Tyler's PovFirst sip, second sip, third sip until I could sip no more. I placed the cup on the table and took a deep sigh.I can't explain the way I feel lately - in a more correct way, I couldn't understand the way I felt since Thea came back to Manhattan. All I think of was her and even when I want to be mean to her, the way she will look at me reminds me of the night I had her moaning my name. Now, this isn't about sex, thoughts of her just filled my head. It's like a wild rollercoaster ride inside my head rolling to infinity. Thoughts of her face consumed me, weaving through my mind like a never-ending maze. I found myself daydreaming about being with her, wishing I could hold her close and whisper sweet things into her ear. It's a strange sensation, one that I never thought I'd experience, I must have started this experience that night.But why wouldn't I think of her? She is the epitome of beauty, grace, and intelligence. Every time I see her, my heart skips a beat, and my mind
TYLERAfter he left, I went to the toilet to wash his blood off my hands. I looked myself in the mirror and realizes there was a little truth in what he said. Why was I so upset?Thea wasn't here so she was not going to see me fighting for her, she was just going to believe I told everyone. And even if I didn't, she'd hate me nonetheless. I punched the glass and it shattered on the floor. I needed a drink. I walked out and slammed the door hard, not caring about the consequences.I walked to the bar in a desperate attempt to clear my head, if I had to walk around with all this anger; I would end up breaking more than just glass. Probably Magnus's head.Grabbing a bottle of tequila from the cupboard and a shot cup, I took my seat at the bar and loosened my tie. If there was a word was than rage, that was exactly what I was feeling right now. How dare he? He really had some guts walking into my office to spew all of that rubbish."I slipped out information that," his words kept on repla
THEAI couldn't believe my eyes when I steeped into the large hall; my idea of a party was grand but not this grand. The hall was packed full of different people and personalities, some big ones I had been looking forward to working with and every other person I could think of. It was really crazy how it was almost impossible to walk freely in the huge space, Sebastian must have really outdone himself.Suddenly, a little bit of fear came over new. How would I face such huge crowd? Was I deserving of their audience? Would they listen to me? Why were they even here for me? All these questions kept swirling around in my head and my palms began to get sweaty.I mentally checked myself out recalling the reflection I had seen in the mirror earlier. Every person here was dressed to kill and my mind played games with me as to if I really fit in here.Cora had picked out a fitted but loose, corporate but a bit sexy red gown for me going on all about how it really suited my skin tone and I look
TYLERDressed in one of my best Tuxedos, I set out for the party with flowers in hand. Magnus had gotten rose flowers delivered to my doorstep and a part of me couldn't help but wonder if she really liked rose flowers or if this was another trick by Magnus. If it was, I would no doubt break one of Magnus's legs. I got into my car, the one I drove around myself, and headed to the location sent to me.All through the ride, I couldn't take my mind off the fact that this was a party for business Tycoons yet I, the biggest bird, didn't even hear about it. I felt insulted to say the least and the truth was gnawing in my stomach that Thea was eventually going to take the crown from me. She was growing at such an exceptional rate while I was here dealing with issues everyday with her on my mind. I couldn't blame her though, I deserved it; everything.****"The splash hall," the sign read, I had arrived at the venue. I pulled into an empty parking space, the last one; every other space was occ
TYLERSebastian looked just about ready to punch me if I didn't let go of the little girl, I had no intentions to hold her in my arm forever, but just to get on his nerves, I pulled her close holding her even tighter than before. I made direct contact with him as I did that and I could see his temper growing.Ignoring him and turning to face the little girl, I noticed she was dressed in party wear and her hair scented of oil, one I was so sure I had smelled before but I couldn't remember when or where.The little girl turned to look at me and for two seconds, we shared a look. I noticed something, there was something about her eyes and the way she looked at me that I couldn't put a hand on. It was just something. She still had cake all over her face -which held a very pretty smile that could make any man melt- making it hard to see her actual face, but I didn't need glasses to discover that this was the same girl I had seen with Thea and Sebastian back at that restaurant."How are you
Tyler's PovI sat in my sturdy, staring out the window at the ocean ahead. The sound of the gushing sea water seemed to match the rhythm of my racing thoughts. Lily's face flashed through my mind once again, her innocent eyes and contagious laughter, the vivid colour of her eyes and her whole features. She was the spitting image of a five-year-old - everything was still so small, her words were still pronounced with difficulty, still, she looks like a typical five years old girl - but something about her existence gnawed at me, not after the research I made and her features were just like mine when I was five, even now, she looked like me in every way.If I calculated well, Thea had left Manhattan five years ago and then she came back with a baby. The moment I saw Lily in that restaurant, I was attached and as time went on, the curiosity to know who her father was grew stronger within me. It was like an itch that I couldn't scratch, a question that demanded an answer. I tried to push
TYLERThe third cup of tea was gushed down in a rush, although it burned my throat I loved it. I was seated facing my laptop, about to delve deeper into the enigmatic persona of Sebastian, my curiosity growing stronger. I couldn't help but wonder who he really was and what secrets lay hidden beneath his calm, yet scary demeanor. From the moment I saw him, something in me twisted and I hated him without even speaking to him. I was obessed if I could say that, because I wasn't just concerned about Thea, but now, I wanted to know who Sebastian whatever his last name is. I was so determined to uncover the truth, willing to embark on a journey of research, hoping to shed light on the mysterious man that had captivated my attention.I wasn't ready to give the job to my men again, I wanted to do the work myself and now, sitting here in front of my laptop. I started by scouring the internet, searching for any information that could reveal Sebastian's true identity. Minutes turned into hours
SEBASTIANI entered the living room and saw her seated. She was beautiful, in a jeans and a clean shirt that made her look younger than she was. I had grown to love her, she had a good vibe, always hoping for the best and staying with her sister through thick and thin. We were here to discuss something really important."Sebastian!" She cried out and came to hug me, "hmm, you smell nice. Is that a new perfume you're wearing?""Yup. You love it right? It's the best I have." As I sat down, I called the chef and we moved to the dinning table, we began eating and discussing. Excitement filled the air as Cora talked about the plan she had. We knew we had to make it a memorable event, something that would not only celebrate Booker's special day but also help boost her business. And what better way to do that than by inviting all the influential business tycoons in town? To me, I think it will help her."So, I learnt about this hall in the wealthy wing of the city, or, we could book the gran
THEAI excused myself and went outside. I didn't want to imagine that Tyler left without telling me. He was all smiles when we were planning the surprise birthday party, he couldn't leave without a word. As I stepped outside, lashed by the cold fingers of the wind, I was taken aback by the sight of someone sitting on the staircase. For a moment I stood still, then remembered that the person's clothes looked familiar. It didn't take long for me to figure out it was Tyler and when I cleared my throat, he turned back, his eyes fixed on me with a mix of awe and longing. My heart skipped a beat as I made my way towards him, my senses heightened by the tension between us."Hey," I said softly, sitting down next to him on the step. "What's going on? I thought you left."He chuckled and turned to the moon, his eyes still filled with wonder. "that," he replied, his voice barely above a whisper as he pointed to the cloudless sky. He continued to stare at the moon for what seemed like minutes un
THEAI saw him first before Lily and I immediately went to stand in the doorway. Lily was by my side, holding a welcome home banner she designed herself and I was holding one too. I couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions.Excitement to see Tyler again after a whole lot of time and then the thought about how he would react to the party. As I thought of that, a hint of sadness washed over me and I immediately deleted it from my mind. Although our time together had been cut short by his accident then I was glad he was fine.He would be receiving the rest of his treatments and recovering at home. The doctors said he was healing well, but I knew I would still see the faint scar on his chest, which would be a reminder of the traumatic event that had brought us together - Lily's kidnapping. I took a deep breath and stepped forward when I saw him enter the house, holding out the banner. "Welcome home, Tyler!" I exclaimed, trying to sound cheerful but deep down I was bursting with excitement
THEA"Why do you care about Tyler after all he's put this family through?" This question rang in my head. How would I explain it? Yes, Tyler had helped us, but it wasn't enough for the amount of care I felt entitled to show him.I looked up and met father's gaze, he stared at me expectant of a reply. "When you left, I and Cora moved to Manhattan." I watched his eyelids flutter at the mention of Cora, no doubt he was starting to get emotional."Things were pretty rough, I struggled to build an enterprise from the start before deciding to come back here in quest of revenge against Tyler, but as life would have it; things changed. A lot of things changed.""What changed?""I found out Tyler had a pretty good reason for leaving us, I couldn't really blame him. All he did was try to save us, everybody including you. Also..." I trailed off, unsure of how to break the news of Lily to him."Go on, I won't judge you." I didn't really care about his judgement, I just wasn't sure it was right to
THEAMy eyes were closed and I felt like I was in a different world as the remaining drops of tears escaped from my eyes. I wasn't sure how long my head was bent or if I had drifted off into thought, but the next thing I felt was a tap on the shoulder softly.I paused for a minute to wipe off the corners of my eyes before almost jumping off my chair eager to hear anything from the nurse, maybe then I would calm down. "How is..?" I rose my face from the edge of the chair, but couldn't complete my statement as I stared at the face which stared right back at me. Was this real?The walls of the reception began to revolve around me and for a second my head went blank. Was I dreaming? Someone wake me up, I found it hard to believe. Hard to believe that after so many years of neglect, my father would show up to the hospital in search of me because this was definitely not a coincidence.It wasn't a coincidence that he chose to walk into this particular hospital, pass through the outer lobby a
THEAThe slap that led to all of these replayed in my head. Maybe I did blame myself earlier for Lily's abduction, afterall it was me Sarah was mad at. But now that I think about it, if she had just been sensible and didn't raise her hand to hit me, maybe we wouldn't be here right now.If anything, I hated Sarah more than ever now for whatsoever she put Lily through. Lily looked like a shadow of herself and it scared me so much. Judging from the little I had seen of Sarah, I could imagine she starved my baby of food and most likely put her through pain. She looked frail and she didn't deserve to go through all of these at such a young age.I didn't know when the tears began to fall from my face neither did I try to stop them, I let them flow freely while hugging Lily tightly. "I missed you so much and I'm sorry baby. I'm sorry I let you out of my sight," I whispered into her ears."I'm sorry Lily," Tyler apologized. I resented him a lot because I trusted him to keep watch over Lily as
TYLERI gripped Thea's hand as we sat in the car ready to go to the location. Inputting the coordinates into the GPS, I stared at her and nodded my head "let's do this.""Hell yeah, let's get our daughter back."Inwardly, I knew I was scared, but I couldn't show it. The maniac like laughter of the kidnapper over the phone scared me, what if she was mentally unstable? What if she doesn't release Lily after everything? There were so many what ifs in my head, it was hard to concentrate."Are you okay?" Thea asked as I drove."Sure I'm fine, I just want to get Lily back," I lied."Take a left turn ahead."As directed by the GPS, I turned into the pathway which looked like it led into the woods. Thea's breath hitched audibly as we kept on going and lost track of humans and normal surroundings."You'll arrive at your destination in a minute," the GPS informed.There was a cabin out front and I wondered if that was it.My phone screen lit up with a text message from the kidnapper, we were be
THEAI heard the woman's sinister laughter as she said, "Anything? Are you willing to sacrifice your own life for your daughter? You would do that?"As I saw the tears welled up in Tyler's eyes, I saw he choked back his emotions, probably because he did not want me to break down into tears. He couldn't lose Lily as much as I couldn't, I saw in his eyes that he loved that girl more than gold and silver and when he said, "Yes! I'll give anything if it means Lily's safety. Just tell me what I need to do and where you want to get it from." I knew this was true love from a father to his daughter.I was shocked that Tyler was ready to give everything for the sake of Lily and I knew how much he had suffered to take his company to great heights. I had always known that he was a driven and ambitious person, but I had never realized just how much he had sacrificed for the sake of his business. He had sacrificed a lot, he built up my father's crumbling company. As I thought about it, I could ima
THEA"I just want my daughter..." I said that in my mind after calming my nerves. I sat on the warm sofa, but to me, with my heavy heart, it felt like I was on a cold, vinyl chair in the hospital or the police station, my heart was heavy with worry and my mind racing with thoughts of my missing daughter, Lily. And Tyler, sat across from me, his eyes filled with a mixture of guilt and determination, the policeman was still around and he worked a great deal before I calmed down.From where I sat, I knew Tyler wanted to reach out to me, he did reach out, apologising but I pulled away from him, my anger and resentment still raw. "What good are your apologies now, Tyler? Where is Lily? I trusted you with her."Tyler didn't look at me, he faced the policeman directly. His jaw clenched in determination. "We need to find her. I can't just sit here and do nothing, waiting for your men to find herThe man nodded, his heart heavy with grief. "Yes, we need to find her. And trust me with this, I
THEAIt'd been three days without my baby. Although she wasn't so much of a baby anymore, her absence hit me hard. It gave me time to reflect on many things but I was so used to her presence, it left me longing to see her. Tyler couldn't even call me in the midst of his enjoyment with my daughter. She's his daughter too but she was mine for now, I did raise her on my own. The way things had taken a turn still surprised me. I wasn't so sure if my decisions, but they seemed the best fit for the situations at hand.I bought a new bow and a new game pad on my way to his house. It was going to be a surprise visit, I wanted to catch them in the act. I wondered which games they could have been playing. Sometimes, seeing them together brought tears to my eyes. I had a lot of regrets, but I couldn't count giving birth to my daughter as one. She'd been my greatest blessing. My own father abandoned me, and I know it was unfair to keep the secret of her father away from her. They bonded anyways,