In Love, Never Say Never

“Do we know each other?” I stammered hesitantly, frowning.

“It’s me,” The man muttered thickly. He looked as if he was struggling to quell some intense emotion that was rising within him. He cleared his throat, then said, raising his voice, “It’s me, John Stovall.”

John’s eyes were brimming with tears. When his statement elicited no response from me, he looked at rueful, then asked, “Have you really forgotten who I am?”

John? I pondered. That name sounds strangely familiar…

My eyes darted from him to the little girl standing just beside him. Realization dawned upon me.

John was a member of the Stovall family and “Scarlett”’s relative. I recalled briefly seeing him listed amongst the material that Ashton had given me. John had grown out his beard, which hindered me from recognizing him at first glance.

According to Ashton’s plan, I was to battle John in court over custody rights.

feel such an overwhelming surge of regret within me now? I wondered. The sight of John and the little girl standing next to each other caused an unspeakable ache

the pretense of “Scarlett” to tear

the living room, John sat the girl down on the sofa facing me. He then placed the manila

briefly announced, “I’m taking

on searching for you. To take care of the child, as well as to accumulate enough funds, we arranged

of the child’s inquisitive eyes, however, John had to maintain his composure. He paused and took several long, deep breaths. Lowering his gaze for a while, John’s elegant fingers drumming furiously on the

you don’t remember anything. I’m here for you. Don’t worry about anything else. This envelope contains DNA proof of your relationship with Audrey, as well as a Share Transfer Agreement of half of Stovall Corporation’s shares. When you return, you’ll

exhaled, then turned towards the little girl. He took her hand gently, then led her over to me. “Audrey, this is your mommy,” he said

turned back to face John, who smiled at her encouragingly and gave her a nudge. Audrey turned back to look

initially appeared more cautious than Gregory had been at our first meeting. She seemed emboldened now by John’s affirmation that this was indeed her mommy. Audrey ran towards me as fast as her short legs could carry her and wrapped her stubby arms around my neck. Sobbing, she cried

Ustranasion, and even though I wasn’t fluent in the language, I was nonetheless moved by the earnestness with which Audrey cried. As she clung to my neck and wept, my heart broke. I, too, embraced

Gregory, I felt a sudden rush of tears