Amelia stared at her reflection in the mirror, smiling to herself before doing a little twirl. Dressed in a navy bodycon dress that was knee length and her usually pin-straight brown hair falling to her shoulders in glossy waves, she was ready for her date with James.It was a Friday evening and James had mentioned taking her on a date just to enjoy the evening after having a hectic week at work. Amelia was excited to be spending some alone time with James. She couldn’t remember a time she’d ever gone out with him without having Dora as a company. Although her daughter wouldn’t be pleased with the arrangement, she had no doubt that James would find a means to pacify her. And just like she’d expected, the man arrived a few minutes later, with flowers in his hands and chocolate for the little girl.“Hello, little lady,” James greeted Dora, leaning to her level and handing her the banquet of roses and a box of chocolate.“You spoil her so much,” Amelia tried complaining but she couldn't

Ryan sat in his extravagantly furnished office, trying hard to focus on the documents he was reading through, but his mind kept on wandering to his last visit to Amelia, and Dora. He couldn’t get her backlash from his head, and as much as her words had hurt him, he had no right to be annoyed, not when he’d been the one to accuse her of being a terrible mom, out of pure jealousy.That evening, he’d been in Texas for a social event that ended quite early. Thereafter, he’d decided to stop by Amelia’s home just to see the kid and Amelia. But his plans of spending the evening with them was destroyed when he arrived to see Dora in the arms of a younger woman who claimed to be her nanny. Considering Dora seemed comfortable with her, he wasn’t alarmed. But his mood swiftly moved from cheerful to furious when he’d inquired of Amelia and he was informed she’d gone out on a date. Without second thoughts, he knew it was with her new boyfriend. He couldn’t hold back on the uncontrollable wave of j

As usual, Amelia was up very early the next morning, trying to make it on just three hours of sleep. She’d spent most of her night mulling over Ryan’s words. Hearing him admit he still had feelings for her after so long had her traveling down memory lane, recalling how amazing life had been with him before they parted ways. He also mentioned he was no longer with Selena. How was that possible?She wondered out loud, taking another sip from her hot coffee. Yes, she needed the caffeine to clear her sleepy haze and set her mind for the day. She could still remember how the man had informed her of his long-time crush on the woman, with so much affection and love dripping from his words. That night, he’d literally poured out his heart, telling her how much he adored the woman, in no subtle terms, while ignoring the reality that he was hurting her with his words.How could he suddenly say he was no longer with Selena? The same stunning woman she’d seen with him on the news, looking all lov

“I want to see you at home this evening, Ryan,” his mom’s deep asian accent sailed into his ears through his phone speaker.A smile lit up his face on hearing how strict she sounded.“Mom, you know I get really busy at times,”“No.” she blatantly refused. “Don’t tell me that, Ryan. It's been a month since I last saw you and we’re having a small family Dinner today. My friends are coming over and I want you to be present,”Ryan huffed, knowing there's nothing he’d say to get away from this one. When Mrs. Davidson wanted her way, she’d get it regardless of the circumstances and honestly, today wasn’t the day to attend those family dinners where he had to mingle with his uncles and aunt that were always watching him like hawks.Being from an Asian-American extended family sucked, and being the first son of the family was even more hell. Except for his nuclear family, everyone else disliked him, his cousins especially. The Davidson's were a well known name across the US and Asia. From ge

Ryan and Selena, turned back at the same time to see Dora behind him. Dora’s eyes darted to her father, then to Selena, and lastly, to the child whose arms were wrapped tightly around her daddy’s legs.“Come on, baby,” Ryan beckoned to her and she walked to him. He scooped her into his arms, despite Julia’s arms that were still wrapped around his legs.Dora’s gaze drifted to Julia and Ryan did too, seeing the sad's expression etched on the child’s face. Feelings of guilt barrelled into him, knowing that the child did nothing to deserve the treatment he was giving her. It wasn’t her fault that she had a deceitful mother. Ignoring these thoughts, he leaned down with Dora still in his arms and carried Julia with his free arm.A cheerful smile lit up the kid’s face. At first, Dora had been watching the girl with curiosity but when she saw her smile, it triggered her own smile. Before long, the two children were playing in Ryan’s arms while he returned his attention to the unwanted visitor