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"Yep! Can I go again, tonight?"
"No, you can't," I reply firmly. "You're going to spend time at home today, and tomorrow you go back to your friends. Now, go wash your hands. I'll make you some hot chocolate. It's pretty cold outside, right?"
She nods, beaming at the idea of hot chocolate. As soon as she disappears, I glare at Tony. "Until she puked, Tony? Really?"
"I didn't know she would eat the entire tub," he says defensively. "And it's really hard to say no to her when she whines."
"It's not that hard." I scowl.
"She'd get upset with me then."
"And it's okay for her to be sick?" I cross my arms over my chest, annoyed.
"No." He looks guilty. "Sorry, Cynthia. We just wanted her to be focused on having a good time. You know how sensitive Riya is to your moods. She's been a little touchy ever since you dropped her off."
"Yeah, I know.” I sigh.
"So, what happened? Did you meet with Adam again?"
I end up telling him what happened. and his brows knit together. "Email me a copy of your contract. Let me show it to my company's lawyer."
"That would be helpful. In the meantime, I can't figure out what he wants. At every meeting, he's staked a claim on me."
"And how did you respond?" Tony asks cautiously.
"He has no right to me." My voice is harsh. "I reminded him why I left in the first place. He never seems to have much to say about that."
Tony looks troubled. "Just be careful."
"Of course." I tap my fingers on the kitchen counter. "I spent the last night thinking. Tony, I already have Riya's passport prepared. If anything happens, I cannot let Adam take Riya. There's a go-bag I'm going to put in a storage unit I own. I'll share the code with you and Maya. It will have cash, Riya's important papers, papers of guardianship, and her passport. If anything happens, Tony, you need to take her and go."
Tony tenses up. "You're expecting something to happen?"
"Now that Adam is here, I want to be prepared for anything," I say.
"Adam won't do anything to hurt his daughter." Tony frowns.
"I'm not worried about that."
Despite everything, I don't believe that Adam would hurt his child. But he can take her from me and give her to the woman he loves. If he was willing to keep me by his side as a slave, what's to say he wouldn't want his daughter to be raised by a womanhe considers worthy? I have tried a few times to ask Tony about Adam's marital status, but I can't get the words out of my mouth. I don't want to know. I don't want to pain to get worse. I want to live in ignorance.
It's like I've been thrown into a desert and I'm wandering blind. But despite that, I will never stop protecting Riya.
"You have to promise me, Tony," I say fiercely, grabbing his hands. "If that time comes, you'll take Riya from here. And if I am not able to join you for whatever reason, you and Maya will become her parents and raise her like she's your own."
Tony has an anguished look in his eyes, but he presses his lips together and nods.
"Thank you."
He gives me a one-armed hug. "We love Riya just as much as you do, and Maya and I love you, too. Nothing will happen to either of you. I promise."
He sounds rather confident, and I wish I could share some of that feeling.
When he leaves, I sigh.
Most of the office knows I have a daughter. It's bound to come up sooner or later. But since Adam and I never mated, he might not believe she's his. I could always color Riya's hair and say I adopted her. Not that it will work. She looks way too much like Adam for him not to realize she's his child. But that will only happen if they come face-to-face. And I will do everything to prevent that.
"Where's Uncle Tony?" Riya asks when she returns.
