Next morning....

   "I am a horrible father, aren't I? I suck at fatherly things." Scott stared at Isla who was staring back at him.

   "Oh don't worry." Isla patted his shoulder. "You'll be fine."

    "I don't even know how to take your bath." Scott shook his head.

    Isla smiled at him. "But you make the perfect ponytails." She flipped her ponytail confidently.

    He smiled back at her. "All thanks to your mom. I used to help pack her hair in ponytails when we were younger."

   "Wow. How did you meet mommy?" Isla asked him.

   Scott laughed, kissing her forehead. "Honestly sweetie, It's quite haze now but we were only kids. Don't tell your mom, Okay?" He stood up from the bed with a smile, taking Isla's hand before leaving the room.

    The father and daughter headed out. They were greeted by some workers and some family friends too on their way out.

   "Scott?" A man around Scott's age called Scott, giving him a welcoming smile.

Scott's eyes widened when he saw the familiar face. "Ryan?! Hey man." He gave him a friendly handshake and then pulled him into a brotherly hug.

    "It's good to see you." Ryan said to him.

  "You too. It has been a while. How are you? Your wife, the kids?" Scott was extremely happy to see his college friend again.

   Scott and Ryan Webster were college friends and soon they also became business partners. The Ontarios also ventured into building constructions, so they were always contracted to build for Mi-tech owned by a multi-billionaire, Ryan Webster.

   "They are fine. What are you doing here? You're a long way from DC and..." Ryan stopped talking when he noticed the little Isla beside Scott. "Oh, look who we have here." Ryan smiled down at Isla who was staring at him.

   "Good morning." Isla greeted with a smile.

   Scott pulled Isla closer to his leg. "This is Isabelle my..." He paused, looking for the right word to use. "She's my little girl." Scott gave a wide smile.

  Ryan glanced at Scott, down to Isla then back to Scott. He was a bit confused. "Oh. No wonder, there's the resemblance." Ryan didn't ask further questions as it was none of his business. "Why don't you join me for breakfast with my family, we sure need to catch up on a few things."

   "Sorry man, I've got to go. I have an important appointment maybe next time." He smiled after declining.

   "It's okay. I hope I see you soon." Ryan nodded, giving him a handshake.

   "Hopefully. Say hi to Sophie and the kids for me." Scott told him.

    "Will do." Ryan said watching Scott take his leave.

   Just as Scott left Ryan, his phone rang. It was Anna. He sighed, not ready to speak to Anna.

    "Isabelle, it's mommy, talk to her?" He grinned at his daughter as he handed the phone to her.

    "Mommy!" Isla screamed into the phone.
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     It's been hours and hours, Scott hadn't picked any of her calls. She was already about to lose her mind. What if something bad had happened? She was going to fucking kill him!! Then, there was her baby girl's picture on his Instagram! What the hell was he thinking, showing the world her little girl?! She was fuming and swearing more than necessary. No word from Isla or Scott. That was it! She would kill Scott!

    Anna keep pacing back and forth in frustration and anger. Why wasn't he answering his damn phone?! She groaned, kicking a trashcan.

   "What the hell is your problem? Isla is fine. You called Daniel already right? He spoke to Scott and told you that Isla and Scott are fine." Naraya lazily said, waving a cup of iced tea in the air.

    "That bastard knows what he's doing. He knows how mad I am and yet he is still avoiding my calls. So help him that I don't break his stupid neck." She seethed, squeezing her fist into a ball.

   "If something happened to Isla, you'd be the first he'd call so I suggest you calm your nerves." Naraya sipped her a straw.

   "Not to mention that he posted my daughter on his INSTAGRAM PAGE!!" She groaned aloud. "What does he think she is? A celebrity child?"

    "And Isla was so cute in the photo. Awwn, did you see the comments? His fans adore her." Naraya giggled.

   "You're not helping, argh." Anna went over to the table to grab her phone. "I'm calling him again." She tapped on his name and dialed again, placing her phone over her ear.

    "Mommy!!!"

   That was the first voice Anna heard.

   "Peaches! Oh my poor baby." Anna felt so teary hearing her daughter's voice. "How are you? Are you okay, did you eat, are you scared–" She was cut off by Isla's giggling.

    "You have nothing to worry about, daddy is taking care of me."

    "Oh honey, I've been worried sick about you. Your father wouldn't pick my calls, i got so scared." She admitted to her daughter. "But then... where is your dad? Did he leave you alone?" Anna frowned.

   "Uh-uh, daddy's right here."

    "Great, give the phone to him." Anna said to Isla. She heard Scott's voice telling Isla to tell her not to scold him. Anna rolled her eyes.

     "And mommy... Don't scold daddy okay?" Isla said to her mom.

    "Your father told you to say that to me, I heard it." She sighed, hearing Isla laugh behind the phone. "I'm only gonna talk to him."

    "She's only going to talk to you."

   Anna heard Isla say to Scott. She was getting impatient to talk to Scott when she soon heard his "hi"

   "Oh hi? You're saying hi now? Mr Ontario, you're dead meat when I see you. Now, you bring my daughter back this instant!" She yelled at him.

    "Chill. We're on our way already." Scott sounded relaxed.

    "Don't think Isla is gonna save you cos I'm gonna kill you." Anna told him.

   "How? How are you gonna do that? Our daughter is never going to forgive you. You see, she loves me too much."

    Anna could tell he was smirking. "Don't think too highly of yourself." She scoffed sarcastically.

    "Hey sweetie, I really need to go now okay? I'll call you when I arrive on DC soil, but for now, I love you. Bye."

   "No don't you–" Anna heard him kiss the phone before hanging up. "Dammit! I hate that man." She threw her hands up in frustration.

    Naraya chuckled. "You should leave the poor guy alone with his daughter. Let them bond. In the meantime," Naraya stood up eyeing Anna. "Why don't you keep your mind off things by going out with your new boyfriend."

    She ran her hand down her hair, trying to think. "You're right.You know what, I'm gonna head out. I'll go to Daniel's since he is the only one that understands me. He and I are going to hatch a plan to take my daughter away from Scott." Anna said, going to take her bag.

    "You're crazy." Naraya rolled her eyes at her cousin.

    "Yes I am." She picked up her bag before leaving the house.
..................................................................................

   Daniel stared at her with a smile, watching her pour her frustration out.

    "I don't even know why I let him into my life once again. I feel like I made a mistake." She said, picking up the glass of water Daniel had just poured for her. After gulping down the glass of water, Daniel poured another for her. "I hate that he uses my daughter to anger me and he's doing it on purpose. It's annoying."

Anna had been in Daniel's house for over  an hour, talking about Scott.

   "He doesn't respect my wishes, he just does what he likes." She sighed. "I must be boring you already." Anna slouched.

He chuckled lightly. "I've been listening to you talk about my brother for an hour now. Great talk." He smiled at her.

    Anna turned red in embarrassment. "Sorry." She looked down at her hands and played with her fingers. "I just... I just thought since you're the only one that understands me, you'd know how I feel." She admitted. Maybe she was selfish about the whole issue that she disregarded Daniel's feelings for her.

   "What are you sorry for?" He chuckled again. "I'm happy you came to me."

    She looked up at him before smacking her lips. " It's your turn. What have you been up to?"

    "Me?" He shrugged his shoulders. "I've been missing you." He leaned over, placing a kiss on her cheek.

    "Funny." Anna shook her head, squinting at him. "Do you wanna hang out later tonight?"

    "I would have loved to but I'll be extremely busy tonight. I have a big presentation early in the morning and I still haven't finalised everything." Daniel told her, staring at her lips.

    "That's okay. Maybe next time. Do try to come by AnStin when you're free okay?" She said to him.

    "Sure, I will." He gave a brief smile before leaning in again to kiss her. "Did I mention how pretty you look." He dropped a light kiss on her lips. His hand cupped her cheek, caressing it slightly with his thumb.

  "Did I say how understanding you are?" Anna smiled, closing her eyes.

   Daniel chuckled, slow kissing her. "I love you Anna." He whispered against her lips.

    Weirdly, her mind captured another person's face. It was SCOTT. She fluttered her eyes halfway and all she could see was Scott Ontario. He was the one kissing her passionately and she was loving it. Anna subconsciously smiled.

   "Scott..." She whispered while Daniel kissed her so delicately. It wasn't when Daniel inched away slowly that she realised her mistake. Had he heard her?

     Daniel stayed, inches from her lips but rested his forehead against hers. "You're thinking about someone else." He whispered softly.

    Anna bit her lower lip as she tried to calm her ragged breath. "No." She wanted to convince him, convince herself.

    "Maybe we should take things slow." He said about to pull from her but she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck. "We shouldn't be together in the first place."

    "N-no please. Dee I need you." She whispered desperately.

    "As a friend, I know. It's obvious you'd never see me more than that." Daniel pulled her away. "It'll always be him." He said to her before standing.

    "Dee let me explain, it's not what you think." Anna quivered. She was scared of losing Dee. "I don't have any feelings for—"

  "You can't seem to get over Scott even after everything." Daniel shook his head in disappointment. "I thought maybe I had finally had you but it turns out that you were never mine to begin with." He chuckled sadly.

   "Dee please you–"

   He cut Anna again. "I have always liked you Anna, as kids, teenagers, adults. Ever wondered why I never dated anyone back then?" He shrugged. "I liked you no... I LOVED you. I was always hiding it because everyone thought I was like an older brother to you. It was weird, having feelings for someone who only saw me as a brother. Then I found out you liked Scott. I backed away."

   Anna shook her head slowly. "Daniel..." She wasn't expecting him to confess his long time feelings for her.

     "Anna, do you remember? That night, seven years ago? Do you... Do you still think about it?" He stared down at her, waiting for a reply.

   She licked her lips nervously. She refused to meet with Daniel's eyes. Now that he was bringing up the past of how careless and reckless she had been.

    "A lot happened that night." Daniel told her. "I always felt guilty because of it."

   Anna shook her head slowly. "It wasn't your fault Daniel. It was mine. You had nothing to do with what happened between us."

    "You know, I thought Isla was my daughter and I never wanted to do a DNA test because I felt she was mine even when you didn't say anything. I put the puzzles together and I finally realised why you and Scott broke apart." He said to her.

    Anna finally looked up at him. "Whatever happened between Scott and I was consensual."

    "Figured. But he was too immature to own up to what he did. That's what happened." He rubbed his forehead with his hand. "Have you told him what happened between us?" He asked her.

    "He doesn't need to know." She shook her head. If Scott found out about it, he would be hurt.

    "You're scared to hurt his feelings, aren't you?" Daniel heaved. "You like him don't you?"

     She tucked her hair behind her ear. "It doesn't matter.

    "It does to me. I want to know your true feelings for him."

    Anna stood up immediately, walking away from Daniel. "It doesn't matter what I feel for him okay. I once liked Scott but that's gone now, and if—"
 
     He tsked. "Lying again. You're forgetting I know you too well. You should stop lying to yourself. The moment Scott found you, I knew it was game over for me." Daniel's intense gaze rested on her. "Those feelings are still there."

    "What do you want me to say?" Anna scoffed at him. "You know what, I shouldn't have come here." She shook her head. She quickly goes to grab her bag. "We can talk later."

    "I'm breaking up with you." Daniel said, watching her leave.

   Anna halted immediately, turning to Daniel. "What?" She frowned at him.

    "I'm breaking up with you." He said again.

    She stood for a while, shocked at first. He was breaking up with her because he was scared of losing her to his brother? She scoffed, taking long strides towards him. When she was close enough, she slapped him so hard on his cheek.

     "You're an asshole." Anna shook her head, obviously angry.

    She turned away and without regrets, she walked out of his house.
🔸️🔸️🔸️🔸️🔸️🔸️🔸️

    Seven years ago......

  Seventeen years old Anna had only lost her mom and now, her best friend Scott Ontario had deserted her. She didn't feel like living anymore.

    "You're killing yourself Anna. The world is still out there, you have to go out there!" Syla said, getting really upset with Anna's behaviour.

     "There's nothing out there for me anymore. Mom's gone and she's never coming back!" Anna slammed the door shut at her aunty who kept yelling her name.

     Anna didn't go for her graduation party because she didn't feel the need to. Her life sucked! She drowned herself in sad, long songs.

   "Aunt Syla, I'm going out." Anna threw on a jacket as she headed for the door.

    Syla who was in the kitchen came out to see Anna. "You are?" She noticed Anna's face was lit with makeup and she was wearing the skimpiest plaid skirt and black sequin bralette. "Where are you going?" She asked her niece.

    "Wherever the wind takes me to." Anna smiled before walking out.

     It was the last night she was spending in DC. She had to see all her favourite places before leaving the state. Strolling around in the street and visiting all the important places that had great significance. She had coincidentally seen a bar she and Scott had once visited, so, she decided to enter.

    "Can I have gin and tonic or vodka?" Anna smiled sweetly at the bartender behind the counter.

    "Sure darling, once I see your ID." He smiled back at her.

    Anna took out her purse to get her fake ID, but she seemed to have left it at home.

    "Hey, I have a problem. I can't seem to find my ID, can I just get a pass?" She batted her lashes at the bartender.

      "Sorry honey. No ID no alcohol." He wasn't falling for her trick.

     "Oh come on," she pouted. "Just one glass, that won't hurt." She smiled.

     "Nice try missy." The man shook his head.

   "I'm trying to get out of depression here." Anna said watching the bartender leave. "Arghhh! I hate my life." She ruffled her hair as she glanced around the bar and her eyes settled on a man sitting two seats away from her. She studied him for a while as he kept on drinking and requesting for more shots.

    "You're staring young lady." He spoke, clear enough for Anna to hear him.

   She looked around to see if he was talking to someone else. "Me?" She didn't even know that he had seen her.

   "Of course you." He gulped down another shot before turning to her.

    Anna gasped in shock. "Oh my God Daniel!"

    He blinked hard to get a better focus of her. "Wait... Anna?" Daniel too was surprised to see her.