August 18th, 1844 

Lillian Carter stood in the ballroom of Lady Metcalf's annual Summer Ball. Though neither of them liked the other, Major James Carter, her husband, was one of Lady Metcalf's family friends. 

Though many young women danced gaily with the (not)gentlemen, Lilly did not envy them. She despised dancing, unless it was with her husband. Quadrilles were boring anyway, and a Gallop wasn't likely to be played at Lady Metcalf's ball. Lilly kept herself busy by looking after her children. Rikkard, as she had predicted, looked remarkably like his real father, though he didn't know that. He had neatly cut black hair, sea colored eyes, but he had his mother's nose and lips. He had just turned four a month ago, but he was exceedingly smart for his age. He knew the alphabet, could count to fifty, and had already started to read. 

However, Rik, as she called him, was incredibly stubborn, and hated going to balls. The only reason he liked going, was the solid chocolate there. Like his mother, he had a fetish for the sweet, milky treats. Her second child, this time with James, was less than a year old. Her birthday was in October, two months from now. Alexandria was clearly her Daddy's girl. She had thick curly brown hair, and deep brown eyes. She was incredibly sweet, and laughed as much as her father. 

At the moment, Lilly was running after her eldest child, leaving her youngest in the arms of her father. Rik kept dashing away to steal pieces of chocolate, however much she tried to stop him. He was getting hyper, and she knew it would take ages to make him go to sleep. "Hey! Get back here Rikkard!" She weaved in and out of the party guests, who knew enough now to move out of her way, lest she barrel through them. She grabbed for the tail end of Rik's tailcoat but he merely shrugged out of the jacket and continued on his way. The boy laughed gaily, he loved being chased by his mother. He glanced back, saw her agitated face, and giggled some more. Victory!! Facing forward again, he yelped and tried to skid to a stop. Due to the slippery, polished stone floor, he crashed straight into a pair of tall legs. 

Lilly gasped, relieved when she saw her son in the hands of a man. Her son was struggling, but the man held fast, studying him intently. "MOM!" Her son yelled, spotting her. The man turned around, and her heart stopped. Mr. Ambrose. 

He looked much as he did since he had left, five years ago. But, Lilly did quick math in her head, he was 33 now, while she was 26. He was as handsome as ever, and his eyes were the mirror image of his son's. She continued walking forward, to meet him. Mr. Ambrose took her in, her blue muslin dress, her figure, and her long hair. Then he turned to the boy he held in his arms. He had her nose, and her lips. Not much else. The boy's hair was black, his skin pale, and his eyes. Oh, his eyes. 

Wordlessly, he moved to a corner of the large ballroom. Nobody else was here, but still he moved behind a Doric style column anyway. Lilly followed him silently, the situation feeling too unreal. She had almost forgotten that five years had passed already, neither had she expected him to be here tonight. 

Her son was glancing at her, eyes wide and scared. Knowing that he would cry unless she comforted him, she raised a hand and swept it down his cheek. "Shh... Rikkard, it's alright. This is Mom's friend, Mr. Ambrose." 

She continued to talk softly to the child in his arms. Mr. Ambrose stared at her face as she did so. He could read her well, after so long, and knew that she was feeling protective. Suddenly, what she said registered in his mind. "Rikkard."  Lilly shot him an imploring look, and Mr. Ambrose gave her Rikkard. The boy immediately clasped his hands around her neck, staring nervously at the much taller man. 

Feeling brave, he said, "You look like me." 

Slowly, Mr. Ambrose nodded. "Yes, I do." 

"Why?" Hurriedly, Lilly broke in, interrupting their conversation.

"Rikkard? Why don't you go look for Daddy? I'll just be right here, with Mr. Ambrose. Go on," giving her son a kiss, she dropped him to the floor and watched as he scampered away, running through the crowds of dancing couples.

Mr. Ambrose stared after the boy with Lilly. Quietly, he asked what he already knew. "Is he mine?" Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Lilly bowed her head. Rage billowed up inside him and he grabbed her arm, pulling her behind him into a small room.

Lilly let herself get dragged along, until finally they stopped inside what appeared to be a coat room. Mr. Ambrose turned around and shut the door. "Who is 'Daddy?'" He growled. 

Lilly glared at the man. How could she ever have missed him? He was so cold and unfeeling! "James Carter, my husband." She saw his pinky finger twitch incessantly at her words. 

"Why didn't you tell me?" His voice was raw, hoarse. "I would have come back for you." 

"No you wouldn't have!" She snapped back. "You just left Mr. Ambrose! Left me there with no clothes in your bed, without even a good bye! Then a month later I found out I was pregnant! I did the only thing I could do, I married someone!" 

"It had to be him?" 

"UGHH! You are infuriating! James has done so much for me and Rikkard! He never told anyone, and he loves your son like a true father! Heck, he was the one he NAMED HIM AFTER YOU!!" Tears had started to leak out of her beautiful irises, Rikkard noticed. He knew that she was distressed, and hastened to comfort her. Plus, he needed to hold her again. Rikkard had just found out he was a father for four years, and had never known. 

He reached forward and pulled her against his hard chest. At first, she resisted but eventually fell limp, her arms coming around his chest as she sobbed. Rikkard stroked her hair softly. "I'm sorry Lillian. I really am." She just sobbed harder, wetting his tailcoat with her tears. 

After a few minutes, Lilly dried her eyes and pulled her head back. She looked up into Mr. Ambrose's stormy eyes. For the first time, Lilly saw true gentleness and love in their depths. On instinct, Lilly stood on her tiptoes and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. Immediately, he tried to draw her as close to him as he could without breaking the crinoline of her dress. Even so, it crunched ominously. 

Sinking down to the balls of her feet, Lillian released his hold around her waist. She raised a hand and stroked his chiseled face, still as handsome as she'd first seen it, 8 years ago. He closed his eyes under her soft touch, opening them again as her hand left his face. 

Lilly could hear the gentle pattering of small feet upon the marble floors and knew her son was coming for her. She looked up once more into the eyes of the man who could have been her husband. "Good-bye." Then she left, closing the door behind her. 

Mr. Ambrose watched through the small slit between the door and the wall as Lillian rejoined her family. That same man from Egypt was there, holding a small child with curling brown hair and her chocolate eyes. She laughed happily as she caught sight of her mother, and raised her arms. Lilly obliged her, and carried her out of James' arms. The man himself swooped down and placed a fleeting kiss on her lips; he fought the urge to reach for his gun and blow his head off. Then his son, Rikkard. He looked exactly like his father, Mr. Ambrose thought with a touch of pride. The small family moved away from him, and Mr. Ambrose watched as the were swallowed up by the crowd, ripping his heart into two. Half of it was held by his son and his mother. The other half was his to keep. 

He took the velvet box from his pocket, looking at the still shining ring inside. Then he closed it. His promise was still there, and he would wait forever for Lillian. 

13 Years Later 

A 46 year old Mr. Ambrose sighed. This year's batch of aspiring secretaries was annoying him. None were even good enough to be shining his shoes, none the less being in charge of his personal files. Especially considering the fact that Mr. Ambrose was likely the richest man in the world. Without a certain ifrit in his life, it seemed that he was more focused on his work. He wondered why. "Mr. Stone! Call the next one in!" 

"Yes sir!" A few minutes later, a tall man in a red coat and black trousers walked in. Mr. Ambrose was unable to see his face, however, as his back was still turned to him. He flipped to a new page, to jot down notes about this next unworthy man. He was still looking down when the man coughed, drawing his attention. Mr. Ambrose looked up, and his face twitched in surprise. 

It appeared that he was looking straight at a mirror. 

"Hello Mr. Ambrose sir, pleasure to meet you." The young man stuck his hand out, expecting for the financial magnate to reach forward and shake it, however he appeared to be frozen. "Pardon me, sir, but is there anything on my face?" 

"No, no, you just look like someone I know. Have a seat." Mr. Ambrose nodded at the seat across from his desk. The young man's face stiffened as his posterior fell into the extremely hard seat. "What is your name?" 

"Rikkard Carter, sir. At your service." His son smiled winningly at him, making his heart twist into a hard knot. It was Lilly's smile. 

"How old are you, Mr. Carter?" 

"Just turned 17! But don't worry, my mother says I'm extremely bright. She was adamant on my mentioning that to you, but I'm not sure why." 

Ah, so Lilly put him up to this. 

"Why do you want this position?" 

"I'm hard working, and I want to build up my own fortune one day. I figured that this would be good experience." Remind you of someone? 

"Well, do you have any experience with the business world?" 

"No, sir, but I could learn. My mother says it's in my blood, but I'm not too sure about that. My father's a Major in the army and I'm not sure what my mother was but I'm sure she wasn't a secretary!" How wrong you are, son. 

"Alright. You're hired." Rikkard Jr. gaped at the richest man in all of Europe. He was hired?! He stood hurriedly, the chair skidding behind him as he hastened to shake his hand. 

"Thanks so much sir! I can't tell you how happy I am!" 

"Be here at 8 o'clock sharp, Mr. Carter. I don't accept tardiness." Rikkard Carter nodded profusely and left in a state of euphoria. He had a job! 

A few minutes later, a giant Mohammedan entered the office of his Sahib. He took in his more than frozen face, and understood immediately what had occurred. 

"The ifrit is smart, Sahib. She knew you could not refuse him." 

"Karim? Leave." 

"Yes, sahib." 

Guys! Thanks so much! In ONE WEEK you gave me a 1K views and almost 100 votes! I know, I know. I'm evil, blah blah blah. But the ending is coming!! One more chapter guys! Love ya!!