Calista had no idea what had just happened, but she wasn’t going to follow him to seek answers. If anything, Kyle needed his space now more than ever.
She wondered what could have occurred between them but knew it wasn’t her place to butt in, especially if he didn’t wish to share.
Calista was worried, but Kyle had given her permission to do what was needed to get the necessary information from her.
“What was that?” Calista muttered under her breath, but the waitress brought her the bill.
In any other situation, the lady would have felt like she had been sucker-punched by this, but Calista had no problem paying.
She looked at the waitress, who had attempted to flirt with Kyle, and smirked.
“I guess you flirted with the wrong person,” Calista mocked, right before leaving without tipping.
Calista was rotten to the core in the end, to anyone she deemed below her. Stay connected with My Virtual Library Empire
She left the restaurant and felt good about it, but her actions could be justified because this waitress had attempted to flirt with Kyle.
Calista tried to speak to the number once again to find out what she knew.
The person was online but wasn’t responding.
Calista looked visibly distressed because she wasn’t aware of what was going on.
There was one thing everyone hated, and that was being left in the dark.
[[Are you there!? I just spoke to Kyle! If you don’t respond, I’m blocking you!]] Calista was desperate, but whatever she did clearly worked because she got a response.
[[Wait! Did you just say you spoke to Kyle!? Please, let us meet! I will explain everything to you.]] the message read.
This was the problem: Calista knew that if she tried to meet up with this person, it would be without Kyle’s knowledge, and she was aware of the repercussions if things went south.
She couldn’t reach out to Kyle for help, but Calista knew she had to take this step.
This could be her way of offering Kyle the help he didn’t know he needed.
Calista clenched her fist in frustration but made up her mind at that moment.
[[Alright, but it will be under my terms. You have to come alone, and if I sense any funny business, I’m leaving!]] Calista agreed to the meeting.
This was random because this person could be after her money, if anything. She didn’t believe the message at first and assumed it was a means to get close to her.
But there was something about the way Kyle reacted that confirmed this wasn’t a scam.
This person had him rattled, and Calista knew she would be putting herself at risk if she went alone. This was why the option of going with Lorenzo popped into her head.
Lorenzo was fairly intimidating. There was no other person she could think of in this situation.
She hoped that he would be available and called him right away.
The call lasted a little over five minutes to get Lorenzo on board. He was happy to help her out, regardless of today being their day off.
Calista appreciated this gesture because she knew she wouldn’t do the same for him.
In that sense, she was taking advantage of his kindness, but this was something she felt no remorse about.
If people were there to be taken advantage of, why shouldn’t she help herself to their service?
Next was the venue. Calista picked somewhere private yet public.
This way, she would be able to monitor anyone who entered or loitered around.
She knew the place had to be expensive as well to further create a barrier in terms of a third party accessing it.
Calista was about to take a step of no return that would ultimately shape the dynamic of her relationship with Kyle.
Kyle stormed out of the restaurant. He didn’t understand the feelings running through his body.
Kyle needed to breathe. He walked around the streets, but his vision was blurry.
He could barely see, but this was due to him having a panic attack.
Kyle knew he needed to ground himself, bumping into a few people on his way, but Kyle was able to compose himself before causing a scene.
“Breathe, Kyle. Breathe!” Kyle thought to himself.
All Kyle got were a few worrying glances, but that was about it. No one cared about him enough to break their daily routine.
This was the reality of the world—no one cared about a stranger until that stranger directly influenced them.
A person only cared about something if it affected them in one way or another.
“It cannot be true. Breathe…” Kyle said, and this was enough for his thoughts to settle.
Kyle had not spoken to his family in years but couldn’t recall why, despite his memories of them being fond ones.
He took out his phone and saw a message from Cassandra. She was clearly distressed because it was mixed in with missed calls.
Kyle was in no state right now to worry about someone else, but there was a message that caught his attention.
[[I lost custody of my son!]]
Kyle was told the date was a lot later, so how had she lost custody of her son if the custody battle wasn’t for a few more days?
“What the fuck is she talking about?” Kyle wondered if she did something that would forfeit her right to her son without needing a trial.
Everything he had done until now would have been in vain, and there would be nothing he could do if such a verdict was given.
“Fucking hell, Cassandra, what have you done?” Kyle thought to himself before taking out his phone and giving Priscilla a call.
He was distressed, and it was probably for the best that he wasn’t able to reach her in this state.
Kyle kissed his teeth and took a deep breath, realizing this was what he signed up for the moment he took her under his care.
Kyle was able to reach her lawyer, Jessica, but she didn’t reveal the details of what had happened.
Kyle didn’t want to call Cassandra because he knew that the emotionality of the situation would force him to pay her a visit.
However, it was looking like he didn’t have a choice, but his phone rang—it was Priscilla.
She had called him back, and Kyle briefed her on the strange message from Cassandra.
However, Priscilla sounded as clueless as he was because the judge hadn’t made any moves.
[[Are you sure you have all the information down?]] Priscilla questioned, but Kyle wasn’t going to push himself any further than he needed to.
“No, but it looks like I’ll have to go see her to find out exactly what happened,” Kyle responded, but it felt strange.
[[No. You cannot go. Now isn’t the time for that, I’m afraid. We need to find out exactly what is going on before we can do anything about it,]] Priscilla warned.
“Can you handle it?” Kyle requested, and this surprised the lady at the other end because Kyle was so invested in her and the case.
However, she didn’t care enough to ask about his reasons because this granted her more freedom to do her job.
“Alright,” she said before the conversation came to an end, but almost immediately after the call ended, another one came through.
It was Cassandra. Kyle took a deep breath before answering the phone.
[[Hello?]] Cassandra’s voice sounded shaky, and Kyle knew she had just finished crying.
He pretended not to know what was going on; otherwise, it would make the situation worse, as she would think he was ignoring her—which he was, but he couldn’t let her know for obvious reasons.
“Is something wrong? Talk to me,” Kyle asked, and this was when Cassandra bawled her eyes out.
[[Justin has taken my son.]] Cassandra cried out, but Kyle was confused by what she meant by this.
The boy might be in her custody, but unless the court said otherwise, she couldn’t keep him away from his father.
“What do you mean he has been taken?” Kyle asked, with a confused frown across his brow.
[[I can’t find him anywhere. The teachers said he was picked up from daycare by his father! This has never happened before, and I cannot reach anyone!]] Cassandra was hysterical.
“What the fuck?” Kyle thought to himself, confused as to how this was a problem.
It wasn’t like Justin would kidnap his son days before a trial that he was guaranteed to win.
It didn’t work that way, and Kyle was aware that this might be her reading too much into things.
“What did Jessica say?” Kyle asked, but all he heard was Cassandra sobbing uncontrollably.
“Take a deep breath, Cassandra. I need you to be brave for me,” Kyle’s voice was soft, and this allowed Cassandra to compose herself.
[[I-I’m sorry, but Jessica told me it isn’t looking good and that Justin will win full custody if I don’t agree on shared custody.]] Cassandra complained.
She didn’t mind sharing custody, in all honesty, but it was 70/30, meaning that Justin would get the majority.