Chapter NineteenCamilla~~~~Five years later“Rory.” I called out. “We’re going to be late. Get your shoes and come out now.”“I’m coming mummy.” She said and ran out of the room with her shoes.I carried her onto the chair and helped her wear her shoes.“Mummy, when are we going to see Pops again? I miss him.”“Very soon. He’s really busy right now.”“Awnnn.” She said and pouted.“You can call him this night and talk to him.”“Yay.” She said, a smile returning to her face.“Come on, let’s go.” We went out of the house quickly and went into the car. We were running a little bit late on time as I had woken up at 7:30 instead of 6:00.I drove out of the compound quickly to Rory’s school and dropped her off.“I love you okay?”“I love you too mummy. Bye.” She said and waved at me.“Bye, baby.” I said and walked back to the car.I drove quickly to the office because we had a lot to do at the office. I got there in no time and went into my office.My assistant was there waiting for me.“
Chapter TwentyRaffael ~~~~I had to fly in from New York to California. I was coming to visit, Sam. He also needed my help with a project he was currently working on. He was busy so he couldn’t come pick me up so I had to Uber from the airport to the hotel I would be staying at.When he was done with what he was busy doing and I had unpacked, he came to pick me up to go for a meeting with an interior designing company.His architectural company in California had grown and he was working on a project in New York. That was the reason I was here. His company, Dippers was going for a meeting with an interior designing company that had risen to fame in less than five years.We arrived at the company building in no time and went inside. It was time for the meeting and other people from his company arrived. We headed into the meeting room and the meeting commenced.It was an easy meeting, we understood each other really quickly and came to an agreement.“They said there’s a woman behind th
Chapter Twenty-OneCamilla~~~~After we got ice cream and headed back to rye house I got started on making dinner. Rory was on a video call with my grandpa in the living room.I lit the stove and left the pot of pasta to boil before draining the water out.I went to the living room to check up on her.“Mummy Pops said he can come visit us next week.”“Is that true? You’re not busy?” I asked.“Yes, Camilla. I’ll arrange everything just tell me when.”“Okay, Pops is coming next week.”“Yay.” Rory said and did a happy dance. “Pops look what I can do.” She said and tried to do a cartwheel.”“That’s impressive Rory.” My grandpa said and started laughing.“I started going ballet at school.” She said.“Really? I’ll come watch one of your performances then.”“Yes.”“Okay, Rory. I have to go. I’ll talk to you later. I love you.”“I love you Pops.” She said and blew him a kiss.“Bye, Grandpa.” I said and ended the video call.I went back to the kitchen to resume my cooking and she followed beh
Chapter Twenty-TwoRaffael ~~~~The sound of my phone ringing woke me up from my very deep sleep. I didn’t bother to check the caller ID before picking it up.“Hello?”“Raffael, are you just waking up?” Sam asked from the other end of the phone.“What the hell man? Why are you calling me this early?”“Get ready. I’m coming to pick you up. We have another meeting with them.”“This early?”“Yes, the client had a change of plans.”“Okay, I’ll be ready in 40 minutes.” I hung up the phone and got out of bed to go get ready.In under thirty minutes, I was ready and Sam showed up to come pick me up. We stopped by a coffee shop on our way there and got coffee and something to eat.We got to the office building and went to the meeting room to meet with Mr Edison. We had the client with us this time and we looked over the contract again to change some things the client didn’t like.After two hours, the meeting was done and we went downstairs. Mr Edison asked us to wait in the lobby for him aft
Chapter Twenty-ThreeCamilla~~~~I couldn’t believe it was him standing in front of me. He was the man who Rory said could be her daddy. If only she knew. James came down and went to meet them. When he saw me he said. “Marie, where did you find her?” He came to meet me.“Rory, why’d you run off? Your mum was worried.” He asked.“I’m sorry.” She said pouting.“Come on, Marie. I want to introduce you to them. They’re the people from Dippers.”“I have work to do. I don’t want to meet them.”“Come on.” He said and dragged me along with him.“Mr Edwards, Mr Hicks, meet Marie Brown. She’s my partner.” He asked when we got to them.“Uhm. Nice to meet you.” I almost stammered. I recognized Sam, his best friend, although I hadn’t seen him in years.I extended my hand for a shake to both of them. Sam was first. Raffael held my hand a little bit longer than normal and his grip was tight. He finally let go.“Nice to meet you too.” They said in unison.“I’ll be going now, I have a lot of work to
Chapter Twenty-FourRaffael ~~~~We left the office building and Sam dropped me off at my hotel and left. I went straight into the shower to freshen up.I came out and got into bed. I couldn’t sleep though. I had a daughter. I wonder what her name was. I thought about following Camilla to see where she would go to but I decided against it.I didn’t want her to tell my daughter bad things about me. I kept brainstorming ideas on how I would see her again. I slept off in the middle of thinking.When I woke up the next morning, I went to the gym that was in the hotel to work out. We were leaving for New York tomorrow and I was thinking of how I would see my daughter. I wanted to meet her and be introduced as her father. For now, she only knew me as a stranger.I finished my workout and went to freshen up. I called Sam and told him to call Mr Edison. I wanted him to schedule a dinner before we left for New York tomorrow. I also told him to make sure Camilla was in attendance.I freshened
Chapter Twenty-FiveCamilla~~~~We woke early the next morning. We planned to go shopping for some gifts for Pops and Skye. They were coming on Monday. We also planned to go to the park later.We got ready for the day and ate breakfast. We watched TV for a few hours and then we headed out. While at the store, I received a call from James.“Hey, Good morning. How are you?”“I’m good. You?”“I’m fine. We’re going to dinner tonight with Mr. Edward, Mr. Hicks, and some others from the company.”“Okay?”“I’d like you to join us.”“I’m really busy. I have a lot on my plate now.”“Camilla, you have to come.” He said. He told me that they had specifically requested I come with him. I know this was Raffael’s doing.They threatened to end the contract if I didn’t go. Was it ever that serious? I eventually agreed at the end because I knew they would make good on their promise.We left the store and we couldn’t go to the park anymore. Rory was a bit sad when I told her that but I promised to mak
Chapter Twenty-SixRaffael ~~~~She went into the room and I followed behind her. Aurora was lying on the bed while the doctor was examining her.“What’s wrong with her?” She asked.“At the the mother?” The doctor asked.“Yes.”“Luckily, it’s nothing too serious. Just a slight headache and fever. She should be better by tomorrow.” The doctor said. “She should be awake in a couple of hours. I’ll come back to check on her.” He left the room.She rushed to her side and sat down on the chair beside the bed. I stood at the side and watched her. She buried her head in sheets close to her.She stayed in that position for a few seconds then I heard sobbing. I went to her and saw that she was crying.“Hey, what’s wrong?” I asked.She raised her head and sniffed. She cleaned her tears with the back of her palm.“I’m a bad mum.” She said.“Why do you think that?” I asked.“I didn’t even notice my daughter was sick before I left the house. What kind of mother am I? I also lost her, twice while I
Chapter Forty-FourRaphael’s POVI dropped Jason off at school and left for work. I had a meeting with a new client before I went to the project site.I spent the whole day at the site, I had some serious work to do. It was getting late and I had to call it a day and go home. I had to go to my mom's place because that was where Jason was. He was asleep when I got there so I decided to let him be.“So when can I meet my granddaughter?” My mum asked.“Slow down ma.”“Slow down for what? I was only asking a question.”“We’re still trying to navigate how we’re going to parent from different cities.”“Let her move back. That’s not a problem.”“You’re reaching. I can’t ask her to pack up her life and move to New York because of me. I was the reason she left in the first place.”She sighed and then went to the kitchen leaving me with my sister.“How is Camilla?” My sister asked.“She’s doing good. She runs a company with her partner. The company we’re currently working with.”“That’s nice.
Chapter Forty-ThreeCamilla’s POVMartha had arrived the day before and we were all excited. We didn’t talk much about what had happened while she was gone. It was a Monday and she got Rory ready for school and then I dropped her off and returned to the house.I didn’t have to go to work until 10am so I had a lot of time to get ready. I finished getting ready and I had a lot of time left so I decided to chat with Martha.“So he wants to be a part of her life?” She asked.“Yes.” I answered.“How would that work? You live in different cities.”“I really don’t know but we’ll figure that out.”We chatted for a while tge I looked at tge time and realized it was time for me to leave for work. “I’ll be on my way now. See you later.” I said and left the house.For the first few hours, I was at work, and for the remains part of the day, I went to visit the site we were working on.I was about to turn into the kitchen when I got hit by someone and got coffee spilled on my shirt.“What the hel
Chapter Forty-TwoRaphael's POVThe next morning, Jason and I got ready for the day and I dropped him off at my mom's house before going to work. I didn’t have much to do at work so I finished up pretty early. I then told Anthony to take me to the hotel Tori was staying at.We got there and went up to the room. I knocked on the door several times but I didn’t get an answer. I had a key but I wanted her to open the door herself.After about three minutes, I was still waiting for her to open it so I decided to use the key I had. I walked in and closed the door behind me. “Tori.” I called out. “Are you in here?” I didn’t get a reply back.It was a suite so I checked the room and the kitchen but I couldn’t find her. The receptionist said that she hadn’t checked out.I remembered that I hadn’t checked the bathroom so I went there and I saw her passed out on the floor.I bent down beside her. “Tori.” I said shaking her.I looked around and saw a bottle of pills lying on the floor. I tried
Chapter Forty-One Camilla's POV The night Raphael left was pretty rough. After he was gone, Rory resumed crying. We managed to calm her down, get her ready for bed, and put her to sleep. She woke up in the middle of the night crying for him. I couldn’t understand how she had gotten attached in such a short time. I put her back to sleep and stayed with her the rest of the night. The next morning we woke up and prepared for Skye and my Grandpa to leave. I had to tell her that they were going to leave and she started crying again. She went for a walk with my Grandpa while Skye and I were making some last-minute arrangements. “Rory’s pretty devastated.” Skye said while we were packing her suitcase. “I know. And I can’t understand it. I understand her crying cause you guys are leaving but I didn’t expect her to cry for Raphael. She got so attached to him in a short amount of time.” “She’s never felt how it was to have a dad and she finally got it. She’s a little girl but she’s als
Chapter FortyRaphael's POVAfter six hours, we finally landed in New York and I went to pick up my luggage and waited for the driver to arrive.After a few minutes, he arrived and I got in the car. My assistant was there too.“How are you doing?” I asked.“I'm good, sir.” He replied. “There's a problem.”“What is it?”“Tori is in police custody.”“What? Why?”“She was caught stealing from a mall. She called me and asked me to relay the message to you.”I sighed. “Take me to where she is.”He instructed the driver to take us to the station. I couldn't believe that she was arrested. What a disappointment. I turned on my phone and of course, it was all over the news.Everybody was making mention of Jason, our son, and how they felt sorry for him. After I left her, she became more of a mess than she already was. She started using and got addicted. I've tried to get her help but she doesn't want it.We reached the station and we were led inside. We talked to the policemen and then bailed
Chapter Thirty-NineCamilla's POVAfter Raphael and Rory left, I and Skye went to do some shopping. She and my Grandpa will be going back to New York tomorrow.We first went to the mall to get some clothes and random things that Skye wanted to take back to New York. We also got some things for my Grandpa and Rory. I knew Raphael was going to leave today. I was thinking of getting him something but I didn’t want to do too much.After we were done shopping, we went to get food. We just ordered regular burgers and went to find a place to sit.We were on our phones while waiting for our order to arrive me Skye let out a gasp.“What is it?” I asked. She didn’t reply to me immediately but kept scrolling on her phone and her mouth opened in shock. “Skye, what is it?”“It’s about Tori.”“What about her?”“You won’t believe this. She was caught stealing.”“Stealing? That’s a lie. From where?”“From a mall. She got caught with a dress in her bag.”“Oh my God. That’s awful.” I said and Skye gav
Chapter Thirty-EightRaphael’s POVIt was the day of the dance and Aurora and I had spent all of last night practicing our dance moves. The dance started at 2:00 pm and it was currently 11:02 am. I was on my way to their house.When I arrived, Camilla was doing Rory’s hair while Skye was steaming her dress. The chairman wasn’t at home.“Hey daddy.” Aurora said.“Hi, baby. Your hair is looking beautiful.”“Thank you.” She laughed. “I’m going to be the prettiest girl at the dance.”“You sure are.”“Hey.” Camilla said.“How are you?” I asked.“I’m good.” She replied. I went to drop my suit in the living room and came back to the dining.I sat on one of the chairs and after a few minutes, Skye was done with the dress and Camilla was done with Aurora's hair. “It looks really pretty.” I said.“Thank you, daddy.”We still had about two hours before the dance started. “What are we going to do for the next couple of hours before the dance starts?” I asked.“I guess we could watch a movie or
Chapter Thirty-Seven Camilla's POV After Raphael left, I wasn't in the mood to talk to anybody so I went and locked myself up in my room. Skye got Rory ready for bed and they all stayed up watching TV till 8:30 and went to bed. After they went to bed I came out for a glass of water. I spent a little time in the kitchen and when I was about to leave, I saw Skye coming out of the room. “I thought you were already asleep?” I asked. “I came for a glass of water. But I'm glad I ran into you.” “Why?” “I wanted to talk to you about Raphael.” She said and sat on a chair. “What about him?” “Look at the way you treat him, Camilla. You act like he's going to take Rory and sell her off. Give him some grace. I know you're hurt but for Rory’s sake please.” “But.” She interrupted me. “I know he hurt you. He's trying to make amends. If you would just let him.” “I’m trying to forgive him but I just can’t. Every time I think to be nice I just remember that morning he came hom
Chapter Thirty-SixRaphael’s POV“Mummy, look. Daddy got a necklace for me.” Aurora said as soon as Camilla came out of the kitchen.I scanned her face and from her expression, I could tell something was wrong.“Really? Let me see.” She said and took the necklace from her. She looked at it for a good minute.“It’s really pretty, mommy.” Aurora said.“Yes, it is baby.” She replied and handed it back to her. “Thank you.” She said to me.“It’s nothing. She’s my daughter after all.”“I want to put it on.” Aurora said.“Come here. Let me help you.” I said and she ran to me.“You guys are having fun without me.” The chairman said coming into the living room.“Pops. How are you?” Aurora said going to hug him. “You’ve been sleeping.”“I’m fine, Rory. I was tired. How are you? How was school?” “School was fine. Look at the necklace my daddy got me.” She said and showed him the pendant.“It’s really beautiful.” He said.“I know right.” She replied and ran off.“How are you doing?” The chairman