NEXT CHAPTER -4

6 YEARS LATER.

Anna smiled widely at herself, looking at the papers in her hands. It was an official paper informing her that she had been transferred to the hotel in New York, the biggest branch that existed. Not only that, the offer was so mouthwatering and hard to resist.

"I think I should take it." Anna thought for the 20th time, biting her lower lips. New York was the beginning of her pains, but it was also where a lot of things had happened. She wanted to prove her father wrong and show everyone that she wasn't the worthless child they claimed her to be. Even more, Anna missed her mother so much and she had not seen the woman for more than 6 years since she left home. She would go there and make the most of her time working and taking care of her daughter. Her dream was to own the biggest and best hotel in the world, and gradually, Anna knew she was getting there.

"Mommy. Mommy, Mommy, guess what?" Anna heard her daughter's voice and rolled her eyes with a chuckle. It was now time to give Emma some time. She dropped the paper close to the table and then spread her arms apart so her daughter would come to hug her.

"Hey baby, tell mommy the exciting news."

Emma was the result of the one-night stand that Anna had 6 years ago, and more than anything, Anna couldn't be more thankful for the daughter she had. Her daughter was everything to her, and Anna wanted to make sure that her daughter never lacked anything she needed in the world.

"So how was school today baby?" Anna questioned embracing her daughter so tight.

"I came first Mommy, let me show you." Emma excitedly replied, pulling down her bag pack and opening it up. She brought out a report and showed it to Anna,

"Oh baby, I'm so proud of you. Come on, I have a big surprise for you baby."

No matter how much Emma had always asked, Anna never told her about her grandparents or who Emma's father was. She had no idea who Emma's father was, and she had never told her daughter about her past because she wasn't ready to do that, and Emma being a good child, stopped asking after she had seen her mom crying one night.

"What is it, mommy?"

"We're going to New York, that's gonna be our new home baby, and I'm very certain you'll make a lot of new friends, good ones this time."

"What if they don't want me again because I'm odd and I don't have a father."

The smile on Anna's face immediately turned into a deep frown, "Don't ever say that about yourself, baby. You have a dad, I promise, but he's not just here. He's somewhere far away, but he loves you and me so much and when you're all grown up, he'll come for you, I promise."

"Are you sure mommy? Why isn't he coming soon."

"Daddy…" There was silence. Anna had no idea what to say. She had never really thought about what to tell her daughter when she asked again, but now, she had to answer.

"Daddy would come back on your 6th birthday," Anna responded after the silence and that answer immediately brightened her daughter's face. That was all Anna wanted at the moment_to see Emma smile.

"When are we leaving Mommy?"

"Uhmmm, tomorrow. I will place a call to your school and tell them you'll be leaving, okay."

Emma rose to her feet, "Okay mommy."

"Go freshen up and come downstairs for lunch, okay." She kissed her daughter on the forehead and watched as Emma ran upstairs excitedly, and then it dawned on her that her daughter was excited about moving to New York. Emma didn't like her school here in the UK because she was usually bullied a lot about not having a father, but all of that would soon change.

As Anna relaxed back on the couch, her phone began ringing. It was her cousin's sister calling.

"Hey Caroline,"

"Hey, Anna, I got everything ready for you. A new apartment and a comfortable one."

"Thank you so much, Caroline, I'm not gonna forget this, okay."

"You shouldn't keep saying thank you almost all the time. Just hurry back home so I can see you and that little bundle of joy over there." Anna giggled as she heard, "Emma's all grown now, and trust me, she's super smart."

"Oh, I can't wait."

The call ended soon, and when Anna relaxed back on the couch, she shut her eyes, wondering how her life would be back in New York because deep down, Anna knew she had left so many deep and painful memories back there.

__________

1 Week later

"Mr Smith called earlier and this time, he's willing to accept the 60-40 percent offer you gave earlier."

Dylan instantly halted but stayed quiet for a minute before he responded. "No. Tell him that the offer has been canceled. We'll make it 70-30 percent for the delay."

"But sir…" Lucas tried to protest, but he was cut short by Dylan almost immediately, "No questions, Lucas, just do as I said. If he thinks he can play around with me, then I think I'll show him the real way to joke around."

"Alright."

Dylan, a 28-year-old multi-trillionaire with multiple companies around the world, rude, ruthless, and most especially arrogant walked into the hotel with his hands tucked into his pocket and Lucas trailing behind him. As soon as Dylan got to the counter, he cocked his head to the left….

Since King's hotel was the best and he was just returning from Brazil, he needed to lodge here first before returning to the mansion. Dylan cocked his head again to the front and that was the moment he met her_ the most beautiful woman he had ever set his eyes on since his admiration for women began. She was standing by the counter with a big smile on her face and looking so elegantly dressed in her uniform with her long blonde hair and deep blue eyes.

As Dylan moved even closer to the lady who was also staring at him, he suddenly had a feeling that he had seen the lady before… she looked familiar and so this made his curiosity peak so high. Dylan took his hands out of his pocket without taking his gaze away from her.

Finally, he was standing right in front of her, staring into her deep blue eyes and trying so hard to remember where he had seen her before. In a hurry, Dylan's eyes found the name tag hanging on her left breast and arched his brows in shock.

"Anna!" He thought inwardly… That name…

"Welcome to King's Hotel," Anna said and it was at that moment Dylan recognized her… the woman he had been searching for 6 years ago, the woman he had a one-night stand with six years ago was staring at him, oblivious of the fact that it was him.