Angrily she closed the door on his face. And she succeeded too. Almost...

But alas! He was quicker and stronger than her and before she could do anything he had opened the door wide and pasting a smile on his face he greeted, "Good morning, Ms Jones. You look in a bad mood and even though you pretty much look the same always but today your negativity is affecting my nephew too."

He looked at the toddler on her hips and pulled him in his arms, "Hey Sam, in a bad mood today?" he smiled at the little boy and to Lilly's surprise Sam didn't cry in this stranger's arms. Instead he buried his face in Ashton's chest and hugged him.

"You missed me? I miss you too, little one." Ashton smiled as he gently rubbed his back to ease his discomfort.

"Why are you here?" Lilly demanded.

"You called me."

"I didn't! I mean...I didn't ask you to come here."

Ignoring her protests he began, "Now that I am here how about we have a conversation? Because we really need one as I am sure you still haven't made up your mind about my offer. So I will help you to decide."

"What are you trying to say?" Lilly narrowed her eyes.

"Sam, your aunt has a really bad habit of keeping the guest standing at the door." he said as he brushed past her and entered the house.

"You need to freshen up. Go and change I will look after Sam till then." he said eyeing her from head to toe. It was then that she realised her clothes got muddied at some point and in her panicked state she hadn't even noticed.

But she didn't want to leave Sam alone with Ashton afraid that he will take him away.

"I am fine. Say whatever you want and leave."

"If you are scared that in your absence I will take Sam and leave then you don't need to worry about anything like that. If I had to do something like that then I would have done that long ago."

He was right, Lilly acknowledged.

"I am with Sam in the kitchen. You can take your time getting ready."

"I'll be there in 5 minutes." she said to his retreating back as she quickly turned around to lock the door so that just in case if he tried to run with her Sam he wouldn't succeed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

She had said she would take 5 minutes but it took her 9 good minutes to wash her face and change into something presentable before she brushed her hair with her fingers as she quickly descended the stairs.

As she entered the kitchen she noticed Sam who was a sipping on his milk and munching on a bread. He looked calm now. But the smile on her face disappeared when she saw the half empty cookie jar which she remember well enough was filled till yesterday. Ashton was leisurely eating the cookies as he scrolled the contents in his phone.

'Thief! Since Sam looks happy now I will forgive him for stealing our cookies.'

"Ms Lilly Jones," Ashton's voice caught her attention.

"Don't be shy come on in. It's your home after all."

"Yes, you are so kind to welcome me in my own kitchen." she faked a smile as she took her seat beside Sam and opposite to Ashton.

"Here, I think you need some coffee." Ashton slid a steaming hot coffee mug towards her.

"Thanks." she appreciated this kind gesture but still she couldn't get over the fact that he had monopolized her kitchen and ate her and Sam's favourite cookies.

"You are most welcome." he said as he relaxed into the chair and sipped his coffee.

She held the coffee mug between her hands as if trying to get some warmth from it which could help her to brace herself for what was to come next.

"I had given you 48 hours." he spoke all of a sudden.

"And I still have some hours left." she interrupted.

"And I can see clearly you still haven't made up your mind. So I thought instead of wasting more time I should help you to make the decision because if it's left to you, you will never be able to give me an answer."

She didn't say anything because he was right. He placed his empty cup on the table as he folded his arms in front of his chest.

"So Mrs. King came to meet you." he said and Lilly suddenly remembered the reason why she was so angry.

"Don't act like you don't know. She is your mother, of course you'd know."

"She is not my mother." he interrupted. "She is the second wife of my father. My mom died when I was five."

"I...I am sorry." This was a news to her. "But she came here repeating the same words as you that she will take my Sam away."

"We two are not the only ones fighting for his custody. She too wants Sam's custody and if she fought for him then her chances of winning are more than either of us individually."

"But why is she interested in Sam so much? Was Sebastian her child?"

Ashton took a deep breath and shifted a little as if trying to find a more comfortable posture to sit.

"Sebastian was my brother. When my mom gave birth to him she suffered from post partum depression and three months later she died. My father married his secretary who is now his second wife."

Lilly stared at him in silence. He looked as hard and cold as the ice block in Antarctica. His expression was aloof and the way he was putting the words one after the other was like he had done that a million times.

"His second wife, Elsie couldn't bear children and since Sebastian was a newborn, too young to remember his own mother she decided to raise him as her own. In that process she gave him everything whether he needed it or not. She gave him money more than he could ever spend. She hid his mistakes, never scolded him for his wrongdoings and never gave him any responsibility. In the end, he was surrounded by women, drugs and alcohol which eventually led him to his deathbed."

She tried to look beyond the cold shutter he had drawn in front of his eyes looking for a sign of lie or a hint of pain but there was nothing. He was expressionless.

"She loved him, I think. But her love for him turned into a poison and ended up killing my brother. Now she wants Sam. Maybe because he is Sebastian's son. I don't know if she has learnt from her mistakes or not but I don't want to see a second Sebastian. I want his son to be raised into a good human but if she got the custody then I am not sure that would ever happen. She will allow neither you nor me anywhere in Sam's life."

Lilly looked at him in utter horror. Whatever warmth she had gained from the coffee evaporated in thin air and now she was shivering. Not from the cold but from the possibility of this picture painted in front of her coming true. She looked at Sam sitting to her left busy with his cookie and a new toy which may be Ashton brought for him today.

She still remembered the meeting with Sebastian. The way he was surrounded by girls, the smell of alcohol reeking from him as he spoke.

'It wasn't entirely his fault that he had turned into an asshole.' Yes, she hated Sebastian but she couldn't deny the fact that a parent is responsible for how a kid turns out to be. His stepmom had done a terrible job and if she had got her hands on Sam she will raise another Sebastian, Lilly shivered at the thought.

'Or maybe someone even more self-destructive than sebastian.'

"No." she said shaking her head more to herself then to the person sitting in front of her.

"She will definitely do this if she won. But our chances of winning his custody will increase if we get married. In that case, she will not be able to stand against us and if you really want Sam to have a good future then - "

" I agree." Before she even realised the words were out of her mouth.