My breath hitched as Sebastian continued staring at me with his piercing gaze and the more my heart beat wildly against my ribcage. "You're seriously wasting my time.""Mommy?"Why does answering that simple question become so difficult?His gaze melted my defenses against men. I promised before that I wouldn't allow anyone to sway my heart, but this man… was able to move my heart like a tornado. Dammit. This should not happen at all. "Have you gone mute?" he asked with a hint of irritation. We were suddenly inviting a lot of people to watch, by stopping in the middle of the aisle. "No, no. It's just I'm thinking of something else.""Let me guess. Your bills and debt."I let out a nervous laugh. "E-Exactly, Mr. Holding. Those things kept on occupying my mind now. I never thought you could read minds.""It's written all over your face.""Yes, Mommy. It looked like you're going to pee your pants.""I don't look like that, love.""Yes, you did, Mommy.""Well, do you want to eat fir
POPPY:Did Sebastian Holding think of me as a flirt? Me? Flirting Wyatt? Why would I even do that?Fine. If he thinks that's what I was doing, let him think whatever he wants. Life was short for always thinking about his reaction. Whatever. “Where are we going?” Sebastian asked, looking bored.“I’m hungry, Mommy.”“We will eat in a minute, love.” To Sebastian, I answered, “Nothing fancy where you usually dine, Mr. Holding. But it is worth your time, I assure you. They offered a variety of foods and I am sure you will be able to choose anything, Mr. Holding.”His forehead knotted, and did not answer anymore. “I am good wherever you take me, Miss Poppy. I don’t mind.”“T-Thank you, Wyatt.”“Thank you, Mommy.”“It’s alright, love.”“Uncle Bastian. Uncle Wyatt. You know what? This is the first time Mommy will be bringing me to a restaurant.”As usual, it was Wyatt who always smiled at her. “Really, cupcake? Why is that?”“Mommy always said we are on a budget and it’s cheaper to eat in
POPPY:Wyatt pulled over in a luxurious hotel a couple of kilometers away from the mall. These were the kind of hotels which I only read about in the brochures and on the internet.If not for Sebastian Holding, I wouldn’t be able to come here and visit famous places like this.“It’s soooo tall, Mommy.”“Yes, love. Let’s behave, shall we?”“Yes, Mommy," she responded. The back seat door opened and I was about to grab her hand, but she opened the door next to her and grabbed Sebastian's hand instead. I slapped my forehead in disbelief. What the… Kelly and Sebastian were acting weird that day. "Miss Poppy?" I lifted my gaze and met Wyatt's smiling face. He looked handsome if he always smiled.Now is not the time to swoon at him, you woman. He was already waiting for me to step out of the car while Sebastian and Kelly were already on their way inside the hotel. "Are you two regulars here?""We always come here whenever we have the time, Miss Poppy.""How frequent is that?""Whenever
POPPY:Now, everything was becoming more awkward.Why could I not stop myself from blurting things out in my mind? I was always the cause of why the situation would always become awkward.“D-Don’t mind me, Mr. Holding. I’m saying nonsense words.” Oh, please. Let the ground swallow me now. “Please forget about what I said, Mr. Holding. Forget also about the autograph.”“Why is your face red, Mommy?” Kelly asked. “It’s because it is hot, love.” Using my hand, I fanned myself to make it more realistic. Wyatt softly chuckled beside me while Sebastian’s expression was unreadable. “It’s cold, Mommy. That’s why I am thankful I wore my jacket,” Kelly informed. You don’t have to be always honest, love. Someone’s phone suddenly rang. I sighed in relief when it was Sebastian's phone rang. Saved by the ringing of his phone.Not breaking eye contact and still treating me with the silent treatment, Sebastian picked up his phone on the table and answered it without reading who the caller was.
POPPY:I half-shrugged and poured another glass of water. My throat felt like it was aching and needed water to replenish my throat.Clearing my throat while wiping the corner of my mouth, I said, “Don’t get me wrong, Mr. Holding. Don’t think I am interested in your private life.” I am somewhat interested, but I won’t tell Sebastian that. “I am merely killing some time. The food is not yet served.”Are you really sure or are you interested in him?Why would I be interested in him? “What you are doing is invading my privacy. Asking questions that do not concern you is unnecessary. Stop this nonsense," he dismissed. “But you two kissed?” I pressed, not wanting to let go which I did not understand. Why would it matter to me why he said he did not feel that the kiss was ineffective?Did he not feel pleasure at all? I meant if I was a man, and my girlfriend was Olivia Green…only someone who did not see her would not desire her.“We had done more than that,” he responded nonchalantly. "It
POPPY:Nolan. Just hearing his name brought shivers to my spine. My body went cold despite the glaring sun above us. As if strength left me, my knees buckled. I think I'm gonna puke. My mind wandered and thought of the worst possible scenarios. Nolan won't stop now until he gets what he wants. Kelly and me. Was it time to hide Kelly from him? But where would we hide? I did not have the money to pay for the advanced payment. I still did not want to touch Sebastian's money. I jerked when Joey put his hands on my shoulders. "You okay, kid?" he asked. I was brought back to reality. “D-Did you two talk?” I asked instead, even if all I wanted to do right now was to run inside my house and protect Kelly from my ex-husband. Despite a couple of times telling him that Sebastian and I were in a relationship, he would not stop. I hugged myself, as fear started to chew me. Nolan. What would I do to him so that he would stop this? Joey shook my shoulders. “Kid?” I lifted my gaze and s
POPPY:Christy knew Kelly already found out about Nolan, yet no one had told me about it. I felt…betrayed. How did that woman leave me in the dark? I told her not to tell Kelly anything about Nolan without me telling my daughter first.Don't you think it's better this way? another part of my mind asked. "Are you mad, Mommy?" Kelly asked, her voice coated with concern. "I tried to tell you, but Auntie said you will only be mad at me. So I keep my mouth shut. Please don't be angry, Mommy. I promise there will be no secrets between us."Tears swarmed in her eyes and fear made her body tremble. I breathed a couple of times, to control my thoughts and before I could say something worse."I promise I won't if you tell me the truth from now on."Kelly nodded. "Pinky promise, Mommy. I won't lie again. That's bad." "Okay. When did you see Daddy?"“It was when you went to Uncle Bastian. I was with Auntie Christy.”That was roughly three days ago or was my memory correct? And the father and
POPPY:Do I really have to do this? Do I have to talk to Nolan and pretend that everything was well between us despite our past? Will I just pretend that once he wanted me to kill our daughter for his selfish reasons?I did not want to pretend that I liked him because until now, I was still mad at him! I would forever bring my hatred to my grave!A burning feeling in my chest continued to scatter.A low growl escaped from Joe’s throat. "Kid. Is this man bothering you again?" Joey asked, his voice coated with concern and anger. His face was still red. His knuckles turned white as he clenched his fist. Like him, I also wanted to hurt this man. Badly. Beat him to a pulp to appease my anger so that everything will be fine. So that I won't be anymore carrying this heavy burden in my heart.Do you want to hurt your ex-husband in front of your daughter? What would Kelly think of you? That her mother physically abused her father? That’s not something to be proud of as a mother, Poppy.The