Chapter 248 - Convince Me

"Scratch everything I ever said about Angela not being a bad mother.." Desmond ran a hand down his face in frustration. 

"I can't believe that anyone would use their child in such a way." Zaria was still in disbelief from the discovery. 

"I can believe it. This is Angela we are talking about." He shrugged.

"What are you going to do now?" She asked. 

"Get enough evidence." He looked at her with a sly smile. 

"You are going to fight for Rosaly's custody with this evidence." She stated what was on his mind. "Aren't you scared she might discredit you in court to make you ineligible for Rosaly's custody?" 

"She can try that." He looked unfazed. 

She ran a hand along his thigh. "If you need help with anything, you know that you only need to say the word, right?" 

"I do." He slid a hand around her waist to pull her closer to him. Her hand that was still caressing him slid even further and she looked up at him as she ran her fingers along his crotch in subtle invitation. He responded to her actions by searching her eyes. "Would you like to stay over tonight?" 

"Convince me." She teased.

He pushed her back to lie down and kissed her neck while gently parting her legs to position himself between them. "I'm going to spend all night doing that." He gladly took the challenge and he would be sure to fulfill her wish. 

___

"I don't want to go to mommy." Rosaly puffed her cheeks the following morning, refusing to get dressed. She clung to Desmond's hand as she looked up at him sadly. 

He crouched to her level and gently asked, "Why not?" 

"I want to play with Zaria." She drawled, looking like she would burst into tears if her father said no. 

He picked her up gently. "You can play with Zaria a little more but after that, you need to go home, okay? Your mommy misses you very much." 

"I don't want to!" She whined. 

Zaria, who had just freshened up, poked her head into the room. "Is everything okay?" 

"Zaria!" Rosaly flew into her arms with teary eyes. 

"What happened?" She coaxed the girl, who looked like she had been betrayed. 

"Daddy wants me to go back home. I don't want to." She drawled tearfully, hoping Zaria would let her stay. 

It took a glance at Desmond to understand what was going on. It was a difficult situation. She teased the girl's cheeks. "Why don't you want to go home? Can you tell me?" 

When Rosaly glanced at Desmond as though he was an obstacle, he was speechless. Was he the bad guy now? He left the room for the duo to have some privacy.

Zaria put Rosaly down and waited for her to speak. 

"Mommy doesn't like many of my friends. She will not let me play with you anymore." She pouted. 

So that was what it was about. Zaria's heart melted as she hugged her. "Then you don't have to tell mommy. It will be our little secret." She stuck out her pinky, which Rosaly happily crossed. 

She was more willing to go, so Zaria helped her pick out a dress. Just like the last time, she wanted one of the same color as Zaria's. It made her curious about the girl's preference but she didn't ask. When Rosaly asked her to make her hair to look like her own, she obliged and pulled her black hair into a bun, adding a cute butterfly clip at the side. 

"How did you get her to leave the room all dressed up?" Desmond was surprised when he saw them leaving the room twenty minutes later, with Rosaly ready to go. 

Instead of answering him, they exchanged glances and said something about it being a secret, which he didn't quite catch before they raced to the dining room for breakfast. They were definitely having a lot of fun. 

The couple had planned to spend the day together later, so Zaria tagged along to drop Rosaly off but didn't leave the car. However, she got to witness a bizarre show as soon as they arrived. 

Angela left the house wearing a dress that left little to the imagination and when she realized that Desmond was personally dropping Rosaly off, her demeanor changed into that of a seductress. Zaria almost exploded when the woman tried to hug Desmond despite being ignored by him before. What was wrong with her? Couldn't she see that Rosaly was still present? 

The thought of Rosaly gave her an idea and she immediately took out her phone. 

Desmond managed to shake her off and returned to the car looking frustrated. He knew what Zaria must have seen and opened his mouth to explain. 

"I know." Zaria cut him off. "I can't blame you for being so handsome that she can't wait to get her hands on you."

"Are you mad at me?" He asked, seeing her glare out the window. If she were a witch, Angela would be up in flames. 

"Not at you. Just at the woman who dares to put her hands on my man." She grabbed his arm to inspect it. "Where did she touch?" 

"I would tell you, but I risk having my arm chopped away." He teased before getting more serious. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have given in to Rosaly's request of having us drop her off. It won't happen again." 

She watched as Angela sauntered back into the villa swaying her hips, deliberately giving a show to Desmond. "You cannot completely ignore that kind of woman. We have to get her out of our hair once and for all." 

"We will be able to once I get full custody of Rosaly." He vowed. At first he had only wanted to win Rosaly's custody by fair means. But after what just happened—which would probably happen more often if he didn't put an end to it—he no longer wanted to play by the rules.. He knew that it was a selfish thought but he would get Rosaly's custody even if he had to lie about Angela.