They Called Him Daddy

Chapter 2

Stacey calmed herself down when she was already near their house. She could feel the undeniable pain inside her but she knew that there would be no sense for her to cry and make people see how miserable she was.

What she did might have hurt her but she knew that it was the right thing to do.

She took a deep breath before she opened the door and to her surprise, she saw her mother in the living room.

"Mom," she mumbled as she took her step to get inside the house.

As soon as her mother heard her voice, she turned her head in her direction.? She could see her mother's face full of worry for her.

"Mom," she uttered again as she doubled her walk to get closer to her.

Her relationship with Edzel has never been a secret to her mom. Her life was an open book to her mother since they were just the two of them in life. She never hid her relationship and she knew him because of all the stories that she had heard from her.

And, based on how her mother looked, she knew that her mother already knew who Edzel was. She knew that the Edzel that she had a relationship with and she talked about to her almost every time was no other than the son of her boss. The only heir of the Swift family where she was working.

"Stacey…" her mother uttered and then her arms were wide open as she waited for her to hug. "Are you okay?"

She immediately went to her mother and just like a little kid, she poured out her tears inside her arms.

She let all the tears continuously flow down from her eyes.

Stacey needed to burst out or else she would be exploding. Earlier, she stopped herself from sobbing. She tried to look brave despite the hurt that she felt the moment that she shook her head to answer Edzel's proposal.

She was grateful that her mother was there and her hug was comforting her. She was grateful because her shoulders were there for her to cry on.

And even though she was hurt, she was thankful that Mrs. Swift was true to her words. She let her mother come back home. She could already imagine what may have happened to her mom if she refused to do what she wanted.

Fear crippled inside her heart.?

"M--- mom, we already broke up. I--- I just left him at the restaurant while he was proposing to me. I just said I am sorry and I left him," she said between her sobs. She felt like she would never be whole again. In every dream that she had, Edzel was included. She had imagined a future with the man and she never thought that it would end like this.

"I know, I know, my dear. Mrs. Swift told me about it. I am sorry, my daughter. I had no idea that the one you were telling me about was the sole heir of the Swift holders. If only I had known earlier, I was able to tell you not to get closer to him," her mother said in a low voice as she rubbed her back. "I was able to warn you."

Stacey knew that her mother was hurt to see her crying like this. She knew that she was in pain because she was not able to foresee this coming.

When her emotions finally calmed down, she distanced herself to her mother. She looked at her mom who was on the verge of tears as well.

She smiled at her as if telling her that she was already okay.

"It's okay, Mom. I just realized that maybe, this is what they really meant when they say that love comes with pain. Maybe, we love each other but we are really not made for each other. Our worlds are different. Edzel deserves a woman from the same cycle. A woman who came from a wealthy family just like him," she said to console herself. Though deep inside her heart, she felt like she was being stabbed with a sharp knife as she uttered those words.

She couldn't understand why in this world social status mattered in love. The rich couldn't fall in love with poor people. A bitter truth of life. Money was the basis of everything.

"I know, my dear. I was the one who raised you and I know that you are a strong woman. It's natural to get hurt just like when I was in pain when your father left us but you will forget him soon. Maybe not that fast but you will be able to overcome the pain that is inside your heart," her mother said to her.

"Yes, Mom. I am thankful that you are on my side and I will definitely forget him. I am strong like you," she said with a thin line on her lips while nodding her head. "I know that one day I will just smile when I remember this moment of my life."

****

"How long has he been drinking?" Mrs. Swift asked their servants while looking at her drunk son.

She couldn't help but shake her head because of the sight in front of her. She couldn't believe that he was doing this just because of a woman who wasn't even worth a single second of his time.

"Since he came back this afternoon," the butler replied. The butler never left Edzel the moment they noticed that the man was drowning himself in alcohol. They never saw Edzel in this state until today.

They couldn't help but wonder what happened to the young master of the family Swift.

She raised one of her eyebrows and shrugged her shoulders.

She let out a deep sigh. She knew that her son would soon forget that woman and she would do everything just for the two of them to get separated. She smiled and her face was triumphant. The woman got easily scared and without a need for her to repeat herself to her, she did what she had told her.

"Leave him. He will get tired of drinking soon and before he knew it, he already forgotten that woman," Mrs. Swift said then she turned around and went upstairs.

Edzel felt like his world had exploded into pieces. He couldn't believe that Stacey would reject his proposal. She knew that he promised her that after their graduation, they would be getting married. But, what just happened in the restaurant earlier?

He proposed to her but she shook her head and apologized. They were okay so he was surprised by what happened. At first it didn't sink in his mind what the woman was trying to say until he felt like there was a bucket of ice that was poured onto him.

"I can't…" Her words that made him feel like his whole world crashed right in front of him.

She left even before he could ask her and that was what he couldn't understand. Why did she say that when they have already talked about it even before they graduated? Why all of a sudden she acted as if she never really cared for him? Like she never love him at all?

Stacey didn't even give him a chance to talk. She turned her back as if she never really cared for him. Was it like a game for her? Was she just playing with him all along?

He would never forgive her for what she had done to her. She was going to pay for this and he was sure of that. He couldn't believe that Stacey would break his heart into a thousand pieces.

She should start hiding now and not let their paths cross because as soon as they bumped into each other, he would make sure that Stacey would pay for everything that happened.

This was what Edzel promised to himself. Then? a loud sound filled his whole room as he threw the glass of wine in the wall.

He would make sure that Stacey would feel the same pain that he had to endure because of her rejection.

At present...

Stacey was standing in the reception of the hotel. She just got hired as a receptionist there. This was her second job. After her shift here at the hotel, she would do her other job at the nearby restaurant as a waitress. She had to do it in order for her to survive and on top of that, she needed to earn extra income for her daughter's surgery.

To rest wasn't a part of her vocabulary.?

"Attention everyone! The owner of the company will be coming to visit the hotel and do some inspection. We will gather to welcome him as soon as he arrives," Ms. Lily announced.

"Alright, Ms. Lily," all the staff said in unison.

"God, I heard that the owner is so handsome. He is a handsome bachelor in town," Dinna whispered.

It's been a week since she started working at the hotel and Donna was a week ahead of her. She was grateful to her best friend's husband who helped her to be hired at the hotel as a receptionist.?

She badly needed a full time job.

Just after a couple of minutes, a black Bentley stopped in front of the hotel entrance.

A man in a well-tailored black suit wearing a black eyeglasses stepped down from it.

The man was tall and she could say that he was a six footer man. He started to walk towards the entrance of the hotel. He was a headturner.

It was as if the time had frozen for the people who were currently inside the hotel. He was incredibly handsome and no woman could say no to him if ever he wanted to have them in his bed.

The way he walked was like he was on a runway. He could be a model of any magazine.

There was a rumor that was spreading that he was a playboy business tycoon. There were a number of women that were linked to his name but none of them he admitted to be his girlfriend. For him, women were like clothes, he could change them whenever he wanted. And because of that, his mother chose a woman for him to marry.?

Edzel Swift's attention was caught by the woman who was standing next to Lily. He removed his glasses and their eyes were locked. He saw how the woman quickly bowed her head.

He felt like his heart was suddenly filled with excitement to see her face again but in an instant, anger spiked in his heart.

The memories of yesterday flashed in his mind. The fragments of the memories of how she had rejected his proposal five years ago and left him alone. He could still remember the only words that he heard from her, "I am sorry.".

The woman had broken his heart. It was shattered into a million pieces that he thought he wouldn't be able to survive everyday.

He felt like he was dying every single day. He drowned himself to alcohol thinking it would make him forget the pain that the woman had caused him.

Edzel was thankful that his mother was there all throughout his darkest moment in life. His mother never got tired of encouraging him. Every day, she would drop by his room and tell him that soon, he would forget the pain that she had brought in his life. She said that one day, he would just laugh that he made himself look like a fool.

He was thankful to his mother because she never left him. She was always there when he was feeling like he wanted to end his life.

He smirked as soon as he passed by her. Just like what he had promised to himself, she would be paying him back as soon as their paths crossed.