Gael was tired, Serenith was asleep on his bed, and Kian was leaving for work.

Looking at Gael, who was seeing him off, he opened his wallet and took out a stack of money. Handing it to Gael, he said, “Fill your cupboards with food for you and Serenith. And buy him the supplies he needs. Our child needs to have the best, so no holding back when spending on him. You have a car, right? Get a car seat for him. You won’t need a stroller, especially since he likes to walk.”

Looking at the money, Gael asked, “Why don’t you just bring his old things?”

“I will, but you’ll donate that to charity. I want him to have new things according to your liking, everything else was chosen by his mother. She’s not in this world, so the old should be gone.”

His head bobbed like a bobble head. There was no use fighting it.

*

Stepping out of the shower drained from all the crying he did in the shower, he wrapped himself in a towel and made his way to the bedroom. Freezing in his steps, ‘I almost forgot that he was here.’ He thought as he looked at Serenith, who was asleep on his bed.

He could feel the bitterness in his heart and betrayal against himself. ‘Why am I doing this? I’m so weak. Why did it have to be me? Couldn’t he have chosen someone else to be his victim?’

He hit himself on the head twice. ‘No Gael, don’t think like that. This is better. No one else will get hurt this way. If only I can stop him from hurting people.’

Climbing on the bed, he looked down at Serenith wondering, ‘Your poor mother, I’m sure she is up in heaven watching you. I hope she sends all the angels down to protect us from your monstrous father.’

Running a finger down his cheek, he let a tear fall. ‘Who’d think someone like him would have such a beautiful child?’

Placing a hand over his stomach, he recalled the kiss Kian gave him and all the dreams he had of Kian violating him. His eyes widened in horror at the thought, and he could feel his stomach turn. ‘What if he wants to? With me? He can’t, he just can’t!’

Smacking himself on the head until it throbbed, ‘No, no, don’t overthink it, Gael. Just be good. Don’t get him angry.’

“What am I doing? He’s our child now Gael, that’s why he’s here.” He recalled his words as he picked Serenith up and held him close.

Serenith was so innocent. The world didn’t deserve such an innocent soul. How would Serenith be protected from all the evils around him?

Not only was it his father but his uncle and, who knows, his aunt.

What about his grandfather? Was he like this, too? ‘Is that why he isn’t happy that you are here?’

Kissing him on the forehead, he sighed and placed him back down on the bed to get dressed.

Looking at the stack of money Kian gave him, he shook his head, “It’s no use fighting it. Who knows when he’ll be back?”

Looking at Serenith, who was grumpy, he said, “Come, let’s go. I’ll spoil you with your rotten mama’s money.”

Shaking his head as they took the steps, he said, “This is just another level of bullshit.”

But his heart beat irregularly. ‘I should go see the psychiatrist.’

*

“Gael?” Someone called him as he was picking out clothes.

He looked around to see who it was and saw that it was a mutual friend of his and Troy’s. Smiling at him, “Hey Elias, how are you?”

Elias gave Gael a hug longer than he should and squeezed his right butt cheek.

Gael’s body shuddered as it froze in place. His head shot up, looking up at the ceiling as he recalled how terrifying Kian looked when he told him to get rid of all his relationships.

Since he was single, Gael was basically on the market and usually, he’d indulged in this kind of behaviour, but not anymore.

Lifting his hands, he pushed Elias away and stared at him in horror.

Elias frowned, “What the fuck? Yo Gael…” He started, but saw the horrified expression Gael made.

Backing away from him nervously, he held his hands up, saying, “I didn’t mean any harm.”

His expression became calm as he looked at Elias and shook his head. Rubbing a hand over his face, he said, “No, nevermind. Look, I’m not in a good space right now and I’d appreciate it if you left.”

Elias frowned, displeased, but didn’t pursue it. Forcing a smile, he said, “No problem. I’ll see you around.”

As he left, he saw Gael crouch down and pull his hair. Raising a brow, he thought, ‘I’ll get you back for that.’

Lifting his head, Gael looked up at the trolly that Serenith was sitting in. Tears formed in his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away. Standing up, he stared at Serenith, who stared in the direction Elias left in while he munched on a biscuit.

Leaning over, he hugged him as he let out a whimper.

‘When was the last time I felt this terrified when someone touched me?’ He wondered and thought back to the kiss Kian gave him.

Letting the tears fall, he reminded himself, ‘I have to get rid of them. What if Kian finds out and kills Elias? It’ll be my fault.’

“Papa?” Serenith called.

Looking at the child with a forced smile, he hummed, “Mn?”

Serenith held out his hand, wanting more. Shaking his head with a chuckled, he said, “You like eating, don’t you?”

Exhausted from the shopping trip, Gael took Serenith to a cafe that had a playground.

Sitting and watching him play as he drank an iced coffee, he smiled.

A woman sat down beside him, asking, “Which one is yours?”

He turned to the woman smiling and pointed a finger, “The boy wearing blue shorts and a white shirt.”

The woman looked over at Serenith and smiled. “He’s adorable. How old is he?”

He paused for a moment, realising that he didn’t know how old the child was, but said, “Almost two years old.”

“Wow, he’s pretty small for a two-year-old,” she said, but he could tell that she didn’t mean anything bad by saying those words.

The woman’s child fell and started crying, so she got up and left him.

A few minutes passed and then another person sat down beside him. He looked at her and was surprised to see who it was. “Maddison?”

They hugged. He didn’t know Maddison that well, but she was a friend of his adoptive brother Jason.

Maddison chuckled, “How are you?”

“Exhausted. I’ve been out shopping the whole day, but after this we’re going home.”

“We? You’re here with someone?” She asked him.

He nodded with a sigh as he looked at her and saw that she was staring ahead. Looking ahead, he saw Serenith was the only child in the playground now and wondered where everyone went.

Looking around, he saw it was just them here and something just seemed off. He looked at Maddison and saw that she had a smile on her face as she looked at the child playing.

“Are you here to eat?” He asked her.

She turned to him slowly and, although she was smiling, something was just not right about her. She stared at him enough to make him feel uncomfortable, making him look away.

He felt his stomach turn. ‘Do I need to go use the toilet?’

“I’m curious, Gael,” she suddenly said.

He looked at her and before he could ask her why she was curious; he looked into her eyes and saw that they were familiar. ‘Where have I seen those eyes?’

They were dark, calculating, and it was as though she looked down on him.

“How long will it be until you’re broken?” she asked.

He raised a brow. “What do you mean?”

Serenith saw Maddison sitting beside his papa and smiled. Running up to her head grabbed her leg calling, “Nana.”

She picked him up, saying, “Aww my baby, did you miss me? That horrible mama of yours took you away from us without a word.”

Gael’s heart sank as he saw this scene, “You, you, what are you doing with him?”

Hugging him, she turned to Gael, saying, “Oh now, you’re really dumb. I don’t look any different from Kian now, do I? We may not have the same mother, but our father’s genetics are strong.”

He could feel himself feel faint from shock. Holding onto the bench he was sitting on, he recalled how his brother introduced this person to their family, saying she was a genius and they were friends.

Maddison stood up, holding Serenith, and looked down at Gael. She burst out laughing, saying, “You’re going nowhere. As I’ve said before. I wonder how long it’ll take for you to break.”

She looked at Serenith, saying, “Look at your papa. He’s so weak.”

Anger surged through his body. She was right! He should’ve seen it. Now that she told him, she looked just like that asshole and from the look on her face, she’s a monster too.

One beautiful monster.

When his emotions settled in. He stood up, facing her. He said, “Put him down and fuck off.”

Kiara raised a brow, “Wow, what’s with the sudden…”

Gael smacked her across the face. Glaring back at her as he saw her glare, he said, “I don’t need this shit. Get lost before I cause a scene and I can bet your ass that you don’t want me questioned by the police because I will confess to everything.”

She narrowed her eyes and placed Serenith down. “There’s no need to go that far. I’m only checking in on you on Kian’s orders, he was worried that Serenith who cause you trouble but I see you are handling it pretty well. I’ll leave.”

Gael watched as she left and glared at the manager who came over and told him to leave because he didn’t want a fight breaking out at his cafe.

*

On the other end of the phone call Kiara was having with her brother. He was laughing his heart out, happy with Gael’s reaction.

Licking his lips, he said, “Excellent! I knew he’d be perfect.”

“You’re lucky I didn’t kill him,” she complained.

“Touch him and you’re dead,” Kian said, ending the call. Sitting in the hotel room on the balcony, he looked up at the stars, the happiness he felt was indescribable. Gael was perfect.

The perfect flower for his garden.