Forbidden Desire: My Ex-Husband’s Father

OPHELIA Months after my life shattered, I sat in front of the dresser, staring at my reflection in the mirror, wondering where everything had gone wrong. Six months ago, I held my husband, Jason with these hands as we both debated on the names to give our unborn child. I stared at the invitation card on the dresser. It had two familiar names: Anna Mildred weds Jason Reynolds but now, my unborn child is gone and my husband is no longer mine. His scent still haunted the room. Now his name was printed on a wedding invitation sent by my own sister, Anna Mildred—the father of my son and the man I thought would love me as deeply as I loved him. “Ophelia— what happened? Why are you still staring at the mirror?” Kayla asked, concern etched on her face, the expression of worry etched on her face as she held onto my shoulder, a smile forced on her lips. “Nothing,” I sniffled in a low tone, staring down at the tear that trickled down my cheek. “I’m heading out now. I’ll check on you when I get back.” she smiled as she let go of me and headed for the door. I waved her a simple goodbye as I closed the door behind her, letting out an exasperated sigh as I noticed my phone screen lighten up. It was a text from Anna I hope Aaron will be at the wedding— you too. He’s my ring bearer. No matter what happens, he’s still my nephew. “More like your step-son” I scoffed at her remark as I stared at my phone. The text sent a flush of rage down my throat and spine, so much as I wanted to curse and slam my phone to the ground, I hesitated, turning it upside down to ignore the message completely. I stared at my messy room as I tied my hair into a messy bun and headed toward the shower, I heard a light knock at my front door. Hesitant, I waited to hear Kayla speak, maybe she had forgotten something. The knock came in again—there was still no voice. “Who is it?” I yelled as I threw on my robe and walked down the stairs to open the door. There was no response, the knock came once more and it wasn’t as light as the first. “I’m coming” I said in the loudest pitch I could yell. Finally at the door, I flung it open and there he was, his six-foot frame standing in front of me, his pale skin unmistakable as that familiar scent grew stronger. “What are you doing here Jason?” I asked hurriedly, stretching my arms across the doorway to stop him from coming in. “It’s my house too” he rolled his eyes, his gaze holding mine menacingly. A house I purchased with my money— “Whatever you want to say—say it out here” I said with a firm tone, there was no reason to sound calm and endearing, he knew that. “Mummy” I heard my son’s voice from inside, I could tell he was still dazed and tired—he had just woken up. “Baby—go back to your room, I’ll be with you soon” I said without turning to him. “Can I at least see my son?” a smile formed on his lips, I wanted to bash his face into a wall. “You lost the right to call him that when you brought and signed those divorce papers” I said angrily, “Tell me what you’re here for and then leave” I glared at him, hoping to reach his soul. “Let’s talk about it inside” He said bluntly, not even putting an act of remorse. I rolled my eyes and walked away from the door. Folding my arms, I stood in the living room to let him speak “Go on”. His eyes flicked past me, already claiming the place as his. “Here” he hands me a file of documents, I look down at the brown envelope. “What’s this? I thought we already ended things—” He cut in, “Just take it and read it!” Reluctantly, I whisked it from his grasp and opened it, taking out the file from the envelope “What is this?” I raised a brow at the documents and back at him as I flipped onto the next and the next, my heart beating faster with every sentence I digested. “What is the meaning of this Jason?!” I asked angrily “What the hell is this?!” I yelled, throwing them in his face as it didn’t seem to make sense. He crouched down to pick them up and I could see the smirk on his lips as I huffed “If you read it that fast, then you know what to do— Anna, my fiancée, pleaded with me to tell you that if you don’t attend the wedding, you’ll be thrown out within a week but if you do, then maybe we can settle an arrangement for you to stay for a while” his lips curled into a thin line. “Are you both crazy?” I scoffed, “I should attend the wedding because of a threat?” “No, no, it’s not a threat—it’s a warning. You see Ophelia, you signed these property documents and you relinquished the rights to us” “You are a liar! I never signed those. I swear! You guys forged these!” I yelled out in frustration “These aren’t my real deeds” I said as cold sweat had begun to drip down my face. “Yes they are— I know you kept the deed at the lower cabinet up in your room and I know the dealer you paid for the house—” “Th—this can’t be happening! You can’t be serious. This is my house bought with my money. Those stocks, those are mine. How did you” I paused as I swallowed hard “How did you get those?!” My heart ached as he gave no response. Rushing up the stairs, I threw open the door to my room as I rummaged through my cabinets to find my documents “No, no, no — this can’t be true!” “Oh but it is” he said from the door, his eyes menacingly staring at me. “How did you get those?! Answer me!” I yelled as I rushed back to him, trying to get a hold of the documents once more so I could tear them to shreds. “Holding them now will change nothing” he whispered “You signed these a month ago— don’t you remember?” I stared at him confused and exhausted. “You could even take these to a lawyer- I can wait” he smiled. I could tell that he enjoyed watching me suffer. Every property I had purchased before and during our marriage now belonged to Jason and Anna. It must be some sort of joke. “What do you both want from me?” My voice broke despite my effort to remain calm. “You cheated on me, you’ve taken all I have, you’ve abandoned me- isn’t that enough?” “For you to attend our wedding dear sister” Anna said calmly from downstairs. “I am not attending your wedding.” I yelled back “Then prepare to have my nephew on the streets oh but it would be bad to see little James’ cousin shiver in the cold” she said in a cutesy tone that I’ve always despised. “Who’s James?” I mumbled under my breath. “He’s your unborn nephew, sister” Anna said softly with a light smile on her lips. “I’m pregnant.”