Accidentally Ever After

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Reina

I stormed out of the restroom, barely remembering to smooth my blouse as I approached the reception desk. My heels clicked too loudly against the pristine marble, matching the chaos in my chest.

The receptionist looked up, a stiff smile on her face. “Is everything alright, ma’am?”

“I—please,” I gasped, leaning slightly on the desk, my breath short. “I know I’m supposed to be in the interview room right now, but there’s an emergency. My daughter’s school just called—she’s sick, crying, and I—please, can my interview be rescheduled? Just a bit later today or... or even another day.”

Her eyes flicked over my face, uncertain, lips parting like she wanted to say something official, but I wasn’t waiting for a yes. I didn’t have time.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, and then I turned and ran.

I didn’t even bother pressing the elevator button. I took the stairs—three flights in heels, barely breathing, legs burning—and burst out into the open air like I hadn’t seen the sky in days. The car beeped as I reached it, my keys shaking in my grip. I threw myself into the driver’s seat and turned the ignition, the engine humming to life just as my phone buzzed again beside me.

Eden’s school.

Again.

I bit my bottom lip hard enough to taste blood and swerved out of the parking lot, tires screeching.

“Hold on, baby,” I muttered, my voice trembling. “Mommy’s coming.”

The moment I pulled into the school’s parking lot, I didn’t even kill the engine. I jumped out, heels hitting the pavement hard, and sprinted toward the administrative block like my chest was about to burst open.

“Reina Ainsley?” the secretary recognized me the second I burst through the glass doors.

“Yes! Where’s Eden?” I rushed forward, wild, frantic. “I got the call—she’s running a fever, crying—”

“She’s already been picked up,” she said with a small, calm smile, like she wasn’t detonating my entire world.

“What?” My voice cracked. “What do you mean—picked up? By who?”

“Her father came for her just about fifteen minutes ago,” she said, checking something on a clipboard as if the confirmation was supposed to ease me.

I blinked. The room tilted a little. “Her... who?”

“Her dad,” she repeated slowly, carefully now. “Eden’s father. She recognized him, called him Daddy, and confirmed it herself.”

“No.” I shook my head, hard. “No, that’s not possible. That’s not—You gave her to a stranger!”

Oh, Christ!

“Ms. Ainsley, please calm down,” she tried to say.

“She doesn’t have a f— Eden doesn't know her father!” I shouted, the words slicing through the air. “She’s seven. She calls everyone daddy. Her music teacher? Daddy Marcus. The gate man? Daddy Paul. Anyone that’s nice to her, she calls them that! That doesn’t mean—”

I clutched my chest. I was dizzy. I felt like I was falling and no one could catch me.

“Why didn’t you call me first?” My voice dropped, hoarse, broken. “Why didn’t you confirm with me before handing my daughter over to a total stranger?”

“She said his name was Eugene,” the secretary said, her voice finally unsure. “And she hugged him like she knew him. We... we didn’t think—”

Eugene.

It hit me like a sledgehammer to the gut.

Oh, f**k! Christ. No f*****g way! Not Eugene.

Everything went silent for a moment. Even my heartbeat.

“Did he say where he was taking her?” I asked, my voice sharp and empty.

The secretary hesitated. “He said he was taking her home to rest. That you’d understand.”

I stepped back, one hand gripping the edge of the counter to keep from collapsing.

No.

I didn’t understand.

Because Eugene was supposed to know about us—especially not Eden.

And now, he has my daughter.

Asking questions in the school was pointless, and the more seconds I wasted there was useless and drove me nuts.

I slammed the door the second I got home, my fingers trembling as I locked it behind me like it would keep the chaos out. My heels were off before I even hit the living room, and I barely registered the ache in my feet from all the running.

I snatched my phone from the coffee table and dialed 911.

“My daughter’s missing,” I said the moment someone picked up. “She was taken from her school—by a man. They said it’s her father but—she doesn’t have a f—she doesn't know her father. She doesn’t—”

“Ma’am,” the dispatcher’s voice was calm, detached. “Has it been twenty-four hours since your daughter was last seen?”

I blinked through the buzzing in my ears. “No. It’s only been... it’s only been maybe an hour? Not up to that. About half an hour ago, I'm sure if you send out a search team, she'll be found in no time.”

“Unfortunately, we cannot file a missing child report until she’s been missing for twenty-four hours unless there’s confirmed foul play. Since the school staff confirmed she left with someone she recognized—”

“She calls everyone daddy!” I yelled, breath hitching. “She's seven. That doesn’t mean—”

“Ma’am,” the dispatcher interrupted, “Do you have contact with the child’s father? Can you call to confirm whether or not he has her?”

I felt like I’d been punched in the chest.

“I told you—she doesn’t have a father,” I said through clenched teeth.

Because Eugene was dead to me. Had been for many years now.

“He’s not in her life. He was never in her life. He doesn’t even know she exists.”

“I understand. But if there’s a possibility it’s the biological father—”

“There isn’t!”

I hung up. She wasn't helpful.

My phone slipped from my hand and hit the floor with a dull thud.

I buried my hands in my hair and screamed.

Tears burned at the back of my eyes but wouldn’t fall. I was too angry. Too scared. Too helpless. My daughter was out there with someone, and I didn’t know who. What if they hurt her? What if she was scared? What if she was crying for me right now and I wasn’t there—

“God!” I slammed my hand on the coffee table, trying to steady myself.

Who did she think was her father? Had she seen him before? In pictures? On my phone?

No. I hadn’t kept any of that. I never even spoke his name aloud.

Unless...

Unless someone had shown her.

A sharp buzz cut through my thoughts. My phone vibrated against the hardwood floor.

I scrambled to pick it up.

It was Tessa calling.

My heart stuttered. I answered immediately.

“Tessa—!”

“Reina,” her voice was shaky, apologetic. “I just saw your missed calls. What happened? What’s wrong?”

I sat down on the edge of the couch, my fingers gripping the phone so tightly it might break.

“You won’t believe me,” I whispered. “I can't find Eden.”

“Tessa,” I blurted, gripping the phone tighter. “Did you take Eden from school? Did you send anyone?”

“What? No! Reina, what are you talking about? I haven’t left my house all day.”

My heart sank even lower.

“Are you sure?” I pressed, desperate for even the smallest hope. “You didn’t ask someone to help out? Or—God—just see her today?”

“No, babe. I swear on everything.” She paused. “Wait, what’s going on? You’re scaring me.”

I got up, pacing, my bare feet cold against the floor. “Eden’s gone. She was taken from school. They said her father came to pick her up.” I laughed bitterly under my breath. “You know, the one that doesn’t exist.”

Tessa gasped. “What? Are you kidding?”

“I wish I was.” I glanced toward the window, heart pounding like a drum in my throat. “They said she recognized him. That she even called him daddy. And they just—let her go.”

“Oh my God…”

I stopped pacing, my voice dropping to a whisper. “Tessa… is Daniel in town?”

She breathed but didn't answer immediately, so I clarified.

I swallowed hard. “Earlier, when I called you. I heard... sounds. And I just—something didn’t feel right.”

Tessa laughed softly, nervously. “Seriously? You think I was sleeping with Daniel? Are you okay?”

I wasn’t. Not even close.

“No,” I said, cutting her off. “I don’t care who it was. I just thought... maybe... maybe you got back together. Somehow. Tessa, I'm going nuts. What if he found her?”

She sobered. “Reina. You said he doesn’t even know about her.”

“He doesn’t.” I sat down again, sinking into the couch, my knees bouncing. “But something’s off. I feel it. This—this isn’t random. It’s like something’s circling back. Like something’s here.”

We were both quiet, minds racing, panic settling in our bones like a second skin.

Tessa’s voice was soft. “What do we do now?”

“I don’t know,” I whispered. “I don’t even know where to start. What if something’s already happened? What if I’m too late—”

Ding-dong.

I froze.

My eyes snapped to the front door.

My breath hitched. “Tessa,” I whispered, “someone’s at the door.”

I didn’t think. I just ran. Could be Eden being dropped off legitimately by someone playing a prank on me.

My fingers fumbled with the lock as my heart pounded against my ribs. When I finally yanked the door open, I stumbled back a step.

There she was.

Eden.

Standing right there on the porch in her glittery school socks and rumpled uniform, clutching the hand of a man she had no business smiling that brightly with.

Her eyes sparkled.

“Mommy, look,” she beamed, “I brought Daddy home.”

Everything stopped.

My lungs forgot how to work. My knees buckled slightly. I had to grab the doorframe to keep myself from collapsing right there.

She called him… Daddy? Truly like the school had said.

I lifted my gaze slowly, as if my body no longer belonged to me, and my eyes locked with his.

Him.

The man I hadn’t seen in almost eight years. The man I had buried in my memory and cursed every time Eden asked why she didn’t have a father. The man I never planned to see again.

He looked… older. Sharper. Wealthier. Colder.

But those eyes? I could never forget those sparkling blue eyes.

“Reina?”

Tessa’s voice crackled from the phone still clutched in my trembling hand.

My lips were too numb to answer.

“Reina, who’s there? Is that Eden?”

But I couldn’t speak.

Because all I could hear, over and over again, was Eden’s voice echoing in my chest.

“I brought Daddy home.”