Chapter 4

As soon as their meeting was over, Ella excused herself immediately and rushed home to her safe heaven. She was fully aware that she was acting cowardly, but she was not prepared to deal with Daniel and Timothy at the moment. She cannot afford to give them the opportunity to corner her and question her about why she left everything behind. She was not at all prepared to respond to their legitimate queries.

Aubrey, however, was worried about her friend’s sudden disappearance. During the entire meeting, she could feel her friend sitting tensely beside her. There was something that was bothering her friend, but she decided to give her space and confront her later.

Daniel and Timothy, on the other hand, wanted to have a one-on-one conversation with Ella, but before they could even have a chance to speak to her, she ran off. As soon as Rowan departed, Ella did not waste a minute and went off with him.

There were lots of unspoken things between them. Daniel wanted to talk to her about a lot of things, especially about her escapade six years ago.

He was furious with her disappearance in the past and wanted to yell at her for pulling that stunt, but at the same time, he could not help but feel a flutter in his heart. Even today, Ella has power over him. His feelings did not dissipate, despite the years of being apart from her. He had missed her so much, but now that he had found her after all these years, all he wanted to do was kiss her and fulfill all those dreams that they had seen with each other.

He might be getting a little ahead of himself, but Ella was, is, and always will be the one. But what if she has a boyfriend now, or worse, a husband and a kid or two? These would definitely tear him apart. Despite the feeling of ache, he knew that he would have to accept it if Ella had moved on in her life, but not without having closure.

However, one thing that hit both him and Timothy was why the hell Ella was working as a manager in a town’s cafe?

She should be overqualified for the post of manager, and working in the cafe was never on Ella’s list. She had always been one of those women who had planned her life. She was ambitious, had planned not only her career but also her future back then, and was successfully achieving her goals.

So what had changed that made her choose a different field altogether?

Ella, however, was scared beyond her wits. She was so out of it that she could not help but sob. She was aware that she could not break down. Not after coming so far. She cannot turn weak. She needs to stay strong for her daughter's sake.

As she waited for her daughter to come back home, she washed her face. But, as soon as she saw her daughter on the doorstep, Ella engulfed her in a tight embrace and kissed her temple. She was scared for her daughter and herself. One could say that she wasn’t thinking straight and was coming to conclusions.

But how could she think logically when she was afraid of the possibility of a custody battle?

Daniel was not a bad person. He was rather one of the most decent guys she knew, but anyone would get furious with what she had done. Even though it did look like a rational decision at that moment, now it has only complicated the situation.

It was only a matter of time before Daniel learned about Lily and their connection. And she has no doubt that he would be angry at her. She could, however, deal with his rage and even accept it, as she did deserve it. She did, after all, flee without telling him of their pregnancy.

She only prayed that he would not demand that Lily stay with him. She would not be able to handle that. But she knew that she would have to be ready. If any case he did ask for Lily to stay with him inevitably then she would fight for custody battle.

She will not, under any circumstances, give up her daughter.

However, Lily was confused by her mother’s strange behavior and sudden affection. She knew that her mother loved her dearly, but today it felt different. Her mother was more protective than ever, as she kissed her cheeks or hugged her at every little chance she got.

She was not complaining, though. She loved getting pampered by her mother, but she could not forget the tears in her mother’s eyes when she tucked her in. She looked somewhat sad.

Lily just prayed that her mother was fine and happy. She liked her smiling.

Ella was about to go to sleep beside Lily when the bell rang. Her body immediately went rigid at the thought of finding Daniel on the other side of her door.

She shakily went to open the door and was relieved to find that it was her best friend, Aubrey. Just one look at her, and she broke down. She told her friend everything about Daniel and how and why she ran away from home. She talked about her fear of him taking her little girl away.

Even though she did feel better after pouring her heart out to her best friend, the fear of her future away from her daughter left her in tight knots.

Rosewood was not a big city like Pelican. It was a community where almost everyone knew each other. It would be impossible to hide Lily from him, and now that he is actually here, she is not sure if she wants to keep her daughter away from him. Daniel had every right to know about his daughter. He deserved to know about her. But the fear of losing her little girl made her tremble with terror.

Ella needs to come clean, but she definitely needs to look for the perfect opportunity.

Daniel, on the other hand, was worried sick about Ella. He was pacing in the hotel room in an attempt to release the tension in his body and think of the logical reasoning behind Ella leaving him. But when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, he stopped.

“I know what you are thinking, Dan. Those are my exact thoughts. Now that Ella is here, we will find the truth soon enough.” Timothy tried to assure his best friend.

In answer, he looked away, causing Timothy to sigh.

“Daniel, things will be alright. She is the same Ella whom we have known forever. The same Ella you fell in love with, and the same Ella who loved you back with everything she had in her.”

“What about now, Tim? There is a good chance that she would have moved on. We also cannot forget that she left me.” Daniel pointed out.

“There has to be a good reason for that.” Tim insisted. He refused to believe that Ella ran to be away from Daniel.

“Whatever her reason might be, why did she not come to me? We loved each other. At least that is what I thought.” Dan said with sad eyes.

“Daniel, she might still be in love with you. Do not give up hope just yet.”

“You can’t say for sure. She could be married with kids.” He stated, frowning. Daniel did not have it in him to imagine her having a family without him in it.

“She might be in a relationship, but she is not married. I am quite certain of that. I didn’t see any wedding band on her finger, and as for kids, you know how Ella is. No kids before marriage.”

Dan chuckled at the memory. He remembered it quite well when they were both talking about their future while cuddling on the couch. She was clear that she did not wish to have kids until she was married. It was a big no-no for her.

“And as for love, I saw it in her eyes. Daniel, she still loves you.” Timothy said, assuring him.

“Then what was the guilt that I saw in her eyes?” Daniel asked, confused.

“Well, you will find that out soon enough.” His best friend squeezed his shoulder. “But just remember that this is your Ella. There has to be a reason for her to pull the disappearing act.”