Kia's POV.I woke up to the sounds of birds chirping in the distance. I glanced at the clock, and surprisingly, it was already past 10 am. I sprang up from the bed, the pungent smell of smoke and burnt grass blocking my nostrils. I followed the awful smell to my window and looked out through the window, only for my eyes to meet a bush set ablaze in the distance. Deciding not to worry about why the smell was quite strong, I shut my windows and stepped into the bathroom to have a quick shower.For the first time in a long time, I was bothered about which clothes to wear. After much deliberation, I settled on a white T-shirt and dark brown cargo pants, pairing it with a matching white sneaker.As I took long strides along the stairs, I was greeted by servants who were either too scared to look up or to climb the stairs with me.I couldn't be bothered with whatever their thoughts about me were. "Claudia?" I called one of the servants that meandered past me."Yes, sir.""Call me one of th
Tracy's POVDescending from the stairs, Kian's voice echoed through the house, "Kian, have you taken your drugs?" I queried, stomping harder on the stairs."No, Mom, I will when I'm done with my schoolwork.""How often will I tell you to take a break from schoolwork," I demanded, with furrowed eyebrows, arms crossing my chest tightly"I'm sorry, momma, but I love my schoolwork, and I know that I must study hard to make you and Uncle Garvin and Aunty Lisa proud." He pressed, caressing my cheeks with gentle strokes."I see. Now I have to share my child with the crowd," I teased, pinching his cheeks playfully.No, momma, he exclaimed, I love you the most, and I'm studying hard for you, he insisted, cupping my face in his little palms, "but you do know that Uncle Garvin and Aunty Lisa are more like family to us.""Look at you sounding all mature," I pinched his cheeks harder."Ouch! Momma, it hurts," he protested, wiggling futilely to free himself from my grip."I'm sorry," putting my han
Tracy's POV"This!" I gestured to the dress the girls was holding up for me. This is the new design," I announced, a loud round of applause erupting from the cheering crowd."Can I have this," a lady whose face I could not quite figure out in the crowd yelled, waving her card at me."No," I smiled, "this is currently the only piece available, but I'll issue a public notice for when many pieces are designed." The crowd went into an uproar, clearly dissatisfied with the update. "But..." I continued that other designs are yet to be implemented in the marketplace. You can meet the sales rep to check the samples and make your payments." With that, I slipped off the stage and entered the crowd to attend to my guests. "Tracy, come over here," Garvin waved as he beckoned to me. He was standing tall in an ox-blood-colored shirt and dark gray pants. His natural blonde hair was dropping in an honest, unstyled manner.Dropping my glass of juice with one of the waitpeople, I ambled towards the
Kia's POVHer hips swung from left to right as she sashayed towards a group of men. Her kneel-length peach-colored dress clung tightly to her curves, the dress's color complimenting her fair skin. Her hair fell over her shoulders in a wavy curl and swung as she walked. My gaze did not leave her as men and women fawned over in an attempt to get an autograph signed or for collaborations. "I'm sorry, but I do not know you," her words resounded. The image of her face was imprinted in her mind. I returned to my seat, watching her from afar to avoid attracting people's attention. Her smile was radiant as she spoke, lighting her entire face with warmth and joy."Kia.. Kia, is something bothering you?" Hazel's shrill voice came behind me, tapping my shoulders as she spoke."Geez, Hazel, must you show your lack of culture everywhere, I snapped, turning abruptly to her, eyes filled with range."someone's in a sour mood; alright, I'll let ya be," she hissed, taking a long sip of her cocktail dr
Tracy's POVHe is walking towards me, each strut eluding confidence and commanding power, causing my heart to beat; I feel my heart threatening to burst out of my chest. I struggled to keep my gaze down as he approached me, my heart racing to a million miles. Was he coming to ask me for a dance? Or has he learned that I was expectant when I left?It shocked me when he called my name earlier, and my heart did a million summersaults at the mention of my name from his mouth. It was more like my name was meant to be pronounced just by him. "Do you not know me?" Confusion was written all over his face, and it was unlike Kia to be confused. Pretending not to enjoy the feeling-- the feeling of his eyes searching my face. The sense of the need for me to recognize who he was. These were the privileges that came with power-- suddenly, everyone is fawning over you, and no one cares about your background or whose daughter you are. Garvin walked past me, and I grabbed his arm stylishly, hooki
Tracy's POVI lay in bed twirling all night, thoughts of Kia's appearance robbing me of all the sleep I should have been getting...Why was he here? I had asked myself that question several, but I still couldn't provide the answers to them.Of all places, why did you come here? If only he knew I didn't come here, I was chosen to be here. If only he knew how much hardships I had gone through."But the mate bond," Crystal trailed off.Scratch that Crystal. Fuck the damn bond.He must have gotten a new partner after all. Or even worse, get married to Amber.I did notice that he was sitting with a lady earlier, though when I tried getting a better look at her, she was no longer there. I was seeing things again, I concluded.Kia was no longer a part of my life, and he didn't deserve to be a part of my life or Kia
Kia's POV. Staring at the contact address card, I thought the meeting with Tracy at the party hadn't gone too well. It was more like she had morphed into a completely different person. The light in her eyes was still there, but her entire personality had changed. My behavior towards her when she lived here wasn't entirely pleasant. If you want something badly, you won't give up, right? I stared at my reflection in the mirror, adjusting the collar of my blue vintage shirt that I parked with black jean shorts. Letting my hair fall naturally, I didn't want it to look like I was trying to make an impression on her, so I opted for a casual dress. But as I let my engine roar to life, leaving its mark behind as I drove out, I began to guess my outfit choice second. "Did you deliver the flowers to the address as I had instructed?" I clarified from my driver, rubbing my hands together nervously. ---- Confirming from her receptionist that she was in the office, I stepped in, waiting f
Kia's POV.Why would she, of all places, live with Garvin? From everything I've gathered, she is doing relatively well to afford a comfortable apartment. Was she really in a relationship with Garvin? And if so, why has she not bothered rejecting our mate bond, or was she waiting for the right occasion?"So, sir, do you still want to go there?""Yes, yes, take me there.""Should I call for backup?""And why is that?""Just in case, sir.""In case of what? Use your words, Kyle." I snapped, not in the mood for suspense."Just in case they get aggressive.""But we aren't going with a war proposal, are we?""So that means no backup?""No backup." I insisted."Plus, we wouldn't be going in. We
Kia's POVThe elders were still very much in shock that I had a son."Honestly, exactly how long is it going to take them to get used to it?""We have to run a DNA test immediately," one of them said."Get on with it already! How many times have you said that?" I asked. "Or are you scared of finding out the truth?"He bared his teeth at me, but I smiled smoothly. I had nothing to fear since I had done all my preparations and I knew the truth.My confidence was probably disarming to them, but they still went ahead with the DNA test."Come along, boy," one of them said to Kian.I looked to my side at him. "Go on now. They won't hurt you. You'll be back with us before you know it." He nodded silently and went along with the elder."Are you sure this is not a bit too rushed?" Tracy asked."I'm sure," I said. "I guess what, I've never been happier in my life." I leaned in and kissed her on her cheek.She seemed a little nervous accepting the kiss from me. I could see clearly in her look th
Kia's POVEven after waiting for someone, he did not show up, and I began to wonder whether something was wrong. The boy had finished telling me his story, and now it was my turn. He looked at me expectantly."Before we have this very serious conversation," I said, "since he is not here, I think we would just do it without him."I looked at him seriously. "Now, are we going to have to do it a second time because he is not here? Because you have two people to apologize to.""No," she said. "Never mind that.""All right," I said."I'm sorry," she said."Sorry for what?" Kian asked her.A single tear streamed down her cheek as she spoke. "Your father is Kia here," she pointed a finger at me. "I've kept the two of you separated for so long now, and I'm very sorry about it."He looked stunned, but I wasn't surprised at all. After all, I had figured it out myself.She looked at me, her eyes pleading. "I'm so sorry," she said. "I am ready to accept whatever punishment you have for me," she s
Garvin's POVArriving at the hospital, I found myself walking straight towards Tracy's ward. Right now, I hardly knew what I wanted or why I was here. What I did know was that I had only an hour to spend. After that, I'll go back to the office to see how far we are with the documents and the secretary.I felt really excited to give the secretary the job of spying on the elders because I knew that it would surely be very fun."Yes, and then I will order her to deny any connections with me immediately if she gets caught," I thought, the plan making more and more sense in my mind. The more I thought about it, the more excited I became."Who knows? They might have information about who sent her to them," I thought. The thoughts were very exciting to me.Shaking all of them out of my mind, I focused on the task at hand. Right now, I was in the hospital to find Tracy, wasn't I? To confront her about the life-changing news that she had hidden from me for so long.She was going to pay for it
Kia's POVI kept on checking my watch, waiting for Garvin to come before I broached the subject with her. After all, it would not be a bad idea for me to finish the topic once and for all when he was here. It was going to be a very nice party, and I was probably going to enjoy it.No, I realized, looking at her face. I was not going to enjoy anything about the Great reveal. It was going to hurt to hear it from her that I was the father of the boy. And him coming here could make the environment a lot more tense than it should be.Tracy was looking at me. I could feel her eyes. I wondered whether I should glance up to meet them and whether she would see the betrayal in mine. I had been waiting to confront the topic ever since, but now I found myself backing out. Later, there was no rush, after all.She was looking at me, staring intently, so much that I had to look up at her.Our eyes met, and I couldn't help but feel a crushing sorrow mixed with disappointment at the crimes she had com
Garvin's POVI tried to collect my thoughts and keep my composure while sitting in the office. The files that I had to keep on signing were a consistent source of annoyance, especially now that my mind was in another place. Now, I had a lot of things to worry about apart from the inconsequential office work."What are those elders up to?" I thought, knowing that they would not come here for something as trivial as Tracy. Last I checked, they did not really care.The door opened, making me really consider getting another secretary for myself. Somebody that was more docile, somebody that was polite and cautious enough to freaking knock on the door before entering."Yes, do you want anything?" I asked, not in any way hiding the irritation in my voice."There are a few more documents for you," she said in a little voice, as if that would pacify me."Are they for me to sign again?" I asked."No," she said, "they are for you to read."My eyes narrowed as I observed her. "Are you seriously go
Kia's POVI waited patiently for the boy to begin telling us what he had in mind. Maybe it had to do with what he said, that he would rather talk to his mommy about.He hesitated, looking at me, feeling his eyes resting on me. I looked away for a while, wondering about the best way to deal with the situation. I was definitely going to hear what he wanted to say, even if I had decided to let them have their peaceful private conversation. Now that I knew I was his father, I couldn't keep myself out of his life for much longer."I should stop pretending," I thought, looking at them, and showing that I knew he was looking at me."Oh, is it a private conversation?" I asked."I told you before, I want to talk to only mommy about it," he said."Fair enough," I said, "after all, I am just a distant relative." I zeroed my eyes in on Tracy, and as she opened her mouth, not waiting for her to say anything, I got up and walked out of the room. Calmly, I would just have to listen from outside the
Kia's POVWhen she gave me the confirmation that she was able to finish her food, I found myself relaxing. Well, that meant that she'd gain a lot of strength and then I could ask her a lot of questions, didn't it?He ate calmly, and I watched her intently, not knowing what I was looking for. Soon, all of a sudden, she started to choke."Dammit, I should have thought about that," I thought, getting up immediately, looking around for water. Surely, there was a sink in here.After scanning the entire room with my eyes, I found out that there was none."I'm pretty sure that hospital wards are supposed to contain sinks for water," I said, even as I stormed out of the room in search. "Like, what are they supposed to do if the patient suddenly wanted to vomit or to clean up his face? There needed to be a sink in it.""Or is this place a very cheap one?" I asked, trying to figure it out. "If it was cheap, then it made sense why they were not able to provide all the rooms with all the necessar
Kia's PovEntering the room, I immediately fixed my gaze on her. I wanted to know whether she was awake or asleep. Honestly, I did not know which one I wanted more at this point. I definitely wanted to talk to her and pour out my frustration, but at the same time, I wanted to run away from that conversation as far as possible. Kian jumped on her bed with a happy expression on his face. 'No boy, you don't want to wake her up if she is still sleeping.' I said in my head, the words refusing to come out. Maybe I wanted her to wake up after all. She did not react, meaning that she was still sleeping. At least I had some time to prepare my mind.I looked down at the bag in my hand. It contained the food I had bought from the restaurant. It is sure to calm me down, I thought. I came nearer and sat on her bed, observing her as she slept just as I had done for the past couple of days. Shaking my head in disappointment, I left and pulled out a chair from a corner of the ward. I looked aroun
Kia's POVEven I couldn't figure out the reason why I was on my way to get every pasta by myself instead of just ordering it online. Or maybe I should give it to a servant to get it; any one of those options will do, but I found myself going personally."Do I just want to get out of our presence for a while?" I asked, featuring her face, my mind stuck on the face that had hidden away so many secrets from me. Who knew how many were still hidden?"Uncle, you're not focusing on your driving," Kian said. I noticed that the car was driving slower and slower because I was applying pressure to the brakes subconsciously. In addition, the car was already turning towards a gutter."I'm sorry," I said sheepishly as I adjusted the car. "Maybe I just need a little rest.""Not just rest, you need plenty of rest," he said, his voice cheerful. The joy in his voice almost made me happy. Almost."I think that is the restaurant we are looking for," he said, pointing.Through the rearview mirror, I could