CHAPTER 10

Christopher

I called the Spa and the dress shop to make sure Allison had actually showed up.

Surprisingly, she did show.

Bonus point, she didn't cause a scene.

"Has she complained about Liam?" I asked Charles as we drove into my estate.

"Not yet, Sir. But I doubt she's comfortable having him around." He was still bothered by Liam.

"As long as she's not complaining, she's comfortable. If there's one thing I know about Allison, it's that she's very vocal about her beliefs, likes and dislikes. So if she's not worried then you shouldn't be."

Charles didn't speak on the matter any further even though he obviously didn't agree with me.

When he had parked the car, I got out and walked into the mansion.

As expected, my daughter was already waiting for me at the door.

"Daddy!" She ran toward me with her tiny arms stretched out for a hug.

I scooped her in my arms and spun around, enjoying the way she giggled.

"Someone's really happy." I kissed her cheek as I made my way to the kitchen.

"I had a dream." She nodded to show that she was indeed happy.

"Do you want to tell Daddy about it?" I picked up an apple and then returned to the dining area.

She remained on my lap while I sliced the apple into two equal pieces and handed one over to her.

"Mm-hmmm." She nodded again, still smiling.

"In my dream, mommy came back and you got married to her. And then everyday, you took me to school while mommy picked me up. All of the kids at school were so surprised by how beautiful mommy was."

I listened and watched as she explained with so much happiness.

It broke me to see her so happy over something that could never happen.

Her mother was not coming back any time soon.

Unfortunately, she was more likely to grow without a mother.

How exactly could a father explain to his three year old that he was all she had?

How do I explain to her that her mommy was never..... could never be a part of her life anymore?

"Daddy." She tapped my chest, her smile fading away so fast.

Tears filled her eyes as she stared into mine.

"Is everything okay? You stopped listening."

She placed one of her tiny fingers on my face and wiped away a tear I didn't even know was there,

"You're crying too? Do you want to tell me about it?"

I sniffed and quickly cleaned up my tears like it could change the fact that she had already seen them.

"Daddy's eyes are just sweating. Don't mind me." I tried to stop the tears but they just wouldn't stop.

I hated seeing my daughter's happiness and hopes crushed all because of one mistake I had made in the past.

I didn't want her to grow up and realize that I had caged her all in the name of protecting her.

No matter how well I tried to sugarcoat it or what I said to myself to make myself feel better, it didn't change the truth.

I had ruined my daughter's life even before it began.

I couldn't even let her birth certificate carry my name because I was scared of what would happen if anyone ever discovered her.

She didn't even realize that.

I wanted to enjoy every second of these moments with her because I knew it was only a matter of time before she grew.

And when she grew and realized what I had done, she would hate me forever.

"You know that's not true," she rolled her eyes and folded her arms under her chest dramatically.

"What?" I laughed at how cute she was.

She was a spitting image of her mother but they were very different people with very different personalities.

Strangely, she reminded me of Allison.

The way she rolled her eyes and then folded her arms under her chest were acts I imagined Allison would do.

"I'm not a baby, you know? I know when a person is crying."

"Ugh," she gave an exasperated sigh that only made me laugh even harder.

"I can't believe I actually believed you. People's eyes don't sweat so I know you were crying. It's okay, you can talk to me."

She was the purest thing in my life.

I had to correct my mistake and give her the life that she deserved.

"Daddy's just really tired. Work has been really stressful." I lied, again, like I've always done.

"Come here," She spread out her arms for a hug.

"It's okay, you don't have to cry." She patted my back while I hugged her.

"I love you, Daddy." She whispered to me.

"I love you too, baby. More than you can ever imagine." I kissed her cheek, causing her to giggle.

"I know. You're the best Dad in the whole world." She smiled so brightly.

If only she knew that I wasn't even worthy of being a father to such a beautiful and pure soul.

"I know." I said, nonetheless.

After a few more hours of father and daughter time, I put her to bed and retired to my room.

After showering, I joined Charles in my office where he was waiting.

"You should have had dinner."

Sometimes, I wanted to believe Charles thought he was less human because he was a butler.

It was either that or he had been trained to make decisions only passed out by his employer.

"I'll have dinner after I've given my reports, Sir." He gave that annoying bow that I had come to overlook.

My encounter with Charles was one I never spoke about.

He had been a messenger for some drug Lord in Greece.

When the police raided their warehouse, Charles had defended and protected his bosses, even the other employees.

But they abandoned him.

The police had shot him but he had still managed to escape.

He tried over and over again to reach out to the people he thought cared for him but none of them extended a helping hand.

For an entire week, he was sleeping in an abandoned warehouse and treating his gunshot wounds all by himself while dying slowly.

I bumped into him on one of the days he had gone out disguised, to get drugs from a pharmacy.

I had caught him stealing the medicines and then offered to pay for them.

While leaving, the police showed up and almost arrested him.

I don't know why I did, but I helped him get away from the police and then got him proper treatment from my doctor.

He was still weak so I let him stay in my house for almost two weeks, without even bothering to ask him why the police had wanted to arrest him.

When he recovered, he wanted to work for me to repay me for helping me.

I enjoyed how efficient he was and he enjoyed having a roof over his head and a constant flow of money.

That was how he started working for me and remained working for me until this day.

"Have you found out who my mother used to watch me?"

I already had her suffocating me with possibilities of what will happen if I didn't correct my mistake quickly.

I didn't need her prying any further.

"One of the security officers at the office. He's been taken care of." As efficient as always.

"Thank you, Charles." He might not have had a clean record but Charles was the best employee I've had.

He was hardworking, efficient and always thorough.

"All the news and reports for the rest of the month have been taken care of soon. So far, things are going smoothly."

Hopefully, things remained the way I wanted them to.

"Once again, thank you, Charles."

"Is there any preparation you would like me to make ahead of the Blairs reaction to your wedding announcement, Sir?"

The Blairs....

My daughter's maternal grandparents.

I haven't exactly thought of their reaction to me replacing their daughter.

I knew for sure that it wouldn't sit well with them.

However, just like me, they were willing to do anything to protect my daughter.

No matter how badly they disliked my decision, they knew better than to act out of hand.

"No, leave it be."

Charles and I went through preparations for my proposal to Allison.

I wanted it to be grand enough to take over the internet and I had no doubt that Charles would do just that.

After he left, I checked up on my daughter one more time before retiring to bed.

I needed all the peace and rest I could get before my mother's meeting with Allison.

Whatever was going to happen between those two, I needed enough energy for it.