Daddy's Grave
1483 Words
Elise's POV.
"Ma'am, she's sleeping." The woman who was behind me whispered.
I called her 'woman' because she was the new nanny that I hired to take care of Natalie, my beautiful and cute daughter.
The former Nanny had a special place in my heart but she had to leave and take care of her family issues. I believed that's why I couldn't remember the name of the new nanny, I wasn't too used to her presence yet.
"She's asleep. Oh, thank you." I turned back to flash a smile at her. "I hope she didn't give you much trouble?" I asked as I sauntered to her small bed.
A smile brimmed on my lips as I beheld her beautiful face. She had an adorable attitude like me but she had a spitting image of her father.
I wondered why my genes weren't so dominant in the looks because she had her father's dark and intimidating eyes, she had the color of his lips and her hair color was the same as his.
She looked like the little female version of him. At first, I disliked that factor but I put such childishness aside and decided to love my daughter with all my heart.
My parents never showed that they loved me. They always treated me like a burden because if they truly loved me, they wouldn't throw me on the streets like a dog.
They would have given me a second chance to prove myself to them but no! They saw a chance to discard a liability and they grabbed it without hesitation.
"My sweetie," I whispered and took a gentle seat on her bed. My fingers went to her hair and I stroked the soft strands of her hair gently.
"My heart just melts anytime I see her." I said in a low voice, staring at my baby that had grown taller and bigger.
When I discovered that I was pregnant with her, it was something that I was ashamed of. I considered getting an abortion because I hated her father.
He had left and wrecked me at the weakest point of my life. I couldn't have his child who would constantly remind me of my failure as a daughter and a person.
Five years ago, that was exactly the way I thought but then I realized that I would be no different from my parents. If I got rid of her.
So, I decided to keep the pregnancy and face everything alone. Though I had Jones, he couldn't give me the emotional support that I desired.
After a terrifying delivery, I had Natalie and my life changed. Although she grew up to look like Damien, that could never change the love I had for her.
"Ma'am, She's a lovely girl and I have never met such an intelligent girl like her," her nanny said.
I faced the woman and smiled.
"She takes after me," I said and my words led us to giggle.
"When we arrived here, she wanted to wait for you but I told her to sleep and you would return soon. Some of the children that I've gotten the opportunity to raise would never listen to me, but she quietly allowed me to tuck her into bed; she's such an obedient child." her nanny said with a smile on her lips.
"I'm happy to hear that from you. I'm sorry to ask this but what's your name again…I always forget it." I chuckled.
"Adaline." She responded with a slight bow.
"Beautiful name." I grinned at her and by the time I faced my daughter again, her eyes were wide open staring at me.
She freaked me out a little because I wasn't expecting her to be awake.
"Sweetheart," I called softly.
"Mommy." She whispered and batted her eyelids at me. "Are you here?"
"Yes, sweetheart. It's me." I smiled and watched as her eyes twinkle in happiness.
"Mommy!" She screamed joyfully and threw herself into my arms. "I missed you so much…"
"I missed you too baby." I laughed and wrapped my hands warmly around her cute body. "I'm sorry for waking you up."
"You shouldn't be sorry. I wanted to see you." She muttered and pulled away from me. "How did the runway go? Was everyone impressed with your pretty walk?"
She had always been an inquisitive child. Always wanting to know too much.
"Everything went perfectly." I smiled at her. "I walked gracefully on the runway but someone almost made me fall, that person almost made me sad but I fought hard to stay on my feet and everyone ended up clapping for me."
I always added some spice to my day-to-day life when explaining things to her, it made everything more exciting.
"That person must be very bad but Mommy, you came out victorious, I'm so proud of you." She squealed and hugged me.
My heart warmed up again. I hugged her to my heart's content and kissed her hair.
"Thanks, sweetheart. Mommy is proud of you too." I grinned.
She broke the hug again and asked if I had anything for her. I gave her a negative response and suggested reading a bedtime story to her.
She was over the moon about it because she thought my voice was beautiful and it always made her peaceful and sleepy.
Natalie always had a way of amazing me.
—
The next morning, I had breakfast with Jones and since Natalie was yet to be awake, he decided to use the opportunity to speak about Damien.
"So, did you find the blogs?" I asked him before digging my fork into the salad in front of me.
"There were so many blogs with that story. It trended so much that even a friend of mine at that time who hated gossip and those kinds of things, told me about it." Jones replied, shaking his head.
"I'm sure that your friend called me insulting names, right?" I asked with a smirk playing on my lips.
"Yes." That was the response I expected.
"Just last week, another blogger brought it up and it still trended and unfortunately, there weren't any comments in your favor. The fact that your step-uncle didn't come…" Jones paused and took a sip of water before speaking again.
"You were quite young when it happened. Why didn't your step-uncle come to your defense? I'm sure that if he had come out to clear your name and say that both of you were consenting adults and could do whatever you liked then maybe people would've stopped hating you." Jones uttered, feeling a little disappointed.
I was utterly disappointed as well. I wished I could tell Jones how Damien treated me that day. It was so awful, I hate recalling it.
"I had a crush on him when I was younger…" I began. "He was handsome and all but later those cheeky feelings died off but then he returned into my life and reignited them. He crossed the line first. I did not want anything to do with him because of family issues and criticism…" I trailed off, hating the day that I ever met him.
"But he told me that everything was gonna be alright. Of course, I believed him." I laughed at my stupidity and took a slice of lettuce into my mouth.
"And everything went downhill then he left you…" Jones concluded and he wasn't wrong at all.
"You're so smart." I complimented him and lowered my gaze.
I began using my fork to poke and play with the salad in my bowl. Recalling everything that happened to me made me realize that Damien was the blame for everything.
"I'm sorry for prying," Jones said. "But I want to ask you this question. Is Natalie, Damien's child?"
Instead of giving a verbal response, I simply nodded my head and resumed eating.
"Your step-uncle is a scumbag!" My manager gritted his teeth. His words made a laugh escape my lips.
"Step-Uncle." I heard Natalie's voice and the fork in my hand dropped.
"Sweetheart."
"Good morning, Mommy, Uncle Jones." She greeted both of us and walked to the table.
She climbed on the chair and sat down comfortably before taking her napkin to her neckline.
"How was your night, princess?"
Hearing the word 'princess' made me disgusted. I didn't want any man referring to my daughter with the same term that her deceitful father used.
"Can you avoid calling her 'princess'? This little girl seated here is a queen." I was serious at first but when I turned it into a joke, they both laughed.
"Mommy. I never knew you had a step-uncle, does he know daddy's grave, so I could drop flowers there?" My daughter asked innocently.
I had told her that Damien was dead and I was going to keep that lie till my last breath. Natalie would never know about her father!
Never!
- Writer
