The Kidnapped Billionaire

Changing

Achellous

Many people have always questioned how I treat Amour. Sometimes I do too. My life never revolved around her. I’ve always seen her as someone below me. Maybe it’s because of the fact that I compare her to Elani. I know it’s wrong to compare my child to her mother– I try not to, I swear. But whenever I see Amour, I never see Ela. They’re so far from each other. I love Amour, yet I can’t seem to show her because I don’t know how. I do things secretly– behind everyone’s back. 

FLASHBACK

It was Amour’s birthday. I guess I need to do something for her. I picked up my phone, and called someone from our office. 

“Hello? Arrange a short surprise birthday celebration for Amour today. It needs to be before 10 o’clock in the morning because I’ve scheduled a meeting at that time slot. Do you understand?” I told my secretary.

“Yes, sir. This is noted. I will notify everyone, including your daughter’s friends. I will update you, sir. Good bye.” I hung up. 

After that call, I dialed Amour’s favorite food place in town. They picked up the phone. 

“Good day! This is Hiraya Food & Events Place. How can I help you?” 

“Uh, yes. This is Achellous Tala. I would like to make a reservation later this lunchtime.” 

“It’s a pleasure to serve you, Mr. Tala. Your reservation, for how many people?” 

“Just for one. My only daughter. Make sure that she’ll be the only customer during lunchtime. I will know if you accept other customers. Do not accept other customers until she finishes her lunch. Understood?” 

“Yes, sir. Do you have any more reminders for this reservation?”

“Oh yes. I’m glad you’ve asked. Please give Amour a slice of blueberry cheesecake, and put a lit candle on it.”

“Okay, sir. The reservation has been made. Please state your bank account number so that we can–”

“I will pay in cash. I’ll send someone there. Email me the receipt, akitala@scmail.con. I’ll be waiting until 9 o’clock am.” I ended the call. 

While I was doing all of this, Ela was in the shower. I hope she did not hear anything about the surprises because I know that she will tell Amour. I got up from my seat, stretched a little bit. The bathroom door opened, Ela was done showering. I grabbed my towel and robe, then hopped into the shower. I hope everything goes well for my daughter today. 

END OF FLASHBACK

Whenever I say awful things to Amour, I always  feel that I am a bad parent– an unworthy father. But I don’t know what to do. I never tell Ela that I want to change how I treat Amour. I want to do this myself. 

I scrolled through the internet, and found this parenting guide made by a woman. This is nice. I get to be taught by someone without them knowing that they’re teaching me. Women are great parents. I can prove this because Ela is way better than me. I purchased the guide. I bought the E-Book version because I don’t want Ela to see me reading a parenting guide. I also subscribed to the website for daily motivations for parents. I quickly read some of this woman’s blog, and wow she is great. I think this will really help me with my journey into being a nice dad. I want to change so badly. 

My phone is ringing. 

“Sir Achellous, you have a meeting at 11:30 am, it’s already 11am. Do you want me to pick you up?” Oh gosh I lost track of time. I enjoyed reading this parenting book. This made me want to change my ways even more. 

“Oh shoot. I’ll just finish my cup of coffee. Please pick me up after 5 minutes. Thank you. Please hurry and take care.” I hung up.

I finished my coffee, it was cold. I fixed my tie, and quickly walked outside my house. I hopped into our van. 

While I was on my way to the office, I thought to myself that my life has always been work. I work non-stop. I wake up to work, I sleep when I finish my work. I do everything for work. Maybe this is one of the reasons why I can not find time to understand my daughter– why I can’t find ways to be with her. But I can’t let go of my work. The future of Santa Corazon is in the palm of my hands, and if I quit now, I will let my people down. I need to finish everything I have started before I hand my work to someone else. 

I opened my phone and quickly read some parts of the book I just bought. This parenting book is a must-have. Reading this makes me lean into feminism. Women are great! How I wish I could say those words to my daughter. Maybe someday, but not today because I’m late for my meeting. 

I got out of the van, and hurried to the meeting room. Everyone was seated. This is so embarrassing. 

“My apologies, everyone. I had some other things to do before today’s meeting. I had to run some errands, and fix some personal things. Shall we start?” I said. 

“Let’s wait for a few minutes. My son will be joining us today. He just landed here this morning, he’s on his way here.” 

“Oh that’s nice. Then we will wait for him, Mr. Cielo. Everyone can drink their coffee first.” 

After a few minutes, a tall, dark, and handsome guy entered the meeting room. After him was Amour. I think they know each other. Amour stood at the front, is she about to announce something?

“Gentlemen, my apologies for us being late. With me, Magnus Cielo. One of our future investors and member of the board of trustees.” Oh, Amour knows him. 

Now I remember. Magnus is one of Amour’s childhood friends. The one who went abroad to study business and economics. Such a nice person. 

“Now everyone is here, shall we start our meeting?” I said. 

Everyone sat down on their respective seats, and our meeting started.