POPPY:
My mouth gaped open wide upon hearing my daughter.Daddy?My head spun and got dizzy as I stared at my baby hugging Sebastian. She wrapped her little hand around the man while sniffing at him."You smell so good, Daddy!"Sebastian cocked his eyebrows and looked at me. His eyes ordered me to remove Kelly away from him.But…I could not move.How could I do it?For the first time, I saw my baby smiling from ear to ear. How could I extinguish the fire from her eyes and dampen the mood? How could I hurt her feelings right now?Mr. Holding continued looking at my baby. He glanced at his back and his bodyguard automatically stepped forward.No! No one will embarrass my child. I would kill anyone who dared to. Clearing my throat, I went to my baby and carefully untangled her away from Mr. Holding. "L-love? Come to Mommy."Kelly shook her head continuously and held Mr. Holding tightly. My heart tightened at seeing her hug Sebastian like he was indeed her father. I forgot these were the times when she needed a father figure. Someone who would give her the love of a father. If I could not address that need, there would be a high chance she would be looking for a father’s love for any male she met. "No. I want Daddy."Sebastian raised his eyebrows. "Love. Please." Gently, I tried to remove her hands away from the uncomfortable man. His bodyguard moved backward as if the threat was around his master."No, Mommy."Biting my lip, I said, "Let's step aside and listen to our visitor, shall we? If you will be a good girl, I will buy the bag you wanted."Even at such an early age, Kelly was already fond of bags, but due to a tight budget, I told her I will buy them if I will have extra cash. I already received Mr. Holding’s money in my bank account, but until now, I could not fathom spending it. I will just let it sleep on my account until I will know what I will do with the money.Looking at me, she said, "Really?""I won't be breaking my promise.""But you always broke your promise, Mommy. You said you would buy me a new bag, but you did not. You said you would buy me a new tablet, but you did not. You’re gonna break your promise again."I stared at her guilt. I did say those things. "Sorry, love. Mommy will find money to buy what you like this time, okay?"Kelly grinned from ear to ear. "Don't worry, Mommy. Daddy is here now. He looks like he is rich.""Love. That's not something to say to someone."I coughed nervously. Nevertheless, my baby untangled herself from Sebastian and went to me.Wrapping my hands around Kelly's shoulders, I asked, "What do you want, Mr. Holding? Isn't it a bit early in the morning?""You replied to my text.”Oh. “That one? Yes, I did.”Looking down at Kelly, Sebastian folded his arms in front of his chest. “Let’s talk somewhere private," he ordered, and by private he meant alone with me… without my baby. Kelly was making him uncomfortable. I knew. Especially how my child stared at him with amazement. Who wouldn't want this man as their father? He was loaded and could give anyone what they wanted. What they needed. Except for his time. Time was gold. Time was money for Sebastian Holding. Besides, I did not know if he would be an amazing Father. Stop fantasizing about things. You already made this far, Poppy. Kelly grew into an amazing child through your hard work alone, without asking for anyone's help and you will continue this. "Well? Will you answer me or will you just waste my time by standing here? I don't have all the time for this."I scoffed inwardly. Asshole. Treating everyone as if we were his slaves. Did you not turn yourself into his slave by accepting his money?Yeah, right. I did make myself a slave to his money.“Move.”I gave way to him and he entered my house as if he was the king of our neighborhood.I felt someone tugged my hand. When I glanced down, it was Kelly. Her eyes were nearly swimming with tears."Does Daddy not like me?"Nolan did not before, but it seemed he had a change of heart when he tried to get back to me. "Love? Can you go to your room first? We will talk about this later on, okay?""I want to see Daddy, Mommy."Something tugged my heart.My poor baby girl. I'm sorry for seeming to fail you. All I wanted was to give you a happy childhood. How can I protect you forever from the world of pain?"We can do that later, okay? For now, please listen to Mommy and go to your room.""Will he join us in buying my bag?""I...I don't think so, love.""Why is that, Mommy?""He is busy, love.""Can't he give time for me?"I took back my words. Sebastian would never be a good father. He would always be absent and I did not want my baby to experience that she was not a priority."Go to your room now, Kelly. We will talk about your dad later."Whenever I mentioned her name, she already knew the seriousness of the situation."Don't let Dad go home without saying goodbye to me, okay?" I nodded and watched her go to her room. “This will be quick, love. I’ll be in your room. Now kiss Mommy.” Kelly leaned in and gave me a peck on both sides of my cheeks. Then she ran towards her room. "What took you so long?" Sebastian asked when I reached the living room. He kept glancing at his watch. "You already wasted ten minutes of my time."Ha. Wasted his time? I never considered bonding with my baby a waste of my time. "No, Mr. Holding. It is you who is wasting my time. What made you come here unannounced?”His eyes narrowed into thin slits.“I don't think you texted me that you will come here."I settled on the couch opposite him. "Excuse me?""You are excused, Mr. Holding. Tell me what you want so we won't be wasting our time anymore."Sebastian did not like my answer. I also did not like how he viewed my kid. “I don’t want to repeat myself, woman.”I smiled sweetly, and responded, “I am afraid you’re gonna repeat yourself this time, Mr. Holding.”“I. Sent. You. A. Text. Remember?”Oh. That one?Why did it keep on slipping my mind?“Ah. I did remember that. My apologies, Mr. Holding.”"You will be coming with me.""I still have a lot of things to—""That's not what you agreed to when you signed the contract, Miss Poppy."Damn.As far as my memory is concerned, I must free all my schedules when this asshole wants something from me. Especially when it comes to his Olivia. "I promised my child that we will go to the mall," I grumbled. I never thought today would be the time I would be helping him fix his ruined relationship all because of that stupid mistake of saying it was I who ruined his wedding.Sebastian gave me his icy glare. I felt cold at such intensity. "Will you honor the contract or will you pay for the damages? I am talking about the breach of contract, Miss Poppy. Let's not prolong this. Will you go with me or not? Pay the damages if you won't follow what we had agreed."Damn him. Why did I sign the contract again?Sebastian tapped the couch with his long fingers. Even his fingers looked pretty and well-kept. "Time is ticking, Miss Poppy.""But Kelly."He stood. "My lawyers will now be talking to you after this. Return the money. Double it and be sure to pay the damages—""Who said I will not help you?" I hissed, cutting off his words. I started getting sick of signing the contract with him. He was a devil in disguise. Why would his company prosper without getting his hands dirty? I was certain he did some things... unimaginable things for the sake of money. Maybe he was the head of some mafia organization or whatever they call the boss. "I will help you, Mr. Holding. But first, I have to ask my friend first if she could babysit my baby.""Do it quick," he ordered as he owned me. “I’m giving you five minutes to call whoever you want.”I inhaled deeply.It wasn’t a day we spent in each other’s company, but I already hated this asshole's guts, and I also needed his cash. So I had no choice but to be with his company.I just hoped I wouldn't be hurting someone just because I lost my cool. I totally hoped so.POPPY:After making a few calls and calling Christy, I was back in the living room. The woman said she will be coming here to fetch my daughter.I did not know what to do if I did not know her. She was always to the rescue. With my heart at ease, I returned to where Mr. Holding was waiting for me. Sebastian was folding his arms and upon seeing me, his sharp eyes looked sharper than ever. His eyes looked bored. "I thought I would be sleeping here," Sebastian greeted me, his voice full of sarcasm. "This house is only for me and my daughter, Mr. Holding.""That's sarcasm."I know. I'm not dumb.I faked a surprise look. "Oh, really? I did not know it was."If this was the kind of employer I had right now, I would be peeing my pants. His piercing eyes could cut the hardest metal in the world.Maybe he did not love Olivia Green. If he did, he won’t be giving me a death glare right now. They said love could transform the hardest steel including Sebastian, but this man, he was hard as a r
POPPY:My heart skipped a beat. Nolan. This bastard. What was he doing here? I thought he had already given up on pursuing me after lying to him.“Poppyseed?” Nolan called again. The pain was evident in his eyes. Fuck.Of all the days, he had come here while Kelly was inside the house? What if the two met? It may be a sin or unfair on Nolan’s side, but I did not want the two to see each other. I was not prepared for that. My breathing rate accelerated.Damn you, Nolan! How dare you make me feel fear. No! You won’t be taking Kelly away from me!Fear crawled over my body, prickling my skin. Inhale. Exhale. You still have your child, Poppy. This bastard cannot take Kelly away from you. I will ask the best lawyer that could defend me if Nolan continues to insist on taking my child away. I glanced over my shoulder. Kelly was nowhere to be seen. Good. I did not want to see her good-for-nothing father. I was free to say whatever I wanted to this bastard. “Did you forget? I told you
POPPY:The car was thick with silence and it was suffocating for me. Both men were not even saying anything as if they both agreed that talking was already a waste of their time.To make it less awkward, I pretended to check my phone every now and then, waiting for Christy’s message.When I left Kelly to her, I was already appeased that nothing would happen to my daughter. It’s just that… I always missed the feeling of being around her.“I don’t want you casually holding me whenever you please. It makes my skin crawl.”Staring at the rearview mirror and meeting Sebastian’s gaze, my brows furrowed in confusion. What was he talking about again?“I beg your pardon, Mr. Holding?”"I don't waste my time explaining what I just said. I thought you were not dumb," he snapped. I folded my arms in front of my chest. "Well, if touching you offends you so much, I want to offer my apologies, Mr. Holding."If Sebastian was silent and rarely talked, the more was his bodyguard. He was always observa
POPPY:Oh, no. Sebastian's going to kill me.His patience was already to the highest limit and everything was because of me. His edge of irritation returned. "Y-yes, Mr. Holding?" I asked, acting innocent. "Does it look like a joke to you? When will you take this seriously? If you don't want to do this job, return my half million this instant!" he demanded.I bit my lower lip. Even if I could, I won't, despite not having plans on how to spend it. But I had an initial plan of saving it for Kelly's education. “Chill. I will go with you. I will do it. I will focus on my job, okay?”My eyes lingered on Rowan Carter. He had a big butt, I could not help but notice. See you next time, Rowan Carter. The next time I meet him, I will ask for his picture. I had a feeling this would never be the last time our paths would cross. I was certain this would not be the last time that we would be seeing each other.“You better be, woman. I am starting to get tired of you.”“Where is Olivia Green
POPPY:My heart jumped at the rage I drew on Sebastian's face. Why could I not stop myself from blurting out whatever was on my mind? This mouth will be the death of me. "N-nothing, Mr. Holding. I said break. You only misheard it.""I'm not buying it. You said something."His ears were sharp as his eyes. I must control myself around this man.“I did not, Mr. Holding. However, no matter what I say, I cannot change your mind, right?” I pouted my lips. “If I offend you at any cost, could you forgive me, Mr. Holding?” Sebastian looked at me as if he was going to puke. “Why are you giving me that weird look, woman?” he asked. “Nothing. To clear up some misunderstanding?” I blinked a couple of times and tried to act cute even if I felt sick doing this myself. Sebastian waved his hand. “Erase that look. It does not look good on you.”“If Miss Olivia pouted like this, does it look good on her?” I inquired. "Does it make your heart race?"“I do not like a woman who acted like a child. Who
POPPY:It was only a simple question, but my mind could not find the words to answer Olivia Green.Seeing the conflict on my face, Olivia covered her mouth and looked away. “Bastian, she is your woman, right? Why are you hiding it from me? All I wanted is to hear the truth from your mouth. But why could I not have it? The truth, Sebastian. The truth!” she exclaimed in frustration. Sebastian’s eyes narrowed at me. He was also disappointed.Shit.Why would my mouth refuse to cooperate at the moment? Knowing Sebastian could not get any help from me, he closed the distance between him and Olivia. “Olivia.""Do not touch me, Bastian." Olivia hugged herself and stepped backward. "I hate you for cheating on me.""That woman is only a friend. You don’t have to be jealous of her. She is nothing compared to you. You are elegant. Sophisticated. Rich. Powerful. Beautiful. You almost have everything in this world.”Ouch.Why did Sebastian have to slap me with reality? I knew I was far from this
POPPY:There was only one word that would describe Mr. Holding right now. Rude. And oh jerk. Impatient. Disrespectful. Acts mighty and high. I did not believe all wealthy people were like him. I wanted to believe that those were only for him.I looked like a fool extending my hand while wearing a smile on my face, but he never bothered to accept it even if it will only take him a few seconds to shake it. Not wasting his precious words at all, and his efforts, he entered the door when Wyatt opened it for him. His personal bodyguard was about to close it, but I stopped him, went after Mr. Holding, and sat beside the billionaire.The man raised his brows at me, moved farther away, touching the window, and I did the same.I was still embarrassed by what he did.Damn him!Angrily, I blew the strands of hair blocking my eyes while glaring at the road as we exited the infamous hills. Recognizing the car of Sebastian, the security guard saluted which Wyatt returned. I was glad that despite
POPPY:Wyatt pulled over at the side of the road. Mr. Holding was a devil incarnate. He sure was succeeding in torturing me not only with his presence but also with his smirk. I hated him. I hated him! May he rot in hell where he truly belonged. He knew I lost. That I was on the disadvantaged side. Returning the money but tripling the account? That was next to impossible for crying out loud! And Sebastian was using my financial status as his leverage. "You're a devil, Sebastian."He shrugged his shoulders. "Am I? I did not know that. Perhaps I am.""Oh, please. You know it very well, Sebastian. And I was a fool for walking right into your trap," I exclaimed. “I regretted even knowing you.”"I don't have any idea what you are talking about, Miss Poppy," he answered, acting innocent but his eyes were twinkling in mischief. "Let's cut the chase and just return the money. You want to stop our connections and unfortunately, it will only happen once you return the money. You wasted my t