Feeling uneasy, Valerie turned her gaze away from Ethan. Even though Ethan was speaking with the boat riders, he couldn't concentrate. “Have you rowed on a boat before?” Valerie was smacked out of her thoughts by James's voice.Clearing her throat noisily, she replied. “No, I haven't.”“Really? Well, you're definitely going to enjoy your ride with me. You can also visit the orphanage anytime you feel like.” James smiled calmly.“Miss old-fashioned!” The tiny voice of Audrey called. She rushed to her, and held her pinky finger with two cones of ice cream that was already melting down.Valerie smiled warmly, and held her hand. “Audrey, did you really buy this for me?”“Yes, Miss old-fashioned. Where are you going? Don't you want to ride the boat with daddy and I?” She arched her eyebrows at her. Valerie gulped nervously. “Uhm… This uncle here is…. I already promised him that I'll ride the boat with him. Don't worry, you can ride with your daddy and Aunt Rebecca. I'll ride with Uncle Ja
Feeling uneasy, Valerie turned her gaze away from Ethan. Even though Ethan was speaking with the boat riders, he couldn't concentrate. “Have you rowed on a boat before?” Valerie was smacked out of her thoughts by James's voice.Clearing her throat noisily, she replied. “No, I haven't.”“Really? Well, you're definitely going to enjoy your ride with me. You can also visit the orphanage anytime you feel like.” James smiled calmly.“Miss old-fashioned!” The tiny voice of Audrey called. She rushed to her, and held her pinky finger with two cones of ice cream that was already melting down.Valerie smiled warmly, and held her hand. “Audrey, did you really buy this for me?”“Yes, Miss old-fashioned. Where are you going? Don't you want to ride the boat with daddy and I?” She arched her eyebrows at her. Valerie gulped nervously. “Uhm… This uncle here is…. I already promised him that I'll ride the boat with him. Don't worry, you can ride with your daddy and Aunt Rebecca. I'll ride with Uncle Ja
Rica's shrieking voice smacked Patricia out of her thoughts. She turned to her with her eyebrows arched. “What's with the screaming, Rica? How can you be so happy in this predicament of mine?”Taking a deep breath, Rica replied. “Oh my goodness! Your step-sister has really made it in life. I just searched for her fiancé on the internet and gosh!, You don't want to know what I found out”.Mentioning Valerie made Patricia almost throw up. The thought of her alone makes her want to puke. What more seeing her? She'd lose her breath for sure.“This is about Valerie?” Patricia inquired.“I'm just wondering how she got to meet such a hot catch. He's President Ethan of Davison's empire, and according to what I found out, his relationship status isn't revealed. I think he's an introvert.” Rica explained.Patricia mumbled. “Is he that popular?”“God! Girl, I'm literally dying to get a picture with him. He has been my idol for a long time. Who would have thought that your sister was his hidden g
At the Davison's villa, Valerie was waiting impatiently for the President to get back home. She couldn't stop staring at the receipt. All along, she had always wondered who could have paid for such an expensive dress just for her. The least person she had expected it to be was the President.Thoughts kept running through her mind. Why would he pay for her dress? Is he going to ask her to pay in bits? That would mean that she'd work for the Davison's for the rest of her life. Oh, God!! How would she face President Ethan after what happened on the boat tour? Reluctantly, she glanced at the wall clock. Her heart skipped a beat. It was getting late, and President Ethan could show up at any moment. She had already lost words… How would she tell him that she's grateful?Lost in thought, she didn't realize when she fell asleep on the couch. A few minutes later, the President walked into the mansion. His assistant took his suitcase and headed upstairs first. He walked to the sitting room, an
“Shhh…”Valerie placed her index finger in between her lips, and Audrey stared at her strangely. “Why is that, Miss old-fashioned? Isn't it nice to go on a date with Uncle Hat? He's nice, right?” Taking a deep breath, Valerie sat right beside her, and patted her shoulder, then said. “Audrey, you're still very little. You shouldn't be talking about stuff like that. Besides, Uncle Hat and I aren't going on a date. I'm only going to visit him, and to take a tour around the orphanage.”“Isn't that what it means to be on a date? My best friend Priscilla told me that when a man and woman go out together, then they're going on a date. They're one step away from marriage” Audrey pouted her mouth.Valerie couldn't hold in the laughter anymore. She burst into laughter on hearing what Audrey had said. Audrey glared at her, and folded her arms.“Miss old-fashioned, why are you making a mockery of me?” She cried.Holding her hand, Valerie smiled. “Of course not, my angel. I'll never make a mocke
“What?”President Ethan turned his gaze to Valerie. She turned her face away. Audrey covered her mouth with her palms on realizing what she had done.Little Audrey cleared her throat noisily, and laughed. “Uhm… daddy, that doesn't matter. I can go to the swimming class next week.”With a dissatisfied look, Ethan glared at Valerie. “I thought we had an agreement that you'll become a live-in nanny?”“Except on weekends, sir” Valerie replied, and he clenched his fist. He immediately regretted that he exempted the weekends.“You…” He paused. Taking a deep breath, he gulped hard. Was he being too clingy? He shouldn't make her realize he doesn't want her to go on a date with the stranger, right?“Whoever you want to go on a date with is none of my business, what's important to me is that I don't want any harm to be done to my daughter. Do you understand me?” He sternly asked.Valerie nodded her head. “Yes sir. You have nothing to worry about, I can't even bring myself to let any harm come t
“What?” Valerie almost dropped her cell phone.She was shocked, and never expected that her little Audrey would be wounded. “Where is she now, Sir? Is she okay?”Reluctantly, Ethan replied. “She's not doing okay. What… What do you expect when she falls from the stairs? Are you still going for your date or coming over here?”“I'll be there in no time, Sir. Please just hold on a second” Valerie hung the phone up, and turned to the chauffeur.“Is anything the matter, ma'am?” The confused chauffeur asked.Valerie shook her head with tears circulated in her eyes. “Yes. It's my little girl. She just got into an accident. Please, could you turn the car around? I need to go to her immediately.”Without hesitation, the chauffeur turned back and headed to Davison's villa. Rushing into the mansion, Valerie was holding her heels. Plenty of thoughts were running through her mind. Was Audrey okay? What exactly happened to Audrey? Is she in good shape?Valerie stormed into the sitting room, and sig
Valerie stirred the milk absentmindedly. She still couldn't bring herself to believe what just transpired between her and the President. In her entire existence, if anyone had told her that Ethan would do what he did, she would have disbelieved the person. She thought out loud.“That is really the height of it! What the hell does he take me for? I'm supposed to be out there having fun, oh, but hell no! Here I am even on my day off.”She was still talking to herself when she felt someone's presence, and shut her mouth. “You can't help but talk to yourself now, can't you?” Without sparing a glance, she knew who it was instantly. No one else but Anastasia. “I'm not in the mood for dilly-dallying, Anastasia. If I were you, I'd stay away from me.”Glaring hard at her, Anastasia laughed coldly. “What makes you think I'm afraid of you? Who do you think you are, Valerie? You just came into the mansion a few weeks ago, and you expect everyone to be afraid of you. Oh, you're a lousy joker, Va