Nothing Without Me

FOUR

Chapter 4

10 minutes later, his men had gone to the VIP section to carry on the meeting as scheduled, while he sat at a table for two in the main dining area, with a small, beautiful green eyes witch who had ensnared him so.

“What’s your name, mi Chiquita ?” He asked, and she only blinked in reply, her hands quickly going for the bread rolls kept in the basket, starting to tear small pieces of it and putting them into her mouth as quickly as possible.

If it was possible for his heart to be broken even more at that moment, it did. It killed him a little to realize she was probably very hungry. Was that why she was looking for her daddy?

“Are you hungry, Carino?”

Now she replied, a vigorous yes by nodding her head. “What would you like to eat?” what was Almas Caviar and Wagyu steak for him, at that moment he was ready to buy a whole plate of diamonds, if it made this little girl happy.

She didn’t seem interested in either the wagyu steak or the caviar but rather seemed interested in the chocolate cake the patrons at the table beside them were enjoying.

“Cake?” He was rewarded with another brilliant smile of hers. “Choco.” She replied, before adding, “Plwese.” It was a train wreck, a complete wreckage of his heart where with every word, every smile, Alejandro felt like he was being twisted around the little fingers without being able to help it.

He flagged down a waitress soon. “A black coffee for me and a chocolate cake for the princess.” The waitress smiled, “certainly, sir anything else we have children special-” Suddenly though, her eyes locked on the little girl sitting in front of the man, her small height barely reaching the table, something akin to panic flared in her eyes as they darted between Alejandro and the little girl more than once.

“I will be right back.” Before Alejandro had the time to ask anything, she disappeared into the crowd. And he sighed.

“Now, are you going to tell me, where’s your mummy?” he asked again, his heart hurting a little. “or your daddy? Are they here?” Alejandro wasn’t sure what he would do if two people arrived there looking for their little girl, hand them this small green-eyed witch and say goodbye forever?

It was such a strange thing, to be attached to someone he just met like this, and so out of character for him, that he was himself surprised.

“Lila” Alejandro looked up, a woman in a waitress’s uniform was running towards them, her eyes wide in panic and her head full of hair once again in disarray, as soon as he saw her face, Alejandro knew who she was.

She was the woman he had seen in the elevator that day at the office, heartbroken and sad. It was something he couldn’t easily forget. Did she work here?

“Lila, baby, what are you doing here?” She asked, and unlike the one word replies he had been getting for half an hour now, the girl started speaking like she was a parrot. “Mummy!” She jumped. speaking a mile a minute about something he couldn’t quite understand.

Probably because Alejandro was still in shock to realize that this woman was little “Lila’s mother”. It wasn’t that strange after all because he had seen the same sadness and heartbreak in both their eyes at different times.

“Good afternoon.” He stood up, ready to introduce himself, but she wasn’t ready to hear it. “I am so sorry if Lila bothered you. I tried to keep her in the back room. Don’t know how she wandered out.” She spoke softly, clearly, she was afraid that he was going to complain about this to her manager. “No, please- ” He begun only to be cut off.

“I promise this won’t happen again.” She said all of that in one long breath and instantly grabbed her daughter's hands to drag her away. Unlike the chubby little girl, though, the mother was skinny, with almost non-existent flesh on her bones; she was starting to look like a skeleton.

“Lila, come on…Let's go!” She tried dragging the girl again, who was once again making puppy cute faces and pouty lips at Alejandro, no doubt as a way to stop her mother from taking her away. He smiled. This was one manipulative little witch who was playing with his heartstrings like a guitar.

“Mummy, no go!” Lila was shaking her head, pouting. “Eat choco cake now.” She licked her small lips, and Alejandro saw tears starting to gather in her mother’s eyes. “Please not here, baby, I told you we can’t have cakes all the time….I-”

“But He is my daddy now.” Almost like clockwork, she turned to look at Alejandro, as if asking him for help. “he pwomised.”

Alejandro wanted to giggle at that small witch and her unbelievable naughtiness, but he was suddenly made aware of the young mother’s mortification at that claim with her face going beetroot red as she looked at him. She was biting her lips, perhaps wishing for the floor to open up and take her in.

“I am so sorry. I don’t know why she would say such a thing. Please-” She begun, her voice shaking with embarrassment and humiliation.

“Don’t worry about it, please,” Alejandro replied, now a little bit embarrassed himself. “She is such a cute girl. I don’t mind, and the cake is from me.” He assured her, though it didn’t seem like she was liking it. “No, I can’t make you pay for the cake!” She shook her head. “We don’t know you.” Again, the vulnerability, the heartache, the pain shone through her eyes like the first time he had seen her in that elevator, and he knew, knew it without a doubt that she had gone through things no one should go through, and so has her little girl.

Unlike ever before, something akin to protectiveness was born in his chest. A desire to protect this little innocent girl and the young woman standing in front of him. Protect them from all kinds of pain and heartbreak. So that not a single tear could ever touch their eyes again.

And Lila can have chocolate cakes every single day for the rest of her life!

“I am Alejandro Castilla, the CEO and owner of Vanguard Luxe International.” He took out his business card from his pocket and handed it to her. “I suppose you have your duties as a waitress here?”

Elena nodded. “Why don’t I keep your daughter company until then?” Sharp brows rose with suspicion, and Alejandro couldn’t blame her for being suspicious of him; he was after all, still a stranger to her.

“I will be right here at this table with Lila, You can take a look whenever you want, and until you finish work, I and her would be finishing the chocolate cake I had ordered.” He smiled reassuringly, and despite all her preconceptions about leaving her daughter with a stranger, she nodded. For that, chocolate cake more than anything else.

Shame engulfed her as she walked away slowly because she couldn’t have bought that cake for her daughter.