Chapter 1

The late August sun beat down on my skin as I stood on my balcony, looking out at the vast amount of land that my parents owned. It was the kind of day where, if I had the choice, I'd relax by the pool with my sunglasses shading my eyes and my music on, enjoying myself as summer dwindled to an end.

However, that wasn't a possibility for me. I had responsibilities, and they weren't the kind that could be disregarded for a day of fun in the sun.

Sighing I was brought back to memories of when I was a little girl; when times were a whole lot simpler. Times when my mom would watch over me as I swam laps in the pool, or when my father would play with me in the backyard, throwing around the frisbee or teaching me how to perfect my dive.

Times had since changed though, because as my sister and I grew up, my mother and father started to mingle with the elite socialites of our town, and as their friends expected them to appear straight and narrow, our parents expectations of us grew to heights unimaginable.

In the eyes of our parents, if my sister or I messed up or embarrassed ourselves publicly it would reflect directly on them, and that was something they couldn't afford. They owned the highest dominating law firm in the state, and other firms, along with the press, were just looking for ways to knock them down.

We were supposed to be the daughters that succeeded in school, participated in events within the community, and most importantly, stayed in line.

That all went down hill when my sister and I both made the biggest mistakes of our lives within the same year.

My sister was only 16 years old, nearing the end of grade 10 when she was arrested for destruction of property and trespassing. She thought that it'd be a good idea to spray paint one of the towns boring signs, giving more life to the board. However, she wasn't careful enough, and even though our parents had immediately paid her bail, word quickly spread of her arrest.

A few short months later, during the summer before my freshman year of university, was when my mistake came to play. Going out and partying to celebrate graduating with your friends always seems like a good idea, but when you end up drunk and mistakenly sleeping with one of the most notorious players in the year, you have regrets.

That night I didn't just come home to disappointed parents as I nursed a killer hangover, I came home pregnant.

When I first found out I immediately considered abortion, adoption and every other option under the sun, but quickly realized that this was my mistake to deal with, finally deciding to keep the baby as my own.

Fast-forward three years and I was here, finally ready to move out from under the watchful eye of my parents, and I couldn't be more thrilled.

The sound of small thumping footsteps brought me out of my reflecting daze, as I turned around to see my three-year-old bundle of joy come skipping into my bedroom.

"Mommy!" she chirped happily, her blonde hair bouncing around her shoulders as she ran over to me in excitement, "My toys are all packed."

Smiling down at her, my heart beat with undeniable love for my daughter. Even though getting pregnant was one of the biggest mistakes of my life, I knew the very first moment I held my daughter in my arms that I would never regret giving her life.

"You are?" I asked in an overly happy voice, picking her up gently and resting her on my hip. "Well let's get the rest of your stuff packed before we get on the road."

She giggled, wrapping her tiny arms around my shoulder as I walked the two of us towards her room at the other end of the hall.

When my parents found out I was pregnant, one thing was for sure, they were furious. They didn't understand how I, their daughter who was destined to follow in their golden footsteps, had made such a careless, stupid mistake.

At first my parents had talked about disowning me as their colleagues quickly started to spread rumours about my pregnancy, however, when I informed them that I would support myself and my daughter to the best of my abilities, they simply nodded.

Since Abbie was born my parents more or less had left the two of us be. If I had a question about how to get her to stop crying, or how to change a diaper, I'd have to go to our housekeeper, Greta, for the answer. My mom and dad left the hallway that I lived on to Abbie and I, barely ever making an appearance unless it was completely necessary.

Pushing open the door to Abbie's room, I saw that my daughter had been telling the truth for the most part. All of the dolls and toys that she had were stuffed into a box in the left corner of her room, with only her small beloved teddy bear still laying untouched on the bed.

"Are you going to take Mr. Cuddles with you in the car Abbie?" I asked, tickling her side gently as I placed her down.

"Mhm," she giggled, running over to bed and squeezing her beloved bear tightly.

Looking around the room, I realized that for the first time in over three years, that it was almost completely empty. The walls were bare of the pictures and drawings that I had so often hung up, and her small dresser and closet were bare of clothing, having already been packed in the days previous.

"Let's take this box of toys down to the car, and then you can say goodbye to Greta while I come and pack up the rest." I said simply, trying not to confuse her with long complicated sentences.

She was smart for her age, but not that smart.

"Okay!" she said, agreeing immediately as she saw me pick up the box of toys and head towards the door, following me down the hallway and the staircase to the foyer.

Placing her toys on the car floor of the passengers seat, I walked back inside to hear Abbie talking to Greta in the kitchen.

"So I'm never gonna see you 'gain?" Abbie asked sadly, trying her best to talk in full sentences as I rounded the corner.

Greta, who was one of the nicest people I'd ever met, bent down with a sad smile on her face, brushing my daughter's hair out of her face. "You don't know that sweetie," she replied, "Maybe one day you'll come back and visit, or who knows, maybe I'll come out and visit you and your momma."

Having already noticed me, I smiled at Greta as I pointed upstairs, silently signaling that I would be grabbing the rest of my things. When she nodded understandingly, hugging my daughter close to her, my heart clenched as I gratefully smiled, turning around quietly.

Twenty minutes later, after taking one last look around the house to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything, I closed the trunk of my car, making sure it was secure before walking to where Greta and Abbie stood some ways up the driveway.

"Okay, we're all packed and ready to go." I stated, smiling sadly at Greta.

After my parents joined their social circle when I was still young, they started to give Greta the responsibility of looking after my sister and I while they were busy. The older we got, the more Greta was around and the less we saw of our parents. She was the person that made moving away from home the hardest.

Greta, who was holding Abbie's small hand in her own, pushed her towards me slightly before I picked her up, heading to the back seat of the car where her car seat sat.

"You've gone to the bathroom, right honey?" I asked sweetly, making sure I wasn't strapping in a little girl who would just have to stop for a potty break in less than 20 kilometers.

Her little head bounced up and down in a nod. "Yup." she replied proudly. "G'eta took me."

Smiling at her mispronunciation of Greta, I nodded, tucking Mr. Cuddles into her arm as I buckled her into the car seat. "Good girl."

Inching my way out of the back seat after I made sure she was strapped in tight, I closed the car door before turning back to Greta.

"Your parents would love to be here Zoe, it's just..." Greta trailed off, her smile showcasing sympathy.

"I know," I nodded, my emotions unmoved as I knew they really just couldn't be bothered. To them I was a disappointment, and until I did anything that they deemed exceptional, that's all I'd ever be to them. "They're busy."

Nodding sadly, Greta looked at me with love in her eyes. "I'm going to miss you honey," she said, stepping forward and hugging me, to which I immediately returned.

"I'll miss you too Greta."

Pulling back, it looked as though a tear or two were building in the corner of her eyes. "Remember to call whenever you need anything, and tell Emily I said hi."

"I will," I smiled, "Don't worry."

She nodded. "Now go, live your life."

"Goodbye Greta."

And with one wave as I retreated to my car, that was that.

Turning my key in the ignition, the engine came to life immediately, lighting up the dashboard and sending music through the speakers. As I put the car in drive and headed slowly down the driveway, I glanced in the rearview mirror to see Greta waving goodbye, my childhood house standing tall in the background.

The gates to the estate opened in front of me, and as I turned down the road, it was as if I was leaving my past behind me, heading towards a brighter future.

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When I told my sister that I'd be driving down to LA, she thought I was crazy, even more so considering I was also dragging along a restless three year old. Even going as far as to offer to buy the two of us planes tickets, I knew that the most efficient way to get all of our baggage down to the house was by driving.

Plus, I wasn't that big of fan of planes.

Two hours in however, I was starting to wish that I'd taken Emily up on her offer as my butt was starting to numb and my hands were beginning to cramp from gripping the steering wheel for so long.

Glancing in my rear-view mirror to check on Abbie, I saw that she was still wide awake, which I found rather odd for a toddler her age, keeping herself busy talking and playing with Mr. Cuddles.

As we passed a sign notifying me of a rest stop a few minutes up the road, I partially turned my head back towards Abbie.

"Hey sweetie, we're going to stop in a few minutes." I stated with a smile. "We'll get some food and take a potty break, okay?"

"Okay momma." she chirped with a bright smile.

Nodding at her, I returned my full attention to the road in front of me... the straight, long road that seemed to run for hours.

Thankfully, the sign notifying the rest stop hadn't been lying, as just a few minutes later I was turning my signal light on and smoothly exiting the highway.

Pulling into a free parking space, I took the keys out of the ignition, turning around to smile at my daughter. "So, you ready for food little girl?" I asked, bringing my hand up to gently tickle her stomach, causing her to giggle and squirm in her car seat.

"Yeah momma," she replied through her fit of laughter, "Stop momma."

At her words, I retracted my hand, climbing out of the car before unclasping her seat and cradling her against my hipbone.

"Food now?" she asked, playing with the ends of my hair as I locked the car doors and headed into the rustic looking restaurant.

Looking down at her with love in my eyes, I laughed. "Yes Abbie, food now." I replied, opening the door to the sound of a welcoming bell above our heads.

"Yay!" she cheered, clapping her tiny hands together as we headed up to the counter to order

Fifteen minutes later I was sitting in a small booth, nestled in the corner of the restaurant with Abbie sitting on a booster chair beside me, almost halfway through her small serving of chicken fingers. Laughing down at her as I swallowed the last of my burger, I picked up a napkin from the middle of the table and gently cradled her chin in my free hand.

"Abbie sweetie, how did you manage to get sauce on your nose?" I asked with amusement, wiping her nose gently until it was clean.

She simply grinned at me before dipping another chicken strip in her mountain of sauce and biting off the end.

Sitting back and watching my daughter eat was something I never thought would bring me joy, but sitting here with her, watching as she almost completely destroyed her food, I was completely content with my life.

I could, however, do without the several hours of driving that was ahead of me, but hey, nobody could have a perfect life.

Speaking of the hours ahead of me, a familiar ringtone started to blast from my pocket, and pulling out my phone, I saw that Emily was calling me.

"Hey sis," I greeted as I accepted the call, "What's up?"

"Hey, I'm just on my lunch break." she informed me, sounding as if she was walking down the busy streets of LA. "I wanted to know where you guys are to make sure I'm home when you get there."

"We've only been driving for a little over two hours so we're still pretty far away." I replied, "We're eating lunch right now on a little restaurant off the highway, but probably in about ten or fifteen we'll be driving again. I'd say that we might get near LA around seven tonight but it might take a while to get through the traffic."

"Well it's a Friday night Zoe, what did you expect?" Emily laughed, her voice echoing through the phone.

"I expected the traffic, I'm not delusional, but I just chose a stupid day to move down to LA."

"True." she agreed as the two of us laughed, the sounds fading as she continued. "So you'll probably be here before eight then?"

Nodding my head for a second, I quickly realized that she couldn't see me. "Yea, that sounds about right." I replied, "Why what are you up to tonight?"

"Not that much since I work until four and then I think Dustin's just going to be coming over to hang out after that," she explained. "But don't worry, I've already persuaded him to help you move yours and Abbie's stuff into your rooms."

"You're the best Em." I said with a smile, resting back into the cushioned booth as I watched Abbie finish the last of what was on her small plate.

"I know."

I rolled my eyes at my sister's remark. "Anyways, Abbie's pretty much done eating so I'm going to take her to the bathroom before we hit the road again."

"Okay, tell that little cutie that I'll see her tonight."

I smiled at my sister's love for her niece. "I will," I agreed, "See you tonight."

"See you tonight, love you."

"Love you too."

Pressing the end call button as I brought the phone away from my ear, I looked down at Abbie. "Aunty Emily says that she's excited see you tonight." I said, bringing a napkin up to her face to wipe off the excess food that was visible.

Her grin grew two sizes as she heard her favourite (and only) aunt's name.

"Now, how about we head to the bathroom for a potty break before getting back in the car?" I asked happily in my motherly voice, picking her up from her booster seat and placing her on the ground beside the booth.

"Yea momma!" she cheered, overly excited about such a simple thing as she took off running with her small legs to the back of the restaurant where the bathrooms were located.

Shaking my head in amusement, I followed my daughter, as I was positive she did not have a clue where she was going.

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Hours passed by as I drove down the long, winding highways on route to Los Angeles, California. An hour after leaving the restaurant was when Abbie had pretty much passed out in her car seat, leaving me to my thoughts as I turned the radio up slightly, taking the chance to listen to the music I enjoyed.

My butt had long since gone numb from sitting so long, and even when we stopped for a quick dinner before hitting L.A traffic, my legs took a couple of seconds to adapt to the sensation of not being cramped underneath a steering wheel.

As I hit the massive traffic lines coming in and out of Los Angeles, I realized that Emily truly wasn't joking when she mentioned the traffic was horrible. All I could see in front of me was cars moving bumper to bumper, the impatient drivers honking as the others just seemed used to the irregularly busy streets.

Finally, however, as I managed to pull out of the massive traffic pile up and onto a side street, the clock on the dash illuminated telling me that it had just passed eight 'o'clock. The end of summer sun was starting to lower on the horizon as my phone's automatic GPS told me to twist and turn on an abundance of side roads leading up to our destination.

Emily had lived in the area for a few years, but when I mentioned wanting to move out here as well, she immediately found a place for the two of us to share, making sure that it was still safe and practical for Abbie.

So far I'd only seen the small Skype tour she'd given me the month previous when she moved in, but it seemed like it'd be the perfect place to start over.

"Mommy," Abbie said, fully awake now after her elongated nap earlier in the day, "Are we there yet?"

Sighing in amusement, this was probably the thirtieth time I'd heard those words come from her mouth in the last three hours.

"No honey, but it'll only be a few more minutes." I responded calmly as the GPS instructed me to turn right on the next street.

It didn't take long for us to reach our destination from there, and before Abbie could utter the words 'are we there yet' once more, I pulled into the driveway of a small house in a calm, yet lively, neighbourhood.

Putting the car into park I looked back at my daughter, smiling at her in achievement. "We're here."

Leaving our luggage in the car, I quickly unbuckled Abbie from her car seat, picking her up and resting her on my hip as I walked up the driveway towards the house.

Reaching the front door, I brought my free hand up to knock, and not even fifteen seconds had passed before the door sporadically opened, revealing my little sister's ecstatic face.

"You made it!" she exclaimed, welcoming me into the foyer.

Taking a step into my new house, I felt like everything was finally falling into place. It was like nothing would suddenly come out of left field and blindside me; my life was on track, and it was a track I wanted to be on.

Looking around, I saw that Emily had already made herself at home, and it made me smile to think that, soon enough, I would too.

Turning back to see my sister, I saw her close the door and smile at me.

"Welcome to your new home sis."

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So I FINALLY got around to writing out the first chapter of this, and after taking so long to plan it, I almost know everything that will be happening from this point on. Saying this though, I do still have university courses until the end of April, so don't expect too much right away.

Most of you know that I've been meaning to post this story for a while now, and now that I have the chance to share it with you I'm really excited and I hope you guys are too!

Also, unlike most of my other stories, this one will be listed under the Romance category as it is more about the romance rather than anything else.

Lastly, to get you guys into the spirit of this story, I hope you guys can leave your opinions below in the comments, vote if you're enjoying it, as well as share this story with all of your friends <3 xx