Prologue

It is amazing how quickly time flies. I never would have imagined that I would be able to do all of this for my now five-year-old daughter. As the years passed and I witnessed her growth, I had the impression that it was not a simple process. It seems like just yesterday that I was there to witness her come into the world. That day the nurse brought her in front of me, I remember it clearly. It does not seem like too much time has passed at all. Everything about her was small, and she cried quite a lot. Upon observing how much she has grown over the last few years, I can not help but feel a small amount of pride in myself.

Catherine, well done; you accomplished it on your own!

I gave a long, heavy sigh. I will be the first to confess that it was difficult to raise a child, mainly when you do it by yourself, but I was able to do it. My journey might not have been simple for us, yet despite this. We were able to pull ourselves up.

At the moment, we are at the department store. As my good friend Hailey has invited us to attend her wedding, I have promised to bought Cailen a new pair of white sandals. She will serve as one of the flower girls during her marriage. At first, I was opposed to it because I still have trauma, and going back to the city might cause us difficult times. Knowing Hailey, she disagreed with that.

"If you don't come to my wedding, Cathy, please forget me as your friend," she said threateningly.

She knew everything about me; in fact, she was the one to help me leave that place. I remain silent.

"For Pete's sake, the city is wide enough, and I guess your ex-lover wouldn't know you came to my wedding. He was not invited. If you are worried about that, always remember that I won't bring you to the verge of a dangerous situation. And if you are worried about that man, you shouldn't be, Cathy. It had already been five years. Your child has already reached a mature age. At least he gave you a keepsake." she teased me before she laughed, "And it was Cailen, who resembles him much, who promised you to love you for eternity."

"Are you teasing me about what happened to me in the past, Hailey?" I replied, pertaining to her last litany; I did not care about the first one she said. i mean about my ex-lover. "You are aware, too at what happened, and that was also your fault! Remember?"

On the other end of the phone, she laughed as if I had said something funny. I am not blaming her but slight. If only she noticed me gone that night that event never took place.

"Why did it end up being my fault? You are the one who goes somewhere with him in order to create Cailen, and then you point the finger at me as the culprit? Cathy do you hear yourself? Come on, girl, admit it right now that you enjoyed what took place between the two of you. The only thing that I did wrong was that I invited you to come along with me without realizing that you were going to have a one-night stand with the stranger!"

It was time for me to start laughing too. I've already changed. If it was Cathy five years ago, for sure, I am already shredding tears of regret knowing that events ruined my entire life and I experienced a lot of unbearable pain through those circumstances. But Cathy right now is not the same as the woman that day. I am the stronger version of myself that I was able to put into pieces three years ago. Although it was a long time ago, it seems like it was just yesterday that it took place. My best friend and I had our final encounter shortly after I made the decision to leave the city. She helped me and my child with all her might. To be honest, we live in her hometown, so that no one could trace us. We did not stop communicating with one another after that, and as a result, our friendship has only grown stronger over the years.

"Mom, look at me! Am I pretty cute?"

When I heard my daughter's question, I immediately brought my thoughts back to the present moment. I smiled and nodded cordially at her before giving her a thumbs-up to indicate that I agreed.

"Yes, you do; there's no need to ask me that, Cailen," I responded, slightly smiling at her.

"Of course, I know for a fact that my dad gives me this kind of look!"

She boasted about the fact that it caused me to roll my eyes at her in a teasing manner.

"Am I wrong, Mommy?"

I did not respond to confirm that what she was saying was correct. But she never failed to remind me that silence means yes.

Cailen never stopped talking about her father, especially as she got older. I can't say that I blame her because she was craving attention from him. I am aware that lying is considered one of the seven deadly sins; nonetheless, I am unable to fathom the anguish that Cailen will feel if she discovers the truth. That she was only the illegitimate daughter of her admired father, and reality for sure wound her. Fortunately, at her young age, she couldn't remember Joseph, my ex-husband, as her father, as was written on her birth certificate. I knew that in the future, things might become chaotic, but I still believed that I would manage to put all the things back in the right place.

Nevertheless, when the appropriate time comes, and their paths cross, I wouldn't think twice about putting them in contact with one another and introducing them to each other. I am aware that Cailen is tired of my excuse that her father needs to work in a distant location. However, the silver lining is that Cailen continues to believe all the lies I am perpetually feeding her. And it makes me feel more guilty about her existence.