Her Precious Baby

He expected Angeline to blame and scold him instead of opening up like this. It was as if she had numbed herself to her fate.

The only thing more dangerous than a fight in a relationship was a cold shoulder, which was proof of her increasing disregard for him.

Evander felt empty in the stomach at that thought. He reached out and grabbed Angeline’s arm.

“Why did we have to break up?” he asked, gritting his teeth in dismay.

“Was I not clear enough?”

“I want the real reason.” Evander gazed down at her, his voice husky. “Why did you react that way when you saw the Heart of the Ocean I gifted you? What are you hiding from me?”

He only realized the shift in Angeline’s emotional state after he calmed down. Though he was unclear of the reason, he surmised upon further thought that it must have been due to the necklace.

“Is that important?”

Angeline’s heart skipped a beat at Evander’s words. She turned around to face him while feigning a calm she did not feel.

“Everybody has their secrets, Mr. Golding. That must be why you won’t tell me who Floretta’s real mother is.”

Initially prodding Evander to see if she could discover something, she did not expect such a hostile reaction from him.

“You are becoming bold, Angeline!”

“Forget I ever asked.”

Angeline scoffed and again struggled to free herself of Evander before turning around to leave abruptly.

doubt in her

did Evander react so strongly to the mention of Floretta’s birth mother? What is he hiding from me? Could he, instead of the traffickers, have stolen the newborn baby? If that’s the case,

Not daring to ruminate further, she opted instead to investigate

to play when the bell in the kindergarten rang a long time ago, but Floretta remained in her seat with a colored pen in

for every child to produce an artwork to be

rare for Angeline and Evander to appear together in the parent-teacher conference, Floretta honored the occasion by

classroom door swung open to admit a group of boys who came barging in. They gazed in

the rest, arrived before Floretta with his chest

gesture, her

you touch my things, Mark? Give my drawing back to

away and perused the sketchbook with sardonic

you have is a drawing of your family! Aunt Olivine said that you’re

“You’re lying!”

angrily. Her features contorted

who insists on being my mother and must have said those things in a fit of embarrassed anger because my

again and jabbed a menacing finger. “Your mother threw you away as soon as you were

of his bulk, Floretta fell onto the ground. She was so frightened at the mention of the orphanage that her

“No, Daddy will never do that,” she exclaimed indignantly while rubbing her eyes. “I have a mother. She’s Angeline Sorelle, the movie

at how good at lying Floretta is! She’s practically in

around and, along with his friends, began

are you laughing about? My

convince them, but despite her earnestness, none

laughed all the

movie star! How could she be

binge-watching ‘The Journey,’ and she loves Angeline in it.