CHAPTER 2

ESTHER'S POV ( Deloise's mother)

" I can't have Louise ending up like him, that can never happen. Oh not again! " Esther paced around her kitchen gripping her hair as she saw her nightmare flash before her eyes.

" It feels like I can't escape him, he just won't give me a break! I can't let my daughter go through that path. What can I do? " She thought hard, and reorganized an already organized set of cups.

Walking into the whole setup of Deloise reciting and acting that monologue sobered her up to the fact that she had to do something and fast. She always thought the whole drama flair was a phase that would pass in her beautiful daughter's life.

Oh, how wrong she was!

Her daughter had always been a focused, consistent, passion-driven and outstanding young lady since her childhood. She mindlessly walked about her kitchen picking up some sugar, baking powder, and other things in readiness to 'stress-bake' - as her daughter termed it.

Going through the process of creating a piece of cake, her mind took her back to when the whole mess started, when her daughter started going down that route, Just like he did.

*****FLASHBACK****

" Mummy, Mummy! I got picked, I did it, I got picked! " A little Deloise screamed excitedly, announcing her arrival.

Esther sat with a guest at the time, and smiled at her daughter who ran into the house with a book held up in her hands. She watched with amusement as her little legs drove hurriedly towards her.

" Baby girl, slow down! Don't hurt yourself." She took Deloise into her arms with a wide smile at the energy of her little angel.

" Who do we have here?" Micheal, her guest, and prospective husband of the time said, alerting Deloise of his presence, which she seemed to have missed on her run.

" Mickey! " She screamed with a happy grin, and he gently patted her head like the cute girl she was.

" What's the hurry? What do we have here?" Esther reminded, causing little Deloise to remember her reason for excitement.

" I got picked to present a drama for our school's end-of-year program! I'm the princess!" She announced, proud of herself.

Upon hearing that, Esther's heart plummeted to her stomach, she couldn't believe her ears. " No you aren't. Baby, why would you do that? why didn't you tell me?"

" I wanted to surprise you and now I got the part, I'm the–"

" No! I don't want to hear it. You aren't taking part, and that's final." She ordered, displeasure written all over her face.

" But...but.." A little Deloise stuttered, now at the brink of tears.

Esther felt anger course through her,

" Go to your room, Deloise. Now!"

Deloise turned around with a sob and ran in the direction of her room. Only after affirming she was in her room did Esther sink into her chair, well aware of her fiance's concern over her outburst.

" What the hell was that about?" He inquired, confused by her actions.

" No, Micheal. Just let it be." She muttered tiredly. " There's nothing to it, she shouldn't be doing such things, she needs to focus on her studies."

" We both know she's a smart little girl, and it won't affect her, so what is the problem?" He reasoned, closing the space between them.

" I don't want to talk about it "

" You have to. Brcause it's hurting you, and Deloise."

Esther palmed her face in frustration, and spoke through gritted teeth, " I don't want to talk about it. She's my daughter, and I reserve the right to direct her towards the right paths as I deem fit. I don't want to argue right now, so please, drop it." She muttered, tired of everything.

Micheal raised his hands in surrender, surprised at her reaction towards the said topic. " Okay, point received. But, just so you know, she worked hard for that, and taking it away from her isn't right." He stood up, and walked a few meters away from her, eyes fixed on towards Deloise' room. " She's only eight, she has a whole life ahead of her, let her be a kid."

He walked out, leaving her food for thought, and space to think about what she's done. After much thought, she finally decided to go talk to her baby girl, hoping that this would be the last she would have to address an issue of this kind.

******* END OF FLASHBACK******

Esther placed her batter into the oven, filled with regret. She felt stupid to have allowed her daughter a glance at a drama script.

Now, she reaped the fruits of her carelessness and leniency towards the subject at the beginning.

The infuriating part being the man who convinced her to make such a dire mistake wasn't even around to see what it led to.

' Where was the said man who convinced her to let her child go through that silly phase?' She thought in anger. ' Probably somewhere with his real family having the time of his life. Men are and will always be betrayals!'

Esther fumed at what her choices with men throughout her life had caused her. She swore never to let her daughter fall in the same hole she did. Deloise couldn't end up like her- she determined her daughter got the better edge of the stick if it was the only thing she did.

The buzzer went off, and Esther heard her doorbell go off. " Come in!" She yelled, then kitted her palms, ready to bring a thoroughly baked cake, hot from the oven.

" Ummm! I've missed you my sweet friend," The voice of Mrs. Karen, her long-time friend and neighbor broke into the air. Salivating at the aroma of the freshly baked cake that instantly placed a smile on her face.

" We both know you want to eat some cake, Karen." Esther deadpanned, sporting a grin as she dished the cake in little plates.

" Caught me, " Karen giggled, and took part of the cake for her consumption. After which, she followed Esther into her sitting room for a chit-chat. " How's Deloise doing? What are your plans for college? " She inquired, holding a glass of water.

" She's alright. Just doing the usual," Esther sighed, unhappy at the route her daughter took as regards her future prospect.

" Well, at least she is good at what she does, Anna would be applying for the college of law tomorrow," Karen shrugged, and took another big bite.

She felt proud of her daughter's decision to go into the college of law- a supposed secret between them. Her daughter surely knew that she wasn't planning on keeping such good news to herself, so it was fine. She thought excitedly.

" If only Deloise could understand that I want the best for her," Esther felt dejected. She shared the burden concerning her daughter's desire to pursue acting, and her distaste towards the said field. " Acting isn't even a job. She wants to spend the rest of her life chasing shadows while she has the qualifications to become a respectable lawyer. " She fumed," I need to do something, force her in the right direction."

Esther's shoulders sagged and her countenance soured. Deloise' refusal to pursue law as a profession despite being smart enough to do so grieved her.

" You could do something about it, think about it, there has to be something you could do, you just have to calm down and figure it out," Karen said, trying to encourage her.

Hearing the words- there has to be something she could do- Esther felt revived. She believed as a mother, who had her child's best interest at heart, there had to be something she could do, and that fact made her see a light at the end of the tunnel.

She just needed to find the right time and plan to push Deloise into doing her bidding, no matter the costs. She believed that even though she was too young to understand her right now, in the end, It'll be worth it.

Deloise would be thankful she saw past her childish infatuation with acting, and helped her pursue a real career, which in time, she would grow to love.

Esther didn't know she was sporting a smile- one Karen found odd but didn't mention. For now, she felt convinced and needed to figure out how to make things work to her favour.

Esther felt lighter, and determined to save the future of her daughter, any means necessary.