related.” She waved her hands at her

sides frantically.

Mila’s eyes narrowed on her face. “The two look exactly alike. You’d be a fool to not put two and two

together quickly Ria. Ash is the exact replica of Aiden.”

Mila rolled her eyes over Ria’s frame and snorted. “Then again you were always the dumbest one out

of the three of us. I’m guessing his handsome features distracted you enough for you to not use your

brain the correct way.”

Ria blew out a breath, leaning against the doorframe. “Stop slut shaming me Mila. Sure I found him

handsome but you’d be fucking blind to think otherwise. In fact, I’m more than a hundred percent sure

even a blind person can see how hot Aiden is.”

Ria turns to face me and then narrows her eyes. “You really didn’t look like the kind who could fall for

that bad boy type Soph. I’m not going to lie, you surprise me.”

“What are you implying here Ria? That Sophie can’t score a guy like Aiden?” Mila seethed lowly.

I rolled my eyes. Great. Those two will be at each other’s throats in a few seconds. In fact, they already

were.

“Of course not you prude! All I meant is that Sophie gives off that innocent and doll-like personality.

She’s cuddly like Ash while Aiden seems…..cold and calculating. It’s strange she’s with him.” Ria

shrugged.

“I was never with Aiden Ria. And you two need to stop your arguing. It’s not going to help the situation.”

I sighed heavily.

“And I don’t blame you for letting Aiden in Ria. At some point, I

should’ve known that my karma for doing this to him would catch up to me. I just didn’t know it would

be this soon.” || sighed, moving my eyes away from the two of the girls to stare at my little boy

I thought I was protecting his fragile little heart from his father but turns out I had made him miss out on

that special bond with his dad.

What would he feel or say when he grows up and hear of what I had done? Would he resent me for

ruining his chance with his dad before it even began? Or would he understand that I thought I was

protecting him?

I shook my head.

I should not have been so hasty with my decision to not have told Aiden about Ash.

Maybe if I did, things would have been different than how they are now.

“So what you’re going to do now Soph?” Mila whispered, squeezing my leg.

| sighed heavily not knowing how to respond.

How can I when I don’t know what happens now?

Aiden being Aiden has already started the game of chess with me. I didn’t know his next move which

had me terrified. How can I counter his move when I don’t know where he’ll move first?