Chapter 1

Sofia's POV

The Surprise 

The first time I met my Edward Chase, I concluded I had found the man of my dreams.

It was as they put them in magazines, trying to capture every woman's fantasy. Edward is winsome, charming, and he has the uncanny ability to correctly guess what one is thinking at a particular time. 

So when he correctly conjectured what I was having for dinner one night at a lowdown restaurant called Devs, I got captured. We had dinner together. Laughed together. Talked about ourselves like we were the only ones who mattered at that moment. Until it was time to go. Again cane his charm. I ended up sleeping at his place. He didn't hesitate when the influence of his libido came upon him, and I was too enraptured to care that I was going to have a one night stand.

However, it was never a one night stand.

*********

"Can you imagine this? Delayed for six good hours. If I got to donate blood for my sister in the hospital, then I'll be meeting her corpse in the mortuary," complains a woman on my right as we trudge towards the aircraft's gangway. My luggage Is simple; just a shuttle bag, so I don't have to stay and listen to her bickering. She isn't the only one delayed anyway.

"Good thing you don't have a sick person who needs your blood urgently," someone else comments.

"You know, it amazes me that a medical practitioner would think to call someone from Australia to come donate blood to a patient in New York city without considering the risks involved."

"Oh yeah? What kind of risks?" asks the woman who started the conversation. 

"Well for starters, you just experienced one. A delayed flight. Second, what if there's a plane crash? Then we got two bodies instead of one."

"Watch your mouth, young man."

The familiar air of New York fills my nostrils. But it is mostly corrupted with the smells of engines, tyres, and hydraulic oil. I walk across the runway and inside the Newark International Airport. I clear out my luggage and pass through inspection by the officers. Before I know it, I'm standing in the waiting area, eyes scanning everywhere, hoping I had told Edward of my arrival so that he'd be here waiting for me.

No such luck of seeing his winsome face here.

I picked a magazine off a sturdy rack as a souvenir. Walk outside and hail down a cab.

"Hi. Can you take me to Belleville?" I ask the capped cabbie. 

"Sure, miss. First time in New York city?" 

"Oh, no. Definitely not my first," I say, and get into the cab. 

I have been gone for six months. In Australia. For some aboriginal study. Cavemen and what have you. It was some charming experience, and at one time, eerie. After meeting some old lady at a river who tells me to make three wishes that may or may not come true, I wonder what else life has in store for me.

"So you say you're not new to New York city, right?" demands the driver for the second time.

"No. I literally grew up here."

"Means you were born here?"

"Means I was."

He nods, like this is the answer he's been expecting. "Nice."

"Well, I'm from somewhere else."

"Where is that?"

"Illinois. In Chicago. Grew up in Little Italy. Where the mafia bosses terrorized those neighborhoods. That's where they get those crazy and scary nicknames from. Some called themselves The Prince. Scorpion, The Twister.."

I really am not enjoying this piece of information but it seems to be his life's story so I don't bother cutting him off. Let him talk. 

".. Until I found someone who was willing to run away from that godforsaken place. Her name was Lily. She was older than I was then. Fourteen, and I was thirteen. Young, huh?" 

I smile when we locked eyes in the rear view mirror.

He goes on. "Me and Lily came here. Just the two of us. No mother or father or siblings. Sights on New York to start a new life."

"And where is Lily now?" I ask. 

The driver bends and waves at another man in a car. "Oh, Lily?" he says, and snorts. "Just because I thought we were going to really start a new life afresh didn't mean it actually came through, you know. What's that slang for it again? Shit hit the fan?"

"What happened to your coalition?" I ask. 

"Well, I've been telling you about Lily, mentioning her name even and I haven't told you mine yet. Call me Charlie," he does a sharp salute. "New York happened to Lily, that's what. And since you literally grew up here, I'm guessing you hade an idea of what I'm talking about."

I shake my head. "There are a lot of things that could happen to someone, Charlie. And I cannot tell if you mean it in a positive or negative way."

"What do you think?" says Charlie, and it takes me a moment to realize it's rhetorical. "NYC got too interesting for her. She went off to the wild. Left me on the outskirts to fend for myself. Well, I survived. Dunno what's become of her till now. One thing I learned, was to never trust someone who offers you salvation but he or she in the same situation as you are."

"Strong words there, Charlie."

"Innit?" 

"Just cause it happened to you bad doesn't mean it's applicable to the rest of us."

"Well, I've seen things, miss. That's why I say it this way. Wouldn't have it any other way even if you tried to convince me."

"I didn't think I would try to convince you, Charlie," I admit. 

"Lived in Belleville all your life?" 

"No," I say. "I just have an apartment there."

"Boyfriend, right?" 

"Yes."

"Loyal to you."

"Definitely, yes."

"Just hope you're right, miss. Hate to see New York City happen to you as well."

***********

I tell the cab driver to stop a street away. Just to play catch up. Six months has been a long time to be away from one's home after all.

"How often do you come to New Jersey, Charlie?" I ask, after paying him. 

"Not so much," he says. "I like playing dutiful at Newark instead." 

"It's not really dutiful when you know it's your profession, Charlie, and I cannot blame you for that. I just might need someone to go around now."

"Why? Abroad changed you that much, huh?" 

I smile wanly. "Will you do it or not?" 

He says nothing in response but finds a pen and scrawls something on it. Then he tears it off and hands the piece of paper to me. "Here, you'll need my number. 

"Thank you," I say, and ply the sidewalk. I really don't like to believe things people say when it comes to relationships, but I just want to test this latest one out. 

I know that Edward can be trusted. He's shown me so much love while we were together. I don't see him being the playboy. 

But six months.. 

Too long?

I take out my phone and call my best friend's line. It rings and goes ahead to voicemail.

Hello, this is Timothy Cross. If I'm the right person on your call log, leave a message. If this name sounds strange to you, cross me out of your log.

Nice message. I wonder how long it took him to coin this one out.

The walk to my apartment takes me five minutes. There hasn't been much changes to the condo's outside. To begin with, there wasn't need for any even when I left. I'm heading up the stairs to the third floor when I met Constance coming down with a baby at her back.

"Look who's here," she says brightly and gives me a warm hug. The baby's round eyes stares at me in what I can only guess is curiosity. "Just got back today?"

"Yep," I say.

"Where was it?"

"Australia."

"Did you know that I only heard about you're departure from Edward. You never said a word about it."

I put up a sorry face. "Oh, I'm so sorry. You have to believe me when I say it was rushed. Like I was ambushed or something."

Constance nods like she understands. "It's alright. He said it was important for you to go, so yeah."

"Is this your kid?"

Constance beams, like it's the question she's been waiting for. "Yes. Sofia, meet Zoe."

The last time I saw Constance, the baby bump wasn't too prominent. And now, she's even delivered. "She's beautiful. Like her mother."

"You're too nice, thank you. Uhm, I'm running a bit late on schedule. Have to take Zoe to the hospital."

"Is she alright?" 

Constance nods. "Yes, of course. Just post natal stuff. We'll catch up later, okay?" 

"Okay."

I watch her disappear out the door then I continue up the stairs. 

I've never done this before. Come unannounced, I mean. But this is a surprise for Edward. I'm hoping to catch him unawares. I don't knock at first, instead I turn the knob and the door unlocks. All the better for me. 

The living room is just as I remember. Everything in place just as I left it. Edward hasn't done any serious rearrangement of the furnitures even though he said that he would. This makes me smile. I look at the couch and there are his clothes. A cashmere I bought for him on his last birthday and a jeans I don't remember. Must be a new acquisition. Beside them, is a combat shorts and a T-shirt. 

Then I hear sounds from the down the hallway.