Nate was indeed a very busy man. But he made it a point to drive Elisha and I to school every day —at least for three days straight already. And it should have been a good thing. But I am hurt every time I see how happy Elisha was with Nate's company. How did that happen? I never mentioned the word daddy to her, so she wouldn't look for one. And Elisha never asked me about her father. I thought I had succeeded in erasing anything that would connect her to her real parents, to Nate in particular. But here we are, it's only been a little over a week since Nate came into Elisha's life and yet it seemed like they'd already known each other forever. Elisha loved her daddy so much it already hurt. Because I knew that when I got that chance to take Elisha away, it would be difficult for me to erase Nate from her life. That is if I’ll ever get that chance in the first place... I always got in the backseat because Elisha wanted to be in the passenger seat. She loved pestering her daddy
"Elisha, stop that," I scolded Eli. We were having breakfast and she was just toying with her food. "You're going to be late if you don't hurry up." "Why is daddy not driving us to school?" She sadly asked me, pouting her lips. "Daddy's got a breakfast meeting, Eli. It's important." "More important than us?" My daughter was serious about her question and I didn't know if it was a good thing or not."Baby, listen to me. Daddy is a very busy man. But he finds time to spend with you. However, today, he's got this very important appointment with an extremely important person," I wasn't supposed to cover for Nate. I should have taken advantage of this opportunity to defame him to Elisha. But for some reason, I didn't want to add to his problems. “I’m sure he will make it up to you.”I can't forget that hurt smile of Nate last night. I had always thought that he was a strong man – for the short time I'd known him at least. But last night, when he said that Olive had married someone else,
Because Nate was carrying Elisha on his shoulders, he was forced to line up at the counter while trying to understand what his daughter wanted from the menu board. While they were on it, I tried to be useful by looking for a vacant table for us.When I found a seat, I sat down and watched Nate and Elisha. The latter was a picture of a happy kid. Nate, on the other hand, was a picture of a loving father. Before I knew it, a smile had already crept across my face. Nate cannot deny that Elisha was his daughter. Olive was right, Eli was Nate’s female version. I noticed a few people already recognized Nate Sarmiento as they began taking pictures of him in a not-so secret way. I knew that he knew and he didn't do anything about it. So I just let it go. After all, even though Nate had not yet introduced Elisha to the public, he was not hiding his child. Nevertheless, I saw Paul and the other escorts stopping the crowd from taking more pictures. I almost forgot about them. Apparently, Nate
"Leah, stop!" I begged Leah. Since we met earlier, she hadn’t stopped teasing me.Our little family moment at the fast food restaurant was all over the papers the next morning. Of course, everybody jumped to the conclusion that Nate had a secret family all along. That's why his marriage to Olive didn't push through, ending with the latter marrying somebody else..."Come on, look at this..." Leah tirelessly shoved the newspaper into my face. "This gesture is just so romantic. Who wouldn't think that you're not a couple?" She was referring to the photo of Nate holding my hand while trying to protect me and Eli from the media."It's nothing, okay? It’s just a spur of the moment thing.""Hannah, he should've just left you right there if he didn't care about you!""Why is it even such a big deal?""Hello, Nate has celebrity status. You do not know, but many rejoiced when his wedding didn’t push through. This guy is every woman's dream man, of course, excluding me ‘coz I'm already happily m
"N-no..." I denied, although I knew Nate heard my sobs. "Just put me down now, please?"No. I wouldn't cry in front of Nate Sarmiento. He'd already seen me so weak in the elevator that breaking down would confirm his doubt that I wasn't capable of taking care of Elisha. I wouldn't want to give Nate a reason to kick me out of my daughter's life very soon."What happened back there?" I heard him ask after putting me down on the couch inside his office. Worry was still evident on his face. "It's a good thing that Paul called me. What if he didn't?" I just stared at his handsome face as he spoke. Why did it concern him? "You are just going to faint inside the elevator and that will scare the hotel guests if they see you..." he added.'Okay... He's not concerned about you, Hannah... He's worried that his clients will be scared if they see a passed out woman in the elevator,' I told myself.Nate was standing in front of me waiting for my answer like it was an important thing."It’s nothing,
We ate at the restaurant inside the hotel. Nate said he was already hungry and didn't want to drive anymore.Even though I felt awkward joining Nate for lunch, I didn't have a choice but to bear his presence. He said he didn't ask me to eat with him, rather, he told me. And that left me with no choice but to obey what he wanted."How's Elisha doing in school?" he asked."She's doing great. She made a lot of new friends. And she already has a best friend and he's a boy. His name is Seth," I said, smiling. Leah and I could hardly separate the two children every time we went home."Boy?" Nate asked with a raised eyebrow. "Is he courting my princess?" He pretended to be mad."What?" I laughed, "You're kidding me...""I think I need to meet him," he added jokingly."His mother is actually my friend, Nate... Her name is Leah. She's a good person. So, I believe that Seth is also a good kid. You know, Elisha wouldn't like him so much if he was not.. .""I'm kidding, Hannah," he said, amused a
"Mommy!" I heard Elisha calling me. When I turned around, I saw her being carried by someone on his back. I didn’t know the guy, so I panicked."Eli!" I immediately stood up."Mommy, this is Uncle Adam!" My daughter informed me even before I could ask. Elisha was very happy."Hi!" The man greeted me. "You must be, Hannah," he added with a smile, extending his right hand to me while his left hand supported Eli behind him."Hello, yes, I'm Hannah. Please hold Eli well," I worriedly said, shaking his hand very quickly for fear that Eli might fall."Don't worry, I got her well... Right, kiddo?" He even ran around to Elisha's delight."Please, please, put him down!" I begged."Yeah. Yeah, okay." He sat down so that Elisha could get down. She was still protesting though and wanted more."Eli, that's enough," I said firmly. "Are you okay? You're not hurt?" I knelt down so that I could check on Elisha better."No, mommy, I'm fine... Uncle, let's do it again!""Eli," I gave her a warning look.
When I was seventeen, my mother died of cancer. A year later, my father remarried, and as requested by his new wife, kicked me out of his life.Nine years after leaving home, I didn't have the slightest idea if my dad was okay.I'd be lying if I’d say that I didn't care anymore. I still care about my father, but the fear prevented me from going back to him. Fear of being rejected again by the man who should have stayed with me when I lost my mother.But that didn't mean that I didn't love my father anymore. If I were given a chance, I would return to him.Who are you kidding, Hannah? You had every opportunity to visit your father but you didn't.Okay. Maybe I’m a bit mad at him. Who wouldn't? He didn't choose me then. He probably wouldn't now. He had let me live alone instead of accompanying me through that darkest part of my life.He's still my father though... I know he loves me. He just wasn't brave enough to fight for me.I decided that I would find time to visit him. I owed my fa