It couldn't be him!
But alas! I recognized his face. Those alluring eyes were like no other. I remembered this sculptured nose which had brushed against my neck as it inhaled my fragrance. I remembered that perfect jawline, which I measured in the palm of my hand.
The next words he uttered shocked me beyond my imagination, "Let's get married."
He had said it so casually.
After a while, I regained my composure, "what?!"
"Let's get married." He repeated in the exact same tone as before. Was he serious?
I broke into a dry laugh, "I don't even who you are." "Give my daughter back to me."
This time, he didn't stop me from collecting Darcy who protested leaving his arms, "Mommy, I want to stay with daddy!"
"He's not your daddy!" I cut her off immediately. He chuckled. He knew I was lying.
Reaching into his blazer's inner pocket, he removed a piece of paper and handed it to me. I gasped in shock. It was a DNA test.
"How did you…"
"You can't lie about this miss Shapman. Darcy is my daughter and I have a right over her." He said firmly, "I don't want you to think I'm snatching her away from you. Think about my offer."
With those last words, he walked towards the garden's entrance. There was a black Lamborghini that wasn't there before. He entered the car and drove off, leaving me with Darcy in the abandoned garden.
"Mommy, I thought you said you were both my momy and daddy. Why did you lie?"
I couldn't answer. I was still stupefied.
~
"What does he mean by 'let's get married?!' Who the heck does he think he is? And for how long did he know he had a daughter?" Trisha kept bombing me with questions over the phone, "And how does he know so much about you?"
I puffed out a heavy breath, "I really don't know. But I know for certain that he is Darcy's father."
She went silence for some time, "You should be careful, Mélie."
"Why?"
She seemed suprises, "Are you seriously asking why? Mélie even if he is the father of your child, you don't know him. He could be a criminal for all we know." "You know what, I'm coming down to your place this Saturday. We need to talk more on this."
"Alright Trish." I replied.
"I gotta go. Take care of yourself babes. And take care of Darcy." She said. We told each other goodnight and ended the call.
She was right. I needed to be extra cautious from now on. As a matter of fact, Darcy did not wander off to that garden to meet her 'father'. He had kidnapped her.
The days that rolled by made me paranoid about my daughter's safety. I could hardly concentrate at work and called Lily every 5 minutes to ask her about Darcy. When it was time to pick her up, I wasted no time in doing so. Eventually, the weekend crept in and I felt a little relieved.
On Saturday morning, I got ready for Trisha's visit. Even though I was still a little tensed, I decided to prepare a sumptuous dinner ahead of her arrival. The door bell rang while I was in the kitchen. The wall clock read a quarter after 10. I didn't think she'd come so soon. Her house was on Blue county and it takes at least 4 hours to get here. Unless, she must have used the train.
"Trish, I thought you weren't coming in until later?" I asked, opening the door. The person that greeted me was far too tall and far too masculine to be Trisha.
"What are you doing here?"
His lips curved into a smirk, "I'm here to see my daughter. And my wife- if you permit me."
He was dressed in black suit like the last time and looked effortlessly handsome.
Before I could say anything else, he invited himself into my house. I became aggressive, "And who told you, you could come in?"
He ignored me and decided to make himself comfortable on my couch. After a while, he spoke, "Two option Miss Shapman."
"What?"
He cleared his throat, "You have two options. To get married to me, or to give Darcy to me."
I had to ask again, "What?". He smirked at my confusion.
"In my car, there are two documents; One is a court order that will allow me to walk out of here with my daughter." I instantly went pale. He continued, "The other will allow me to take both my daughter and her mother. You have a choice to choose."
"It'll be smart to pick the latter."
Wait. Was he threatening me?
My dry mouth found spittle and I blurted out, "There's no way the court's going to allow you take my daughter away from me."
A sardonic smirk curved onto his face, "You want to find out?" He spoke with a certainty which sent shivers down my spine, "Damien Jaeger never loses."
At once, the name rang into my ear. I've heard that name before. Mister Stance had mentioned it one too many times.
"Damien Jaeger?" I asked in disbelief. The Damien Jaeger mister Stance always talked about was a very powerful and influential man. Infact, he was a multi-billionaire! He had large successful companies and had shares with other big companies like flies.
"How is it possible?" I asked. His brows arched up questioningly. He seemed unsure if my question was directed towards him or if it was rhetorical. However, without saying a word, he got up and walked out of the house, only to return with a file in his hand which he tossed on the couch beside me.
"Make your choice miss Shapman." He said, tilting his head towards the file, "I'm not a man with too much time on my hands."
"Infact, my meeting starts in an hour." He said, glancing at his watch, "56 minutes precisely."
I picked up the file with shaky hands. The dryness in my throat returned as I stared into the documents. One was a court order for custody, while the other was a marriage agreement. At that moment, I felt completely powerless.
"Mommy, is aunty here yet?" A tiny voice asked and I saw Darcy descending the stairs. Her hair was ruffled and she was still dressed in her pyjamas.
"Daddy?!" She beamed as she set eyes on Damien Jaeger. She ran up to him and he picked her up, lifting her high up in the air. Her giggles filled the room.
I didn't dare yank her away from him. The papers were still in my hands. 'Come on Mélie, sign the marriage agreement!' A voice told me. Without stalling for another second, I signed the agreement and handed it back to him.
His eyes lit up in triumph as he eyed the documents. He dropped Darcy, who protested against it. After promising her his return, he walked out of the house without another word to me. I heard his car engIne fade into the distance. He was going to return.