Trading My Ex for His Uncle



The familiar scent of pine momentarily caught Nyla off guard. It wasn't until the crowd cleared that Damon let go of her.

“Are you okay?” His cool, deep voice came from above her.

Nyla pressed her lips together and replied softly, "I'm fine."

"Good to hear," Damon said.

“Daddy, can you and Mommy ride the carousel with me?" Mason looked up at Damon, completely unbothered by what had just happened and unawar Damon thought the carousel was childish, something only kids and women would enjoy. Just as he was about to decline, Mason grabbed his leg, looki Caught in Mason's hopeful gaze, Damon found himself relenting. "Alright, let's do it."—ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

They lined up at the carousel. Just as they were about to get on, Nyla's phone suddenly rang.

When she saw it was Oliver, she looked up at Damon. "I need to take this call. If we get to the front of the Tine, just take Buddy on the ride."

Damon, towering over Nyla, caught a glimpse of the name flashing on her screen when she pulled out her phone.

Ever since he learned the truth from Richard, his feelings toward Nyla had become complicated. They were different from his previous aversion- they were something more nuanced.

He knew Oliver was Nyla's boyfriend and felt he should just agree now, yet it made him uncomfortable.

After a moment of silence, he pushed his swirling emotions down and replied, "Sure, but if you can, hurry back. Buddy wants to ride the carousel with both of us, after all."

He intentionally emphasized the word "us".

Nyla nodded. "Okay."

Stepping aside, she answered the call.

"Oliver, what's up?" she asked.

Oliver's gentle voice came through the line. "Nyla, what are you up to? Do you want to bring Buddy out for lunch? I haven't seen him in a while." Nyla tightened her grip on her phone and replied quietly, "Today might not be good. We're out right now."

"Do you have plans?" Oliver asked.

"Uh, it's not a good time to talk. I'll get in touch when I'm back," Nyla said.

"Alright," Oliver replied.

After hanging up, Nyla let out a quiet sigh of relief. For some reason, she didn't want Oliver to know she was at the amusement park with Damon and Mason.

Oliver claimed he wouldn't mind her past with Damon, but she was living

under the same roof with Damon now. Oliver might misunderstand if he found out about today, so it was better to keep it to herself.

When she returned to the line, they were just about to ride.

Noticing Nyla's pale complexion, Damon frowned and asked, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Nyla shook her head. "I'm fine."

Damon's gaze darkened slightly, but he didn't press further. After all, Oliver was Nyla's boyfriend now, while he was just the father of her child.

As they continued to play with Mason, Nyla felt a bit distracted.

Mason was too engrossed in having fun to notice anything was off, but Damon certainly did.

After spending the whole day at the amusement park, Mason was still buzzing with excitement as they prepared to leave.

"Mommy, Daddy, can we come back next time?" he asked.

Nyla looked down at Mason and felt a fleeting disappointment when she noticed his eyes glancing at Damon. Although she knew Mason was worried Damon might say no, seeing him cling to Damon so

much made her heart ache a little.