Moana
On the morning of the gala, I woke up early with Ella to get ready for the day. She had an appointment with a stylist and hairdresser before the gala. Selina explained to me, after I questioned the reasoning behind this for such a little girl, that it was commonplace for these sorts of events. Even though Ella was not publicly known as Edrick’s daughter, everyone in attendance at the gala was aware of it, and it was important for public relations for Edrick’s daughter to look her best -- even though she was only eight years old. It felt a little ridiculous to me for such a young girl to be subjected to hours of having her hair done and being fitted for a perfect dress, but I didn’t complain.
Once Ella was bathed, we walked out to the dining room for breakfast. Much to my surprise, Edrick was sitting there with his plate of food, a coffee, and a newspaper.
“Good morning, Daddy,&rdquo
MoanaThe drive to the gala was quiet. Ella was too busy fiddling with the beads on her dress to talk much, and Edrick made no attempts at holding a conversation with me. I felt self conscious after the way he looked at my belly when I got in the car -- was I already beginning to show signs of being pregnant, or was it only a coincidence?Eventually, the driver pulled up to the curb outside a large stone building with huge marble columns on the front. Edrick told us to wait until the driver came and opened the door, then Ella and I got out first. She held firmly onto my hand as we approached the building, clearly just as nervous as I was. Her nerves only seemed to heighten when we stepped inside and she realized that there were no other children around.“Moana?” Ella whispered, tugging at my dress while giving me big doe eyes. “I don’t like it here.”&l
MoanaJust as Sophia was going to ask if I was going to dance, her eyes caught something behind me and her face lit up. “Kelly!” she exclaimed, waving over my shoulder. “How nice to see you!”I felt myself tense, as did Ella, who was still holding my hand. I turned around slowly to see Kelly approaching. I hadn’t noticed before from where I stood and because she was standing behind the podium, but her dress was inappropriately tight and low cut for a charity gala, and she appeared to already be tipsy as she walked up to us. She brushed right past me, as if I wasn’t even there, and walked straight up to Sophia.“Thank you so much for your donation,” Sophia said, smiling widely and holding her hand out for Kelly to shake.Kelly gave Sophia’s hand a half-hearted -- and almost disgusted -- squeeze and swirled the bubbly champagne aro
EdrickThroughout the gala, I tried not to look too long at the way Moana’s body looked in her dress -- but there was also something else that caught my eye and held my attention, even while I was busy schmoozing with other wealthy socialites to get donations for the foundation.Her belly, which was always slim with nice curves at the waist, was a little bit rounder.I quickly looked away as her eyes met mine, chalking it up in my head to the simple monthly fluctuations in a woman’s body; besides, if she gained a little weight, maybe it was good for her. As far as I was aware, she had next to no money before she began working for me, so maybe she didn’t get enough to eat and now her body was settling into a healthier weight.Soon, however, I had to push aside these thoughts as it was time to give my speech. Kelly, who made a generously large donation prior to the g
MoanaEdrick’s eyes flashed with recognition as I refused a drink. I knew, then, that he was onto me. Edrick quickly disappeared into the crowd again, leaving me alone with Verona once more, but that interaction alone was enough to cause me such stress that I suddenly felt as though I was going to throw up.“Excuse me,” I said, pushing my chair back and standing. “I’ll be back in a moment.”Before Verona had the chance to respond, I quickly turned on my heel and beelined for the bathroom, holding my hand over my mouth to keep myself from vomiting. Thankfully, the bathroom was empty when I entered, and I barely made it to the toilet before the contents of my stomach poured out.When I was finished throwing up, I flushed the toilet and stood shakily, leaning on the side of the bathroom stall for a moment to steady myself before walking over to the sink. I to
EdrickI put Ella to bed myself that night. It was calming to see how peacefully she slept; if only I could have slept like that. As I returned to my room, still fuming over whether Moana was lying to me or not, I felt as though my daughter’s nanny was being suspicious.I couldn’t shake the feeling that Moana was pregnant with my brother’s baby. I knew that she went out for dinner with him the other night, and had seen him multiple times before that. For all I knew, she only ever accepted the job with me to try to climb the social classes, and now she had gotten herself knocked up by my brother. I wanted to believe that I was wrong, that she really was just sick and gaining a little weight, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something more was going on behind the scenes.For quite a while, I tossed and turned in bed. Finally, I gave up on sleep altogether and decided to get my
MoanaI had just begun to drift off to sleep. Somehow, I had made it through the gala, and Edrick hadn’t pried about the pregnancy. Maybe he didn’t actually realize it after all; maybe it was just my nerves getting to me, and the Edrick I saw that night was only him being his usual abrasive and cold self.As I began to fade off into sleep, the tears on my cheek drying, I felt much more at peace. I would still have to make a decision soon, but at least I could do it in my own time.Oh, how wrong I was!I must not have been asleep for more than ten minutes at the most when I was suddenly startled awake by the sound of my door flinging open. I gasped and sat up in bed, my eyes wide and still full of tears from before and my heart racing as my fight or flight response kicked in, to see Edrick standing in my doorway.“Edrick…?” I said,
Moana“It’s your baby!” I blurted out.Edrick fell silent, his eyes wide with disbelief. Beside me, Selina gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth. Even I was shocked by my own candidness.“I-- I’ll leave you two alone,” Selina muttered. I didn’t break my gaze from Edrick, but I heard the sound of her feet scurrying toward the door followed by the sound of the door closing.Edrick was silent for the longest time before he finally spoke. “Is this true?” His voice was so low it was almost a whisper, a stark contrast from how angrily he was speaking to me before.“Yes,” I replied, nodding solemnly. “It’s yours. Five weeks along -- six, now, actually.”Edrick went silent again. He seemed to be calculating. I just hoped that he trusted me enough to
EdrickI couldn’t believe my ears.Moana was pregnant, just as I had suspected… but she was pregnant with my child.At first, I didn’t want to believe her, but the pleading look on her face told me all I needed to know. I could tell that she was being truthful -- there was no doubt about it. But at the same time, I couldn’t quite tell if she was being truthful about her original intentions. Was this really just an accident, or did she intend on getting pregnant with my child from the beginning?I thought back to the night that we had our one night stand as I walked back to my room. I was drunk that night, so the memory was hazy, but I remembered how she seemed to be unable to resist me in the back of the car. When I took her up to the hotel room I’d booked for her, she had practically leaped on me and began kissing me all over.&nb
MoanaI couldn’t help but laugh as I thought back on the beginning of our relationship.To think that, just a year prior, I was just Edrick’s one night stand who also became his nanny… And now, here I was, standing in front of the mirror in my wedding dress.The dress that I picked out was beautiful. We planned to have a late summer wedding to commemorate our meeting,six months after little Daisy was born. My dress was a blush pink color. It was soft and flowy with a beautiful floral embroidered pattern, and sleeves that fluttered in the breeze. It hugged my waist in all of the right places and made me feel more beautiful than ever.Daisy was six months old now, and Ella often mentioned how she no longer looked like a squished little grape. Ella had just turned nine, and thought that she was a grown-up, although she still liked to
MoanaAfter ten hours of intense and grueling labor, little Daisy was born.“She’s so tiny,” I whispered as I held the little crying bundle in my arms. The doctor weighed her at just six pounds and twelve ounces, but she was as healthy as an ox.Edrick, who hadn’t left my side throughout the entire delivery, leaned over my shoulder with a wide grin on his face and held his hand out to touch her cheek. Almost instantly, Daisy’s little hand shot out and gripped his index finger with a relentless force for such a little thing.Her eyes were squeezed shut, and yet she still had an instinct to keep her father’s finger in a vice grip.I couldn’t help but laugh, but I also wanted to cry.When I was on the cliff with Michael, I saw my parents at my birth. I did the same thing to my father, and I also wouldn&
MoanaThe time between Michael going to prison and Daisy’s birth were such a whirlwind of activity that the months practically flew by.Ethan and Kelly wound up being transferred to a mental health facility. I think that was better for them in the long run, as the things that they did were ultimately the result of Michael’s brainwashing. I didn’t hold any grudges against them; in fact, Edrick and I visited them on a monthly basis, and the medication and therapy that they went through seemed to be helping a bit.Of course, Kelly could never get over her obsession with Edrick. Nor could Ethan get over his obsession with me. It was very likely that they would spend years in that place, but at least we could have somewhat normal conversations with them when we went to visit.Michael, however, had no visitors and I didn’t feel the least bit bad about it. Verona ev
MoanaThe months in between Michael going to prison and Daisy’s birth were a whirlwind of emotions and unexpected turns. After the incident with Michael, where he was sentenced to prison for his attempt on my life, my world took another astonishing twist.The news outlets revealed a shocking revelation: Moana, the seemingly ordinary girl who was raised in an orphanage, was, in fact, the legendary Golden Wolf.I never imagined my life could become so entangled in a web of fame and attention.Suddenly, everyone wanted a piece of me. All sorts of brands and non-governmental organizations bombarded me with invitations and tempting monetary offers. It was overwhelming, to say the least. My inbox was flooded with messages from high-profile companies and influential figures, all hoping to capitalize on my newfound fame.It felt like the world had changed overnigh
EdrickWithin an hour, Moana and I were nervously walking up the front steps to my parents’ mansion.We left Ella with Selina just in case we walked in on anything sinister. The house was mostly dark, which was out of the ordinary. As I slowly opened the front door, I felt my heart catch in my throat.“Hello?” I called out, holding Moana’s hand as I stepped into the large foyer. “Mom?”There was no answer. Moana and I exchanged nervous glances and walked in a little further.“Verona?” Moana called, cupping her hands around her mouth to make her voice travel further. “Are you there?!”Still no answer. We decided to head into the sitting room, where my mother often liked to be during her free time, but it was dark and empty. At this point, I was starting to get even more nervous.
MoanaA little while later, Edrick and I were standing in the front doorway of the mansion and looking out at the scene before us.The security guards were leading Michael, who was cuffed, over to the car. His nose was still clotted with blood from Edrick’s punch, but something about it was satisfying to see. I enjoyed seeing Michael finally face some consequences for his actions, and I especially enjoyed watching Selina scold him like a child.What was even more satisfying, though, was seeing him being shoved into the back of the car to be driven down to the police station.Kat was found by the guards, too. Not long after Edrick punched Michael in the face, Kat was found hiding in the woods. As it turned out, Michael paid her a pretty penny to get close to me and lead me off into the forest to get lost so that he could kill me. She looked ashamed as the guards cuffed her, and
EdrickI hated to say it, but Moana looked more beautiful than ever as she practically assaulted my evil father on the back lawn.“He’s no threat,” she said as she released her grip on his shirt and let him fall back to the ground, then turned and walked back to meet me. “The knife is gone. He’s just an angry old man now and nothing more.”Moana was right; the knife was indeed gone. It shattered when Michael tried to stab her with it.During those moments when the knife was plunged into her belly, it felt as though my heart stopped. I watched in horror as the knife disappeared into her belly. When my father pulled it out, it was covered in blood and he had a maniacal grin on his face.But something happened then. She became enveloped in that golden light again, only this time it was even brighter and more blinding than before.
MoanaEveryone froze and stared at each other with wide eyes as the sound of the groaning and shuffling came closer.“Daddy?” Ella whimpered. “Who is there?”Edrick slowly sat Ella down, then walked toward the door. He gestured to the security guards, but before anything could be done, the last person we expected walked into the doorway.“Thought you could kill me, huh?”Michael stood in the doorway with an evil smirk on his face. Selina, the maids and I all let out a collective gasp. Selina suddenly grabbed Ella by the arm and shoved her behind us to keep her protected.“Michael,” I said, taking a step forward, “you were dead.”Michael just laughed. “I was indeed,” he said. “But not for long. I guess you didn’t realize that I was waking
Moana“Can you trust me to take care of him?” I asked.Ella began to sob, but I somehow knew exactly what to do. It all felt so natural now… I didn’t even really need to think about it. I just knew to wrap my arms around Ella and comfort her, although whether it was my abilities or simply my nurturing instincts, I couldn’t be entirely sure.Suddenly, Ella stopped crying.“Okay,” she whimpered after a moment, stepping back and wiping her tears out of her eyes. “I trust you. Please take good care of my daddy.”I managed a weak smile and nodded at Ella, taking her little hands in mine. “I will take good care of him,” I whispered as I looked into her eyes, still using my pacifying ability to keep her calm. “Don’t you worry.”Ella nodded and stepped away, allowin