Too Late Mr. Sterling

Chapter 4

Elowen's POV

I barely slept that night because I kept wondering whether Alistair would actually keep his word and come back in the morning. I had learned not to expect anything from him, so part of me was already preparing for the disappointment on Maisie's face when he failed to show up. She had been so happy when he came for dinner, and I couldn't bear the thought of watching that happiness disappear.

At exactly seven in the morning, a sleek black SUV pulled up in front of the house, and my heart jumped when I saw it through the window. Alistair stepped out wearing a perfectly fitted black shirt and dark trousers, looking as though he had just walked out of a business magazine. He looked effortlessly handsome as usual, but his face remained cold and unreadable.

Maisie rushed to the window the moment she saw him, and her face lit up.

“Mommy! Daddy's here!”

I smiled weakly as I watched her excitement. “Go on, sweetheart. Get your school bag.”

Maisie ran around the house gathering her things while I walked to the front door. When I opened it, Alistair barely looked at me.

“Ready?” he asked.

I nodded toward Maisie.

“She is.”

Maisie came running out with her bag and immediately took his hand, smiling from ear to ear. Alistair glanced down at her before leading her toward the car.

I watched them leave, then grabbed my own bag and followed in my car. I knew Alistair was her father, but I still wasn't comfortable leaving Maisie alone with him for too long. He had spent most of her life being distant from her, and I wasn't sure how well he could handle the responsibility now.

When I arrived at Maisie's school, I spotted them almost immediately.

Then I froze.

Seraphina was already there.

She looked beautiful even that early in the morning, dressed perfectly with her blonde hair falling neatly over her shoulders. Her pale blue eyes brightened when she saw Alistair, and before I could look away, Ottilie came running toward him with a happy laugh.

“Uncle Alistair!”

Alistair immediately bent down and caught her when she threw herself into his arms. He lifted her and spun her around, laughing as she squealed happily. I had not heard that kind of laugh from him in years.

Seraphina walked over a moment later and slipped her arm through his as naturally as though she had every right to be there.

Alistair didn't move away.

I looked at Maisie.

She was standing a few steps away, quietly watching them. The smile that had been on her face moments earlier slowly disappeared, and her little shoulders dropped.

My heart ached.

I quickly walked over and crouched beside her.

“Hey, sweetheart,” I said softly. “Why don't you go and say hello to your teacher? I think I saw her near the entrance.”

Maisie looked at me for a moment before nodding.

“Okay, Mommy.”

She walked toward the school building with her head lowered.

I watched her for a few seconds before standing and walking toward Alistair. I waited until Seraphina and Ottilie had entered the building before pulling him aside.

“We had an agreement,” I said quietly.

Alistair raised an eyebrow.

“And I'm here, aren't I? I brought her to school.”

“You did,” I replied, keeping my voice calm, “but you spent the whole morning giving your attention to Seraphina and Ottilie. That wasn't what we agreed on.”

His jaw tightened.

“So now I'm supposed to ignore Seraphina when she's clearly struggling? She's raising a child alone, Elowen. She needs support.”

I almost laughed because the words hurt so much.

I was also raising a child alone.

I had been doing it for seven years while he built his company, attended meetings, travelled for business, and lived his life as though Maisie and I barely existed. Yet I swallowed those words because arguing with him would not change anything.

“If you want me to sign those divorce papers,” I said quietly, “then yes. I want you to put Maisie first whenever you're with her.”

His green eyes narrowed.

“You're unbelievable.”

I stood my ground, even though my hands were trembling.

“No, Alistair. I'm a mother. My daughter is sick, and she doesn't have much time. I will do whatever I have to do to make sure she gets the love and attention she deserves.”

For a moment, he said nothing.

Then he clenched his jaw and walked away without another word.

I stood there watching him leave, my heart pounding painfully in my chest.

I didn't know if my words had made any difference.

But over the next few days, something slowly changed.

Alistair began spending more time with Maisie.

Whenever he was with her, he stopped answering Seraphina's calls unless it was something important. He started picking Maisie up from school and taking her home himself. He even began sitting with her during lunch when his schedule allowed it, and one weekend, he took her to her drawing class.

He wasn't warm with her the way I had seen him with Ottilie, and he still seemed uncomfortable whenever Maisie became too affectionate, but he was there.

That was what mattered to me.

Maisie was happy.

And for the first time in years, she stopped asking me why her father never wanted to spend time with her.

One Saturday afternoon, Alistair took Maisie to a nearby park. I went with them because I didn't want to leave her alone, but I stayed mostly on the side with my sketchbook while she ran around.

The park was quiet, with only a few families scattered across the grass. Alistair sat on a bench with his arms crossed, watching Maisie run around, while I sat a short distance away and pretended to concentrate on my drawing.

The truth was that I couldn't focus.

Alistair was sitting only a few feet away from me, and his presence made it impossible to relax.

Maisie eventually ran back toward us, her cheeks flushed and her eyes shining with excitement.

“Mommy! Daddy! Come and play with me!”

Alistair looked at her in confusion.

“Play?”

“Yes!” Maisie laughed. “Tag. Both of you.”

I smiled awkwardly.

“Sweetheart, I don't think your dad wants to play.”

“Please?” she begged, clasping her hands together. “Just one game. It will be fun.”

Alistair opened his mouth to refuse, but Maisie had already grabbed his hand. Then she reached for mine.

“Please, please!”

Neither of us could resist her.

We stood up reluctantly, and before I knew what was happening, Maisie was running across the grass while Alistair chased after her.

I joined them.

Soon, I found myself laughing as I chased my daughter around the field. Alistair started off looking uncomfortable, but Maisie's laughter was impossible to resist. Before long, he was laughing too, and for a few precious minutes, everything felt normal.

It felt like we were a real family.

I knew that feeling wouldn't last, but I allowed myself to enjoy it while I could.

I turned to run after Maisie, but my foot caught on a tree root.

I stumbled with a gasp and fell straight into Alistair.

He reacted instantly, catching me before I could hit the ground. My hands landed against his chest while his arms wrapped around my waist to steady me.

We both froze.

Our faces were only inches apart.

I could feel his breath against my face, and my heart began beating wildly. His eyes moved from mine to my lips for the briefest moment, and everything around us seemed to disappear.

I didn't know what was happening, but for the first time in years, I saw something in his eyes that looked almost like desire.

Then his phone rang.

The sound broke the moment immediately.

Alistair stepped away so quickly that I almost lost my balance again. He looked at me as though I had done something wrong, his expression hardening.

He didn't even answer the phone at first. He simply stared at me with a clenched jaw.

“You always find a way to twist things,” he muttered.

My chest tightened.

“What are you talking about?”

Before I could say anything else, he finally answered his phone and turned away from me.

His voice became low and tense as he spoke to whoever was calling. A few seconds later, he ended the call and walked away without another word.

I stood in the middle of the field, completely stunned.

A few minutes later, Maisie came running back to us.

“Where's Daddy going?”

I quickly knelt down and brushed a few pieces of grass from her cheek.

“He just remembered something he had to do,” I said, forcing a smile. “But it's okay, baby. We had fun, didn't we?”

Maisie nodded, but her smile was smaller now.

“Yeah,” she said softly. “It felt like we were a normal family.”

Her words caught me off guard.

I blinked quickly, trying to stop the tears from filling my eyes.

For those few minutes in the park, I had felt the same thing.

We had looked like a family.

But I knew better than to believe that moment meant anything.

Alistair had already made his choice, and I was only trying to give Maisie a few happy memories before it was too late.