Ophelia's POV
"Be a good boy for Miss Daphne, okay? If she tells me otherwise, I won't get you the spider-man boots anymore, okay?" I instructed, crouching down to Jeremy's height, and straightening the collars of his t-shirt.
"Yes, mommy," Jeremy nodded before he threw his arms around me in a warm hug.
"Take care, baby," I muttered after we disengaged from the hug.
"Yes, mommy. Bye," He waved cheerfully, slipping his hand into Daphne's.
"Daphne, thanks for this. Please don't forget to give me a call if he gets too much, and I'll come pick him up immediately," I said, to which Daphne smiled.
"Okay, Lia. I have heard you. We'll be on our way now," She waved at me before hoisting Jeremy to her waist.
I watched their retreating figures until it disappeared before I headed back to my place.
Daphne had offered to take Jeremy to her son's place that morning. She had a grandchild who was the same age as Jeremy, so I had accepted her offer. I wanted Jeremy to play with people his age. I didn't want him to always be stuck with a boring mum like me.
I sighed deeply as I trekked out of the elevator. I was about to twist the knob to my condo open, when I got a glimpse of some familiar figures.
I squinted my eyes to get a clearer vision of them. I scoffed when I saw who they were.
They were none other than Ryan and his fianceé. I couldn't help the sudden wave of unexplainable jealousy that filled me when the lady pressed a kiss to Ryan's lips.
What the hell was wrong with me? I hated Ryan, so how was this abominable feeling blossoming inside me?
I quickly averted my gaze, and shrugged the weird feelings off before I trekked into my apartment.
Then, I strolled to the kitchen to prepare a cup of warm milk tea for myself. When I finished preparing the tea, I set it on the kitchen counter and reheated the cheesecake which I baked yesterday, in the microwave.
Afterwards, I plopped onto the couch, switched the TV on, and munched on the dessert.
Whenever I was at work, I'd always wish I had an off day, and now that I had one, I wished I was at work because I was so bored.
I didn't have friends that I could go visit or go see movies with. After everything that happened with Ryan, I started dissociating myself from people.
The only friend I have was Ava and she was miles away.
I sighed as melancholia blossomed inside me. I was brought of of my misery by a knock on the door.
I frowned as I took another bite of the cheesecake, sipped some milk tea before I got up and sauntered to the door.
I looked into the peephole and saw that it was Ryan. My frown deepened as various thoughts roamed in my mind.
What the hell did he want?
As much as I wanted to ignore him and continue wallowing in my misery by binge eating junk food, something inside me tugged against my decision.
With a frustrated sigh, I creaked the door open and darted a tentative stare at him.
"What do you want?" I blurted out as the sour memory of Elena kissing him moments ago in the hallway flowed into my mind.
"Right. I just wanted to talk. Can I come in?" He gestured behind me.
I scoffed rudely, "There's nothing to talk about, and no, you can't come in,"
"Then, can you come out?"
I swept my eyes over his form before I sighed and properly stepped out to the hallway.
"Okay. I'm here. What do you want?" I reiterated with a scowl.
"Uhm. I just wanted to apologize for doing that in the elevator yesterday," He started, clasping his hands in his front, with remorse deeply engraved on his handsome features.
Handsome? What the hell, Ophelia? I chided myself.
"Apologize? You don't need to do that. What you do with your fianceé is none of my business," I countered with a nonchalant shrug.
Calling Elena his fianceé felt sour and heavy on my tongue for an unknown reason.
"Actually, this is a big misunderstanding. Elena is not my fianceé. She's no one to me," He replied, and I had to bite down the urge to gasp in relief.
Wait, relief? Why was I relieved that Elena wasn't his fianceé? But something was still confusing, why did Elena kiss him?
"Great. Good for you. Now, can I go back in?" I muttered with a scoff, ignoring the butterflies dancing in my belly.
"Can I see Jeremy for a second?" He asked, with hope glimmering in his grey eyes.
"No, you can't. He's not around. He went out," I replied, and I watched how crestfallen he instantly seemed by my response.
"Oh,"
I almost felt bad for allowing Jeremy to follow Daphne to her son's place.
"But, you can come see him in the evening. He'll be back by then," I said, in a bid to cheer him up.
It worked just fine, and a smile twisted his lips, "Really? Wait, you will let me see him?" He asked, in an unsure tone.
"Yeah. But, you can't tell him you're his dad yet. I'll see how things go before I make a decision regarding th-" My explanation was cut short as Ryan pulled me into a warm hug.
I stiffened at first in his arms before I relaxed, closed my eyes and sniffed his masculine scent that I had terribly missed.
Then, something clicked in my head and forced me out of my reverie. It was at that moment that I realized I was enclosed in Ryan's arms, sniffing him like a creep and doing nothing about it.
I quickly pushed him off me as my face flustered with embarrassment, "Don't do that ever again," I warned, inwardly hoping I sounded as strict as I thought I did.
"Yes, I won't. I'm sorry, I guess I got too excited," He scratched his nape awkwardly.
I averted my stare from him as silence enveloped the ambiance between us.
"Since you have nothing else to say, I'm going in," I rambled in a breath before I sprinted into my apartment, and locked the door.
I panted heavily as I placed a hand over my chest.
Why was my heart beating so fast? Worse still, why had I soaked my panties with desire?