MoanaThat night, after Ella calmed down enough and agreed to clean up her room with our help, I laid in bed and found myself unable to sleep following the events of the day. Every time I closed my eyes, I pictured the creepy man from the mall; even more than that, however, I pictured Edrick’s soft eyes staring up at me as he held Ella on the floor and I felt his protective arm around my shoulders. I decided eventually that I couldn’t sleep for a while, so I decided to get my sketchbook out and draw. Although I had been working on another sketch for the past couple of days, I decided to turn to a fresh page that night and draw a scene that I couldn’t get out of my head: the image of Edrick holding Ella in her princess costume.As I drew, starting with the rough forms of Edrick and Ella, a soft smile inadvertently began to spread across my lips. That smile spread as I began to feel Mina’s presence. It had been a few days since I really felt her presence, but I could tell that the event
MoanaMuch to my surprise, the aloof Alpha billionaire almost began to open up for a brief moment… Almost. “Yes,” he admitted when I asked if the person he was arguing with tonight was the same person who I overheard him arguing with before all those weeks ago. His voice was low and strained, like there wasn’t enough room in his throat to get everything out in one breath. “Someone from my past. They’ve been bothering me; they usually start up again around this time every year, because…”The dark kitchen fell quiet after Edrick suddenly stopped himself from saying more. He kept his eyes fixed on his hands as they sat clasped together on the kitchen counter, but I could tell just from the look on his face and the way his body suddenly tensed that he already felt as though he said too much.I didn’t know who this mysterious ‘Olivia’ woman was or why she apparently popped back into Edrick’s life to supposedly harass him around this time every year, but I decided not to pry any further. Cl
Edrick I made a mistake that night kissing Moana. As I rushed back to my room and shut the door behind myself, I leaned my head back against the door and cursed at myself under my breath. How could I be so stupid? I was a fool for not controlling myself around her, and now things were going to be even more confusing between us. Her curves beneath her thin nightgown were too tempting and I couldn’t control the urge to touch her. Even now, I could still feel her belly beneath my hands and the taste of her lips on my tongue. I shook my head to dispel the thoughts, telling myself over and over again that I got too close. As I got ready for bed and laid down, I kept having to erase the inappropriate thoughts from my mind, but I couldn’t. Would I have to buy Moana a penthouse and keep a distance from her, just like I did with Ella’s mother, Olivia? At the same time, however, it pained my
Moana Somehow, I managed to fall asleep that night. In the morning, I woke up with a headache after the night spent in emotional distress. Edrick and I had kissed last night in the darkness of the kitchen. Even now, I could still feel his hands on my waist and could feel his body pressed up against mine. Even now, I could still taste his lips and his tongue, and I had spent the night dreaming about him. The sun was shining through my bedroom window, but I just wanted to go back to the darkness of the night before and be with Edrick; I hadn’t realized it before, but I was admittedly lonely, and his touch was welcome. I hadn’t been with anyone since our one night stand and didn’t realize how starved I was for intimacy with another adult. To add insult to injury, I felt like an idiot for thinking for even one moment that Edrick was beginning to fall for me. The way he doted on me while
Moana “To have a one night stand like that, not only right after you came onto me, but also on the night before you’re supposed to have a wholesome day with your daughter… It makes me sick.” Edrick’s eyes widened at my words. “Moana, I think you’ve got the wrong idea,” he said abruptly, taking a few steps toward me and folding his arms across his chest with a huff. “I didn’t sleep with anyone last night.” I scoffed and shook my head. “I can smell the cheap perfume all over you,” I replied. “It stinks.” Now, it was Edrick who scoffed. “It’s not like that… But honestly, Moana, you and I are not together. It’s not really up to you who I see in my free time.” As Edrick spoke, I felt my eyes begin to well up with tears — but I had to stay strong for Ella, just like I told myself earlier. I couldn’t let Edrick or Ella see me cry today. Blinking rapidly to dispel the tears, I quickly turned on my heel and headed for the door. “Well, I’m taking Ella to the orphanage just like I promised
MoanaAs I walked around the room and helped the children with their art, I suddenly heard the sound of the floorboards creaking in the doorway. Thinking that it was Sophia coming to check on how everything was going, I looked up with a smile.That smile quickly faded, however, when I realized it wasn’t Sophia, but was in fact Edrick who was standing there. He had an indiscernible expression on his face and stood as still as a statue in the doorway with his hands in his pockets, his eyes locked on mine for several long, palpable moments.Was I seeing things, or had the cold Alpha billionaire finally realized the fault in breaking his promise to his daughter?But before I could even process the fact that he apparently seemed to have changed his mind for whatever reason, Ella snapped her head up and gasped loudly.“Daddy!” she exclaimed, jumping up out of her chair and running up to him. “You came!”Edrick put on a smile and scooped Ella up, hugging her tightly and planting a kiss on he
Moana My head was still reeling from Edrick’s sudden change of heart and change of attitude when one of the children, Clara, suddenly spoke up. “Moana…” she whined, “can we have ice cream? Pleeease? It’s so hot out!” The little girl’s request tore me away from my thoughts, and I nodded in agreement as all of the other children began to join in and beg for a frozen treat. It was hot out today, and the mention of something cold and refreshing to eat got me a little excited as well. “Okay,” I said. “Let’s have some ice cream.” The children cheered excitedly as they followed me to the kitchen. Edrick followed at the back of the group, but only because Ella grabbed his hand and yanked him along unceremoniously. When I got to the kitchen and opened the freezer, however, I was disappointed to see that there was no ice cream or any sort of frozen treat. “Sorry, guys,” I said with a sigh, turning to face the disappointed children. “Looks like there isn’t any.” The children all began to po
MoanaSophia didn’t ask about Edrick again after that. I knew that she could tell that something more was going on than I was leading her to believe, but she didn’t pry any further and just enjoyed the remainder of the walk with me. We talked a bit about her plans with the foundation a bit as well as her need for a secretary to help her out; up ahead, as we talked about the secretary, I swore I could see Edrick glancing over his shoulder at us as though he was listening intently.Finally, we made it to the ice cream parlor. It was a cute little mom and pop shop on a small strip of quaint little stores, and when we went inside it was like stepping back in time. There was a long counter with stools to sit at and there was a nice older man working behind the counter wearing a red and white striped uniform.“Well, hello there!” the old man said cheerfully as we entered. “So many little ones!”Sophia and I smiled and helped the children sit at the counter. Once they were all seated, we sto