The ringing of the alarm clock jolted Amelia from her sleep, as she quickly reached for it to turn it off, not wanting it to disturb her toddler. Groaning with the need to get back to her peaceful slumber, she pulled the covers over her head, hoping to catch a few more minutes of sleep before rising up to begin her day, but her attempts were futile, as her busy mind was already awake.
Her eyes popped open and were greeted by the dull light streaming from the windows as it was the early hours of the morning. She stayed in bed for a short moment before rising to her feet to begin her day. Her first destination was the kitchen to get her usual dose of morning coffee. She’d never been a morning person, nor did she like drinking coffee. But as a mom, with a job and a daughter to prepare for school, the caffeine helped her get through her mornings without the constant feeling of laziness that always threatens to drag her back to her comfortable bed.
While she brewed coffee from the coffee maker, she began making plans for breakfast, and as soon as her coffee was ready, she took a large gulp from it, before setting the cup on the kitchen island and continuing with her chores. A while later, with breakfast ready, she trudged to her toddler's room to see the beautiful girl still lost in her sleep, with soft snores escaping from her pouty lips. The sight was one that always had Amelia smiling whenever she came to wake her up for school every morning.
Five years ago, she’d made the tough decision to be a single mom, to bring the child Ryan had left her with into the world and care for it all by herself without help from the billionaire that was responsible for her pregnancy. While it had been a very tough start for her as a struggling young woman, it was the best decision she’d ever made. She was able to focus on creating a better life for herself, with this child as her motivation because she couldn’t bring an innocent child into the world to suffer. Luckily for her, a few months after discovering her pregnancy, she’d found a job as an Accountant in a growing finance company. Due to her hard work and diligence, she was promoted after two years of working with them to a Financial Analyst position. That was how her entire life had changed for the better, with her beautiful baby by her side.
Amelia didn’t know what would have become of her without the little girl in her life. Yes, things had been tough at the beginning but the child was the light in her world, as she wiped all of her tears away with just her existence.
Still smiling, Amelia stepped towards her bed and sat on it, gently caressing her soft brown hair. The toddler murmured a few incoherent words, a genuine smile breaking out on her face.
“Wake up, honey,” Amelia murmured softly in her ear, while still caressing her hair.
A sigh escaped the toddler’s lips, as she stretched her small limbs on the bed, her eyes slowly opening to see her mom beside her.
“It’s Monday. Don’t you want to see your friends at school?” Amelia asked, gently pulling her from the bed, and carrying her, with her arms wrapped protectively around her.
“Mom…” the toddler murmured in a sleepy haze with her head resting on Amelia’s shoulder, as Amelia walked into the bathroom, preparing a bath for her.
A while later, Amelia and her daughter were ready to leave the house, after having their breakfast.
“Come on, Dora, get your backpack let’s leave. We don’t want to be late,” she urged the toddler, who in turn ran towards her room, her little boots slamming against the marbled floor. Dora returned with her pink bag slung over her shoulders, resting on her back, but Amelia noticed she had food particles around her mouth. Crouching to her level, she got a paper towel and began wiping her mouth when Dora suddenly voiced out the same question she’d been asking all week_one that Amelia dreaded.
“Mommy, where’s my daddy?” she asked innocently, her big doe eyes staring into Amelia’s eyes like she expected an instant answer. Amelia’s hand that had been cleaning her mouth paused, her mouth parting to give an answer but nothing came out. “All of my friends in school have dads and they come to pick them up from school. Don’t I have a dad?”
Her innocent words struck Amelia’s heart like she’d been stabbed with a sharp knife.
“Oh, baby…” she pulled the child close, hugging her softly and gently patting her head while trying not to destroy her hair that had been styled into two pigtails. “Your daddy is away for work and he’ll be back soon, I promise you,” she spoke in a soft tone, pulling away from the child and holding her shoulders while looking into her eyes.
“When will he be back?” Dora demanded, her lips pausing into a pout.
“In a few weeks, darling,” she leaned down and kissed her cheek, hoping that answered her questions.
Luckily for her, Dora didn’t question her on the issue again, as they left the house for her school. After dropping her off, she headed toward her place of work. Throughout her drive there, her conversation with the child kept ringing in her head. It wasn’t the first time Dora was questioning her about her dad. She couldn’t even count the number of times she’d had to lie to the toddler regarding the whereabouts of her father.
Dora was too young to understand the predicaments regarding her birth, and she wasn’t about to even inform her child of the existence of her father. It was bad enough that she was Ryan’s spilling image with her gray eyes that reminded her so much of the cold-hearted billionaire. Yet, she couldn’t hate her little girl for that because she was a lovely and innocent child.
For the past five years, she’d stayed away from the opposite gender, not wanting to introduce a new man to her child without knowing how far the relationship would go. And again, she wasn’t ready to start all over with another man. Her heart just couldn’t take another heartbreak. Hence, she’d gotten used to chasing off men, using her daughter as an excuse. Except there was this one man at her place of work, James Halliday, who wouldn’t let her be. For the past year, he’d kept making advances at her even when it was clear she wasn’t going to give him a chance. He was simply unperturbed by her continuous rejections. Even her usual excuse of not wanting to invite a stranger into her daughter’s life didn’t work on him.
Maybe it was time to finally give James a chance? Amelia thought to herself. Honestly, she was running out of excuses to tell Dora concerning her father’s whereabouts. Maybe if she found a good man to love her and treat Dora as his own, she could finally be at peace and make her child happy. These thoughts roamed her mind until she arrived at work.
The morning had gone well for Amelia as she’d quickly discarded her earlier thoughts from her mind to focus on work. She was still in her office, tidying up some important work when a knock sounded on her door.
“Come in,” she called out without raising her head from her computer screen, as the door opened, and closed, announcing the presence of her visitor.
“You’re planning to work through lunch as usual, aren’t you?” the familiar deep voice asked, in an amused tone.
Smiling, Amelia raised her head to see James leaning against her oak desk, his perfectly shaped brows corked in question, with his lips curved in a smile.
“I can’t help it when I have a load of work to attend to,” she shrugged.
“Well, you’ll have to take a break today and let me take you to lunch,”
Amelia’s heart skipped at his words. It wasn’t the first time he was offering to take her out for lunch but in the past, she’d blatantly refused. But now, the decision she’d made in the morning hovered in her mind, gently nagging at her, as she stared at him, trying to give her response.
Truly, James was a handsome man and was well-mannered and very nice. She’d see the way most of her female colleagues openly ogled and admired him but he’s never given them the attention they craved, but always showered her with it, regardless of how mean she’d been to him in the past.
“Umm… you don’t have to say yes, Amelia. I understand but please let me get lunch for you. I wouldn’t feel good, knowing you’re working while hungry,” his words cut through her thoughts.
“I’ll go with you,” she blurted out.
Her words surprised him and for a moment, he just stared at her before a smile spread across his face, lighting his handsome features.
“I’m officially making today my Christmas,” he announced, straightening his stance.
Amelia chuckled, shutting down her computer and rising to her feet.
“Shall we, my lady?” he winked at her, opening the door for her. With a smile on her face and her pause in hand, she strutted out of the office, with James beside her.
When Amelia had accepted to get lunch with James, she’d expected them to merely take a walk to the restaurant a few blocks away from their office building but James had shocked her by walking her to his car.“Aren’t we going for lunch?” she questioned with a furrow in her brows.“Yes, we are, but in a better place where they make heavenly meals,” he winked at her before opening the door to the passenger side of the car for her. Amelia got in, wondering where he could be taking her before he jogged around and got behind the driver’s seat, pulling out of the parking lot.They drove in comfortable silence for about ten minutes before they came to a stop at a five-star restaurant.“James…” she glanced at her, half-smiling.He only responded with a smile, winking at her.“I don’t know when you’ll give me this chance again, so let me enjoy it, will you?”“Very well then, dazzle me,”“I plan to, my lady,”Getting out of the car, he walked round to get her door for her but she was already out
Amelia couldn’t remember a time in her life that she’d ever felt so positive and at peace with herself, and the direction her life was taking. These new feelings of inner happiness and glow had her feeling like she was living every day of her life on cloud nine, with no worries of the future constantly nagging at her. Choosing to have James in her life was truly the best decision she’s made in a while. As usual, it was a Friday afternoon and they’d closed early from work, as was the norm. James had driven home with Amelia, intending to spend the rest of the day with her and Dora. While Dora was still in school, they decided to have some quiet time to themselves before the toddler arrived. “What do you wanna do?” James asked, wrapping his arms around Amelia’s waist, and gently pulling her against him. They’d just stepped into her home. “You have something in mind?” she questioned, glancing up at him, but he reached for a stray strand of her luscious brown hair and tucked it behind he
Amelia’s initial shock and horror wore off the moment the man standing in front of her spoke. “Hello, Princess,” he smirked. But his words only ignited the fury that had been brewing in her, her face turning a darker shade with her heart thudding loudly. “Babe, we have to leave early…” James popped out from behind Amelia, his words dying on his lips when his eyes landed on Dora and the strange man holding her. Before Amelia could quickly rectify the situation, Dora’s eyes lit up the moment she saw James. “This is my dad. He’s back,” the toddler innocently informed James in a cheerful voice. Amelia saw the sudden change in Ryan’s facial expression, an amusing glint flashing in his eyes as they raked over James, before returning to rest on her. For some reason, she could read the mockery in his look and that only infuriated her more. Apart from having the nerves to show up at her apartment like they were old friends, he had the guts to show himself to a child he had no claims to, e
The next morning was a Saturday and Amelia’s plans of sleeping in were destroyed by the loud ringing of the doorbell. She tried ignoring the visitor but they only kept disrupting her sleep by continuously ringing the bell. Annoyed by whoever it was, she marched out of her room towards the living room with a deep scowl etched on her face. But her anger only increased when she threw the door open to see Ryan standing there, impeccably dressed in a suit even at that ungodly hour of the morning. A hiss of annoyance slipped out of her lips. Coupled with the sudden rage that descended upon her at his sight, she resorted to slamming the door against him but Ryan was quick to grab onto it, successfully wielding his arm between the door and its frame while forcefully shoving it open, despite Amelia’s hold on it.She was so shocked by his sudden intrusion that she stood still, staring at her with wide eyes and an open mouth.“Good morning, Princess,” he said in a voice too cheerful for Amelia’
Amelia stirred the eggs in the pan while often glancing at Ryan and Dora, seated at the kitchen island, both playing a game on Ryan’s phone. As much as she was livid at the man, the sight of her daughter so relaxed and happy in his arms had her heart-melting. Quickly, she returned her attention to the eggs, needing to prepare breakfast quickly so she could leave for work. She was still busy cooking when she felt the heat of his body beside hers.“You need a hand?”Amelia rolled her eyes at his act of kindness.“Whatever you’re up to will not change anything, Ryan. At the end of the day, you’ll walk out of our lives and get back to whatever you’ve been doing for the last five years,”“I don't ever want to go back there,” he murmured quietly, staring at her with remorse in his eyes. Amelia was quiet for a while, staring into his usually dark brooding eyes that now held a vulnerable expression, and for a moment, she forgot how much he’d hurt her and wondered what must have happened to
The weekend was finally over and it was the beginning of a new week. Amelia couldn’t be more thankful to begin another week, after all of the drama that Ryan’s return had caused. She could still vividly recall the look of betrayal in James’ face the moment Ryan spewed those lies from his mouth about them getting back together. That morning, they’d driven to work in silence with James ignoring her for the rest of the day. All her attempts to speak to him were in vain and she’d given up. But luckily for her, he called her that evening, demanding to know the truth and she’d vehemently denied Ryan’s word, filling him in on everything the man had said before his arrival, but not daring to mention the marriage certificate.She knew she’d lose James if he ever found out about it, and you may call her selfish, but he was the only light in her world apart from Dora and she wasn’t about to let Ryan Davidson steal that from her. Ryan could go to hell for all she cared, and he’d have to kill her
Amelia and James had successfully settled their differences, putting the weekend issue behind them. That afternoon, they had lunch together as usual and spent the rest of the day in harmony. After closing from work, James had offered to drive her home when he found out she didn't drive her car.“Why did you drive?” he asked Amelia, on their way to Dora’s school. Not that he didn't like being her chauffeur but he was just concerned.“It's a bit faulty. I had to board an Uber to drop Dora off at school and to get here,”She quickly lied, not wanting James to know the truth. Honestly, she hated lying to him but it was the woman Ryan Davidson had made her. As much as she hated it, she couldn't tell James that Ryan dropped her off_not after settling their misunderstanding. She couldn’t stand another week of him ignoring her.A comfortable silence descended upon them for the rest of the drive until they arrived at Dora’s school. As soon as the little girl sighted them, she ran towards them
Amelia stared at her reflection in the mirror, smiling to herself before doing a little twirl. Dressed in a navy bodycon dress that was knee length and her usually pin-straight brown hair falling to her shoulders in glossy waves, she was ready for her date with James.It was a Friday evening and James had mentioned taking her on a date just to enjoy the evening after having a hectic week at work. Amelia was excited to be spending some alone time with James. She couldn’t remember a time she’d ever gone out with him without having Dora as a company. Although her daughter wouldn’t be pleased with the arrangement, she had no doubt that James would find a means to pacify her. And just like she’d expected, the man arrived a few minutes later, with flowers in his hands and chocolate for the little girl.“Hello, little lady,” James greeted Dora, leaning to her level and handing her the banquet of roses and a box of chocolate.“You spoil her so much,” Amelia tried complaining but she couldn't