A year ago......

Galway Ireland......

       "Mommy I want to go into the haunted house!!" Isla kept pestering her mother.

    They were at a carnival, filled with thousands of people. Anna had decided to take Isla to the carnival.

     "Sweetie you'll have nightmares." Anna answered. She was on her phone, talking to Justin. They had just landed a big contract so she was in charge of the order. For a wedding, the wedding was the next day and she was under a lot of pressure.

      "Mommy, please." Isla begged but her mom, turned away from her.

   Anna paid no attention to isla but tried stopping Isla from tugging on her dress.

     "Mommy?" Isla whispered softly but Anna was too busy talking to Justin over the phone. Isla looked around the place and she saw a clown with some balloons, beckoning on her to come. She smiled, she glanced up at Anna before strolling away to follow the clown with the balloons.

    Anna sighed, hanging up after a minute or two. "Alright swee—" she turned around, looking for Isla. "Isla? Isla?" Anna couldn't see any sign of her daughter. "Isla!!" Anna panicked, running to different directions to look for Isla. "Isla!!" Anna began yelling out Isla's name.

   "Have you seen a little girl? Blue dress, high ponytail. About six?" Anna had tears in her eyes as she asked every person she came in contact with.

     "No."

     "I haven't seen her."

    "Nope."

    "This is a carnival, lots of kids get mixed up."

    Those were the words she kept hearing from people. Most people shook pitiable heads at her. Anna had even checked the haunted house that Isla had been talking about. Almost twenty minutes and still no sign of her.

    "She was with me one minute, the next she was gone." Anna sobbed uncontrollably to the police officers who were with her. "I am gonna die if I don't find her." She wept, her dressed was soaked in tears.

     "We'll find her ma'am. She might be around, you should calm down." One of the officers tried consoling her.

    "She's just a kid!! My baby is just a kid!! What if she's hurt?! Don't just stand there doing nothing!!!! Find her!!!" Anna yelled at the officers.

     "The officers are doing their jobs," one of the officers said to her. "We were asked to keep you company."

   She scoffed between her tears. "Compa- Fuck you!" Anna ran past them like a deranged person. "Isla!!! Isla!!! Has anyone seen a little girl?! Islaaaaa!!!" Anna kept screaming, running, trying to find her daughter.

     "Ma'am!! Ma'am!!" The officers tried to call her back.

    "God please no, please no. Oh god no. Please bring back my baby, I want my baby back." Anna stumbled, falling to the ground crying profusely.

     "Mommy?!"

   Anna recognized her daughter's voice. She looked ahead, seeing Isla, Anna stood up ignoring the pain in her leg. "Isla!!!" She ran.

     Isla who was with someone ran, towards her, meeting Anna mid way.

    "Oh God!!!" Anna swooped Isla into her arms, giving her a bear crushing hug. "Thank God, thank God. Oh thank God!!" Anna cried out, raining kisses on Isla's face.

     "Mommy I was scared. The clown was taking me away." Isla told Anna, hugging her back.

     "Baby. My baby." Anna sobbed. "Your mommy is so sorry. I'm so sorry honey. I am such an idiot." Anna couldn't let go of her daughter. Anna held her so close to her body.

     "Mommy, he saved me." Isla looked up at her mother.

   Anna tried to chuckle between her tears, trying not to scare her daughter. "Who is he?" Anna asked, placing a kiss on Isla's cheek.

    "Him." Isla, turned pointing at someone who had walked closely at them.

    Anna looked away from her daughter. She recognized the face immediately. "Daniel?" Her tears filled eyes widened.

     He wasn't sure of who it was, but the eyes finally made him remember. "A-Anna?" He too was shocked.

     "Daniel!!" Anna threw an arm around him, taking into another round of sobbing.

      Daniel wrapped his arms around her, hugging her. "It's okay. It's okay." He said, comforting her.
................................................................................

     As Scott drove back to his pad, he couldn't help but wonder why Anna reacted the way she did. Given the circumstances surrounding Isla's conception, Scott didn't think he would love his daughter less. His daughter. The thought of it was thrilling at the same time scary. He remembered when Betty handed him the results, he suddenly had a nervous breakdown. He wasn't even sure he wanted to open the envelope at all, but he eventually did. The first thought that came to his head was Isabelle was his daughter, his own flesh and blood.

   His body relaxed after seeing that the results, Anna had just gained his likeness back. But then, why was she still denying it? Was he being too harsh and aggressive? Was she still mad at him for what happened seven years ago?

   He finally arrived at his pad. As he got out of his car, his phone rang. When he saw the caller ID, one thought told him not to pick but he picked.

    "What do you want?" He asked irked. It was no one else but Amanda Chester.

    "Is this a bad time?" She asked him.

  "When it comes to you, it is always a bad time." He said getting into his elevator.

    "I have set the date for the wedding." She wasted no time in telling him.

     "What wedding? Your wedding?" He laughed sarcastically. "That's wonderful, who's the groom?"

  "The wedding is in two weeks. Saturday." She wasn't bothered by his comment.

    "Can you call me when you have something more useful to tell me?" Scott said about to cut the call.

     "The date has been set, the wedding cards are printed out, it's to send them out that is left." Amanda hold him.

   Scott laughed... "Was that the dream you had last night? I have no time for silly jokes."

     "Baby we're getting married, nothing is stopping us now. You can check my twitter, you'll see I have posted the date."

    Scott instantly hung up. The last thing he wanted to think about was Amanda.
🌼🌼🌼🌼🌼

     Anna laid beside Isla on the bed, staring at her daughter while she slept.

    "I'm sorry." Anna whispered, caressing Isla's sleeping face. "I just can't let him walk back into our lives like nothing happened. I know I am selfish because I don't want you to know him, but, I am scared. Scared that he'll reject you or maybe take you away from me." Anna whispered softly. "I can't let that happen." She kissed Isla's forehead.

    Anna walked into the sitting room, and found Naraya.

      "This has been one weird day." Naraya said, turning to Anna.

    Anna sat beside her, sighing deeply. "I know you have a lot of questions."

    Naraya chuckled. "Hell I do. Like, I just saw Scott fucking Ontario, Dee is his brother and Isla..." She stopped mid sentence.

    "And Isla is his daughter." Anna helped her complete the sentence.

    Naraya ran her hand down her hair. She was bewildered by everything. "I can't believe you hid this one important detail from me." She smacked her lips.  "You told me Dee was her father, why?"

    "I didn't know how to tell you. And then, when Dee suddenly came into our lives, I just..." She shrugged, having no last words.

     "Does Syla know?" Naraya asked her.

  "Yes. She knows Scott is Isla's father." Anna ran a hand down her face.

     "Can I ask what happened?" Naraya pushed her luck.

    Anna shrugged, "He didn't want me anymore. I was so young, careless, and stupid at that time, it just happened one night and the next day, it meant nothing to him." Anna swallowed. That night really changed her life.

     Naraya exhaled, "Did he know? Did he know you were pregnant?" She asked Anna.

     "He did not care about me, do you really think he'll even care if he found out? Scott made it clear that it was just a one night stand. Besides, I only found out I was pregnant when we moved." Anna licked her lips nervously. Retelling her story made her angry at herself.

     "What happens now?" Naraya nodded slowly. "Why did he suddenly show up?"

   Anna explained how Scott had found her.

     "Wow, a lot has been going on lately. I have really missed out." Naraya said, having listened attentively to her. "How on earth did he get Isla's DNA sample?"

     "That is what still amazes me. How did he get to her without me knowing?" Anna massaged the side of her neck, trying to loosen up her muscle.

    "Why now? I thought you said he rejected you. Do you think he wants to acknowledge Isla as his?" Naraya furrowed her brows.

     "It's too late for that." Anna shook her head. "Isla doesn't need him anymore, and I don't want her to think she is a mistake."

   Naraya was silent for some seconds. "What if you talk to him? If he could take Isla's DNA sample without you knowing, then he could find a way to tell her the truth."

     Anna wiped her cheek with her hand, "I won't let that happen."

    "Anna we're talking about an Ontario, one of the most influential families in the world. I am sure by now, you should know that when he is really determined, he gets what he want. You don't want to wake up one day and Isla isn't with you."

    Anna's heart skipped. "Da-Daniel won't let that happen."

     "You might be forgetting, Daniel isn't Isla's father. Scott is." Naraya reminded her.

   Anna gulped, now she was scared. "Naraya..."
   
    "Talk to him. Anna, when you fainted, he was really worried about you. Purely concerned. I don't think he would want to repeat the same thing, he might even allow you to keep Isla. You never know." Naraya told her calmly.

    Anna bit her lip, she was not sure if she wanted to talk to Scott.
................................................................................

    "I am denouncing the fake engagement to Amanda publicly." Scott stood before his parents in the study two days later.

    He had already made up his mind.

   Rhonda gaped at him.

  Ethan didn't bother to glance at his son. "I haven't told you to do that." Ethan said as he kept on writing whatever he was writing.

    "My mind has been made up. Whether you approve of it or not, I don't care anymore." Scott said to Ethan, he was serious and determined.

      Rhonda took a quick glanced at her husband before turning to Scott. "Did something happen? Did you and Amanda have another fight?"

    Scott gave his mother a look. "Should that be the question mom? I thought we are on the same side, what does it matter if we fought or not."

    "Don't misinterpret me, I was only curious on why you suddenly made up your mind." Rhonda told him.

    "That's not how to talk to your mother." Ethan closed the book he was writing in. "Have you gone to the factory, done your rounds? How soon are we releasing the luxurious collection? When is the next board meeting?" Ethan kept firing Scott with questions upon questions.

    "Stop." Scott closed his eyes. He had had enough for one day, there was Anna, the blood draining work at the office, his feud with Daniel, then nagging Amanda, now his father was adding to his stress.

    Ethan pretended not to have heard as he continued listing everything that had to be done. "The sales record, it seems...." He continued talking.

     "Stop." Scott raised his voice as his fingers massaged his temples. His head was beating as his headache grew worse.

    "Excuse me?" Ethan frowned at the interruption.

     "Dad I'm sorry." Scott opened his eyes, looking at his father who was seated. "I can't do this anymore okay? If you try to change my decision..." He paused. "I'll resign."

      Rhonda gasped, "Son..."

   Ethan frowned at him, not daring to break eye contact. "You do know you can't take back that statement you made." He looked intimidating.

     "I know." Scott said without hesitation.

   Ethan could see that Scott had taken a firm decision. He was proud of the man Scott was becoming. He remembered two months ago, Scott couldn't take a simple decision, he was always dependent on the fortune he- Ethan had. So it was easy for Ethan to keep threatening Scott with with disowning and disinheriting him, because he knew Scott couldn't do without luxury.

     "If you resign, if you go against my wish, you do know what will happen right?"

     Scott knew. His Father just had to keep rubbing it in. Disinherited. No trust fund. Cut off from the entire Ontario property. Yes he knew, but he had to take the decision. "I know." Scott was not intimidated by the deadly look his father gave him.

    Ethan was impressed but he made sure it did not change his dead expression. "So," Ethan leaned back on his chair running a line up and down his cheek. "Why this, all of a sudden? How can being engaged to a woman make you decide to go against your family."

     "It is no longer about Amanda, hell, I don't even care about her." Scott placed his hands into his pants pockets. "I have more important things to plan for."

   "Things like what?" Ethan raised a brow.

Scott turned to his mother. "Mom, don't you want to meet your granddaughter?"

  Rhonda's eyes lit as she gaped at Scott.

   Scott turned back to his father. "I want to start afresh, rebuild your trust in me." He said to his father. "I want to be in my daughter's life, and I can't do that if I don't change." Scott spoke with sincerity, even surprising himself.

    "Daughter?" Her face puzzled. "I thought you said it was—"

    "That was my mistake." Scott interrupted his mom, turning to her. "I had a DNA test done on her, it came in positive. I am Isabelle's father." Scott revealed to her.

      "Really?" Rhonda lifted her brows. "So the little girl is really yours?"

   Scott nodded, turning to look at his father whose thoughts he was yet to figure out.

       Ethan sighed. "At least she's an Ontario." He finally said. "When are you bringing her to meet the family?"

    Scott was actually surprised that his father didn't contradict him. "Y-you want to meet her?"

    Rhonda got up immediately. "Of course we want to meet her!" She walked up to Scott. "Is she as pretty as I am?" Rhonda joked.

     "Even prettier." He chuckled at the statement.

   "Good." Rhonda grinned.

     "I have a picture, hold on." He got out his phone immediately from his pants pockets. He scrolled down his gallery to search for the picture.

     Rhonda gasped in awe. "Isabelle is so cute, she really took after you. She looks exactly like you when you were about her age." Rhonda stated as she looked at Isla's photo.

     "I know right." He nodded in acknowledgment.

      "How about the mother? Are things okay between you two?" Ethan asked him.

"No, not yet, but I'm working on it." Scott assured his father.

  Scott was not sure if Anna would give in so easily but he had to try.