Hawaii

Emily

“My poor baby,” my foster mother says and pats my back while I cry my lungs out. She knows everything I have been through.

“You are a smart girl, Em. I am always proud of you. Rest and take a break. You will come back stronger.”

I nod my head, take a pain killer and lie down.

My divorce from Erick is breaking news for weeks. I am the Las Vegas gold-digger and everything disgusting to the high class.

It is only now that Jesse and Stela see what they put me through.

“Eh, Emily…” Stela hesitates before dropping a bomb on me.

“We actually got paid for setting you and Erick up.”

I look at her in disbelief.

“The whole trip to LA was to get you two together,” Jesse adds. I can’t believe this. Erick was right all along.

“Who paid you?”

“The old man Spencer.”

“Excuse me?”

“We tried to refuse, but he was scary. He said you two are fated. We thought you would be treated well. Sorry.”

I don’t even know what to say to them. I move to Hawaii the following week and cut them off. It is good to be away from the LA judgemental media. The people are vibrant and friendly. The weather is great. I love it here.

It is seven in the morning when I walk into Forrest enterprises for an interview. I am taken aback when I see a photograph of me on the foyer. I take a moment to look closer. This woman is a few years older and I never owned those clothes.

“Random strangers can look alike,” I tell myself and head to the boardroom.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I am Emily West, here for an interview for a marketing intern.”

I look around feeling self-conscious when they stare at me with their jaws dropped.

“I am sorry. Maybe I walked into a wrong door,” I say when none of them say anything.

“How old are you?” the woman at the foyer photograph asks.

“Twenty-four, I think.”

The way they are looking at me is making me doubt myself.

An elegant man probably in his forties stands up and approaches me. This is weird.

I swallow my saliva when he rolls the sleeve on my right arm, exposing my birthmark.

“Oh my God. It is her!”

I hold my breath when I get squeezed into a hug. “Our Akela is back! She is back!”

I am now squeezed into a very emotional group hug.

“I think you have mistaken me for someone else,” I finally say.

“Not a chance. You are our Akela. I knew you were still alive. My baby,” the woman on the foyer photo says and starts crying.

A week later, I am a confused emotional mess. My foster parent and social workers have confirmed that I was found in a deserted field. It is a mystery how I ended up over two thousand miles away from home. My nanny I disappeared with has never been found.

I descend the stairs to find my new family all there.

“Are you okay, sis?”

I shrug. They are all so kind and loving, yet I feel numb .

“I am sorry that you suffered so much,” Mrs Forrest, well Mom, says and starts weeping. “We should have looked harder for you,” she adds.

“It is not your fault, Mom. I know that you tried.”

The old nanny they still keep around told me all about how they have been searching. Even after the police declared me as possible dead, they still hoped that I was alive.

“My baby,” she squeezes me into a hug. It is like this every day.

“We know what the Spencer’s did to you. They will pay for treating our princess like that,” Dad vows and joins the hug.

“You know the Spencer’s?” I ask and they nod.

“We go a way back. We are business partners.”

I frown at that. I look a lot like mom. Surely they could tell the remembrance.

“How long ago have you met them?”

“The old man was every year. We have not met the rest of them in years.”

They are fuming when I tell them what Jesse and Stela told me.

“The old bastard knew who you were. I bet he wanted you to have a child with his ass of a grandson before telling us that he found you,” Kanye, my older brother says angrily, but I still don’t get what was in it for the old man.

“Why would he do that?”

“They are not a match for us. You would never give that Erick a single glance if you knew who you were. Marrying into our family would raise their status a hundred fold,” Kayl, my second brother explains.

“The old bastard once proposed a marriage alliance when you were born. Many families did…”

“I hope you did not sign me off on some business transaction!”

They laugh. “Lord no. We don’t do that,” Dad says. “You have your mother’s hot temper,” he adds proudly.

“I know that you are overwhelmed, but please let us make up for all the lost time, sis,” Kanye pleads and Kayl nods.

I nod my head and get shocked when Dad signs off fifty percent of the company shares to me.

“Kanye and Kayl can share the other fifty. You are the princess.”

I steal a glance at my brothers. Rich people are very complicated and ruthless.

“You deserve only the best, Princess,” Kayl declares. “I can’t wait to tell all my fans about you,” he adds.

“I can’t wait to show you off at the company,” Kanye jumps in lovingly.

Mom is going overboard with the tea parties, designer clothes and spars. I can tell that she longed for another female in the house.

Dad is not any better with the jewellery I am scared to even touch because of the price.

So, this is what it feels to be pampered.

A week later, the whole world knows that I have been found.

“Your homecoming ball will be epic,” Kayl tell me.

“The Spencer’s will be attending,” Kanye informs me and I strangely don’t care.

“We could always ban them from ever coming here,” Dad suggests, making me laugh. It is still surreal how powerful my family is.

We are still laughing at what we should do to the Spencer’s when the maid informs us that Prince Keanu is at the gate.

Mom, Dad and Kanye exchange mischievous looks before telling the guards to let him in.

“You know that he is here for you, right?” Kayl tells me and laughs at my expression.

“You really are clueless, sis. The sexiest man in this island and perhaps the whole world, keeps visiting us like this and you don’t get it.”

“He is Kanye’s business partner. Surely he was visiting before I came back,” I suggest right when Prince Keano walks in.

Tall, hot and sexy like hell. His every step exudes confidence and nobility. I can’t believe that he is real.

“Greetings to the Forrest family.”

“Your Highness,” Dad greets back. “To what do we owe this honour?”

“Forgive my showing up unannounced. I was hoping to have word with the Forrest princess.”

I choke on my saliva while Kayl gentle pats my back.

“I told you that you are clueless,” Kayl whispers wittily.

The Prince was here the day I found out who I was. He has been here every other day.

“Should I ask, Your Highness?” Dad questions. “We have just been reunited with our princess. We are very protective of her,” he adds.

“I am very much aware. I am here to partly discuss business.”

I frown at that. Kanye is his business partner. Why would he want to discuss business with me?

“I have been made aware that you have majority voting rights. I am here to twist your arm on something.”

I look questioningly at Kanye. He knows that I know nothing about running a business. We agreed to keep the majority shares information between us only for him to tell the prince.

“Go ahead. I will support any decision you make.”

I make a face at Kanye and he laughs. He knows that I can’t possibly make any decision about the business I hardly know anything about. I find myself strolling in the garden and this suddenly feels like a date.

“This way, Princess. I assure you that I don’t bite.”