POPPY:From the look on his face, he was silently telling me not to tell his father about it. I did not get how he wanted to keep it to ourselves since having a baby was the only requirement left. I wanted to believe that it had something to do with his feelings, but if I expected more than that, I was scared that I would only be hurt in the end.“Anyone who wanted to answer me?” Arnold asked as his gaze kept on switching sides between me and Sebastian. “Poppy?”“Dad. I believe it’s my husband who has the right to tell you about it.”“Why is that?” he asked as his brows formed a straight line. “Son. Is there anything you want to say? Am I expecting a grandchild soon? A simple yes or no would suffice.”Yeah. A grandchild who would be the next heir of the Holdings. The child that Olivia and Sebastian badly wanted. And during that time, I would be kicked out of the equations. I would be tossed aside like a piece of rag. Together with my daughter.Oh, God.Why did I bring my daughter in
POPPY:Do you know what's the most painful thing? It's the fact that Sebastian was not doing anything just to stop me as I grabbed my things and Kelly. He just stood there leaning on the door, like a robot watching me pack my things. And he claimed he loved me?Bullshit!Damn it!Why did I believe in his lies, anyway? He never loved me from the start. He was only forced to. And now that he had a child with his own seed, he can do anything he wants like tossing me aside. From all the packing down to grabbing Kelly, I was glad I never shed a single tear. If I did, it would be embarrassing on my part."Honey…" Sebastian started as I went out of our room while grabbing Kelly and my bag in both hands. "We only arrived. Kelly and your body are tired from the trip. Please think of the child.""You cannot stop me from doing this, Sebastian," I exclaimed while hardening my heart in the process. I forced myself to make my expression blank and cold as it was so that he would see that I was al
85POPPY:Realization dawned on me.Mother was right.I was punishing Sebastian for his past which he did not do when we were together. He impregnated Olivia before we met, and he did not even know me by then.Tears swam in my eyes.Stupid. I was stupid.Now, I realize what I just did. “Mom. Is it okay if I return to the city? I have to apologize to my husband.”Mother smiled and brushed my cheeks using her fingertips. “Why does it feel as if it will be a long time before you will be back again, Poppy?”“I’m so sorry, Mom. Now that you have accepted us again, I will always visit you and Dad.”I inhaled deeply as the pain slowly lifted.I could not wait to go back to the mansion and talk to Sebastian.“I’m going to miss you, too.”“I will always call, Mom. I will just wait for Kelly, and I will tell her of my plans.”“She will be happy. She always asks about her daddy. Your second husband, I mean.”“She was completely smitten by him.”“The child knows a real man who will make you happ
POPPY:[One message received.]My phone beeped and lighted and thinking it was something urgent, I wiped my hands at the back of my shirt and hurriedly grabbed my phone from the kitchen table, temporarily leaving the unchopped vegetables.I was in a hurry to cook Kelly's heavy snacks, my five-year-old daughter was in kindergarten school. I forgot to prepare when I woke up late since I was finishing some freelancing gigs. “It’s okay, Mommy. I can just ask for my best friend,” I remembered her saying. Despite being a single mom, it was still a wonder how I was given a mature and sweet little child. Another notification popped up. Brows furrowed, I checked my phone.[I finally located you, Poppyseed. I know you are with our child right now. I'm coming there to get you.][I will fix my mess. I am sorry.][I still love you.]The smile vanished from my eyes after reading the message. The color drained from my face. Only one person called me Poppyseed. Nolan Woods. My ex-husband who did
POPPY:The stranger was wearing an expensive suit and dark sunglasses which perfectly molded and fitted his chiseled jaw. His expensive perfume slapped my nostrils and screamed rich even though I could not afford to buy it. A god. What else would visit me like this? He had a sharply pointed nose. His jawline could cut paper because of its sharpness. His raven eyes were watching me with intense glares."W-Who are you?" I managed to ask when I was brought back to the present.Hmm. The more I stared at him, the more the voice inside me told me he was familiar.Who was this man?I was certain this man was not a Hollywood actor. I could enumerate all of them and know them like the back of my hand. Stupid, Poppy. How dare you swoon over someone like him? You have more important things to cater and swooning over this man was not part of it, okay?You made a promise to never like another man again after your divorce from Nolan. For you, men were all the same, all after women's v-card. The
POPPY:Oh, god. Boyfriend? Fucking boyfriend? Soon-to-be husband?Seriously, Poppy? That was the best thing you could come up with?Why not? My dear ex-husband seemed to believe in my words. Now. If only Sebastian Holding would be kind and go with the flow. That would be much appreciated."Poppy, that is only a lie, right? I understand I am a jerk for saying everything I said five years ago. But I already regretted it. Please tell me the truth that this man is not your boyfriend. That you two are not going to marry each other. I had been looking for you for quite some time and now that I found you, I promise I won’t be wasting this opportunity again."Nolan’s eyes were pleading with me.Since when did he learn how to beg? Back when he was my husband, he was always cold and rarely showed his feelings. It was always me who was always telling him that I love him. That he meant a lot to me. But now.Was this really the Nolan I knew before? "It's... it's true! Bastian is my new boyf
POPPY: I hated Sebastian’s guts. He reminded me of people who looked down on me because I was raising my daughter alone in this world. He reminded me of those assholes who pointed their dirty fingers at me while saying I will not succeed in raising my poor child alone. “I am waiting, woman. I’ll be giving you a minute to think. After that, you will never waste my time anymore.” He looked at his expensive watch where I could only see at an online store which billionaire’s could only afford.It was not definitely designed to brag. I crossed my legs.“You are desperate, Mr. Holding. You barely even know me.”“Poppy Brooks. You are twenty-nine years old. You are living with your five-year-old daughter named Kelly Brooks in this rented house. Your neighborhood is protective of you and would willingly kill anyone who dared to harm you or your daughter. Your ex-husband was Nolan Wood. You lost contact with your family.”Fuck.That was comprehensive information about me. It was amazing ho
POPPY:As I continued staring at Sebastian Holding, something was telling me he did not even love Olivia Green. Whenever he spoke of her, there was no warmth or any feelings in his eyes. It remained unchanged. Distant. Cold. Menacing.I felt sorry for that woman. It was plain that he was using her for whatever reason he had. Sometimes, rich people would agree to contract marriage for the benefit of both families. I wondered if Miss Olivia Green loved this man? That’s no longer your concern. Whether they both loved each other or not, you are out of that, Poppy. You need money more than this man. And you will get it. As long as Mr. Holding would willingly pay me, everything was good. I did not care whether he truly loved Miss Olivia or not.I would always be after the money he would pay in my bank account. Imagine the bills I could pay and the investment I could have with that amount. "I want to be honest with you, Mr. Holding. I am only after your money."He was not at least offend