MasukChapter 67Alexander Cole •••She talked to Sophie for a while on the phone. Sophie told her to eat so she listened. She listened to only her mom, and at that point I knew it was going to be difficult taking care of her alone. I needed her to eat and rest because the next day I was going to take her to see my parents. That was if she was willing to listen to me. I watched her eat her food sluggishly, she was taking it bit by bit and placed her other hand on her cheek. At least she was eating. It was a good progress. The maid had already unpacked Mia’s things and kept them in the closet carefully. I made it clear to the maid that she would be assisting Mia. She was just five years old so there was no way she would dress up all by herself. She needed a little guidance from a female and our maid, Sharon, was the perfect fit. Mia was done eating, finally. I took her to her room and lay down beside her, reading a bedtime story to her. But she seemed not to care, she moved away fro
Chapter 66Alexander Cole•••Mia didn’t say a word to me till we got to the airport. I tried talking to her countless times but she didn’t respond. I even cracked jokes, but she frowned all through. She would come around soon enough, I thought. If I were being taken away from my parents by a stranger I would definitely act the same way. But now, the stranger was her father. Me. That was all of Sophie’s fault. She lied to Mia all her life. She didn’t inform her about her father, even if I was a monster in the past that didn’t mean she wouldn’t tell Mia about me. Well, I understood her. I still kept on trying to tease Mia till we got to the airport. Her eyes were still teary. But Sophie’s eyes looked like I had stolen the light from them. I hated myself for that. I wanted us all to be a family again. That was why I persuaded her to come to New York but she refused. Sophie was really broken. I just knew it’d take a long time for Mia to come around. Sophie created a very close
Chapter 65Sophie Clarke •••When Alex showed up, I wasn’t really surprised. He was going to come sooner or later, given the fact that I had been ignoring his calls and messages. When I opened the door, I just leaned against the door frame. I had no energy in me, I was drained. I thought I could act tough towards him so he could get fed up and leave without Mia. How delusional of me to think that? Alex stood right in front of me and said he wasn’t leaving without Mia. At that moment, he didn’t even care if I was going or not. I kept on arguing with him and trying to delay everything. But no, he was so bent on taking Mia that day, he had already booked the flights. Three hours. Three fucking hours. That was how long Alexander gave me to pack her things. How was I supposed to do that? Alex threatened me and I wasn’t willing to be in a courtroom for this same thing. That was when I relaxed and pushed myself back a little. He didn’t even care that she had just started school in C
Chapter 64Alexander Cole •••Three days had already gone by and Sophie still hadn’t given me a decision. I knew she was going to come with me, there was no way she would let Mia go that easily. I had sent her many messages. She had read them. Of course, she had. Three times actually. I told her to get Mia ready if she wasn’t coming with me and I wasn’t kidding. But she didn’t even respond. I thought I played a smart move, and had put her in a position where she won’t have to say no to me. The flight was already booked for that day and I had no time to spare. I didn’t want to show up at her door so I decided to call her. I called Sophie thrice but she didn’t respond. “This is what I’m talking about,” I muttered under my breath. “She won’t respond and when I make a decision, she gets pissed.”I called her one more time to see if she’d respond before I drove up to her place. It wasn’t even too early, so she was definitely awake. She just decided to ignore my calls. Without wast
Chapter 63 Sophie Clarke ••• I smiled broadly when he told me he was going to help me. I couldn’t thank him enough. “Ethan, that’s… that’s great. I really appreciate it.” I said as I held his hand that he placed on mine. “I mean it, thank you.” He smiled. “I’m glad to help, you don’t deserve any of this. Once we’re done with our date I’ll give him a call.” Ethan didn’t know what he had just done for me. Offering his lawyer alone was really helpful. I just needed to hang on to his words and wait for a positive response from his lawyer. “How can I repay you?” I asked. “Hey, don’t do that. You don’t need to repay me and also you know I’m not totally sure yet, so let’s just hear what he will say about the case, okay?” He responded calmly and sweetly. I knew I hadn’t gotten any positive feedback yet but I was still happy. I had a good feeling about it. Ethan’s facial expression looked like he really trusted his lawyer and knew he was going to give us positive feedback
Chapter 62Sophie Clarke •••I woke up late. I had already planned that I wouldn’t go into the office that day. I was emotionally drained and not ready to handle any stress. My head was aching so badly, so I quickly poured water into the glass that was beside the bed and drank it. I managed to pull myself up and rested my back on the frame of the bed. I started using my hand to massage my forehead because I couldn’t bear the pain. I groaned.Amanda woke up immediately, and sat up straight too. “Are you good?” She asked, concerned. “No, I have a terrible headache. It’s hurting so bad.” I replied faintly. She got up from the bed and headed outside. In no time, she returned with a painkiller and a snack for me. “Here, take this.” She handed them over to me. “You’ve been stressing yourself a lot lately. Please take it easy, I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”I nodded and took the drug immediately and ate the snack. “But I can’t help it, I have to fight for my child.” I took a si
Chapter 30Sophie Clarke•••I remained seated long after the door had closed behind Ethan. I exhaled slowly and leaned back in my chair, letting my head rest on the edge. I took out my laptop from my bag pretending to read while my mind kept replaying the conversation we had and how I had reacted
Chapter 29Sophie Clarke•••“Fuck no!” I exclaimed in annoyance when I ripped the zip of my dress. It was already late. I had a meeting scheduled with Ethan and I had just spoiled the zipper of my gown. I stood in front of the mirror, my hands on my waist, and exhaled sharply. My phone kept buzz
Chapter 24Sophie Clarke•••I needed to have a warm bath so I got into the bathroom. I couldn’t help but still think about what Alex’s next move was going to be given that he found out about Mia. I was really worried. I couldn’t afford to lose my daughter, I knew what Alex was capable of. I clos
Chapter 23Sophie Clarke•••I rolled my suitcase across the airport terminal. My flight back to California was in forty minutes. I exhaled, excited to be going back home, to my daughter, and never run into Alex again. Just as I stepped into the queue for boarding, my phone vibrated. Unknown num







