Chapter 1

“He was war, and I was peace,

He was disaster, and I was flourishing,

He was sorrow, and I was happiness,

He was my destruction, and I was his salvation,

We were opposites, but we couldn’t be apart because where there is death, there is always life.”

Chapter 1

Willow,

“Aaaaah, I did it again. I’m late and Joseph will kill me.”

I screamed the moment I opened my eyes and jumped out of bed, running around like a headless chicken.

The damn alarm rang, and I didn’t hear it again for the millionth time. I mean, the damn thing is just a few inches away from my ear. How come I don’t hear it ever?

Even the dogs in the street bark each time it rings and my neighbors complain about how noisy it is and still, I sleep like the dead.

I shook my head and ran to the bathroom and took care of my business, then jumped under the shower, opening the water.

I winced when the cold water touched my still warm skin, but I couldn’t afford to wait to adjust the temperature, so I just brushed my teeth as I washed my body. Multitasking at its finest.

It took me five minutes to finish everything, put on some clean clothes, and just run outside, heading to the restaurant.

It was a fifteen minute walk from here, but I could make it only in ten. I just needed to be careful about the traffic because it was on a busy street.

God, he will kill me this time after making me clean everything tonight alone by myself, which I can’t do. I thought, groaning as I waited for the light to turn red so I could cross the street.

And I blinked when I found out I was daydreaming still and I almost missed my chance, so I just bit my lip and began to run like crazy.

The restaurant was on the other side and I could see him clearly standing there with his arms wrapped around his chest as he glared at me. Yes, I’m doomed.

This was the last thought that crossed my mind before everything changed in mere seconds. As I was running crossing the street, and saw her.

A beautiful little girl in her cute pink dress ran toward me with her arms open and crying. She didn’t look anywhere and her entire attention was focused on me.

They say when you are faced with a situation of life and death, your body reacts before your mind processes anything.

And even though this has nothing to do with me, it just happened and my body reacted before I could even comprehend what I was doing when I saw the speeding car.

All I saw was the crying girl and the car coming from my right that was about to hit her. I threw everything I was holding in my hands.

My phone, my bag, and the bottle of water I remembered to bring with me so I could drink through the day which I always forget to do.

My feet dug into the harsh ground as I tried to push my legs to move faster. I watched the girl smile at me the moment she saw me running toward her with my arms open.

She said something; I said something, someone in the background said something and I might have heard my name shouted from somewhere.

But I ignored all of that and just kept my eyes on the little girl who was a few feet away from me. I ate the small distance separating us and she jumped as well, opening her arms wider for me.

I hugged her tightly to my chest, then I tried to sidestep the speeding car, but I was smacked on the side and we both went flying, so I just wrapped my arms tighter around her and tried to cover her entire body.

In that moment, so many emotions ran through my mind and the only thing that was clear was gratitude because I knew that I protected her. I was sure of it.

I cried out in pain when I hit the ground harshly and landed on my back with the little girl shaking in fear in my arms.

I gasped for air for a few moments because something hard pushed against my lungs and for a second I couldn’t breathe, but then I heard the girl’s cries and wails.

“You are ok, don’t worry I got you.”

I said in a choking voice as I began to stroke her back soothingly and she raised her head up from where she was hiding it in my chest. And her teary blue eyes stared at me in horror.

I frowned, and then I grinned, trying to ease her mind. She must have been shocked after all of this, but then her lower lip wobbled and she began to cry loudly and hid her face in my chest again.

I took a deep breath, then the hold I had on her eased a little and now the pain from the hit and the harsh fall began to register after the adrenaline faded from my system.

“Angela! Are you ok? What the hell were you thinking?”

An angry gruff voice growled and the girl in my arms wails rose higher. And her shaking began to affect me as well, so I opened my eyes to glare at that asshole who was chastising her instead of comforting her.

But then I felt some harsh hands trying to separate us and the girl shook her head and refused to leave my arms.

I opened my mouth to tell him to fuck off, but then the little girl shouted at the top of her lungs and said one word that made me freeze.

“MAMA.”

Angela said, then she wrapped her arms and legs around my body, making me whimper from the new wave of pain that assaulted me.

But then something dropped hard on the ground startled me and I stared at the angry bull that was glaring at me with ice cold blue eyes similar to the little girl. But I swallowed my words when I was about to give him a piece of my mind.

“Sir, we need to go to the hospital to check on the little miss as well as the miss who saved her.”

Some other man said as he regarded the scene, then looked around him with a deep frown as if he didn’t like the commotion this thing caused.

“Willow? Are you out of your mind? You might have been killed. Christ.”

I heard Joseph give an angry growl similar to the man that was still kneeling beside me and glaring and I winced because I knew what was coming.

My boss eyed the scene and after giving Angela a skeptical look, he just gave me his attention and began to check on me.

“You look like a mess. Can you move your arms and legs? Do you think you broke something? I called for help already and it is on the way.”

He said, then he put something against my forehead, making me close my eyes when something stung there. Yeah, I think I might have a cut there. Oh, so this is what freaked her out.

I thought as I resumed stroking the girl’s back and her sniffling and crying eased a little and I was able to see her beautiful blue eyes peeking at me.

“There is no need. I will take them both to the nearest hospital in my car.”

The angry man said as he stood up and talked to Joseph, who also stood up and the both of them had one of those manly staring contests.

So I ignored them and began to check on my body, trying to figure out how much damage did my little stunt cause.

Luckily all my limbs were fine, the only problem was my side. It hurts when I breathe or even move. I might have a big bruise blooming right now.

“You can’t just move her. We don’t know if she broke something or maybe she might be bleeding eternally. But you can take your little girl with you and leave.”

“She risked her life to save MY DAUGHTER and I’m not an ungrateful bastard who would just leave like this. I will take both to the hospital to make sure that they are fine.”

The two men kept growling at each other and I sighed as I slowly sat with Angela safely on my lap, still wrapped around me like a monkey.

I opened my mouth to shout at them both. But then I saw the other man in the suit shake his head in warning, and I shut my mouth again and kept watching the two men huff and puff like two angry birds.

The girl’s father looked intimidating, with his height and build. And even though he looked neat and clean in his tailored suit, he for sure looked like he could hold his own.

But when his eyes regarded me from now and then, I shuddered in fear. They were distant and cold even though they held fiery anger in them, especially with that mask covering his lower face. He was scary.

I can see why his daughter was afraid to go to him and just clung to me as if her life depended on it. I thought, chuckling, then I coughed a little when another wave of pain hit me.

The man gave me a sneer, then he closed his eyes, breathing, trying to calm himself. How do I know?! Because again his eyes are very expressive.

“Your father is so mean to my friend. Is he always like that?”

I said softly to Angela, and she raised her head a little and blinked at me. And after I gave her a couple of encouraging smiles, she stared at her father, then back at me without answering.

“C’mon, I’m trying to talk to you here. Don’t be mean as well.”

I said pouting, and she opened her mouth and closed it a couple of times, then looked down, evading my eyes, and I tilted my head to the side in confusion.

“The little miss don’t speak.”

Someone said from the side and I almost jumped because he was so close, but the other man in a suit gave me an awkward smile, apologizing for startling me.

“But you heard her right. She just called me Mama!”

I said in confusion and he was about to answer me but then he was cut off when Angela’s father spoke addressing us.

“The ambulance is here.”