Booker's POV"No." I shook my head at Sebastian.I had never felt so disappeared in my life."I should go." I whispered because if I spoke any higher I was sure to break down right here and down and I didn't think that was a very good idea, especially after what Sebastain had just revealed with only his eyesI turned on my heels, opened the door and ran out. I ran till I got to my car.He loved me and something told me he'd always had. I had never understood why he had hated Tyler so much, well, I did, it was because of what Tyler had done to me but now I understood why it was so intense that it bothered on disturbing.He loved me and not in a way friends lover friends."Oh, Booker, how could you be so fucking stupid?" I yelled at myself as I combed my fingers from the roots of my hair to the tip in frustration."Shit!"With a tired and frustrated sigh, I slipped into my car and drove home, deciding not to think untill I was in the safety of my a none moving confined space.I only
TYLER"Are you sure Sebastian didn't do anything?" I asked Thea once she had finally calmed down."He didn't do anything, I promise. I'm just worked up over the stress of…Everything. I'm fine I promise." She reassured and immediately went back to making dinner or heating up dinner but I still wasn't convinced"Alright." I said in a skeptical tone.I wasn't completely sold on her words but I didn't push it anymore but if I find out that Sebastian had laid a finger on her… I didn't want to think much on what I'd do to him.We were done with dinner and Lily had gone up to bed when Thea came to sit beside me on the couch. Her scent took over my senses and my hands suddenly itched to touch her, carress her skin and make love to her.After that day we had made out in the kitchen, I'd not been able to stop thinking about her and now that she was barely an inch away from me I felt the urge to reenact that moment."We need to talk." She suddenly said as she glanced at me."What about?" I aske
THEA"Mommy what's wrong?" Lily's voice echoed in the kitchen rousing me away from my thoughts. I glanced down at her with a smile to reassure that I was fine. "Nothing baby, Mama's fine. Finish your breakfast, so I can take you to school.""Okay." She nodded and went back to eating her sandwich.I let out a tired sigh and took a sip of my coffee. It had been three days since I left Tyler's place and as ridiculous as it sounded I missed his place. I didn't miss him though, definitely didn't, at least that's what I had been telling myself.There was something about his home that didn't make me feel so alone, that brought my warmth and I felt the urge to go back there"Maybe what's bringing your warmth is the owner of the home, have you thought about that?" An annoying voice in the back of my mind spoke sarcastically.I rolled my eyes, knowing it was probably true but not wanting to admit that it was.Lily missed Tyler, she'd been asking about him since we left his home and wondering
THEA"Dad?" I whispered into the phone, my hands shaking. I waited for a reply but the line was left silent."Dad please talk to me." I stood from my chair and walked towards my floor to ceiling window, trying to find reception even though knew the problem couldn't possibly be the reception, I could here my dad breathing faintly on the other line."Dad are you there?" I asked, hoping he would answer but nothing.It was just like before when he would call and say nothing only that this time he had spoken my name just once and immediately went silent again.I checked my phone to see if he'd hung up but we were still connected."Dad please say something." I pleaded, my eyes stinging as I placed my phone back to my ears. Why wouldn't he speak to me? What was going on? Was he okay? These were the questions that plagued my mind as I waited for him to speak again. He had called me by the nick name he'd given me, so I knew he was the one. Even though I was a grown woman now, he still called
THEA"Stop trying to change the subject!" Cora glared but I ignored her and stood up to get some water from my fridge. I was tired of explaining to her why I wanted her far away from the case of our father.I threw out the empty cup of Starbucks on my way to the fridge and plucked two bottles of water from the fridge and handed one to Cora. She took it begrudgingly but drank anyway."I can get my assistant to order in something for us." I said to her"Whatever." She rolled her eyes."Come on Cora. Don't be like this. You know I'm only trying to look out for you."I tried to placate her"Yeah but…""But nothing, go back to college and focus on school stuff. Do you think dad will be happy that I'm dragging you out of school to look for him?"She glared at me before her face finally softened."Fine." She finally agreed. "But I'll call you everyday until we find him.""I have a feeling you'll be too busy in school." I said to her and bent to kiss her forehead."Yeah, yeah.""So what do
THEA"Dear Thea, It's time I tell you the truth of how I really feel.When you left five years ago, I was heartbroken. I looked for you for so long to apologize and make things right but it was like you'd disappeared from the face of the earth.I apologize from the bottom of my heart the way I had treated you.You had every right to hate me yet you forgave me and I am glad you did.I never stopped loving you, in fact I think I started loving you the minute you walked through that restaurant door to ask for my help five years ago.I had been a fool to have treated you that way. If you give me another chance and let me take you on a date, I'll show you I'm a changed man and I'm worth your time. I'll pick you up by 7 if you decide to give me a chance but if you would rather remain friends please call me immediately. You read this.Yours trulyT. Blackwoods."I sat my hands on my desk with the paper still in hand, trying to process the fact that Tyler had just confessed his feelings for m
THEA"Hi Sebastian," I said to him, shifting on my feet awkwardly."Hi Thea, you look… Breathtaking."Sebastian said."Thank you." I smiled up at him.He looked more handsome than I remembered. I realized that he'd cut his hair and shaved his beards."You don't look bad yourself." I told him with a nervous smile."Uncle Seb!" Lily came rushing down."Hey, kiddo!" Sebastain grinned as he crouched down to pick her up."I've missed you." Lily said , hugging her uncle fiercely."I've missed you too.". Sebastain said as he huggwd her fiercely."I got you something." He said.Lily's eyes immediately lit up at that. "What is it!""Your favorite candy and new shoes.""Really?!""Yup." Sebastian said and handed her a small bag.Lily snatched it from him and opened it. She grinned wide when she saw her new shoes and hugged him some more.Sebastian put her down and encouraged her to go try it on."Thank you, Seb." I said, this time with a genuine smile. He waved me off as if I had insulted him f
TYLER"I can't believe she fell asleep." Thea said, rolling her eyes as she stared at a sleeping Lily.I chuckled at her words. We were walking through the park with Lily on my shoulders, sound asleep, she'd fallen asleep halfway through the date after drinking a boat load of juice.She was so peaceful in her sleep, sort of like her mother. When both were awake they were talkatives but asleep, you couldn't tell if they were the same people."Considering she had most of your time, she has no right to be sleeping now." Thea joked."I can't believe how early she fell asleep." I retorted, surprised that she had fallen asleep so soon, she'd made friends with the waiters and even Max, the manager of the restaurant and she had talked their ears off about everything under the sun and they had quickly taken a liking to her.Thea and I had gotten to talk after she'd fallen asleep and she had told me about her life in London and little details about Sebastian. It was almost like she had been t
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,