Emilia's POV

I shake Ashton's shoulder for the umpteenth time to wake him up as we near his ex-fiancée's house. "We're almost there," I tell him, reciting what our taxi driver told me a few minutes ago.

He wakes in a startle and involuntarily squeezes the plastic bag that he's been hugging since we got into the taxi after we left the toy store earlier.

From the moment we left the hotel this morning, he's been nodding off because he didn't get much sleep last night. I woke up a few times throughout the night and found him on his phone, Googling "what gifts to get your daughter" or "what kind of toys do 2 year olds like" and reading through several articles that gave stereotypical generalizations of girls liking the color pink and dolls. The articles didn't help him much seeing how Reina is two and probably doesn't have an interest in caring for a plastic doll. Maybe when she's three.

I had to snatch his phone away from him and store it in the drawer of the bedside table just to get Ash to stop and go to bed. My efforts were futile because as I laid my head on his chest, I never felt his breathing even out into a steady rhythm. Not even when I woke up. I just want him to get a good night sleep at least once during this trip.

Before we started heading to Natalie's house, I promised Ashton we could go to a toy store to buy something for Reina. He looked so confused walking down the aisles and consulted me every time he found something Reina might potentially like. I had to turn down most of his suggestions due to the recommended age requirements written on the boxes, which frustrated him. I did, however, get him to calm down for a brief moment when I found a giant stuffed elephant and sat on it. It was a childhood dream come true for me, and it took everything to convince myself to not buy it. Even though I'm not a huge fan of taking pictures, I let Ashton take one of me anyway, because judging by the small enamored smile on his face, I knew it gave him a sense of solace.

In the end, he took my advice and bought Reina a stuffed elephant. As a backup, Ashton also bought a stuffed giraffe for her, which I found hilarious since I call him and the boys 'giraffes' from time to time. He figured that if Reina doesn't like one, she might like the other. I wanted to ask him about the possibility of her not liking either toy, but I didn't want to shatter his optimism. I can't be anything but supportive right now.

Ashton loosens his tight grasp around the bag and rubs the sleep from his eyes. "How much longer?" he asks groggily.

"The driver said about five minutes," I say. "But that was five minutes ago and I've been trying to wake you up since then, so we're probably really close to her house by now."

He glances out the window and reaches across the backseat until he finds my hand. "There's no backing out now," he mumbles.

Even if he wanted to back out, I don't think he'd follow through. He made the choice to see Reina last night. He wants to do this even when the little devil on his shoulder is feeding him doubt and lies. Though his outward appearance may not show it, he's being so strong. It's much harder for him than he originally anticipated, but he's doing what we came to Australia for; to free himself from Natalie's grasp, even if it means abandoning someone who's young and unaware in the process. I just hope—based on his decision—it doesn't come to that.

The taxi driver pulls up to the curb in front of a single-story home. Ashton pays the fare and we get out of the car, the taxi speeding off the moment we shut the door. We both stare at the house, absolutely underwhelmed by what we see. It's a simple brown-stone suburban house with a two car garage. A gravel pathway leads to the covered porch and a few rose bushes are blooming underneath one of the large windows. It's not even on the same level as Elijah's house. I was expecting something a bit more extravagant given her family's wealth, but I admire the family-friendly quality it has.

Ashton doesn't say a word as he presses his hand against the small of my back and steers me towards the front door. We hear the faint noise of what sounds like singing blaring from the TV inside. I wouldn't doubt it's a children's show given the happy-go-lucky, animated tune. The noise slowly drops in volume when I ring the doorbell.

The door swings open to reveal Natalie's welcoming smile. I've seen fake smiles before, but this isn't one of them. I don't think I've seen a smile of hers that isn't genuine. Even though she's dressed in cropped jeans and a floral blouse, she still looks so polished. Having a toddler doesn't seem to affect her appearance at all. "Hey guys," she says, widening the door. "Come inside and make yourselves comfortable."

I step inside first, Ashton following behind me, and Natalie guides us into the living room where a gray sectional sofa divides the area from the joining dining room. Sitting on a large white shag rug, positioned between the sectional and TV, Reina stares intently at the TV. Several toys surround her but they may as well be invisible because the brightly dressed characters on the TV screen seem to be the most important thing to her right now.

Hanging from the wall behind Reina is a familiar tall canvas painting that greatly resembles the one I saw Ashton painting in the art studio. He wasn't kidding when he said it was a duplicate of the original. Four roses and one rosebud interlocking from the stems are painted on the white canvas. The thorn-less stems trail off the edge of the canvas so fluidly, and the vibrancy of the acrylics knocks the one I first saw out of the park. Unlike that one, this one possess the rich hues roses should have instead of being drained of life with muted tones. It's absolutely stunning, and I now understand why Patricia wanted to keep it at her house.

I look up to Ashton, but his gaze is drawn to the array of portraits and photos hanging on the other walls.

"Reina," Natalie calls and Reina's head snaps in our direction. "Come say hi."

The little girl rises to her feet and scurries towards her mother. Natalie fixes Reina's white peplum top where it has ridden up. She then pulls down the pink leggings that are bunched up near Reina's knees. This kid has a better sense of style than me.

"This is Emilia and Ashton," Natalie introduces. "They're going to take care of you while Mama and Daddy are out. Go say hi," she encourages.

Reina stares up at Ashton and me, and then looks to her mother. She grins bashfully and shakes her head.

I kneel down to Reina's level and wave to her. "Hi," I say, my smile mirroring hers. Her hazel eyes are just as captivating as Ash's. "It's nice to meet you, Reina."

She steps forward and reaches her hand out towards my neck. Her tiny fingers touch the elephant pendent dangling from the chain around my neck. Natalie wasn't kidding when I overheard her say Reina isn't afraid of strangers. She's definitely knows how to invade people's personal space—just like her father.

"You like my necklace?" I ask.

"Yeah," she says with a straight face, almost entranced by the piece of jewelry. Her hand clasps over the pendant, lightly tugging. "What's that?"

"It's an elephant," I say, gently removing her fingers from around it. I'd rather her not pull it and potentially break the chain. It means too much to me. The last thing I want is for her to try and stick it in her mouth. "Do you like elephants?"

Reina's eyes dart up from the necklace to me. "Yeah," she says, and then incoherently pronounces elephant to the best of her ability. She looks up to Ashton and catches a glimpse of the bag in his hand. She moves towards it and grips the edge, trying to peek inside.

"Reina, you can't just go through people's stuff. You have to ask first," Natalie says, and Reina steps back, pouting. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay," Ashton says, finally speaking. I'm glad he is because I don't know how long I can keep up this conversation without feeling extremely awkward. "This is actually for Reina," he says.

"You bought her a gift?" Natalie asks, stunned. Her arms are folded across her chest, and she keeps rubbing them as if she's cold. She seems apprehensive about Ashton and Reina interacting. "You didn't have to do that."

"I know, Nat," he says, kneeling down to Reina. He studies her face for a moment before reaching into the bag. "I have a present for you, Reina."

I'm not sure if Reina's enthusiasm is nonexistent or if she's confused as to why strangers are giving her gifts, because she's absolutely expressionless.

Ashton pulls out the stuffed giraffe first and hands it to Reina. She examines the toy briefly, stroking the body before dropping it on the floor. Natalie scolds Reina for being rude and I stifle a laugh. I shouldn't find it funny, but Reina really is adorable. I just hope her rejection towards Ashton's gift doesn't hit him too hard.

Ashton's gaze never leaves Reina, like he's trying to silently figure her out. He cracks a restrained smile and pulls out the elephant from the bag. "Is this better?" he asks.

Reina quickly snatches it from his grasp to show Natalie, a mix between a squeal and scream falling from her mouth. She nuzzles her face against the synthetic fur.

Just like I said, everyone likes elephants. I glance towards Ashton, a smirk playing on my lips, and I mouth, "I told ya so" to him. He sticks his tongue out at me and tells me to hush.

Reina points to my necklace and tries to say elephant again, and her failed attempts bring forth laughter between us adults. She shows me the toy, practically shoving it in my face, and I try not to sneeze from the fibers tickling my nose.

"What do you say to Ashton, Reina?" Natalie says.

Reina spins around to face Ashton and she holds the stuffed elephant close to her face, hiding behind it. "Thank you," she says, and then takes off to go sit back on the rug and places the stuffed elephant with the other toys.

I stand up and observe Reina from behind the couch. She's talking and making noises as she plays with the toys, paying special attention to Ashton's gift. For an only child, she's pretty independent and can play by herself.

"That was really sweet of you to do, Ash," Natalie says.

He picks up the stuffed giraffe Reina dropped and puts it back into the bag before he stands back up. "It's not much, but I figured I should get her something to make up for the two birthdays I missed. Well, one birthday now."

Natalie takes the bag from Ashton and pulls the toy back out. "Reina would have told you if she didn't like this; she's pretty blunt," she says. "After seeing Emilia's necklace, Reina probably wanted something similar to it, which is probably why she didn't care much for the giraffe. But it doesn't mean she doesn't like it. Try giving it to her again later."

He doesn't look at her when he nods; his eyes are trained on the photos on the walls again. He steps away from us to examine them. As his eyes dart from photo to photo, his face turns hard.

I know he's struggling to be here. The pictures are helping either. From what I can see, the photos contain images of Reina with Natalie and Nathan throughout the years. He has to see moments frozen in time of what he missed in Reina's life; moments that could have included him instead of Nathan. Speaking of Nathan. "Where's Nathan?" I ask. There's no sight of him in the house, and if I were to guess, I'd say he's not here at all.

"He's coming home from work right now to pick me up, so we can go to the venue," Natalie says. "It shouldn't be long before he gets here." She glances over her shoulder to check on her daughter. "I really appreciate you two looking after Reina for us. The rehearsal dinner shouldn't take more than an hour or two, so you won't have to watch her for long. If it were any longer--" she lowers her voice and nods towards Ashton, "--I don't think he'd be able to handle it."

I narrow my eyes and I can feel the creases forming along my forehead deepen. "You should give him more credit; he's a lot stronger than you think," I say, my voice coming out harsher than anticipated. I quickly apologize.

She shakes her head. "No, you're right. I shouldn't be doubting him." For someone who dated Ashton for five years, you'd think she'd have a little more faith in him. "Do you think I can talk to him?"

"You don't have to ask me," I say, though I find it polite that she did. She makes it so hard to dislike her when she's this nice. "Go ahead; I'll keep an eye on Reina."

I step away and go sit on the floor next to Reina. She tries to reach for my necklace again but I use the stuffed elephant as a distraction to divert her attention away from it. As much as I want to listen to Reina's nonsense as she speaks to me, I want to listen to her parents' conversation more.

The more I glance between the three of them, the more I see the uncanny resemblance. I see a family. If anyone were to come in here right now, it'd be more than easy to identify Ashton as Reina's father. She has his hair, his dimples, his smile, his eyes. Eyes that are the brightest part of him and have been passed down to her. She's absolutely beautiful.

__

Ashton's POV

Within every frame is a different photo of Reina at a different age. I can see her development from an infant to the toddler she is now. I can see all the variations of her smile, but it doesn't compare to the one she gave me just moments ago. She's clueless as to who I am, yet she smiled at me. I love that she did, but I wish she didn't because I won't be able to see her look at me like that on a daily basis.

Aside from that, I'm glad she liked my gift. Emmie was right; she's always right. I won't say watching Reina drop the stuffed giraffe without a care didn't strike my ego, because it did. But then I remembered a time when Lauren did the same thing when she was a baby. Mum showed her my old teddy bear that she had kept since the day I was born, and when I tried to give Lauren a different one, she refused and threw on the floor. In the end, I gave her my old one and she was elated, just like how Reina was with the elephant.

A hand touches my shoulder, but I know it's not Emmie's. Hers is much smaller and always sends addictive chills up my spine. This one breaks me down along with the added giggles and joyous screams of our daughter playing in the background.

"How old was she here?" I ask, pointing to a photo of Reina lying flat on her stomach on the couch with her head resting on Nathan's lap.

"About eighteen months," Natalie says, and I bite my tongue to keep from getting after her for not just saying a year and a half. I always find it irritating when parents use months to tell the age of their child even after their kid is over a year old.

"And here?" I point to another frame that has a picture of Reina as a baby. Her skin is blotchy and red and she barely has any hair. Her tiny hands are covered with mittens to keep her from scratching her face. Despite her appearance, I can't help but think she looks cute. Maybe it's a parental thing—only being able to see your kid as beautiful while others may see them as the opposite.

"That was the day she was born," Natalie says. "November 15th. She was actually sneezing when the photo was taken at the hospital. We could have retaken the photo, but I liked it. Mum and Nathan took plenty of other pictures to make up for this one, though."

Reina was so small. She's much smaller in this picture than in the one Dad has in his office. I wonder what it would have been like to hold her. She would have been so fragile. I'd probably think I was holding her too tight or not elevating her head enough. Would she have smiled the moment she saw me? Would she have cried? Would I have loved her with my entire being at that very moment?

Natalie rubs my back. "What else do you want to know?"

I ask her if Reina is left or right-handed, and she tells me she's a righty like me. I ask her how long Reina's birth was and Natalie tells me it was relatively quick. She had to have an emergency C-section because the umbilical cord was wrapped around Reina's neck. Everything went well and Reina was born as healthy as can be. I ask what Reina's first word was and Natalie tells me she's not completely sure, but it was either 'Mama' or 'hi.'

As I listen to her go off on a tangent about Reina's fascination with using crayons and scribbling on paper, I continue to look at all the photos. There are so many of Reina with Nathan. He's either starring in the photo with her or standing somewhere in the background. But within each one, he smiles at her with such adoration. Like how a father should look at his daughter. Do I look at her like that?

"I have more photos of her in a photo album on the bookshelf," Natalie says, but I dismiss her.

"How do you think Nathan would react if you told him the truth?" I ask, finally turning to face my ex.

She winces, as if the thought of having to think of his reaction physically pains her. "He'd be devastated," she says. "He loves Reina. She means the world to him. She's his daughter, Ash. I can't even fathom how hurt he'll be after finding out he's not her biological father."

"Okay."

"Are you asking because you made your decision?"

"No." This isn't a 'flip-a-coin' type of decision to make. It would make things a lot less stressful, but Luck and I don't have a good relationship as it is. None of my choices are appealing to me, but I'm limited on time with this trip. This may be my only chance to interact one-on-one with Reina. I have to take advantage of it. "But you'll have an answer when you get back."

Reina screams happily behind us and I turn around to find Emmie sitting on the floor with her, glancing up at us but swiftly looking back down to Reina when my gaze catches hers.

The beep of a car horn from outside shifts our focus to Natalie, who turns towards the front door. She quickly grabs her purse laying on the couch and tells us there's a list of emergency contacts on the refrigerator and if Reina gets hungry there are some snacks in the pantry, adding that she prefers Cheerios.

Natalie kneels down in front of Reina and kisses her cheek. "Mama will be back in a little bit, okay?" she says. "Be good for Emilia and Ashton. I love you."

Reina's gaze follows Natalie as she stands and starts towards the front door. She gets up and wobbles after her mother, who's already halfway out the door. Natalie waves goodbye to Reina before she sends a sympathetic smile in my direction. I'm not sure if that's her way of saying 'good luck.' She closes and locks the door, leaving me and Emmie to console my child who's on the verge of bawling now that her mother is gone.

_____

A/N: Let me tell you something: writing children is a pain in the ass. They don't know many words and as a writer, I have to be careful not to make them sound too young or intelligent for their age. The next chapter will be all about Ashton and Emmie taking care of Reina, so that'll be interesting. How do you think that will turn out?

School starts this week, but I only have class on campus 2 days a week so hopefully that'll give me time to update regularly (once a week more than likely).

QOTD: What artist are you listening to right now?

I'm currently enjoying the new Panic! At The Disco album. I love Brendon Urie :)

Thank you all for continuing to read from the cliché first chapter of PYW to now. I love you all! –Rebecca xoxoxoxo