Chapter 20

“I am just going to say it.” Nate groaned, his fork clattering on his now empty plate. “I for one cannot live without Mia.” He leaned back in his chair rubbing his tummy. Amber was busy chewing but her entire body moved along is agreement, her head nodding profusely.
Mia folded her arms on the table and watched them both in delight. She was happy to be off use to them.

“I don’t even know I why I decided to move out and live with you.” Amber pointed her fork at her boyfriend. Her eyes squinting as she peered at him in an attempt to re-evaluate his appeal.

“I am questioning your decision making abilities as well.” He agreed. He’d eaten more than his stomach was used to, his eyes drooping down as his breathing lowered. He was more than ready to fall into a food coma.

“I really took your cooking for granted.” Amber addressed Mia and took another bite. Mia had turned her attention to Amiyah, who began playing with her fruit bowl. She treated the watermelon and pineapple slices them as dolls, bouncing them around the table.

“Hey,” Mia reached her leg under the table and gave Nate a kick.

“Huh?” He jumped, looking frantically about the room.

“You have a shift starting in two hours.” She reminded him. He groaned dramatically and both women laughed. “I miss the days I was able to stay home at random.” He mused.

“Wasn’t that like high school?” Amber teased.

“Jeez, now I am questioning *my* abilities to make good decisions.” He hung his head back and closed his eyes. It really had been since high school. Medical school meant no unnecessary skipping classes and then internship was the same. Now as a full fledge doctor, there was no getting out of his responsibilities. It was demanding work, but it was worth it.

“Go get ready, I’ll make some coffee for you and pack you some snacks.” Amber offered, her tone soothing to his ears.

“Thanks babe.” He eased off his chair, leaned over and gave her a kiss on the forehead. He smiled at Mia and went over to Amiyah. “I’ll miss you little one.” He pinched her cheeks and she giggled.
Amber watched as Nate disappeared, her heart sighing. She’d never loved anyone as much as she loved him. She shook the thoughts away and turned to Mia; she was starting to clear the table.

“When are you going to tell me what happened at the lawyers’ office?” Mia stilled, her hands closing over a glass cup like a crane at a carnival, slow, unsteady and uncertain about whether it would actually be able to grab hold of its prize.

“I need to have a conversation with someone first.” Mia’s grip tightened on the glass, scooped it up and went over to the sink.

“With who?” Amber spun around in her chair to look at Mia. Her back and shoulders twisting around therapeutically.

“Don’t ask questions you do not want to know the answer to” Mia countered. She didn’t want to think about the things she had to do.

“Mia…” Amber let her voice trail off.

“I’ll let you know in the morning.” Mia sighed. She didn’t want to overthink more than she already was.

****

Mia was halfway through the story of little red riding hood when she looked over and noticed that Amiyah had fallen asleep. It wasn’t surprising in the least; steady sounds always did the trick. She placed the book down, tucked Amiyah and her stuffed elephant under the covers; she never slept without it.
She picked up her cell and sighed. She’d unwittingly given herself a deadline to have her discussion with Gabriel by assuring her sister to spill everything in the morning. She gazed at the time on the tiny kitty shaped alarm clock on the table beside the bed. It was 9:00PM. She knew he would be awake but would he be in a good mood?

“Ah, screw it.” She dialled his number, wishing that she didn’t remember it right off the bat. It picked up on the second ring. She could hear his breathing on the other side and before he could greet her, she called out his name half in terror half in disbelief.

“Gabriel?” What were the odds of her calling the wrong number? Maybe she’d forgotten it after all.

“Hello, my love.” No such luck, she thought wretchedly. He spoke as if he’d been expecting her, waiting for her to crawl back to him. “I see you have found a replacement.” He said instantly, his voice dry.

“What?” A replacement? She didn’t understand why her mind conjured a poorly made image of Harvey.

“Your phone.” He clarified. “What else did you think I was referring too?” he asked lazily, no real interest in his voice.

“We need to talk.” She jumped straight to the point. She was pacing around her room, her chest painful from the added pressure. She hated that he had a say in her life.

“Do you really think you can leave as you please, call as you please and take dominion over my time as you please?” he scoffed, a mocking laughter showering over her like poison. Her palms became sweaty; she rubbed them along the leg of her sweat pants, taking turns by switching her cell from hand to hand.
She wanted him in a calm disposition if they were to have any conversation that would be beneficial for her. “I apologise.” She attempted to deescalate him. “Please feel free to let me know when you have the time.” She offered; submission was the only thing he accepted.

“That’s more like it, pet.” The characteristic beep when a call ended sounded in Mia’s ears. She pulled her cell in front of her eyes and stared at it. As much as she was impatient to get everything sorted, she had to give him false control. She placed the cell down on the bed, it lit up instantaneously. She answered it and pressed it to her ear without hesitation.

“I have cleared the unimportant tasks. You have ten minutes to say what you will.” Gabriel was a master at feigning disinterest, but she knew he was curious.

“This is about Amiyah and custody arrangements.” She’d spent so much time rehearsing the perfect way to introduce the topic and in the moment she drew blanks.

“Amiyah will not be kept away from me.” He said as a matter of fact.

“I do not intend to separate Amiyah from you, Gabriel but we must come to some agreement in how we split our time with her.” Mia breathed her tone balanced and careful.

“There will be no splitting, Mia.” His voice tumbled upon her like a ton of rocks sliding off a cliff.

“What are you saying?” She didn’t dare make any assumptions, but an imaginary hand had weaved its way around her heart holding itself ready for an attack.

“I have spoken to my attorney and I have a very good chance of excluding you altogether.” He declared proudly. “Your recent antic of taking her without my permission or knowledge goes against you or any case you try to scrape together.” He snickered.

“You cannot be serious. I didn’t kidnap her, Gabriel.” Mia defended. “You don’t know how to care for a child.” Mia shot back. For the entire day she kept hearing preposterous ideas.

“But you basically have been denying me my right to see my child.” He countered securely.

“Are you seriously going down a path to rip my daughter away from me, away from her mother?” Mia couldn’t control the rise in her voice. She was keenly aware of her surrounding sounds becoming muffled.

“Mothers can be replaced.” Gabriel yawned.
She was spiralling. He spoke without a worry in the world while her chest was struggling to keep her frantic heart caged. She inhaled deeply, control, she had to regain control. “Gabriel, I am begging you.” She laid all of her hope down, praying he was moved by her sincerity and desperation. “Let’s end this non-relationship in a civil manner and do the best by our daughter.”

“If you want to abandon her, Mia that is on you,” he paused, “Amiyah will be given to me and I will make damned sure that you never see her again.” He threatened, no hint of emotion in his voice. He wasn’t speaking from a place of desperation he was speaking as a man who knew he had access to all the chips on the table.
“I am not abandoning her.” Mia was getting dizzy. She had been walking around in the same circle since the call begun. Her eyes falling on her sleeping daughter, her eyes burning.

“If you divorce me you are.” He taunted, his breathing heavy and low. She’s lost control. *Did you even have it?*

“Is that it?” she cleared the tears from her throat, “I must stay my entire life with you and risk you screwing up our daughter’s perception of herself and her gender?”

“You can either be there to correct it or do nothing from afar, it’s your choice.” He said unapologetically.

“What choice?” She cried, “You are not giving me any choices.” She wanted to scream at him.

“Divorce me and lose our daughter forever or find your ass back home.” He said, “The choices are quite simple.” He spoke to her in his merriest tone as if they were discussing dinner plans.

“Gabriel,” she steadied her voice. “Let’s talk about this reasonably. We can come to a decision, you can think about it for a few days— ” she was grasping at straws, this couldn’t be it. This couldn’t be the end of her road to freedom.

“I gave you the options, dearest.” He was becoming more serious. “My mind is made up.” His tone darkening.

“Gabriel…” she pleaded, what else could she say? She begged herself to say something more.

“Stop trying to alter your reality.” His voice grated out dispassionately. “You have no power to do so. The sooner you resign yourself to your fate the happier you will be, the happier Amiyah will be. Think of the opportunities I can afford to her.” He was appealing to her now. Appealing to her to see what he saw as reason.

“You have until the end of the week to decide before I authorise my attorney’s to take steps to ensure my daughter is in my possession.” He finished when she couldn’t respond. Mia heard a tiny click as her knees gave way below her and she fell onto the floor.