Beginning of chaos.

“Harry, let's go inside.” Charlene spoke immediately, feeling embarrassed by the little boy's outburst. Harry shook his head and stared at Noah who was equally staring back at him.

“Please let him come in.” Harry pleaded but Charlene took his hand and pulled him into the house. She took a short glance at Noah before shutting the door. 

“What is wrong with you? You just can't go around calling every man your daddy!” Charlene scolded, digging her fingers into her pocket and pulling out the medicine.

“Who did he call daddy?” Vicky entered the living room from the kitchen with a glass of juice in her hand and her eyebrows raised.

“Some random guy, forget about it. Please get some water so that he can take his medicine and go to bed.” Charlene shot Harry a glare before heading upstairs. She needed to change, the clothes she had on were two sizes bigger than her and she was getting really cold. 

As she changed into something warm and comfortable, she couldn't help that her mind drifted to Noah once again. Why did he help her if he claimed to hate her so much? She didn't want to think about it but his face just wouldn't get out of her head.

“Ugh!” She groaned, “what is wrong with me!? I'm going to meet the father of my child tomorrow and I need to focus on that, not some psychopath who doesn't know what he wants.” She snapped, wrapping her hair into a messy bun.

“Charlene! Come down and eat!” Vicky called from downstairs and she rushed out to meet them. Harry was already eating, she ruffled his hair and sat next to him, getting into a discussion about his day at school.

Meanwhile, Noah had gotten to his hotel and had just finished taking a bath when he sat in front of his laptop to look at some emails. He couldn't concentrate, his mind kept drifting to what happened earlier; Harry calling him daddy. It felt off and weird, but at the same time, it made his stony heart flutter.

“Fucking bastards. How can they decline my offer? They'll never get a better one.” He muttered, his eyes fixed on his computer screen. He would have been at work, but he had to prepare for the gala. The organizers had pleaded with him to stay in that hotel until the gala was over. He was a special guest so they insisted on taking care of him.

Once again, Noah was distracted from his work by his brain constantly painting Charlene's picture in his head. He didn't like that woman; or so he thought. Then why was she stuck in his head? 

“I need to focus.” He let out a grunt. 

Just then, his phone rang and he quickly picked it up. It was his assistant, Knight. 

“Yes?” His low voice echoed in the quiet room.

“Boss, I have tried to collect all the information that I can about your baby mama but I can't seem to find anything. It's like she's invisible or something.” Knight scoffed, but Noah was not impressed.

“Do you want to lose your job?” He fired, keeping his voice low and void of emotions.

“No.. sir.” Knight gulped, his heart dropping to his knees. 

Knight and Noah had a love-hate relationship, sometimes they were the best of friends, and other times, Noah was simply too much to handle. Knight always played safe by maintaining his boundaries.

“Then do your job and find that bitch or I'll find someone who is more capable!” Noah fired and ended the call before Knight got the chance to say another word. 

He dropped the phone violently like it was the cause of all his problems and then let out a huff, rage burning within him. He had no idea who his baby mama was or where she was keeping their child and it was driving him crazy. 

“That bitch will pay for stealing from my family and making away with my child.” He swore, returning his gaze to his laptop. 

… Next Morning …

“Stop here, I'll do my shopping here.” Mrs Janice said to her driver and the car pulled over in front of an exquisite boutique. She had received an invite along with Bianca to attend the gala with Noah. They had to leave New York for California early that morning. Bianca had gone to stay at Noah's hotel while Mrs Janice went to shop for a dress.

“Let me call Noah first.” She pulled her phone out of her purse and dialed Noah's number.

“Yes, mom?” 

“Noah, is your sister with you already?” 

“No she isn't. Are you two in California already?” Noah questioned.

Mrs Janice nodded like Noah could see her, “An hour ago. She left for your hotel and I'm currently at a boutique.” She explained and Noah let out a grunt.

“Alright. I'll call her.” 

“Do that, I'll come see you both as soon as I'm done shopping.” Mrs Janice hung up and alighted the car. 

As soon as she stepped out, several employees crowded her, immediately recognizing her as Mrs Janice Cooper, Noah Cooper's mother and owner of a big cosmetics company in New York. She smiled at the attention, following them into the boutique.

Meanwhile, Charlene had just dropped Harry in school and was running to meet Vicky at a boutique. She got to the place but Vicky was nowhere in sight so she decided to call.

“Where are you?” 

“Come inside.” 

She tucked the phone away and made her way into the boutique, absolutely mesmerized by how posh and expensive it looked. She had never set foot in such a place, she was rather worried and confused about her presence there. How could Vicky afford such a place?

“Over here!” Vicky waved at her and she jogged over to meet her.

“What are we doing here?”

“Char, you ask ridiculous questions.” Vicky rolled her eyes. “What else are we gonna do at a boutique? We're here to shop for dresses for the gala. I'm attending with my father.” 

“Is your father the president?” Charlene asked sarcastically, a slight chuckle escaping her lips. 

Almost immediately, she noticed a small crowd at the other end of the boutique and stretched her neck to see what all the fuss was about. 

“What's going on over there?” She asked, still trying to find out what was happening.

“Must be a celebrity, I don't know.” Vicky shrugged, already checking out a few dresses on the hanger. 

Charlene shrugged as well and was about to look away when her eyes caught someone familiar in the midst of the crowd. Her eyes widened and her heart sank when she realized who it was.

“No..” she stepped back, shaking from fear, seemingly freezing in that position.

“Char, are you okay?” Vicky tilted her head in concern.

“No..” Charlene continued to mutter. “No.” 

Just then, Mrs Janice lifted her face and their eyes met, a long forgotten flame of fury immediately rekindled.

“Son of a bitch.” Mrs Janice grinned.