The Billionaire’s Creed

MYKEL

Jade was glaring at me and then at Sax and Kye before she stepped aside.

The apartment was awfully small, but the furniture was pretty clean and sturdy. There were toys on the coffee table, on the floor, and the small bookshelf, reminding me that my son did exist and I had been a father for almost four years.

“Have a seat.”

“These are my-”

“Bodyguards?” she replied vilely.

“Also, my friends. Sax the bald and the blond is Kye.”

“Hello, ma’am.” My guys took a seat.

I went to look at the photos on the walls and shelves.

“Why are you here, Mykel?”

I turned to face her. “What’s my son’s name?”

She wallowed. “Zhaer Jax with E. He likes to be called Jax. Zhaer is a mouthful.”

Unknowingly, I was smiling. “Beautiful name.”

“You still did not answer my question.”

“I wanna know him. I wanna meet him. Of course, with your permission.”

Before Jade could say something, the boy walked in with a superhero action figure in his hand.

“Mommy?”

Jade stiffened next to me, and so did I. My breath held in my chest. I even forgot to blink. The moment I laid my eyes on him, I felt like crying. A wave of strong emotions hit me so hard that I had spent years wasting my time and money on my selflessness while ignoring my responsibility as a father to this kid.

I couldn’t take my eyes off him for a millisecond as if I saw a kid version of myself. Jax was a little bit small but taller for his age, but he looked healthy and happy.

“Who are you?” I could barely hear his voice as I was emotionally impacted by this boy-my son.

“Hi. My name is Mykel. And you are?” Jesus Christ, I couldn’t contain my smile.

“Jax. Are you mommy’s friend?”

“Yes, honey. And we already talked about when adults are talking. Kids shouldn’t join.”

“Sorry. Bye, Mykel.”

I blinked away the tears and breathed my emotions back. “He’s a good kid.”

“Someone has to raise him to be a good kid.”

“I wanna be a part of his life.”

Jade narrowed her eyes at me. “That’s not gonna happen, Mykel. You have a wife. She looks nice than those women you slept with, by the way. I didn’t expect you to be interested in knowing your kid after you gave me twenty thousand dollars, which I haven’t used that money. I keep it for Jax. As you know, I don’t have anything to provide for him, but I did my best.”

“Then let me help you.” Even if she raised her voice, I remained calm. I had to earn her trust. She was the mother of my kid, after all.

“I don’t need your help. You should have done that a long time ago.”

“I know, Jade. That’s why I’m here, fixing my mistake. I know my words mean nothing to you, but I will do everything to prove to you that I’m not the man you met four years ago.” I drew a breath before I spoke again. “Look, since I married Adley, things have changed. I know you don’t believe me and probably won’t ever. But I’m still working on becoming a good husband and a good person. I know it will take time, but I’m doing my best. Please, I wanna help. I wanna get to know my son. I just wanna be in his life. You can’t take that away from him. He will eventually ask when he starts to understand and looks for his father.”

“Promise me you won’t take him away from me.”

“I would never take my kid away from his mother,” I reassured her.

“Does your wife know you’re here?”

I sat on the chair. My knees weakened to her question. “No.”

“Are you gonna tell her?”

“She knows.”

“Let me guess.” She occupied the seat to my right. “She wasn’t happy about it.”

“Boss, Miss Scout, we leave you two alone to talk.”Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

I nodded at them before I focused back on Jade. “I’m sorry for what I did. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what you’ve been through for the past years, and nothing I’m gonna do would make what I did right. But as the father of Jax, I want us to be friends.”

“This must be hard for her knowing you two don’t have kids yet.”

“Yeah. We only married for almost four months, but I’ve learned a lot of things. I’ve learned to forgive my father and welcome my half-brother into the family. I learned to love what I thought I was not capable of. All of that because I met Adley.”

“I know even if you were not in our lives, things would not work out between us. Maybe it’s a good thing. But you have to make things right between you and Adley before I introduce you to Jax and before you can come and see him again.”

“I understand. Thank you.” I nodded in understanding.

“You really change a lot. I watched you on tv and social media months ago, and it seemed that I’m seeing a different person right now.”

I smiled at her. “Yeah. Love teaches you to be the best version of yourself. So does your love for Jax.”

“He’s my everything, Mykel.” She didn’t have to say it out loud. I could see it in her eyes.

“How long have you been staying here?” I almost didn’t even manage to finish my question when someone was yelling outside.

When I looked at Jade, she said, “My neighbor when he’s fighting with his wife.”

“So it happened more often?”

“Yeah.” She seemed shy to reply.

“You’re leaving this apartment, Jade. It’s is not safe here.”

She stood up, offended as she glared at me. “Where? You can’t just come here and order me to leave my apartment.”

I stood before her. “I don’t wanna fight with you. In a court of law, if I ask for custody of my kid, they will be in favor of me. One, I have money. Two, I have a wife who can take care of Jax. Three, your neighbor is unsafe. The first thing they consider is the safety of the child. But I’m not that guy anymore. I told you earlier. And right now, I’m proving it to you. I’m gonna help you with everything I can, including giving my son a safe home.”

“Just don’t take him away from me.”