CHAPTER 1 - Together Forever

Alexander's POV

"Was she really not going to talk to me?" I overheard Kaylee murmuring towards me.

As I looked in the rearview mirror at Anastasia, I let out a long, collective sigh. She sat in the passenger seat, a constrained affirmation on her face, her hands rigidly clutching her backpack. Her gaze was fixed from the car's outside window, and she appeared to be deeply immersed in her own feelings and emotions.

"I'm sorry, baby. I'll try to speak with her about it," I mumbled under my breath as I gave her an apologetic look.

She cracked a grin. "Don't be affected. I understand that she may be experiencing trouble grasping the predicament as it is right now. Let us give her some space."

Hearing her response and appreciating her conceptual understanding of the situation simply warmed and melted my heart. I reached for her face and gently brushed my fingertips across her cheeks, while she gripped it and kissed it lightly. For a brief moment, we locked gazes and smiled lovingly at each other.

BEEP!

We were caught off guard by the honking sound of the vehicle behind us, and we promptly returned to reality.

"Hey! This was not a slow-motion performance! Go ahead and screech those wheels!" The man yelled from the vehicle behind us.

Kaylee and I exchanged meaningful glances, a glint of amusement in our eyes. When we heard the man's incensed qualms, we burst out laughing.

I was speeding down the busy highway when my eyes were tied to Anastasia's glare in the side mirror. She scowled as she converted her gaze away from me and toward Kaylee, a hostile and disgusted expression on her face. Particularly bothered that Kaylee might have noticed, I gave her a quick side glance to check. She doesn't seem to notice my daughter's villainous dirty looks, so I chose to disregard everything.

We arrived at our house after an hour of maneuvering the busy and congested street. I was blasting my horn to get the security personnel to open the gate when Anastasia unbuckled her seatbelt and hopped out the door, smashing it shut completely. As the security personnel frantically opened the gate, she started walking towards it and went into the house.

Kaylee paused for a moment and took a deep breath, then gave me a faint smile, with an empathetic look on her face. I didn't say anything, instead, I just steered my car and parked it inside the gate.

I finally turned off the car's engine but didn't bother opening the door from the driver's seat. Kaylee immediately picked up on my hesitation and reached for my hand to enclose it around her own. I glanced up and caught a glimpse of her gorgeous face smiling back at me. And for a split second, I felt as if I were in a euphoric trance.

Kaylee's stunning beauty never ceases to take my breath away. Her blonde tresses complimented her tanned skin flawlessly. Her hazelnut, mesmerizing brown eyes sparkled with the constellation in them as she smiled exquisitely. Not only that, but her naturally vibrant red lips give off the impression of red cherries on top of luscious vanilla ice cream.

I was so carried away by her elegance that I didn't even realize she was attempting to speak to me.

"Hello, babe! Are you even paying close enough attention?" She snapped, her brows twitching on one side, her arms crossed across her chest.

I had to blink several times before I could come back to reality. "I sincerely apologize, babe. I was blown away by your beauty. So, what were you saying?"

She rolled her eyes, a suppressed smile gently sloping on her lips. "I was saying that you needed to understand Anastasia even more."

I batted my eyelashes incessantly and stared at her, completely baffled. "Kay, I've been having a hard time figuring her out for a long time. For the past two years!" I chose to give a dejected response.

"However, we must fully understand what she was going through. She definitely loved and admired Pamela and just couldn't bear the thought of me taking over for her mother," She crafted some delicate advice.

I was buried in serious contemplation about what she had just said, so I remained silent for a while. My daughter hasn't made a full recovery from her mother's death, and this is actually the case. In fact, I didn't actually believe she had, not even for a fraction of a second.

"I just really want us to be happy," I murmured, tears welling up in my eyes.

She gave a sad smile. "But we can't really make her do it. Not right now. She has been through a tremendous amount of pain. She was only five years old when she witnessed her mother's death right in front of her. It wasn't easy for her, Alex. It's never easy."

I breathed deeply. It had to be too much for Anastasia. She was just too young to come to grips with everything that had happened in the past, and she couldn't figure out how to deal with the trauma like an adult.

I'm just extremely thankful Kaylee was understanding of the situation. With that, I reverted to her affectionate gaze, a sincere smile on my face.

"Thank you very much, babe. Thank you for being so considerate of my daughter's dilemma. It was extremely challenging for you as well, being treated dispassionately and condescendingly by her, but you seized power, all because of me," I stipulated intimately.

She laughed uproariously and pinched my nose. "Who told you that it was all because of you? Not everything tends to revolve around you, babe," she winked and grinned impishly as she opened the door from her side and prepared to exit the car.

"But," I reacted negatively.

Before I could even say anything, she kissed me reverently on the lips. Then she sealed her gaze on mine.

"I was doing it because I give a damn about her. I absolutely love Anastasia, and I am patient enough to wait in order to become a great friend she could ever have," she said as she offered me a genuine smile and proceeded to walk out of the car.

I smiled languidly as I unbuckled my seatbelt and followed her. Then I wrapped my arms around her shoulder, her head leaning close to me, and we started to walk into the house together.

*Flashback*

"Please! Just name your price and make me famous!"

"Make my husband forsake his mistress and fall in love with me again! I'm ready to pay!"

"I want to be the most good-looking woman in this village, but I don't really have any money! But I'm willing to serve you!"

Jasmine was peering through the window curtain when Helene started calling her from the dining hall. She drew the window drapes firmly closed and stepped into the dining hall.

When she saw her mother setting the table for their dinner, she started to realize that she couldn't keep her sense of wonder at bay any longer.

"Why do the people from the village insist on calling you, Mom?" Jasmine questioned her mother innocently.

Helene was caught off guard by her daughter's inquiry. She knelt down to make eye contact with Jasmine. "They actually required my help," she tried to explain as she stroked her daughter's silky smooth cheeks.

"But why don't you help them?" she queried.

Helene tried to give her daughter a delicate smile. "That's because they could never really afford to pay for what needs to get done," she clarified.

"But I've heard they're willing and able to pay, and some have even offered to be your steward. Why not give them a chance? They appeared to be nice people," she went on.

Helene took a deep breath and ruminated whether it was best for Jasmine to know everything. "It was because the payment isn't intended to be in cash, my dear. It's not really something money can buy, baby."

Helene then stood up and began to arrange the meals on the table before beckoning for her daughter to take a seat next to her.

With her mother's response, Jasmine stood in silence. She just reached out and grabbed her doll intimately, as if she was super scared to let it go.

Helene laughed heartily when she saw her daughter's behavior. "What is it that you are constantly terrified of, my dear? Your doll will never leave you. Take a seat and let's eat. Melpomene could perhaps sit right next to you so you can keep a watchful eye on her," she proposed.

Jasmine heeded her mother's instruction and positioned her doll on the empty seat next to her. She gripped her mother's hand, which surprised Helene, and shifted her gaze to her daughter, who was also clutching the doll's hands on the other.

"Melpomene, Jasmine, and Mom.  Together. Forever!" She then hummed a singsong melodic line before cheerfully clapping her hands.

Helene smiled back as she combed her hand over Jasmine's hair.