SEKANI: Once he was gone, I broke into a bout of tears. I hadn't shed a tear in a long time. These memories hadn't returned since I could last remember. I remembered only crying over Sean and what he had done to me a few times while I was pregnant and while Mya was a baby. After that, I was soon over it, not even getting emotional over Sean and what he did. All it was was pure and unbridled anger. Pure anger seething through me. But right now, it was pain, heartache and shame. Pure contempt and aloneness. Desolation. Once again, I was starting to feel the weight of aloneness over my head. I could barely control it as I cried and cried and cried. Nothing could stop me from feeling this way. Nothing at all. So I remained in my office, cradling my body in my arms, rocking from side to side as I let the sobs rack through my body. And by the time I was done, I pushed to my feet with great resolve. Sean? I was going to move in with him. He was right when he talked ab
SEAN: "Oh, what a mundane world this is!" Jake cried over the phone. I leaned against the pillar close to the front door, my cell phone in my ear as I listened to him speak. I had been rubbing my fingers over my forehead for the past ten minutes, listening to Jake yell about a woman who had dumped gin right after their one-night stand. "It's a man's thing to dump a woman. Why the hell did she dump me after our one-night stand, Sean?" "She was probably running away from any future problems," I shrugged even if I knew he wasn't going to see me do that. "No strings attached, remember? You were probably being too attached on the first night. Who knows? That must have thrown her off." "No! I wasn't! I only asked if we were going to see each other again. I also asked for her contact information and what she was going to be doing next week." "Definitely sounds like you were seeing a future with her." "I only wanted to have sex! Sex!" He snapped and tossed something. I hea
SEAN: "Mya?" I repeated, giving the little girl who had just jumped into the bed a long look. I blinked a few times to be sure I wasn't dreaming and hell, I wasn't. Not at all. I turned to Sekani who looked quite horrified at the sight. Surely, she was also surprised like I was. "Mya?" I repeated again, looking at Sekani this time. She snatched the little girl in her arms, smiling at her and kissing her before taking her out of the bed and leading her out of the room. I followed immediately, tossing the bed covers to the side and jumping out before rushing out of the room. There was something oddly familiar about the little girl scuttling before Sekani and blabbing her cute mouth off. Dirty blond hair, amber eyes, aquiline nose, and a lip fuller than usual. That was me. She looked exactly like me. The beat of my heart against my chest intensified as I kept following after them both. "Sekani!" I called out but she was more concerned about speaking to the little gir
SEKANI: Nothing could have prepared me for this morning. Nothing at all. Last night, I'd been lamenting and mad over the fact that I had to move into Sean's house with him and find a way to still keep Mya a secret, and this morning, I'd woken up to her in our bed. His bed. How did she even find her way into his room? "Missy Juliet," I called out as soon as I got back to the living room. Mya jumped off her and rushed towards me and I held her by the hand, tight enough so she didn't wander off in search of Sean. "I understand how hard things are for you and I profusely apologize for the inconvenience. I would be paying you double of what I usually do if you can either go overseas with my daughter or ask someone else who does the same thing as you to take over. What do you say?" "Mya is going nowhere," Sean spoke behind me with a tone of finality. I turned to see him standing a few steps away from us with both of his hands in his pocket. I'd never seen his jaw set that way
SEAN: Sekani had been moving from side to side the whole time on our ride. She had opted to sit at the back after Mya had taken the front seat, right beside me. I was the happiest man on earth even if I knew fully well that Sekani wasn't. Mya had accepted me immediately! She was a lovely little kid and the awkwardness wasn't even there. It was our first time meeting each other and she was all over me. Not everyone experienced that. I'd expected her to either hate me or just stare at me whilst avoiding me. I'd expected her to get used to me in a few weeks' time as that was what usually happened. But this case was entirely different. She was all over me. She had even asked me to show her a few things on my computer before we set out for this date. "Playground too, Dad?!" She asked in a chirpy voice, looking up at me with my cell phone clutched in her hand. My heart melted into puddles. She was really addressing me as her father. Damn. I wasn't sure I could s
SEKANI: I fiddled with my purse, looking from side to side and trying to remain comfortable. I don't know but all of these made me more uncomfortable. Having a good time with Sean wasn't what I signed up for. Hell, I didn't sign up for anything other than business. It was chilly outside tonight and I checked on Mya to see if she had her sweats on. Thankfully, I hadn't forgotten. I decided I needed the chilliness in my skin for a while before wearing my jacket. I leaned back into the stone chair, feeling the cold seep through the tiny holes of my top and into my skin. Shivering slightly, I laughed to myself before picking my jacket up and slipping into it. Today had been nothing much of a chaotic event. I mean, just for me alone. Mya and Sean seemed to be enjoying every bit of the fun. I wasn't. There was nothing fun in your baby daddy finding out he was a baby daddy to your oblivious five-year-old daughter on the first morning after your contract marriage.
SEKANI: "I told you I could take care of her," Sean spoke from where he stood behind me, close to the door. I'd just tucked Mya into her bed, sitting at the edge and watching her sleep peacefully. Yeah, she had no problem in this world so she had the right to sleep as much as she wanted. It was one thing I envied so much, to be like a child. To sleep without a care in the world, to sleep without my problems at the back of my mind. I softly brushed her hair back before kissing her on the cheek and pushing to my feet. Sean was at the door and he didn't look pleased at all. His scowl deepened and he leaned away from the door. "Can we talk outside for a moment?" "We're going in the same direction. We can talk on our way to the room," I replied in a chirpy tone. I knew very well that he was mad about what I did tonight but I didn't care the least. He couldn't hog Mya for the whole of today, having all her attention directed at him and welcomed into her heart so easily. Wa
SEKANI: I woke up to the sound of giggles and plates clanging in the kitchen. I leaned back, stretching my body like a feline cat while turning away from the saturated morning sunlight that poured into the window. In my anger last night, I'd forgotten that rooms had windows with drapes that were meant to be closed at night, jumping right into bed and now, I was bearing the brunt of it. I leaned back into the bed, waiting for my brain to boot in ten minutes like I usually did every morning, especially when Mya didn't have to wake me first. Memories from yesterday came rushing back. Mya and Sean had gotten along really easily. It made me really uncomfortable. Angry even. How could he be gone for several years, only to be back and snatching the attention of my daughter from me? I knew Mya was his daughter too but I couldn't help logicality right now. I didn't want to be logical. Not at all. Something crashed and I jumped, flying out of the bed and rushing out of the room I