LaylaIt wasn't something I had just thought about, it had always been on my mind; how to get in touch with Nathan's father. I visited the bar two days before Christmas. Four years and it was still the same. The memories of my drunken state on that fateful night appeared distorted in my head. I wasn't even sure of the spot where I had met the man.“Hello, there.” The frilly haired bartender was grinning at me. Everything about him was just the same, nothing changed but his smile, which had grown wider over the years.“Hello. Do you remember me?” I approached him with a warm smile playing on my lips.“Sure. The one as hot as hell.” He joked and winked.“I see you do.” I gave a small laugh and perched myself on a stool. I tossed back a lock of hair underneath my hat before proceeding to ask him about the man I was looking for.“Can you give a full description? I have a talent for identifying people…"“I don't know what he looks like…" I felt stupid.“Ah, that's…"“Crazy, right?”He nod
LaylaNathan slid into the living room upon hearing the doorbell. It was Christmas, and he had been expecting both Santa and Henry for a while now."Aha!""Santa is here, Santa is here! " He was jumping in delight."And I have brought gifts for little Nathaniel," then he looked at me. "And his beautiful mother." He said.I chuckled. Henry was such a darling, wearing a costume and pretending to be Santa for Nathan."But where are Uncle Henry's gifts?" Nathan asked inquisitively."I haven't left him in the dark. It's all in here!" He relieved himself of the burden of carrying Santa's sack of presents."Mommy, we are going to have gifts." Nathan was giggling when I ambled inside the kitchen. I was baking Durian pies and macarons. Nathan loved macarons, unlike Sofia. She would be joining us later in the day, since she had refused to spend Christmas with Georgina. I felt Georgina was at fault in the entire situation, why her only child disliked her and couldn't bear the sight of her was
LaylaBefore the New Year celebration ended, I received a call from Amanda Donaldson. LAYNAT had received a proposal from the very famous COOPER CORP. The secretary of the board had reached out to us a few days ago and now, I was to communicate with the President of the corporation. As much as I knew, I used to be in love with the current president during my college days and, since our break-up, I hadn't seen or spoken to him. It usually ended up being like that, when love was overwhelming, and it suddenly began to decline. I could trust myself I felt nothing for him anymore, but then my identity, as I had kept it unknown from prior clients, must still be unknown until I decided to disclose it to the world. As it happened, clients usually reached out to LAYNAT and then to Amanda, but then I communicated with them, giving the impression that I was Amanda. It were only four people in the organization that knew of this arrangement. Those were Amanda herself, Henry, Amanda's Vice Pres
LaylaMrs. Carter's cravings turned out to be foods she normally wouldn't have if she wasn't pregnant.“I'll have a Chocolate-Chipotle Sirloin steak, a Chocolate Martini, and some chocolate ice cream.” She said to the waiter, who nodded before walking away to get our orders.“It's too cold for you to have ice cream,” I reasoned with an amused look on my face.“I can manage.” She said firmly. The waiter returned with her order and my order of black coffee.“I'm still surprised you brought me out for lunch today.” She said, with a twitch of a smile around the corner of her lips.“I was bored at home…" I sighed, stirring my coffee to distract myself.“Where has your boy gone?” She questioned.“He's out of town with Henry.”“You now trust him with that man?” She arched one of her brows curiously at me and took a spoonful of ice cream.“Henry's a good man. He loves Nathan.” I smiled, my mind drifting to how Henry had been caring toward me and Nathan.If only…“He loves you,” she asserted,
LaylaI hollered at them and hastened across the front yard.“What are you doing, Aunt Layla?” Sofia's eyes widened in surprise.“Hey, Charlene!” I slightly waved at the girl.“Hey. Did Sofia forget something?” She asked, her eyes prying at me.“No, I just want to talk to you before I leave. Are you rushing to do something?”Charlene's boyfriend was staring vaguely at me. Now that I took a closer look at him, I could see his sunken pale blue eyes, prominent cheekbones, sharp jawline, and dropping mouth. His build was quite okay for a teenager.“Yeah…" She responded, glancing at the boy.“Give me five minutes of your time.”“Okay. Go on, Adrian.” She gestured at him. He gave a firm nod.“Sofia, will you excuse us?” Sofia made a face and walked inside the house.“Thank you.” Charlene crossed her arms, leaning against a wall.“I know about you and Sofia,” I began. “The state in which your relationship currently stands. I'm aware you have decided to be with Adrian, but I must inform you
So Leo Cooper had met my son. It was funny how he wouldn't have ever thought Nathan was the son of his ex-girlfriend.“I hope Nathan didn't disturb you with ice cream.”“Yeah, he did, but that was before Mr. Cooper took him to the playground. I didn't let him have it, though, it was cold.” He answered.“Thanks a lot. I don't think Mr. Cooper bought one for him either, he told me he ate a sundae or so…"“Yeah, he did.” Henry agreed.“I'm afraid his sweet tooth is increasing every day.” I sighed.“You don't have a sweet tooth, do you?” He asked.“Nah…”“Then it might be his father…”“Yeah.” I breathed.Nathan's father, yeah, he might have a sweet tooth. I hoped to receive some favorable news from the bartender soon.“I'll be going to see my parents this weekend,” Henry informed me, his eyes taking in every movement I make with my hands.“Oh, that's great,” I muttered.“
LaylaThere were two secrets I could use against Ethan. One; his businesses, and two; his love affairs. He wasn't a saint, after all, going to the extremes to get what he wanted without caring about the other party. Just like he did to me. He had once gone into business with William Gould but suddenly, out of nowhere, the business fell through and William Gould had to suffer the loss. The conclusion I could come to with the information I had in my hands was that the failure of the business had all been orchestrated from the outset and Ethan was behind it. I thought I could use my influence and William Gould's cooperation to gain leverage over him. I knew I had to see William Gould one of these days. About his love affairs, the investigative officer could not gather as much as I would have wanted, but he gave me an inkling of one of Ethan's illicit relationships. There were pictures, but they only revealed the back and side views. He was going to have to press on and capture the w
As I switched off the lights, my door creaked open. A small silhouette stood at the entrance, it was Nathan. I switched on the lights.“What is wrong? Can't you sleep, my love?” I wondered what was the matter with him. He was rubbing his eyes as he came over to my bed.“Mummy, I want to sleep here.” He crawled on the bed.“All right dear.” I cuddled him close to me.“Are you feeling scared?” I asked with concern as I stared at my lovely boy.“I want to stay here with you.” He said, nuzzling against my chest.“All right. Since I've read you a bedtime story earlier, I will sing you a lullaby.”“Okay…"‘Rockabye baby on the tree topWhen the wind blows, the cradle will rock.If the bough breaks, the cradle will fall.Then down tumbles baby, cradle and all…’After a while, I could only hear the soft pattering of hail on the roof. Everything else was quiet. Nathan's steady breath warmed my chest, I thought he had already fallen asleep until his baby voice startled me out of my doze.“Mummy
8–9 months laterAriandeI was already having contractions, and it was obvious I was going to go into labor soon. It was great I was with Layla though, and I tried to call for her. A yelp escaped my mouth as the contraction hit me harder."Oh my God, Ariande, are you okay?" Layla entered into the living room where I was, dropping the glass of water she had gone to bring, and she took out her phone to call Tony.He arrived sooner than we both expected, and he helped me into his car with Layla, who was pretty heavy too. She was to be due in a few days or a week from mine, and we'd both be free of mood swings and erratic hormones. Then she followed us to the hospital where I went into proper labor and gave birth to my girls a few hours later.I could tell from the minute that Tony walked in after my labor that he had gone through a lot of anxiety and I collected the baby when the nurse placed her in my arms, "Oh my God, Ariande, I'm so grateful for this, thank you for bringing her into t
AriandeIt was so great seeing these two get married, and I think I had seen Tony staring at me intently during the vow saying, I wouldn't be sure what that meant though.I loved the wedding reception even more, and it started off to a great start with some good music which me and the girls had gone through, including Layla and some good champagne. Other alcohols of different types were being passed around too, and soda for those who wouldn't want alcohol. There was great food and the couple when they finally entered.The song we had chosen for them to dance to upon entering started, and I have to say Leo gave his best more than Layla. It seemed like she was rather shy about dancing in public.Games were played and a lot of activities were thrown out. When the most awaited moment arrived, the throwing of the bouquet, I was in the front row because I wanted to get the bouquet and I got it.I squealed happily, "wow, I got it."Everyone smiled happily, and we waved the couple off to have
LaylaWedding preparations went on in full swing by the time we came back and as Nana, Leo's grandmother, liked hosting parties, she was the one that took control of the entire thing. She did seek my permission on some things and I answered as best as I could.Hannah was so happy for me, so also Mr and Mrs Cooper, and they very much petted me like I was their new doberman.Ariande drew me to a fitting shop days before the wedding, and I was surprised to see the other ladies "were just here to give our opinions."I was happy that they were all rallying around me, but it was just making me more nervous. I looked through the variety of gowns they had and picked one, "Go try it on."I walked into the dressing room with Ariande to help, and I had to admit we had become pretty much closer.I came out to the sight of the other ladies, and they were like hmm, hmm, I felt like that too, it wasn't really giving. It was nice though, like an off-shoulder gown with a full train and veil too. I fel
LaylaBy our fourth day there, the grill was out with the game night preparations being underway, and I helped as much as I could with the preparations. For one, I was feeling quite dizzy and nauseous and I did have an idea of what it might be, but I wasn't sure though, so I didn't want to make a big deal out of it.Tony and Leo helped set the lights on the beach and the chairs were set out around a fireplace in the middle. The beers were placed by the side and someone was to be manning the grill while everyone ate; Tony and Leo, of course. Kai offered, but the boys turned it down, and we all faced Kim."So what are the games we are going to be playing?""Okay, so I prepared quite a number of games, but the two most interesting ones would be never have I ever and two truths and a lie.""Oh, Kim" Ariande commented, making all of us laugh."So here are the rules for 'never have I ever'. Actually, it has just one rule. Everyone gets a turn to say 'never have I ever' and if you've done it
Ariande"Something fun, what would you consider something fun". The girls and I were sitting on the kitchen island pondering on what was fun, as the guys had gone off to God knows where."Well, we could go clubbing," Kim suggested, to which I agreed, though I wasn't sure I could drink with my pregnancy. Actually, I couldn't."We could also have a game night, just sit out on the beach and have some drinks too while we play some games,""I agree too," Layla said in agreement to Kai's suggestion."Well, we could go shopping. That would be for the girls, but the guys could also tag along if they want to."We all nodded in agreement, planning the whole thing and I and Layla offered to go buy the groceries for the day we would be there.It would be nice to just bake and cook for everyone. I learned there was a grill too."So have you decided on anything?" Layla asked as we drove to the mall."Yes, I decided to tell him first before I made any decision. I'll tell him probably a day or two fr
AriandeI was feeling quite funny and that was not good. I couldn't fall sick during production and at a crucial moment like this. I smiled happy when I saw my daily dose of bouquet delivered to my dressing room on set."He's just being so open now, isn't he?"Jeremy smiled, unsure of what to say."So how is your relationship with my brother?""Uhm... Actually I was going to say something about that. You're going on your break soon, right? I was wondering if I could take some days off then?"I cocked my head, "are both of you going on a vacation or trip?"He nodded slightly, "I could be back quickly if you want me to or cancel but...""It's okay, you can go. I'll manage on my own.""Really?"I nodded. As it was going to be my break soon, I wouldn't be having any shoots or production during that time because I would want some peace and quiet and, since I wouldn't be doing much then, it wouldn't be fair of me to rip his vacation from him.I called Tony when I was done with the scenes fo
LaylaThe designs were created within weeks and the collections were out together for another week. I looked through the portfolios of models that had been placed on my table and decided on the ones that we were going to use for the fashion show and campaign too.Amanda and Henry came in from New York to help with the process and a date was given for the fashion show. As for the campaign, I supervised the photo shoot and video shoot of the collections, and it was posted on both the models and CARTER'S official website as well as social media handles.I was going through one of the documents when my secretary came in, "this young lady...""Aunt Layla!" I looked up from the document to see Sofia rush in, and she was looking all bubbly and happy. I signaled the secretary that it was okay, and I gave her a big hug."Hey girlie, how have you been?"She smiled, "good""I heard you were in trouble" she smiled again, but this time more mischievous."It wasn't my fault that somebody wanted to
KaiI wasn't sure what to expect as I walked into the family house with Leo and Layla, and I was definitely surprised at the number of people that were there.Isn't that the famous actress, Ariande? And Leo's friend Tony, who were the couple that were looking about the same age as Leo's parents in a corner there too? There was also a grandma and grandpa too. Guess I had a lot of family."Leo honey" The Grandma greeted him, pecking him on the cheek, and he greeted her back. The woman also greeted Layla and a younger woman came to greet both of them too. Grandma stared at me, "and you're...""Oh you must be Kai, right?" The younger woman said, making me guess that she was Mrs Cooper, and I nodded."It's nice to meet you""Nice to meet you too", I shook her outstretched hand."This is Park Woojin, also Kai, Steve's daughter". Grandma looked confused."Steve didn't tell me about having a daughter.""Kai, meet Nana, your step grandmother and your step grandfather over there too."I greeted
Ariande"You still haven't figured out who is sending you the flowers yet?" Tony asked as I sat on the island in his kitchen. He had a bowl in his hand as he mixed chicken with mashed potatoes and I shook my head."No. I plan to use a private investigator though, because it could be a stalker and..."He nodded and smiled, "I understand.""Why did you invite me for dinner though?" I asked, surprised, since I hadn't been to his house since the last time I was drunk.He has only ever come to my house since our altercation and had sex with me. Nothing else, no dinner, no nothing, not even a drink, so what had changed that?"I just needed company to eat with today.""Oh" I felt honored even though I shouldn't, and I watched him intently as he started frying the mixture together on a bone stick.It was crazy just how much he had invaded my head. It was like I couldn't think of anything else but him and I deserved it because it had been the other way around. I had manipulated him at first, p