“I didn’t! Don’t listen to Ayaan’s nonsense,” Ranita explained, but she felt extremely guilty.
The little rascal Ayaan exposed her, “Mommy, who are you thinking about? You’ve been zoning out. I’ve been calling you, but you ignore me.”
“Daddy, what are you doing? Ayaan misses you.”
Despite being just a child who said Ranita could have any man as a father, Ayaan was still attached to Brendon deep down.
Listening to Ayaan’s soft voice, Brendon’s mood inexplicably improved. He had never thought about how to be a good father, but Ranita had given him such a precious gift.
“Daddy misses you too.” And Ranita…
“What about mommy? Do you miss mommy?” Ayaan asked cheerfully, stealing a glance at Ranita, who felt embarrassed and awkwardly chuckled.
“Ayaan, play for a while. I need to talk to your daddy,” Ranita said, taking her phone and going back to her room. “How’s everything on your end?” Her voice was calm, very matter-of-fact.
“I’m fine. What about you… Caleb said you weren’t planning to deal with the online matter? What are you thinking?”
Ranita’s expression remained neutral as she pursed her lips. “It’s useful.”
“What are you going to do?” Brendon didn’t quite understand. “Don’t take risks if there’s danger. Or if there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know.”
Brendon knew online people could be vicious. If they hurt Ranita, the consequences…
“Brendon, don’t worry about this. It’s getting late. I’ll hang up,” Ranita paused and added, “Wait… I…” Brendon hesitated. “Ayaan said he misses me. Can I see him now?”
Ranita raised an eyebrow. “You want to come over? Now?”
“Well, I…”
Just then, the doorbell rang. Ranita went to the door and saw Ayaan running to open it.
“Ayaan, wait…” Ranita called out, wanting him not to open it, but it was too late. The door clicked open.
An arm wearing black gloves reached in and pulled Ayaan out.
“Ayaan!” Ranita reacted swiftly, grabbing a vase of orchids from the foyer and rushing out. The tall, thin man had already dragged Ayaan a short distance away.
“Don’t come any closer!”
“Let go of my son!” Ranita wanted to throw the vase, but she was afraid of hurting Ayaan, so she hesitated.
“Haha! You’d better not come any closer, or I’ll strangle him!” The man’s mask only revealed a pair of bloodshot eyes, indicating he hadn’t slept for days.
“You despicable scum, how shameless… You dare ruin her happiness, why don’t you go die!” The tall, thin man spat out vicious words. “Dealing with you gentle women is too soft!”
“Let go of my son!” Ranita signaled Ayaan, who bit the man’s arm.
“Ah! You little brat!” The man yelled, loosening his grip a bit. Ranita saw the opportunity and threw the vase!
But the man dodged it and turned to run, pushing open the fire door to escape.
Just then, Brendon rushed over hastily. “Ranita, what’s happening…”
“He’s escaped through the fire exit!”
Without a word, Brendon chased after him.
Ranita hugged Ayaan tightly, sweating profusely. “Are you okay? Anywhere hurts? Are you injured?”