Elijah’s POVI pinched Reese's tiny nose gently, causing her to giggle. “It's too late to take you without your family's permission,” I said, trying to sound serious, but her infectious laughter made it difficult.Reese's eyes widened with determination. “Mommy will say yes! Promise!” she declared, her voice high and full of confidence. Before I could react, she wriggled out of my arms, darted to the nanny's side, and snatched the phone from her hand.“Reese, wait—” the nanny started, but Reese was already trying to navigate the screen with her chubby fingers.“I'll call Mommy and ask!” Reese insisted, her face scrunched up in concentration. The nanny, looking slightly exasperated but quite a little shocked, gently took the phone back from Reese.“Sweetie, there's no need for that,” the nanny said softly. “Remember, I'm your mommy's sister.”I looked at her in surprise. “Yes, sir, I am,” she reiterated. “But still, her mother will worry if we go with a stranger.”“I want to go!” Rees
Elijah’s POVI exchanged a quick glance with Serena, a silent conversation passing between us. Reese was smiling so brightly, her little face lighting up with joy. “Mommy’s work!” she exclaimed, pointing to the design on the desk. “Look at that smile,” Serena exclaimed. She stared at the little girl, seemingly scrutinizing her. “She looks just like Sophia.”I nodded, my throat tightening. “Yeah, I’ve been thinking that for some time now. So it’s not surprising that I’m not the only one who thinks so.”Serena walked over to Reese and crouched down to her level. “Hello again, sweetie,” she said softly. “Why are you excited about that design?”Reese beamed up at her and then pointed to the design again. “Mommy made this,” she declared proudly.My heart pounded wildly. A little girl can’t possibly lie like that, right? This could really be Sophia’s daughter!Serena stared at Reese with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. It was a fake, strained smile that made something twist in my gut.
Sophia’s POVMy heart swelled at the sight of my little girl entering the apartment. But I held back, unsure if she was still upset with me for being away on business the past few days. Instead of rushing to her, I took a moment to collect myself and observe.She didn't run to me. That was the first sign something was wrong. Reese was usually so excited to see me, her little legs carrying her as fast as they could into my arms. But this time, she sat on the sofa with her eyes downcast. As I got closer, I noticed the telltale shimmer of tears clinging to her lashes.“Reese?” I said gently, touching her arm. She looked up at me, and my heart broke at the sight of her red-rimmed eyes. “Sweetie, what's wrong?”Her bottom lip quivered. But before she could answer, her nanny stepped in. “Ms. Sophia, I should explain,” she said, her tone apologetic. “There was a bit of an incident today.”My eyes widened with concern. “What happened?”“It was that man again from the park. Elijah.”My heart
Elijah’s POVI came home late that night, the exhaustion of the day's work settling into my bones. But I couldn’t stop thinking about Reese, picturing her cute little smile and hearing her adorable voice. The house was dark and quiet. I hung my coat on the rack and made my way to my study, craving a few moments of solitude before heading to bed.I sat down heavily in my chair, staring at a file on my desk that seemed to taunt me with its presence. I'd hired a detective to look into Reese, and now the results were staring back at me, demanding attention.I opened the file and flipped through the pages, each piece of information making my heart beat faster. Reese had been born in France, and the date of birth matched perfectly with the timeline when Sophia was pregnant. The pieces fit together in a way that made too much sense, yet still seemed surreal.“Reese looks like Sophia,” Serena had commented earlier today. “It's not just you, Elijah.”I rubbed my temples, trying to make sense
Sophia’s POVJust as I was about to open my mouth to speak to Elijah, I heard a familiar voice calling my name. “Hey, Sophia, it’s a good thing you came to work!” When I turned around to see who it was, I was surprised to find Trevis there, together with Chris. “Hey, man,” Trevis greeted Elijah. Chris also shook Elijah’s hand.“Uh, I’m sorry but I can’t stay long,” I announced, looking uncomfortable. I had been ready to divulge something important to Elijah, but it will have to wait. I guess it’s not yet meant to be. “But I thought we were supposed to talk about something important?” Elijah wondered. I gulped, and then forced myself to smile. “Oh, that. Uh, I just wanted to consult something regarding the project. But we can do it some other time. And I only came here to grab some files from my office, but I have to go now.”Trevis stepped forward. “Wait, don’t go yet, Sophia. Chris needs to talk to you.”I turned to Chris curiously. I don’t think we’ve ever been introduced forma
Sophia’s POVI stared at Elijah in shock, unable to believe what I had just heard. I’d always thought before that he favored Julia over me. Elijah stood firm, his jaw set in a way that brooked no argument. “No, Sophia,” he repeated, “I won’t agree to Chris using Julia’s name for your work.” Then he turned his gaze toward Chris disapprovingly. “What kind of request is that, anyway?”Before Chris could respond, though, Elijah went on, raising his voice just a little bit and showing his emotions. “Besides, Julia has hurt Sophia before because of that plagiarism issue. This is just unacceptable. I don’t want Sophia to deal with similar problems again. And also, it won’t be good for Urban Next if any of it comes out. Right, Trevis?”Trevis, standing off to the side, looked just as surprised as I felt. “Of course!” He immediately agreed with Elijah. Then he said, “Chris, are you serious? This is insulting to a designer, especially one of Sophia’s caliber.”Chris shifted uncomfortably, his
Elijah’s POV“Do you know Reese Davis?” I asked Sophia once more, intent on finding out the truth from her. Sophia’s eyes widened, the shock evident on her face. She seemed to brace herself against the counter, her knuckles whitening as she gripped the edge. “So you've found out already about Reese...” she said slowly, her voice almost a whisper. She didn’t even bother to deny it or to lie. Maybe she came here in the first place to really tell me about our daughter. I nodded. “I know she was born in France about three years ago. This was the time you would have given birth, if you hadn’t really… If you had not gone to the hospital and…” I swallowed hard, pushing through the lump in my throat as I remembered the pain of finding out she’d terminated the pregnancy. I couldn’t even make myself say it. I took a deep breath and continued, “And I know that Reese and your best friend Kayla share the last name Davis.”Sophia’s eyes darted away from mine, her face pale. She looked very guil
Julia’s POVToday is yet another day for me to prove my worth in this company, I thought as I stepped into the bustling lobby of Urban Next Design Studio. I had a huge smile on my face, excited to work on my current project and to show off my skills. I’ll prove to all of them that I’m really a lot better than Sophia, that I don’t have to copy her work just to be noticed. Just then, I caught sight of Chris and Trevis who were deep in conversation. I was about to say hi, but then I noticed them lowering their voices when I approached. I couldn't shake the feeling that they were discussing something they didn't want me to hear. I brushed off the paranoia, reminding myself that I was here for a purpose.“Hey, Julia,” Chris greeted me with a warm smile, giving me a quick hug. “How are you?”We had some small talk, but it was obvious that they didn’t want me around. Hence, I decided to just make a beeline for Elijah’s office upstairs. I needed to speak with him, to set things right betwe