Chapter 11: Daira Atkinson

After leaving the park and boarding a taxi, Kiandra finally had the chance to examine her daughter for any injuries. To her relief, apart from Zendaya’s clothes which were soiled in the sand, there were no injuries sustained.

Her daughter had a low immunity which meant that it wouldn't have been pleasant if she had sustained a cut which got infected.

“I was only gone for ten minutes, so what happened?” She inquired from her daughter. It was still baffling to her as to how Zendaya ended up in Lucas' hold especially considering the fact that Zendaya didn't like to associate herself with strangers.

Zendaya didn’t answer her mother’s question. Instead, she crossed her hands and with a frown on her face, she said. “I don’t like Jayden,” she pouted.

“The young boy?” Kiandra probed and Zendaya nodded. “Do you want to tell me what he did?”

“No.” Zendaya shook her head and Kiandra decided not to push it as she didn’t want her daughter to get further upset. The rest of the ride was silent until the two arrived home, where Samantha was waiting to greet them.

“I’ve missed you so much,” she said as she picked Zendaya up. She moved months before Kiandra moved and so she hadn’t seen Zendaya in months.

“How are you?” she asked, but Zendaya didn’t reply. However, she did hug Samantha back and that was more than enough for the latter.

“Come, let’s go eat dinner,” Samantha said as she led Zendaya to eat. After the girl had dinner, she was given a bath, after which she was put to bed so she could rest.

“Okay, spill it. What has been bothering you?” Samantha asked Kiandra after leaving the room where Zendaya was sleeping.

After Kiandra got back,. Samantha noticed that she had been acting distant and she kept zoning out unconsciously. That told Samantha that something was bothering Kiandra.

“After we left the airport, Zendaya insisted that we go to the park, which I took her to after bringing her home and forcing her to take a nap. While at the park, I got a phone call from my boss and I had to leave for a more quiet place.

“When I got back after ten minutes, I found Lucas Valencia holding Zendaya,” Kiandra told Samantha.

“What?!" Samantha exclaimed, her eyes going wide with horror. "How is that possible? Does he know that Zendaya survived after he attempted to kill her?” she asked, and Kiandra shook her head.

“No, I don’t think so. He didn’t seem to recognize me at all and I think he was holding Zendaya because she and another kid got into a fight,” Kiandra aired her opinion.

From what she had seen, Lucas showed no sign of recognizing her and so she concluded that he only helped Zendaya to stand on her feet after she was pushed by the other boy.

“Okay, it’s good that he didn’t recognize you. It wouldn’t be good if he did and decided to investigate you,” Samantha said.

“But your dad has already cleared any evidence that showed that I was at his club that night,” Kiandra reminded Samantha.

Inwardly, she hoped that Desmond had done a good job of deleting every evidence that would reveal that Lucas was the father of Zendaya.

“Yeah, but let’s not just make the mistake of underestimating Lucas Valencia,” Samantha replied, and Kiandra nodded in agreement.

Lucas Valencia had the resources and technology. There's no telling how deep it runs and whether or not it would be able to uncover the truth.

“Whatever you do, make sure you don’t run into him again and if you do, make sure your expression and behaviour towards him don’t give out any clue," Samantha advised her.

“I hope I never run into him again” Kiandra deadpanned, as she didn’t know if she would be able to stop herself from doing something she would regret.

All of the pain she and her daughter had to face had transformed into anger that was deep inside of her waiting to bust out.

“I hope so too,” Samantha replied. “You should go to bed. I wouldn’t want you to be late on your first day.” After saying this, Samantha got up so she could leave for her own apartment.

“Hmm,” Kiandra agreed, and she stood up. She then headed to her room and got into bed beside her daughter. As soon as her head touched the pillow, different thoughts came to her mind.

After five years, she finally came face to face with the monster that almost ruined her life and caused her daughter’s condition.

‘Lucas Valencia,’ she said in a whisper, and the name left a bitter taste in her mouth as she was reminded of that night when she hit her stomach against the kitchen counter.

She glanced at her daughter and heaved a sigh of relief at the fact that Zendaya didn’t look like her father, or it would have caused a big issue, one that wouldn't have been able to be solved easily.

The only things Zendaya got from her father were his blue eyes and his blond hair and thankfully, there were a lot of people with such features. It would be hard for Lucas to suddenly guess that the girl was his.

She reached out to Zendaya and gently stroked her hair. “I won’t let him try to kill you again,” she made a promise to her daughter.

If by any chance, Lucas found out about Zendaya being his daughter and came after her child like he did while she was still in the womb, then it would be the last thing he ever did, as Kiandra swore that she would end his life there.

‘He won’t ever hurt you again!’ she swore with determination in her eyes.

****

“Are you okay?” Liam asked Lucas in worry. Ever since they left the park, Lucas’ aura changed to a gloomy one. Not that the latter wasn’t always like that, but there was just something that was off about it.

“That little girl at the park, there was something about her,” Lucas blurted out, unconsciously.

“She’s your daughter,” Liam revealed.

“What?!” Lucas exclaimed in horror and Liam busted into laughter.

“Relax man. That girl is the first child you’ve ever held apart from your sister, and that’s why you’re like this. And if you are affected by the little girl so much, why not just have a baby?” Liam suggested.

“I hate children,” Lucas said irritably.

“Then stop thinking about the girl,” Liam retorted.

There was a knock on the door to Lucas’ study and a helper entered. “Sir, Miss Daira is here to see you,” she informed him.

“Send her in,” said Lucas, and the maid left.

“Well, this should be interesting,” Liam said with a sly smile on his face.

“She is my fiancée, don’t trouble her too much,” Lucas warned and Liam chuckled, which was more than enough for Lucas to know that Liam had no intention of listening to what he said.

As much as he tried to avoid getting set up by his evil stepmother, she had managed to arrange a marriage with one of the socialites' daughters, Daira Atkinson.

She was a famous model who was the only daughter of her father. She had lost her mother when she was young and so, she was spoiled by her father.

Liam absolutely despised her for reasons best known to him and he always took pleasure in irritating his fianceé, something Lucas didn't care about as he didn't love Daira and was only using her for an unknown reason.

The door opened moments later, and Daira came in with a smile on her face. The smile, however, dropped when she saw Liam in the room.