Chapter Nine

Daphne hated that her strength was taken away, but she would do something about it. She made an appointment at the hair salon and arrived early in the afternoon. The Manager was there to greet her and was surprised to see that Daphne's hair was red again.

"Miss Blake," the Manager said. "It's nice to see you again,"

"Thank you," Daphne replied politely.

"So, what can I help you with today?"

Daphne would have thought that would have been obvious, but she decided to be patient.

"I want my hair dyed black again," she said. "Can you make that happen today?"

"Yes, but why would you want to?" the Manager asked. "Your hair looks great,"

"This was done to me at gunpoint last night," Daphne explained. "Do you think that's something I feel great about?"

The Manager's eyes widened with surprise.

"No, I wouldn't," she admitted.

"Then let's make a start," Daphne said.

The Manager led Daphne into the back room, and a few hours later, Daphne's hair was black again. Looking at herself in the mirror, she felt like her old self again.

XXXXX

Daphne's client base had been filled with easy cases she could do online, and she hadn't any clients booked for that afternoon. But when she arrived back at her office, someone was waiting outside, banging on the desperately: Her son, William. Seeing him there was a shock to Daphne, but what was more shocking was the way he banged on the door.

"Mom, are you in there?" William said. "Mom?"

"I'm standing right behind you, sweetie," Daphne said.

William turned around quickly. Daphne knelt so she could hug him. He hugged her back tightly.

"Mom!" he said on the verge of tears as he was so happy she was there.

"William, what is it?" Daphne asked, concerned.

"Mom, can I live with you?" William asked desperately.

Hearing the desperation in her voice scared her. Daphne wanted to say yes more than anything but didn't want to lie to her son.

"Let's go inside, and we'll talk about it," Daphne said.

William stopped hugging her, and she opened the door to her reception area. William sat on the reception sofa, and Daphne sat beside him.

"Honey, what's going on?" Daphne asked. "Why do you want to live with me?"

Hearing her ask that question made William fear the worst.

"Don't you want me to live with you?" he asked, fearing he might cry.

"No, of course not," Daphne replied reassuringly. "I would love it if you lived with me. I just want to know why you do,"

William looked out the window and then back at Daphne.

"My stepmom hates me," he said quietly.

Based on what she knew about Stephanie, Daphne was afraid of how she treated William.

"Why does she hate you?" Daphne asked gently.

"I don't know why!" William replied with fearful frustration. "She yells at me all the time for no reason! I don't know what I'm doing wrong, and I'm always afraid when she's around! Can I please live with you?"

Daphne sighed in pity for her son, but she made sure it was a quick sigh.

"What has your dad done about this?" Daphne asked.

"He hasn't done anything because she only yells at me when he's not around, and she said she'll kill me if I tell on her," William replied.

Then William began to cry, and Daphne held him tightly. She knew what it was like to grow up in a verbally abusive household, and she didn't want that to happen to her son.

"Does your stepmom know you're here?" Daphne asked.

"She's supposed to pick me up after school, but once the school bell rang, I ran right here," William replied through his tears. "I didn't know what else to do. I'm scared to go anywhere with her,"

"And you'll be more scared if you don't get in the car right now, William!" Stephanie shouted.

Both of them looked at Stephanie in shock.

"Get off your ass now, William!" Stephanie shouted.

William was too scared to move, but Daphne got to her feet quickly and walked right up to her.

"William isn't going anywhere with you!" Daphne shouted.

Stephanie smiled evilly.

"Is that so?" Stephanie said. "Okay, William doesn't have to go anywhere. I'll just drive home, call the police and have you charged with kidnapping William. I'm sure the judge will understand completely, and you'll be back in Coolsville prison in a week,"

"You goddamn bitch!" Daphne whispered.

Stephanie almost laughed.

"Careful, Daphne," she said. "I've heard the new Warden is hornier than the last one. Now tell William to come with me or else!"

Daphne made fists with both hands by her waist, but then she loosened her fingers. What she had to do next was devasting to her as she looked at William.

"I'm really sorry, sweetie, but I'm afraid you'll have to go with your stepmom," Daphne said.

"What?" William asked in disbelief. "I don't want to go with my stepmom,"

"HEY, I TOLD YOU NEVER TO CALL ME YOUR STEPMOM!" Stephanie yelled. "YOU'RE TO CALL ME MOM! GOT IT?"

William began to shake, and Daphne wanted to hug him, but based on how crazy Stephanie was, she knew it would be a huge mistake.

"I'm sorry, Mom," William said to Stephanie.

"That's better," Stephanie replied. "Now get over here,"

William got off the sofa and walked over to Stephanie.

"William, I promise I'll help you," Daphne said. "I'm working on it,"

Stephanie looked at William.

"William, go to the car, and I'll be right there," Stephanie said. "I'll be right there, and you better dry your eyes. The last thing both of us want is your father asking questions,"

"I-I-I know, Mom," William said, shaking.

He left the office, and Stephanie watched him get into her car. Then she looked at Daphne.

"Don't you ever come near my son again!" Stephanie said.

"He's not your son!" Daphne replied fiercely as she refused to be threatened by this woman.

"Like hell, he isn't!" Stephanie said. "I've doing a better job raising him than you ever could!"

"Like hell you are, and I'm going to see to it that I get full custody of my son so he never has to deal with a psycho like you!" Daphne said, nearly shouting.

For a split second, Daphne saw fear in Stephanie's eyes. Stephanie felt that fear for a split second, and she walked closer to her.

"What makes you think you deserve to raise him?" Stephanie asked. "You're a single woman and a burnout. I, on the other hand, am married to Fred and we provide a peaceful family atmosphere. Judges tend to side with married couples than single mothers,"

"That's bullshit," Daphne replied.

"Sometimes it is, but most of the time it isn't," Stephanie said. "You have no hope of getting custody of William, so you shouldn't even bother trying,"

Stephane had nothing else to say and left Daphne's office. Daphne watched Stephanie drive away with William sitting in the back seat. William turned around and waved at her. Daphne waved back, and tears ran down her cheeks.

XXXXX

Daphne barely slept that night, and she woke up constantly in the early morning hours. The possibility of not getting full custody of William terrified her, and she had to make that happen. The only answer she could think of was Darren. Her feelings for him hadn't changed, but she needed him now more than ever under a new circumstance. Daphne knew when he took his break at the gym, and she walked inside a few minutes before he was scheduled to take it. As she looked around the gym, many memories came flooding back. It didn't take Darren long to spot her, but he was reluctant to walk towards her. Seeing this, Daphne walked over to him quickly.

"Darren, I know I have no right to be here, but can we talk in your office?" Daphne asked.

Darren didn't say anything momentarily as he was shocked to see her.

"Yeah, we can talk," he said.

He took out his keys from his pants and handed them to Daphne.

"Let yourself in, and I'll be right up," he said.

"Thank you," Daphne replied.

Daphne wanted to kiss him immediately but knew it would be inappropriate. Darren wanted to kiss her, too, but he wasn't sure if he should. Without saying anything else to each other, Daphne turned around and walked up to Darren's office. Once inside, she closed the door behind her and looked around his office. Nothing was different. A moment later, Darren entered the office and closed the door behind him.

"It's been a long time since I've seen you," Darren said.

"I know, and I'm sorry about that," Daphne replied.

Darren didn't say anything momentarily as he needed to be cautious.

"So why are you here now?" he asked.

"Before I answer that, there's something I need to ask you, and I know I have no right to ask you this, but I need to know if you've met someone else," Daphne asked, shaking slightly.

Darren was shocked by this line of questioning as it was the last thing he expected her to ask.

"No, I haven't met someone else," he said. "And I haven't been looking to meet someone else either. Have you met someone else?"

"No, I haven't met someone else," Daphne said.

"Good," Darren said without thinking.

Darren was shocked at himself the second he said that, but Daphne was pleased to hear him say that.

"Darren, there's something I really need to know," Daphne said. "Are you in love with me?"

He was surprised to hear that coming from her as he thought that would have been more obvious.

"Yes, I'm in love with you," he admitted.

Daphne didn't say anything momentarily, and that scared Darren.

"That's not a question I can answer with a simple yes," she said.

"Then how can you answer it?" Darren asked in reply.

Daphne took one step closer to Darren.

"When I met you, I liked you," she said.

Daphne took another step closer to Darren.

"You were a bit of a social klutz sometimes, but you proved you were willing to improve yourself,"

Daphne took another step closer to Darren.

"Every time other men I've dated made a mistake, they never wanted to own up to it, but you didn't," Daphne said.

Daphne took another step closer to Darren.

"You always owned up to your mistakes," she said.

Daphne took another step closer to him.

"But when you stood up for that woman in the restaurant, I knew I was in love with you, too," Daphne said.

Daphne walked quickly to Darren and kissed him quickly. Darren kissed her back. Then she broke the kiss. Looking into his eyes, she was relieved to see how happy he was, but she had to remain focused on what was on her mind.

"But I really need to talk to you tonight to discuss our relationship if you want to get back together with me," she said.

"Of course, I want to get back together with you," Darren said quickly.

Daphne quickly put her fingers on her right hand and put them to his mouth.

"Wait," she said. "Please don't say anything else. Can you please just tell me if you can come to my apartment tonight so we can discuss our relationship there?"

"Yes," Darren said. "But there's one thing I need to ask you, and it's important,"

"Okay," Daphne replied.

Darren placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Are you pregnant?" he asked.

Daphne was a little thrown as that was the last question she was expecting, but she could understand why he asked.

"No, I'm not pregnant," Daphne said. "But I still need you to come to my apartment. Will seven o'clock be okay?"

"Sure," Darren replied.

Daphne kissed him again, and Darren loved how her lips felt on his and how her tongue felt in his mouth. Then Daphne broke the kiss.

"I love you," she said without thinking.

"I love you, too," Darren replied.

Daphne smiled and walked out of his office. Once she was gone, seven o'clock couldn't have come faster for him.

XXXXX

At 6:59, Daphne was pacing inside her apartment living room but didn't dare look out the window for Darren's car. She didn't want to create the worst impression; she was positive she would do that later that night.

"It's going to be okay," Daphne said to herself. "It's going to be okay,"

She listened carefully to see if anyone was walking towards her door, but she heard no footsteps. Daphne looked at her cell phone. It was 7:00.

"Oh God!" she said quietly.

Another minute passed, and there were still no footsteps. But at 7:02, she heard footsteps and a knock on the door. Daphne didn't say anything as she didn't want to appear overly eager.

"Hello?" Darren asked on the other side of the door.

"I'll be right there," Daphne replied.

She waited thirty seconds, and then she opened the door for Darren. He looked as anxious as she was.

"I'm sorry for the delay," she said. "Come on in,"

"Thank you," Darren replied, relieved.

Darren entered, and Daphne closed the door behind him.

"I'm happy you're here because we really need to talk this out," Daphne said. "Now, we established earlier that we love each other, which is great, of course, but I want to discuss the future,"

Darren couldn't believe they were discussing the future when they barely had a past.

"Okay," he said. "What about the future are you interested in?"

Daphne didn't say anything momentarily as she was seriously nervous.

"Well, I'm wondering if you could see us being married one day," she said.

"Sure," Darren said honestly. "Under the right circumstances,"

"And what circumstances would they be?"

Now, Darren was feeling nervous.

"Well, if we were still together after a year, I would ask you to move in with me, and if we were still together a year after that, then I would ask you to marry me," Darren asked.

Under any other circumstances, Daphne would have loved that explanation, but time wasn't on her side.

"Okay," Daphne said. "And what about children? Would you want to have a family with me?"

"If you were willing to wait another year before starting a family, sure," Darren replied.

"Now, what is this all about?"

Daphne knew he had every right to ask that question, and she was terrified of what Darren would think of her.

"Darren, I know this is seriously weird, to say the least, but I need to be honest with you, and if you don't like what I have to say, I wouldn't blame you if you walked out my door and never wanted to see me again," Daphne said doing her best not to be nervous.

Darren couldn't help but be worried about Daphne.

"I can't imagine me doing that to you tonight, but you obviously have something serious on your mind, so let's hear it," he said honestly.

Daphne loved him for his honesty, but she was still scared of losing him.

"Okay," she said. "It's about William. I need to get full custody of him as soon as possible, and I think the only way I can do it is if I'm married. Now, if you think I'm scum for bringing this all on you, I'll understand, but I really need to get married, and I wanted to make sure you are the kind of man I would want to marry and that I'm the kind of woman you would want to marry as well,"

Darren didn't say a word and was shocked by Daphne's admission. But despite all that, he couldn't bring himself to leave. Daphne was terrified of what he was thinking.

"Darren, I know this is beyond a lot to expect you to marry me and become a stepfather to my son, but his stepmother is abusing him, and I need him to be safe," Daphne explained.

"And if I didn't have a son, I would never have put our relationship on hold, and I would have kept going with our relationship under the conditions you laid out because they're great conditions. But please know that I do love you despite all the craziness I've laid out tonight,"

"You are right; it is crazy," Darren said. "But I've been crazy about you since the second I saw you,"

Daphne couldn't speak momentarily.

"S-S-So, what are you saying?" Daphne asked.

"I'm saying I'll marry you," Darren replied.

Daphne breathed the biggest sigh of relief in her life and kissed him passionately. Darren kissed her back, but she broke the kiss.

"Darren, did you bring any condoms with you?" Daphne asked hopefully.

"Yeah, I've got some in my wallet," Darren replied.

"Thank God!" she replied happily.

Daphne stood up and held out her right hand. Darren grabbed it, and she led him into her bedroom. Once inside, Daphne closed the door and removed each other's clothes. Darren put on his condom and climbed onto the bed with Daphne. She kissed him passionately, and she lay on her beck. Darren kissed her breasts, and then he climbed on top of her. When he penetrated her, it was slow and deep.

"Uhhhhhhh!" Daphne moaned.

Darren began to thrust slowly, and then he increased the speed of his thrusts. Daphne was so happy to be having sex with Darren again, and she never wanted the sex to end that night.