Stolen Love

Chapter Twenty One

Ashton

The obnoxious sound of my alarm pierces through the air, causing it to tumble to the floor and fall silent. As I reluctantly extend my arm to retrieve the fallen clock, I steal a peek at the time. It reads 7:30am. With a heavy sigh, I return it to its place on the nightstand. Rolling over, I notice Riley is still in deep slumber.

Riley! I embrace him tightly and plant a kiss on his forehead, recollecting all that happened yesterday. I am a parent. A father to a little boy of four, who bears a striking resemblance to me. I carefully tuck him in, being mindful not to disturb his sleep, before I gingerly rise from the bed.

Upon entering the bathroom, I go through my usual morning rituals - Shit, Shower, and Shave. Following that, I allocate around 15 minutes before making my way to the kitchen.

Dressed in cozy grey sweatpants and a casual shirt, I briskly pull breakfast ingredients from the fridge and pantry to craft a filling morning meal. I desperately needed to prepare a steaming cup of coffee from the espresso machine to kick off breakfast.

With everything set for cooking, I fry bacon and flip eggs while Riley strolls into the kitchen, rubbing his sleepy eyes.

"Dad?" He leans in the kitchen entrance.

"Yes, champ," I respond while flipping another egg.

"What's for breakfast?" He inquires with a hint of exhaustion.

"Wanna go with eggs and bacon?" I propose, getting a nod in response.

"Yeah, Mummy makes that for breakfast all the time," he remarks, and I grin.

"Mum used to whip this up for me every day," I share with a fond smile, recalling her presence in the same kitchen.

I power down all the appliances, then pivot to scoop up Riley, planting kisses on his cheeks.

Amused, he chuckles as we make our way to the lounge. I assist him in settling onto the sofa and use the remote to put on some cartoons. He nods appreciatively at Paw Patrol, and I playfully throw the remote down beside him.

With the food plated, I carry the dishes over to the table. Lisa arrives, and I return to the kitchen to pour her a cup of coffee.

"Morning," she mumbles.

"Good morning," I reply, approaching her with two mugs of coffee.

As I take my first sip, I let out a satisfied groan. It's exactly what I needed. I hadn't eaten since yesterday, and now I realize how famished I am.

I catch Lisa stealing glances at me and notice the confusion in her eyes.

"What's up?" I inquire.

"Nothing, it's just that it's rather unusual to see you up so early and in such a good mood," she remarks.

"I've made a conscious decision to stay positive for my son and for Mia," I share.

She nods in agreement and flashes a smile.

"It suits you. Keep it up," she encourages.

"I figured that if I could show resilience for our son and Mia, there might be a glimmer of hope," I mention, glancing at my son from the doorway.

"I'm hopeful that she might reconsider being with me. I understand it's a big ask, but my love for her will never waver," I conclude.

"I don't want to raise false expectations, but I have a hunch that Mia secretly feels the same way. She's tight-lipped about it, but her absent-mindedness when your name comes up doesn't escape me," she explains.

We're interrupted as Jarrod strolls into the kitchen, taking a deep breath. "I'm really hungry! What's on the menu for us, baby?," he asks.

"Well, baby, right here," Lisa pats my shoulder and lets out a laugh.

"Has whipped up a special hearty breakfast for everyone," she remarks, and Jarrod visibly registers his surprise.

"Hey, you can cook?" He chuckles as he heads off to fix himself some coffee.

I perform an eye-rolling maneuver and let out a little laugh at his comment.

Lisa lends a hand in transporting the remaining plates to the dining area while I carry the bowls of eggs, bacon, and tomatoes. Jarrod joins us at the table with the toast and avocados.

"This looks impressive!" he exclaims with delight.

Lisa then moves to the living room, scoops up Riley, and showers him with kisses and hugs before joining us at the table.

Riley picks out his meal, and I serve it on his plate before handing it to him. I watch as he spears some eggs with his fork and takes a bite.

"Daddy, this tastes yummy!," he exclaims, chewing with a grin.

"I bet you're just famished, kiddo," Jarrod remarks, casting a sly look at me.

I roll my eyes and let out a laugh.

"Is that why you're going for seconds?" I tease.

He chuckles. "Well, us grown-ups need our fuel, you know?" We share a laugh, joined by Lisa.

"His home meals will blow your mind!" She exclaims in disbelief.

"Trust me, I've been his host and provider for a long time," I answer, and Jarrod chuckles.

"Did you not indulge in food like I did back in high school and continue to do so now?" he asks.

I casually dismiss the idea. "I've given up football, so I've cut back on eating to prevent gaining weight," I declare.

"Are you still hitting the gym, buddy?" he inquires while I dig into another serving of eggs.

"How else am I supposed to keep these muscles in check?" I retort with a chuckle.

Following the morning meal, Lisa offered to handle the dishes while I set up a bath for my son and laid out his clothes. Just as I'm assisting my son into the bath, noticing Simon's name on the caller ID, I'm interrupted by a call from him.

"Hello, Simon," I greet.

"Hey Ashton, I've been meaning to talk about the video footage I got. After going through it, I spotted the person you mentioned. Does she have long dark hair and a sun-kissed complexion?" He asks.

"Yep, that's her," I affirm, walking towards the bathroom, where I spot my son playing while I stand by the door.

"It's clear she knew where the cameras were and managed to avoid most of them. I saw your interaction, and I'll get the tech team to work on a close-up or facial recognition to identify her," he explains.

"Where did she go afterward," I ask.

"She managed to escape through the ambulance entrance while another patient was being admitted," he reported.

"Did she use a vehicle or something else?" I inquired while handing Riley his bath sponge for exfoliation.

"No, she left on foot, beyond the surveillance cameras' reach. I closely watched all the vehicles passing by at that time, but they were all family members of patients. There's one vehicle that caught my attention. It circled back three times before vanishing, which seemed rather suspicious," he detailed.

"Thanks for the update, Simon. I'll keep the team informed," I conveyed.

"No worries, mate. Saw Mia last night. Just wanted to pass on my apologies, Ashton. It's a tough time for you and the fam, but she's a tough cookie, so I have confidence in her," he said.

"How did the uniforms hold up?" I asked before wrapping up the conversation.

"They're on a 24-hour shift. Once the boys are feeling a bit better, I'll need to grill them to find out if they witnessed anything that day," he explained.

"Thanks again, mate. Appreciate it," I expressed.

"Okay, look after yourself. I'll reach out again soon," he finished before ending the call.