Once Upon Online

chapter 133

"Why do you look like that?" I ask her. I'm completely sitting up now.

"We have to get Dana to relinquish his parental rights" she breathes out.

"What? He has no rights" I say.

"In Canada, yes but to be able to adopt the kids here then we have to get him to sign his rights away."

"He hasn't been involved with the kids for years. Not one message or anything" I argue.  I really don't like the idea of contacting Dana again.

"Love" she pulls me back down, "Even if he hasn't been involved, they still need it. He doesn't have custody, but here he still has parental rights, meaning that I can't legally claim Ervin and Eva as my own because he is still the father. It doesn't matter if you weren't married or that his name isn't in the birth certificate. It's dumb, yes but we can't do anything about it. If I want to adopt the kids then it's something that I need to do. You don't have to see him or talk to him. I'll take care of everything" she says.

"What if he doesn't sign it?" I ask.

"Then we can fight that he hasn't been a father to them for years but this first step is necessary. The judge needs to see that we made an effort."

"I can't believe this. He can't take custody right?" I ask in a panic.

"No, he can't" Ryujin assures me.

A part of me don't want this adoption to happen now because I thought I'm done with Dana but I know how much this means to Ryujin. Also, once this is over then Dana really can't have a say anymore.

"So are you okay with this? I don't have to adopt them if dealing with Dana will be too much" she says.

"Ryujin, I hate him" I say.

"Then we won't do—" I cut her off.

"I hate him so much that I don't want him to have any rights in any country."

"I want you to adopt them. I want them to be legally yours" I add.

"Okay, love" she hugs me tight.

That night, I fall asleep in her arms with worries for the first time. I'm worried that Dana might do something stupid. He's unpredictable.

---

The next morning, I wake up without Ryujin by my side. I assume she picked up the kids from her parents but I was wrong when I find her in her office.

"What are you doing?" I kiss her cheek.

"Starting the paperwork and speaking with the lawyer" she answers.

I make my way to her lap and she stops what she's doing to hold my waist.

"Don't I get morning kisses?" I pout.

"Of course, what's wrong with me to forget such things" she chuckles so I lean down and we share a long passionate kiss.

"How did you sleep?" She ask.

"Alright, a bit worried about this whole thing. What if he ask to see the kids?" I sigh.

"You don't have to let him see them. That's not a requirement" she takes my hands and kisses them.

"Like I said, we don't have to do this. Whether I adopt them or not, it's not gonna change the fact that we're a family."

"I'm okay with it. We have you so I know you'll make sure that you're protecting us and that he can't hurt us" I smile at her.

"I just don't see him signing his right away."

"So what's gonna happen?" I ask.

"Well, my lawyer is gonna send the documents to the address of where you used to live with him and one to his parents' address then one to his workplace so they make sure we got everything covered. If he doesn't respond then we can move on but if he does then we will see what he says and act accordingly so we may not have to see or speak to him at all" Ryujin explains.