Chapter 17of100 YEARS LATER

Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, months into years

In Miami Florida, a tall woman stepped out of a gray BMW car, she wore a black tight dress that reached her knees, a white coat, black leather high heels and dark sunglasses, her smooth dark-brown hair was tied into a ponytail, she handed the door man her car keys and walked into the building, everyone in the building respected her, why wouldn't they? she owned the company, she had riches, power, authority, wealth, and knew the government, business men and women, all those people with high IQ, she walked through the lobby with grace and honor," good morning Miss Qinn, you look gorgeous," the receptionist greeted with a warm compliment," morning Tina," she greeted back going straight to the elevator," Kourtney! hold the elevator for me please," a young woman called out from afar, she had a lot of files in her arms that she couldn't even see where the hell she was going, Kourtney sighed holding the elevator," thank you, I thought I wouldn't make it, I slept over time, my car stopped on my way here, and I had to grab breakfast, I can't work on an empty stomach right," Pitches said," right, you always have the same problems every morning pitches," Kourtney raised her brows," sorry, I will fix my Alarm when I get home this evening," she said nodding her head," right," Kourtney smiled pressing the button to the third floor to her office, Pitches grew up into a beautiful intelligent young woman, she was now 21 same as Rory, Kourtney wondered how she might be looking now after five years, Kourtney went into her huge office, it had a lot of space, let's just say it looked like the president's office," pitches can you go through my schedule today once more," Kourtney said," yes, you have a lunch meeting at 1 O'clock sharp with Mrs Keenan, at 2:30pm a conference meeting with Mr Jax, at 4 O'clock a meeting with the shareholders and last but not least, a meeting at 6:20 with the board," Pitches went through her not book," Hm, cancel my last meeting, and schedule it for tomorrow morning at 10:00am,"

" Yes Ma'am," pitches did as told," Uhm, Kourtney! Pitches began, Kourtney looked up from her laptop," yes," Kourtney answered," remember the company in Portland that wanted to sign a partnership contract with this company?," pitches said," I remember," Kourtney calmly said," so what do you think? I mean their company is doing so well, they don't have financial issues, and their company is very well known in Portland, it's the biggest company yet,"

" yet they want to join hands with my company, do you know why they have been patient all this while? and why they insist on wanting to partner with us?," Kourtney said," it's a little hard for me to put the pieces together," pitches said," they want to grow their popularity using my company, if our two companies collide, no other company will stand up to it, we both could gain a lot, but I would be gaining more, so approve to their plea, I accept," Kourtney smiled," alright, then I will send them an email to confirm, excuse me," she excused herself and left, Kourtney leaned back in her seat closing her eyes, five years ago, when she gave birth to her little girl, she continued staying at the island, and when her daughter turned a year older, Kourtney went to New Orleans to leave her daughter with her parents, Damian picked her up from New Orleans to England with his helicopter, he took Kourtney to Mr Levant's lawyer, Mr Tony handed Kourtney a blue file," Mr Brandon Levant wanted you to have this, in honor of blessing him with the family heir, he transferred his property and business in Miami Florida into your name, the family doesn't know about this property or company, he thought it would be good if you wanted to start over your life, whether you decide to be part of the family or away from it, and from now onwards I will be your lawyer, so if you have any questions or concerns you can let me know," he told her, Kourtney wasn't sure if she should accept such a big offer, knowing perfectly well that she was never part of the Levant family in the first place, she was not legally Stuart's wife, and inheriting such a big property felt wrong, Damian saw her hesitation and held her shoulder, Kourtney looked at him with doubtful eyes," accept it, they at least owe you this, it's the perfect opportunity for you to start over your life with your daughter, if you can't do it for yourself, then do it for her, she deserves it," Damian told her, Kourtney nodded, she took the papers, but didn't travel to Florida, she continued staying in Island with her daughter, while the business was being ran and controlled by her workers and manager, she then decided to travel back to Florida after her daughter turned five.

Pitches was working in a restaurant in New York City, the restaurant phone rang and she picked up," Yona's restaurant how may I be of service?,"

" may I talk to pitches Brooks,"

" this is she,"

" pitches! it's Kourtney!,"

" Kourtney! oh my gosh are you alright? I thought you were dead, no offense, how are you? it's been years," Pitches was filled with excitement, and curiosity," can you fly to Miami Florida? I have a job for you," Kourtney said," is that even a question, of course I would fly to Florida," pitches said excitedly," hey pitches! attend to table 9," her manager shouted," I have to go, I will fly to Florida first thing tomorrow morning, bye," she then hang up.

Kourtney was lost in her own thoughts when her phone rang, it was her daughter's school calling, she picked up immediately," Miss Qinn! this is principal Moriness, I'm calling about your daughter, Rayana," Kourtney sighed, she knew her daughter all too well, she's always getting into trouble, Kourtney wasn't surprised to see the school calling her, it's always about Rayana," I will be right there," Kourtney said hanging up, she stood up grabbing her purse and headed out," Kourtney! are you going out?," Pitches asked," I have an emergency, let Garvin take care of all my meetings today," Kourtney said and hurried out, she got into her car and drove straight to Montana High, Kourtney went straight to the principal's office, a little girl sat innocently on the chair, her face was staring down on her little hands as she rubbed her little feet's together, she couldn't even look at her mother's face at that moment, her two brown ponytails were dangling down hiding half of her face," Miss Qinn! please have a seat," Kourtney pulled out a chair and sat next to her naughty, mischievous, stubborn daughter," what has she done this time around?," Kourtney asked," well Rayana here, has been skipping classes to go into the computer room, her teacher says she spends a lot of time on the computer, even if it's not time for computer class, Miss Qinn! Rayana is a very smart kid, she's intelligent thank God for that, but she can't keep missing classes it's not good for her grades," the principal said," thank you for letting me know what my daughter has been up to, again, I will take care of it and make sure it won't happen again, we will take our leave now," Kourtney stood up walking out, Rayana followed behind in silence, Kourtney opened the car door for her, she went inside like a good girl, Kourtney closed the door and sat on the driver's seat, and drove straight home, shortly after, they arrived at the house, it was a really huge house, let's just say, it was a mansion on its own, it was cream white, it had a huge garden where Rayana would always go to play with the flowers, swings and play tea parties, it also had a Courtyard, garage, training base, and a outside personal gym, a back pool, and another pool on the balcony, Kourtney pulled over getting out of the car, she opened the car door for Rayana, and she stepped out obediently," go upstairs, change your clothes, and come down for lunch," Kourtney told her daughter, Raya ran with her little feet inside the house, and went straight upstairs," welcome home, you're home early?," a slightly tall woman smiled approaching Kourtney, she took Kourtney's purse and coat," Raya's school called," Kourtney simply said," Oh," Gabriella could only say, Gabriella was Raya's Nanny, she is a sweet young lady who loves Raya like a little sister, she has been looking after Raya for three years now, ever since Raya was three, she knows about Raya's mischiefs and tricks, that's why Kourtney trusts her so much, she's practically family, there were five workers apart from Gabriella in the house, Sophie the cook, Anny and Rora who perfectly clean the entire house, Johnny the house driver, who's also in charge of looking after the cars, and makes sure everything is perfect, and last but not least, Michael the garden cleaner, there's also security, Kourtney sat around the dining table as she waited for Raya, a few minutes later, Raya came downstairs wearing a jean jumper with a white t-shirt, she sat down still facing down, Sophie served them Italian spaghetti with meatballs, vegetable salads and pineapple juice, it was Raya's favorite meal," eat," Kourtney said, Raya wondered why are mother was being so calm, she prefers her mother to shout at her than staying calm, Kourtney being calm was more scarier, Raya looked at the food and different wild thoughts began running through her head," did she poison the food? was she tired of her that she doesn't want her anymore? has she been a bad child? All these questions needed answers," what are you thinking about? eat or your food will get cold," Kourtney added In a calm tone, Raya swallowed hard, she took the fork and picked up a meatball putting it in her small mouth, she ate in silence, they both did, after lunch, Kourtney took her daughter to the garden, they sat on the swing enjoying the beautiful view, Kourtney looked down at her daughter and couldn't help but show a slight smile," you've been silent for a long time," Kourtney said," I'm waiting for you to shout at me and get it over with it, otherwise I will get emotional and cry," Raya said," I won't shout at you Raya! but I want to know what you've been busy doing on the computer, that it led you to skipping classes?," Kourtney asked," even if I ask you, you wouldn't tell me anything, I had to find out the truth myself," Raya said, Kourtney frowned, she had a odd feeling about what Raya was trying to say, but hoped for once that her gut feeling was wrong, Raya finally looked at her mother gathering courage," mommy! who is my Dad? and where is he? why is he not here with us, ever?," Raya asked, Kourtney felt her body shook, her eyes slightly widened, even though she knew this day would come when Raya would finally want to know who her father is, Raya resembled Stuart in so many ways, she got his eyes, nose, eyebrows and the shape of his lips, she always sees him in her, she was a little cute thing that gives her joy, happiness, hope and excitement whenever she looks at her, but what bothered her the most is how to answer her question," tell me mommy," Raya added, Kourtney took a breath in and out, talking about Stuart was the last thing she wanted to do right now, it has been five years, he got married to Abigail and moved on, the two of them have been married for five years now, they might even have a child together by now, she doesn't even know what has been going on in his life, Kourtney stood up turning to the other side," it's not important, you don't need to know him, he's not part of our lives, he has never been, do me a favor and never speak of him again," Kourtney said," but mommy I -

" Rayana Grenade Qinn! do I make myself clear," Kourtney cut her off, Raya shrunk keeping quiet, Kourtney then turned around and walked away annoyed, Raya sighed like an old lady shaking her head, she crossed her arms over her chest," whatever did you do to Kourtney? Stuart Levant!," she murmured to herself, Raya was a smart kid, she was only five but had a mind of a grownup, she went through her mother's private stuff when she went to work, and found a picture of a man who she very much resembled, she did an image search on Google and a lot of information about him came up, photos of him and Kourtney stating their marriage and divorce, how Kourtney decided to pursue her career, and later on Stuart got married to Abigail Woods, the information said nothing about Kourtney and Stuart having a baby, so Raya concluded to say, it's either Kourtney didn't tell Stuart that she was pregnant, or Stuart didn't want to do anything with her, or Kourtney ran away and Stuart has no idea where they are, these were Raya's theories, after finding out what she wanted to know, she put back the picture and tightened everything how it was, and her mother suspected nothing," I'm hungry for snacks," she said to herself and ran inside the house.

..

In New York City, In the east coast Villa, Abigail was comfortably seated on the couch, she was on her laptop going through some paperwork, she received an email and she went ahead and opened it, her eyes lit up seeing the partnership contract her company signed up for had been accepted by the biggest company in Miami Florida, she excitedly squealed, Abigail just turned 28 a couple of months back, Kourtney was a year younger than Abigail, but if you look at them both, they haven't aged a day in five years, Abigail picked up her phone and called Stuart's phone, Stuart just finished addressing a meeting and was heading back to his office when his phone rang, seeing the name, he picked up," Hey,"

" guess what?," Abigail said from the other end," Abigail!," Stuart creased his brows, he wasn't a fan of guessing, nor was he in the mood to play games," alright let me spill it out for you, remember the partnership contract my company applied for?,"

" yes," Stuart simply said," well I just received an email stating that, they have agreed, we are officially business partners, isn't it amazing?," Abigail was so excited," it is, congratulations," Stuart said," congratulations to us," Abigail corrected, Stuart remained quiet for a few seconds and said," I have a meeting to attend to, I will see you later," he then hang up, Stuart stood in front of the huge glass window staring at the big city, his thoughts drifted to five years ago, he was in his study when his phone rang, it was a landline number, he picked up and he was greeted by a familiar voice that he hadn't heard in a year," Stuart!," she spoke of his name, Stuart felt his heart beating again, hearing her voice after so long made him happy and know that she's alright, he got up from his seat walking towards the window," Kourtney! are you alright? where are you? I will pick you up," Stuart said," No, no need for that, I'm not coming back Stuart, I'm leaving you for good, I'm never coming back to you, I'm fine, me and our baby are perfectly fine, you don't have to worry about us," Kourtney said," is it a -

" yes, it's a girl, she's so cute, and hyper," Kourtney smiled," what's her name?," Stuart asked, Kourtney clenched onto the phone biting her lower lip, she was stopping herself from crying," I have to go now Stuart, take care," before Stuart could get any words out, Kourtney already put down the phone, that was the last time he heard from her," Sir, Mr Wayne is here," Stuart's secretary informed pulling him back to reality, Stuart nodded, he took his phone putting it in his jacket and walked out of his office.

A little further in the east coast, Damian was standing in front of the porch, he looked more matured and calm, not to mention his charms didn't subside at all, he wore a black suit bringing out his physic, Damian rang the doorbell, and the door was opened, a little boy stood in front of him wearing a big smile on his face, he was happy to see his father," Dad! he went ahead to hug Damian," energetic as ever I see," Damian rubbed his hair," Nick! who are you talking to ?," Luciana asked walking to the door, she paused in her tracks seeing Damian," mom, can Dad join us for lunch?," Nick asked excitedly," Uhm, why not, why don't you go add another plate for Daddy alright," Luciana slightly smiled," on it," Nick ran towards the kitchen, he was a smart young boy, had dark hair, brown eyes, looked like his father in so many ways, he was only six years old but tall for his age," I didn't know you were coming," Luciana said," sorry I didn't inform you of my late visit, I'm traveling to England tomorrow, thought I see Nick before I leave," Damian simply said," Oh," Luciana could only say," you're leaving?," Nick said standing on the dining room entrance, he sounded sad and disappointed, Damian approached the little boy, he really loved his son so much, just as much as he loves the woman who gave birth to his only son, five years ago, when Luciana was in that Labor room, it scared the hell out of Damian, her screams were unbearable on him, he was afraid of so many things like," What if she doesn't make it? what if the baby does not make it? or what if he loses both of them?," all these thoughts haunted him, after half an hour of hearing her painful begging screams, it was finally over, her screams stopped, and a baby's little soft voice filled the room, the Doctor came up to him with a wide smile," Congratulations Mr Levant, it's a boy,"

" is, is Luciana alright?," that was the first thing he could ask the doctor, if Luciana was okay," She's fine, she just needs to rest, once she's transferred to the recovery room you can go ahead and see her," the doctor said," thank you Doctor," Damian said, once Luciana was sent to the recovery room, Damian went ahead to see her, she was holding their little son in her arms, Luciana frowned seeing him there, he was the last person she wanted to see right now," Hey," he slightly smiled," what are you doing here? I don't wish to see you Damian!," Luciana said," i know I'm the last person you want to see, Luciana! I know I have wronged you so much, but please give me a chance to make things right, let me be there for you and our son, don't push me away from getting to know him, you may not forgive me today or ever, but please let me be there for him," Damian said, Luciana looked at her little baby, she knows how it feels like growing up without parents, even though she was there with him, it wasn't enough, the boy would need to have a father figure, and if Damian really means what he's saying then why wouldn't she give him a chance? Luciana looked back at Damian," fine, you can be there for Nick! but that doesn't mean I forgive you," she told him," Nick! Damian repeated," it's a beautiful name," he smiled, as years went by, he spent a lot of time with his son and mother, Luciana got used to him coming over time to time, every Nick's birthday and public holidays, they would go out and be such a happy family, Damian got on one knee, he held Nick's shoulders and said," I'm only leaving for a week, it's work related and I can't miss this, I promise to be back as soon as I finish the project alright," he promised him," only if you spend a night here, mom can Dad spend a night here tonight?," Nick asked his mom," well sweetheart, your Dad has an early flight tomorrow morning, and most of the rooms here are occupied," Luciana simply said," but he can sleep in your room right? you're both my parents? you can share a room," Nick said, Luciana sighed," Listen to your mom whenever she says something alright," Damian said," mom please, let Dad stay," Nick continued begging, Luciana didn't know how she felt about Damian spending a night, for that matter in her room, but her son was giving her those eyes that she could never say no to, no matter how hard she tries, with a heavy sigh Luciana finally agreed," alright, Dad can spend a night,"

" yes, thank you mommy," Nick jumped up excitedly," now let's go eat or the food will get cold," Luciana said, Nick ran off to the dining table taking a sit," I'm really sorry about that, didn't mean to invade your space," Damian told Luciana," it's okay, there's a lot of space which could occupy more than two people," Luciana said, they both sat around the dining table having a family meal.

Kourtney was in her study when her phone rang, she picked up," Any problem?," she spoke," a slight problem," Pitches said from the other end," what's wrong now?," Kourtney asked," the hotel that our guests were supposed to be staying is fully booked," pitches said," then book them another hotel, you can't possibly fail to find another comfortable hotel in Miami,"

" I already tried that, but most of the hotels are filled up, some are really far from the city, we can't possibly send them there," pitches said, Kourtney creased her brows confusingly," what now?," Kourtney said," well I was thinking, what if they stay in your house, I mean your house is huge right, you can surely accommodate them," pitches suggested," pitches I won't let strangers into my home, I have a kid here, I have never seen the new owner of that company, I don't know them, I can't let them stay here," Kourtney said, Kourtney only knew about the former owner of that company, it was an old man called Mr Myles, after his death, he handed the company over to his granddaughter, but Kourtney has never seen her before, she lets her employees take care of everything, they were not that different from one another when it came to business, non of them wanted to reveal their identities," Kourtney! I know you're worried about Raya's safety, but I would never put her at risk as well, their company background is clean, her employees say she's a really good person, besides if she tries anything stupid I'm sure you can take care of her," pitches said teasingly," Kourtney could indeed handle anything, she was no longer that weak helpless woman, she was a tigress out of the cage, after a lot of thinking, Kourtney finally answered," fine, but make sure her stay is short, as soon as the hotel is able to occupy one or two more, check in for her, understood,"

" yes Ma'am," pitches said, Kourtney hang up leaning back in her chair.

night fell, Kourtney tucked Raya into bed and went back to her room, she got changed into her night dress and switched off the lights going to bed.

The atmosphere In the room felt awkward with Damian in it, Luciana went to the bathroom to get changed, once she was all dressed up, she went back to the room, her blue eyes landed on his half naked body, he already stripped off his shirt revealing his upper manly body, his shoulders, arms, chest and sexy abs drove her insane, Damian gazed at her from head to toe, her nightgown was really short, which was tempting to thee eyes, Damian averted his eyes, he grabbed the pillow and laid it on the couch," Couch?," Luciana said not realizing she just said it out loud, Damian turned to her surprisingly," yes, I will take the couch," he answered," the couch is so small it might not be comfortable through out the night, and you have an early flight tomorrow, my bed is big enough, you can take the other side it's not a problem," Luciana said," are you sure?," Damian raised his one eye brow, Luciana nodded and went to sleep on the right side of the bed, Damian stood up approaching the bed, he slept on the left side of the bed, they switched off the lights both looking to the other side and went to sleep.

the following morning, Raya grabbed her snacks putting them in her school bag," hurry Gabriella!," Raya said," wait you forgot your drinking bottle, why are we in such a hurry anyway?," Gabriella asked," I don't want to bump into mommy that's why," Raya said, running out, she got into the car with Gabriella and the driver drove them off to Raya's school, Kourtney finished up preparing for work and went downstairs, she could not see Gabriella or Raya anywhere and called out to Sophie," good morning Ma'am," she greeted," morning Sophie! have you seen Raya and Gabriella around?," Kourtney asked," they've already left Ma'am,"

" already left?," Kourtney frowned, Raya was the one to always delay leaving for school, but today she left five minutes earlier," I wonder what she's up to now?," Kourtney thought," alright, see you," Kourtney said and walked out

Abigail and Stuart already arrived at the QINN INK CORPORATION, Stuart's dress cord hadn't changed in five years, he still loved dark colors, he wore all black and he looked damn handsome as always, Abigail wore white office pants, a red top and white jacket with red high heels, her dark hair left loose behind her, when pitches saw a familiar figure she hid behind the wall in the lobby, she couldn't believe who she was staring at, at that moment, she would never forget that majestic tall and proud figure, it was Stuart! no doubt, and the woman walking beside him must be his wife Abigail," but what are they doing here? is Abigail the owner of FFG CO-OPERATION?," Pitches waited for the two of them to get into the elevator, after the elevator closed she took out her phone to call Kourtney but she wasn't picking up," come on Kourtney! today of all days you decide not to answer my call?," Pitches mumbles to herself, Kourtney's car broke down, the engineer was fixing it while she sat in the coffee shop waiting, she left her phone inside the car, it took 30 minutes for the car to be fixed, and another 30minutes to get to the office, Abigail and Stuart were waiting in the conference room, she was getting out of patience waiting around," excuse me, we've been sitting here for half an hour now, how long does your boss need to take to get here?," Abigail said," Miss Qinn is always on time, I'm pretty sure she got stuck in traffic," Garvin said," I'm also a very important business woman, my husband and I flew all the way from New York City to get here, I won't be disrespected," Abigail frowned, creasing her eye brows," we highly respect your husband Mrs Levant, as much as we respect you, like I said, Miss Qinn must be stuck in traffic, she will be here soon," Garvin calmly said, he texted Pitches asking were Kourtney is? while Pitches was going crazy downstairs, the door to the entrance slide open and Kourtney walked in," thank goodness you're here Kourtney! I have to tell you something," Pitches said," my car broke down, are they already here?," Kourtney said pressing the elevator button to the second floor," Yes they are, but I have to tell you something important,"

" Can't it wait? I'm already an hour late," Kourtney said getting off the elevator walking towards the conference room," No it can't just hear me out," Pitches panicked," Pitches! relax, you can tell me about it once I'm done addressing this meeting, alright," Kourtney said going inside, Kourtney paused seeing Stuart sitting there, looking all majestic like a king, her heart began beating loudly inside her chest, her mind was a mess, and she had mixed feelings all jumbled up, Stuart on the other hand felt the same confused feelings, seeing the woman he loved deeply after five years, she didn't age a day and looked more beautiful, and more serious and cold, in another word, she's matured physically and emotionally, Abigail stood up looking at Kourtney with deadly eyes," you! you're the owner of Qinn Ink corporation? is this a sick joke huh?," Abby said, Kourtney's eyes turned to Abigail, all the happy mixed feelings she felt turned into anger and annoyance, but Kourtney remained calm, and still, her face showed no emotions, she simply walked to her CEO chair and sat down," please take a sit Mrs Levant! I apologize for my late coming, got stuck in traffic," Kourtney calmly said, Abigail sat down but she was burning with anger," what is all this about Kourtney? how did you get all this? I remember you were nothing but a useless little model," Abigail teased and mocked Kourtney, but to her surprise and irritation Kourtney still stayed calm," first of all, it doesn't matter how I got here, secondly, you're in my company, I won't tolerate such words, I can cancel your partnership with my company if I want to, so let's respect each other here," Kourtney simply said, Abigail remained shut," now, let's talk about business shall we," she added, they continued talking about business and how the partnership will go about, Kourtney's phone rang and she excused herself to pick up," Garvin please take over," Kourtney said and walked out of the room, while she was busy talking on her phone, she saw Gabriella and Raya approaching, Kourtney's eyes widened with panic, her worry was, what if Stuart and Raya see each other? Kourtney took Raya's hand turning to Gabriella," Gabriella why did you bring Raya here? I'm at work," Kourtney said," I'm really sorry Ma'am, but I just got a call from the hospital, my mom was admitted, she's really sick and I have to go, I couldn't leave Raya at home alone, everyone has gone out," Gabriella explained," it's alright you can go be with your mother, I will look after Raya," Kourtney said, Gabriella only stayed with her mother, once she started staying with Kourtney to look after Raya, she only used to go and check up on her mother time to time, so Kourtney understood her situation," thank you so much," Gabriella said and left in a hurry, Kourtney took Raya to her office," Raya! I have a meeting to get back to, stay in here, don't go out and I will be right back, okay,"

" ok mommy," Raya nodded, Kourtney left going back," Excuse me, where can I find Miss Grenade's office?," Stuart asked an employee," the last door to your left," she directed him," thank you," Stuart said going to the direction, Stuart went inside her office but found no one, he looked further ahead and saw a little figure sitting in the rolling chair, he couldn't see her face cause she was staring at something on the computer, he could only see her two ponytails, Raya was busy watching cartoons on her mother's laptop when she heard a man's voice speak," well hello there," Raya looked up and saw Stuart standing there, her eyes widened and hid her face onto the screen of the laptop, Stuart smiled putting his hands in his pockets," I don't bite, I'm actually really friendly," Stuart said," you don't look friendly," Raya said, Stuart chuckled walking closer," then allow me to introduce myself, I'm Stuart Levant, what's your name?," Stuart said, Raya looked up at him, when he clearly saw her face, he creased his brows, the little girl resembled Kourtney a lot, but some of her facial features matched his, the shape of her eyes, lips and nose, Stuart already came to a conclusion to say she was his daughter no doubt about that, Raya got up from her seat and stood in front of him," I'm Rayana Grenade Qinn, but you can call me Raya," she said," nice to meet you Raya," Stuart smiled

Kourtney was about to enter the conference room and bumped into Abigail," where's Stuart?," Abigail said, Kourtney scoffed crossing her arms over her chest," Abigail do I look like your husband's keeper? I left that babysitting job over to you," Kourtney said," I don't have time for your silly jokes Kourtney! tell me where Stuart is?," Abigail said, Kourtney frowned, she left Raya all alone in the office, her fear at that moment was, what if he sees Raya? Kourtney turned around running towards her office, Abigail followed behind, Raya was happily talking to Stuart when Kourtney walked in, Raya took a step back when she saw her mom walk in, she dropped her head not looking Kourtney in thee eyes, Pitches also followed behind," Pitches! take Raya outside," Kourtney said calmly," Uhm yes, Raya! let's go," Raya ran out going with pitches, Kourtney closed the door glaring at Stuart," what did you say to her?," Kourtney spoke," nothing, I just told her who I am and she introduced herself," Stuart said approaching Kourtney," you can't keep me away from her you know that, she's my daughter too," Stuart added," My daughter! Raya is my daughter, she has me in her life she doesn't need a Dad, she doesn't need you," Kourtney said," for the first time ever I agree with her Stuart, clearly Kourtney could handle her own daughter, you don't have to be there for Raya whatever her name is," Abigail said," I would prefer you stay out of this Abigail! this is between me and the mother to my daughter," Stuart said," Kourtney! I won't tell Raya I'm her father, all I'm asking is to be close to her and get to know Raya," Stuart added, but Kourtney wasn't convinced, she looked at Abigail then looked back at Stuart," it will be best if you go back to New York City with your wife," Kourtney said and walked out, Abigail stood in front of Stuart, her eyes were burning with anger as she glared at him," What?," Stuart raised a brow," are you going to pretend like everything is okay here? Stuart when did you get her pregnant? how the hell do you two have a kid?,"

" Abigail, Kourtney was my wife, like any other married couple, they have sex, and we tended to do that quite a lot, she's bound to get pregnant and have my kid," Stuart simply said," this is bullshit, Stuart I won't be staying in the same house as your ex-wife and daughter, we're going back to New York," turning her heels to walk away, Stuart held her wrist stopping her in her tracks," We're not going back to New York, I just found my daughter, I'm not leaving her, besides, you just signed a business contract, it's a waste to throw it all away," Stuart enticed her," Stuart Levant, you're not using this partnership contract to get close to Kourtney are you?," Abigail wrapped her arms around Stuart's neck," you're a smart woman, I expect you to act like one," Stuart said removing her arms around his neck," let's go," Stuart straightened his jacket leading the way.

Luciana had a smile on her sleeping face, she flapped her eyelids slowly opening, her eyes widened seeing she was so comfortably sleeping in Damian's arms, Luciana jolted in bed getting up, she couldn't even blame him cause she was the one on his side of the bed, she was so used having the bed all to herself that she forgot she was sharing it," Uhm wh-what time is it?," She embarrassedly asked," it's 11am in the morning," Shit, you missed your flight, all because of me, I'm sorry," Luciana sadly apologized," you were sleeping soundly I couldn't wake you, I would delay any flight to see your peaceful sleeping face," Damian smiled, Luciana blushed tucking some hair behind her ear," I will go shower," she said walking to the bathroom and closed the door, she turned on the shower letting the warm water pour down on her body, the water made her body and muscles relax, it was like a heavy stone has been lifted off her shoulder, once finished showering, Luciana went back to the room wearing a robe, she took Damian's clothes downstairs to be cleaned while Damian took his bath, a few minutes later, Luciana went back to her room with Damian's clean clothes, he was just stepping out of the shower, Luciana gazed up at his half naked body that was dripping wet, her face suddenly felt hot like she was burning, her legs were stuck to the floor, she couldn't move an inch, the temperature in the room rised and it became difficult for her to breath, Damian frowned seeing Luciana holding her breath, her face was turning a bright red, if she won't breath in she will surely pass out, he took a step approaching her, his wet cold hand touched her cheek jolting her," breath," he whispered caressing Luciana's cheek, she took a deep breath out staring into his gray eyes, she was being pulled by temptation, a kind of sweet temptation, Damian slowly closed in and collided his soft lips with hers, Luciana held the sides of his strong neck kissing him deeply, Damian lifted her up to the bed, he pinned her down kissing her neck, he untied her robe kissing her shoulders, to the lower parts of her body, Luciana moaned wanting him inside her right away, Damian smirked kissing her a while longer before entering her and made love to her, after their sweet heated love making, they laid down taking a moment, Damian turned to look at her beautiful face and couldn't help but smile to himself," you're really beautiful, I love you so much," he told her, Luciana gave a slight smile kissing his lips, a loud bang echoed inside the room," mommy! Dad! it's 12 O'clock," Nick said from the outside, Luciana sighed sitting up," I will be right there sweetie," Luciana said getting up, they both got dressed and went downstairs, they had breakfast as a family and Damian said his goodbyes to his son," take care of yourself and mommy alright, I love you both," he placed a kiss on Nick's forehead," I will see you soon," Damian told Luciana kissing her forehead and left.

Stuart and Abigail arrived at Kourtney's house, he rang the doorbell and Rora opened the door," good afternoon, please come in," Rora stepped aside getting their coats, Stuart and Abigail went to the living room," I will get Miss Qinn," she said and went upstairs, after a few minutes Kourtney came downstairs and Raya was running after her behind," Stuart! Stuart! you're here," Raya went and threw herself in Stuart's arms," missed me already?," Stuart smiled," only because you promised to take me out for ice cream," Raya said," Ice cream? Kourtney repeated," how come I didn't know about it?,"

" well mommy I wanted to tell you, but I was afraid you would say no," Raya said," Rayana Grenade Qinn, you always find a way to get me mad don't you?

" No mommy I --"

" Kourtney, it's only ice cream, if you don't feel safe letting Raya go alone with me you can come with us," Stuart said," Oh really," Kourtney turned to Stuart," Mr Levant, before you try to do anything concerning my daughter, you go through me first," she boldly said," mommy please let me go out with Stuart for ice cream," Raya begged her mother, Kourtney sighed giving up," fine, you can go out for ice cream with your --" Kourtney paused realizing she was about to blurt out about Stuart being Raya's daughter, Kourtney tapped Raya's head gently and said," go have ice cream, have fun and enjoy yourself, you're in safe hands alright,"

" thank you mommy," Raya hugged her mother," I had a long day so if you showed me to my room with my husband, it would be really nice," Abigail said," Rora! Kourtney called out," yes Miss Qinn,"

" show our guests their room upstairs," Kourtney said," yes, this way Mrs Levant, your bags will be brought to you in a while," Rora led the way and Abigail followed behind," Stuart, I will wait in the car," Raya said running outside, obviously wanting to give her parents a little privacy," Kourtney --"

" Stuart no, I don't want to do this with you right now," Kourtney cut him off

" Kourtney, I only want to talk to you, please," Stuart said, he approached her touching some strains of her hair, Kourtney pulled back pushing back her hair," Raya is waiting, you won't like it when she's mad you better go," Kourtney said, Stuart gave a slight nod and walked away, Raya was obediently seated in the back seat of Stuart's car when he arrived," sorry I kept you waiting princess," he smiled," you owe me two corns of ice cream," Raya said," anything for my little princess," Stuart said starting the engine and drove off, they arrived at a ice cream store close to the park, they went inside and Stuart ordered two corns of ice cream for Raya, flavored chocolate, Raya took the first one enjoying her ice cream while Stuart watched her with a slight smile," do you mind if I get to know you a bit more?," Stuart spoke," only if I get to know about your life history then I don't mind," Raya said which made Stuart chuckle," so what do you want to know?" she asked, Stuart leaned back in his seat getting comfortable and began his questioning," which school do you go to?,"

" Montana High,"

" it's a great school indeed," Stuart said," and your father?," he added," it was simply me and my mommy, and my Uncle who rarely visits, ohh and Adrian Qinn, he is the best pretty sure you will love him, mommy loves him so much that some times I think she loves him more than me," Raya said, Stuart frowned by the mention of Adrian's name, and the fact that he carried the same last name as Kourtney," was she married or dating this Adrian guy?" Stuart thought to himself," is he dating your mom?," Raya almost choked on her ice cream but was able to maintain herself," are you trying to kill me? you don't have to worry Stuart, Adrian is a nice guy you'll love him just like mommy and I," Raya said," your turn now, are you married?," she simply asking," yes, I am."

" don't tell me that mean lady you came with is your wife?," she licked her corn," does she scare you?," Stuart smiled, Raya nodded," I don't like her, neither does mommy," she said," Abigail can be unfriendly but I will always be on your side, you know why?." Raya shook her head," because you're my little princess," Stuart tells her," and do you have any kids?," Stuart kept quiet for a while before answering her question," I do have a daughter with my first wife, she's just as beautiful as you are."

" and where is your first wife and daughter?," Raya pretended to know nothing and go along with the story, she needed a clue to why Kourtney left and why her father decided to get married to another woman, Stuart sighed heavily and said," it's my fault she left, she loved me so much and I didn't give her back the love she gave me, so she left,"

" I'm sorry." Raya could only say, after spending the entire day together, Stuart drove back home, Kourtney was standing at the door way," mommy," Raya went to throw herself in Kourtney's arms," you're all happy, did you have fun?," Kourtney smiled," I had a lot of fun, we ate ice cream then Stuart took me to the park, and then we went shopping," Raya said excitedly," wow, nice." Kourtney said looking at Stuart then back at Raya," you must be tired go inside and freshen up."

" yes." Raya ran inside, Stuart approached Kourtney standing in front of her, their bodies were close to one another, his tall figure stared down at her and she looked up at him," can we talk now?," Stuart spoke," in my study." Kourtney said and went inside upstairs to her study with Stuart, Kourtney closed the door turning to Stuart," speak." Raya saw her parents going into the study, once the door closed she went and stood at the door to hear what they were talking about," Kourtney I know I wronged you, betrayed you, I should have confessed my love to you when I got the chance -"

" you had a lot of chances Stuart."

" yet I ignored them, when you left I lost a part of me, I was a mess without you, still am, I used to think about you every day of my damn life, I want you back Kourtney, please take me back." Stuart told her," Stuart enough, we were never married, like you said it was a contract marriage based on business only, Stuart I loved you so much, you had so many chances to love me back but no, you chose business, a stupid alliance made between your father and Mr Woods, you chose to get married to Abigail despite you knowing I was pregnant with your child yet you chose to let me go, Damian was there to help me when I had nowhere to go, he stood by me for five years, damn you Stuart I trusted you, fuck." Kourtney could only break into tears falling on knees, Stuart got on his knees pulling her into his arms as she sobbed on his chest," I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, give me a chance to make things right again, let me be part of your life and Raya's." he told her comforting her, Kourtney wiped her tears pulling back," I don't think we will ever work out, you hurt me so much." she then stood up walking out, Stuart didn't stop her, he didn't want to bother her any longer, Raya hid behind the door when it opened, Kourtney walked out and went to her room, after a few minutes Stuart also went out going back to his room, Raya felt really bad for her mother, the fact that she went through so much pain, no wonder she would always snap whenever she asked about her Dad. Abigail got out of the shower wrapped in a small white towel," you're back." she said seeing Stuart seated on the edge of the bed," how was your little play day with your so called daughter?." she added," she was happy, she had fun." Stuart simply said," Ah." Abby could only say," you look stressed, I can help you relax." she added touching his shoulders seductively," not now Abigail." Stuart said standing up, he took off his jacket and shirt, and went to the bathroom. after freshening up, Stuart and Abigail went downstairs for dinner, it was always Kourtney and Raya at the dining table after Adrian left, but now they can at least have dinner the four of them, at least it's a table. even though the atmosphere was shallow," so Kourtney, are you seeing someone at the moment, or dating anybody?." Abigail spoke sipping on her wine," it's non of your business if I'm seeing or dating anyone, besides it's inappropriate asking me such things in front of my daughter." Kourtney calmly said, Abigail nodded knowingly, Kourtney turned to Raya and said," Raya, Sarrah called me a while ago, why don't you want to participate in the school sports competition?."

" I just don't feel like participating this time around." Raya simply said," why not? you're always excited going for sports day, and you're so good at it." Kourtney said wondering to why her daughter doesn't want to take part into the school competition," because this year it's father and daughter not mother and daughter, that's why I don't want to take part into the competition ok." Raya said getting up and ran upstairs to her room," Raya! Kourtney stood up going after her daughter, Raya had her face buried in her pillow, Kourtney went and sat on the edge of the bed," Raya, look at me." Kourtney said softly, Raya sat up looking at Kourtney," honey I know it's not easy people looking at you as a fatherless child, but you shouldn't feel like they owe you anything, we have survived all this time together just you and I, let's do this alright, I will be your sport partner next week." Kourtney said," mommy I already said I'm not going, all my friends will come with their Dads, I will be the only one without a Dad but you and it's embarrassing," Raya stood her ground," if you so badly want me to take part into the school competition fine, but you won't be my partner." she added," if I won't be your partner then who will?." Kourtney raised her eye brows up and down," Stuart will." Raya simply said which made Kourtney frown," Stuart! Kourtney repeated," why do you want him to be your partner?." Raya got up from her bed and stood in front of Kourtney," because I want him to go with me, after all he is my Dad." Raya said, Kourtney's eyes widened, her mouth dropped and words left her mouth, she was at loss of words, mixed feelings at the thought of Raya finding out the truth, Kourtney stood staring at her daughter with cold and angry eyes, Raya took a step back rubbing her hands and feet together seeing that her mother was really angry," what did you just say? who told you Stuart is your father? was he the one who told you? Kourtney said," speak! Kourtney beamed startling Raya," No mommy, he didn't say anything to me I found out myself a week ago, I, I found a picture of him in your room and I did an image search that's when I found that he was connected to you, I just know he is my Dad."

" quiet! I have heard enough from you Missie, now go to sleep and get rid of this nonsense of Stuart being your father." Kourtney said and walked out, she reached her room curling herself beside her bed, she buried her face in her arms breaking into tears, her heart felt heavy, it was like she drowning into an endless sea which was more painful than death itself, she didn't even hear the door opening cause of her sobs, Stuart clenched down in front of her and tapped her head gently, Kourtney lifts her head and saw that familiar face she loves so much, her eyes were filled with tears and were red and swollen, Stuart pulled her into his warm arms comforting her, Kourtney wrapped her arms around his waist letting out the pain she was feeling through her tears, she wet his shirt with her non stopping tears, it took her a while to stop crying, they both sat on the floor holding each other till Kourtney finally fell asleep in his arms, Stuart gathered her in his arms and laid her down on the bed, he covered her with the sheets and removed some strains of hair off her face," good night angry bird." Stuart gave a slight smile, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead and switched off the lights leaving the room. he then passed through Raya's room, she was already sound asleep, he went and gave her a good night kiss on her forehead, he switched off her night light and closed the door on his way out going back to his room.

..

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