Diana's POV

Thanksgiving dinner came earlier than I had ever wanted it to. But if I am being honest, I didn't want the day to come at all. I dreaded facing Charlotte, especially after being aware that she knows Aaron and I broke up. Shelly seems to tell her daughter everything, even though the secrets aren't hers to tell. I don't blame her, I would never hide anything from Emily either but considering how Charlotte and I are together, she could spare a few details.

Charlotte had always been the bully in my life, the one who knew exactly how to hit a nerve and drag me down with her false accusations, often making me question myself even though there was never anything to doubt in the first place. She has been the cruel monster in my life since as long as I can remember but the sad part is, she has always been loved by everyone. She's the pampered girl by my relatives, especially after the Nate scandal and me being pregnant. A lot of people cut off ties with me, but none of that ever mattered to me, except a few. A few important ones.

"Momma!" Emily calls out for me from the living room and I quickly zip up my dress before looking at myself in the mirror for one last time.

I settled for a simple white dress, not wanting to put more effort than necessary to make myself presentable. After stepping into my heels and collecting my clutch, I get out in the hallway. As soon as I step in the living room, I groan loudly when my eyes land on my daughter. Her whole face is smudged with chocolate as she sits by the coffee table, obviously finding some from under it.

"Gosh, Em! We're already late and look at you." I scold her, taking ahold of her hand and leading her to the bathroom.

I make her sit by the counter as I wet a towel and start cleaning her face while she stares back at me with her big eyes. "You sad." She states, as if it's a universal truth and I stare back at her.

"Not sad, I am mad.. at you! What did I tell you about cavaties? I already let you slip out of brushing your teeth two times, this is really pushing the limits this time." I tell her, meaning it and she pouts.

Nope, nada! Not working this time. "Sorry." She apologizes and I sigh a little.

"No more skipping night brushing from now onwards." I say, my voice filled with decisiveness, enough for her to know that there's no room for argument.

She doesn't say anything more as I quickly change her out of her dirty clothes and into a flower print dress. Her blonde hair start sticking out so I take the comb and run through it her hair once before leading her out in the living room and collecting my pair of keys.

I lock the apartment behind myself and take ahold of Emily's hand as we walk to the elevator. She stays quiet as we reach the car and even for the rest of the drive. If she's pissed at me for making her brush twice a day, then so be it. Sometimes you have to be stern with your child, otherwise they turn into a brat. And as much as I love my daughter, I can't handle her being the type of girl who knows nothing about limits and control.

"Anything on your mind?" I ask as we reach Marcel's penthouse building and give my car for the valet.

"You." She says as we get in the elevator and I look at her with a frown.

"What about me?" I question, wanting to know what's going on with her.

"You sad, mommy!" She says, again and I shake my head, not wanting to respond to her and thankful when we reach the penthouse apartment and step out in the foyer.

The smell of the food immediately hit my nostrils as I remove my overcoat and ask Emily if she wants to remove her jacket but she shakes her head so I put mine on the coat stand. Just then Charlotte comes to stand in front of me, her arms crossed across her chest as she gives me an annoyed look.

"Well, I see you didn't care to bring any food to add." She says, her voice immediately giving me a headache.

I shrug at her, "What did you bring?" I ask.

"It's my parents' house. I don't need to bring anything."

"Exactly." I smirk at her as I take Emily's hand and get to the living room.

Marcel and Shelly immediately stand up to greet us and Emily lets out a happy squeal when Marcel picks her off the ground and gives her a hug.

"Gramps!" She giggles and Shelly look at them adoringly.

"How are you, Dee?" Uncle Marcel asks me and I give him a smile.

"We both are great, how are you guys doing?"

"Good, great!" Shelly says before she moves aside from the couch and my eyes fall on the rest of the company we have. "Dee, you must remember Paul." She starts and the man stands up and offers me his hand which I shake with a fake smile on my face.

Honestly, I don't remember him. He's dating the girl who ruined my life, what do you expect?

"Diana." I say, introducing myself.

"Nice to meet you."

Do I detect a hint of a british accent? I smile amusedly as I look back at Charlotte who's giving Paul a look, obviously pissed that he tried being nice to me. We all take a seat on the couch as I am introduced to Paul's parents. Gretta and Liam. Honestly, they seem like nice people, and I wonder what the hell are they doing with someone like Charlotte. Maybe she knows how to put on a nice façade.

"So, how old are you Emily?" Paul asks my daughter who's looking at the new faces curiously.

"Three." She says, holding up three fingers and I smile at her, giving her an approving look.

"Well, do you go to school?" He asks and she nods.

"Yes."

"Do you like it?"

She looks undecided for a second before speaking, "A little." She pouts and tries to hide her face behind me as she scoots closer and I smile at her as I pull her to my lap and she wraps her tiny arms around me.

"You're a very young mother." Gretta states and my nerves immediately start to grow.

Oh god, not this! I don't mind Emily meeting new people on occasions like this, but I know we both hate it when they start questioning things. She fidgets in my lap a little and I lightly stroke her hair, comforting her.

"Yup." I nod, not wanting to explain any further.

"Will her father be joining us a little late?" Liam questions and Emily tightens her arms around me as she refuses to look at anyone anymore.

I take a deep breath, sitting up straight a little as I give him a small smile, "I am a single mother, I think I love her too much to share her with anyone." I say, obviously making my daughter smile and them shut their mouths.

Paul's parents nod and thankfully move to another topic of discussion. I have no idea what they are doing here in the first place, let alone investigating about my personal life. Trust me, I get the curiosity it builds inside people when they see that I have a three year old daughter at the age of twenty one myself, I would be curious too, but there's a line of respecting privacy and sometimes people don't think before crossing it.

"Dinner will be ready in five." The housemaid comes to tell Shelly who nods happily before leading everyone to the dining table.

Gretta offers to help Shelly in serving the food while Emily doesn't even let me stand up, holding tight on my hand. I give her an assuring smile and she relaxes a little in her seat. After the food is set up on the table, everyone starts filling their plates and I scoot by Emily's side.

"What do you want to eat, babe?" I ask and she points at fried potato bites and I think about it for a minute before filling a few in her plate. "What else?" I ask and she points at mini rolls and I give her a look.

"No turkey?" I ask and she shakes her head so I shrug before offering her the food plate and she slowly starts eating while I fill my plate as well.

Marcel fills in a glass of wine for me and I look at him, "Emily?" I mouth and he shrugs before passing it to me and I smile at him before shaking my head.

I don't drink around her, ever. That is one of my rules of being a mother, never have alcohol in presence of your child. I am in no way a lighthead, and maybe this rule makes me a hypocrite because I like to drown in alcohol whenever sorrow and grief overwhelms me, but a rule is a rule nonetheless.

"Soda, then?" He asks and I nod.

"One for her too." I say and Emily gives me a wide grin.

As we all clean our plates, the dessert is served soon. Pumpkin pie. Ofcourse! I sigh as Marcel clinks his glass of wine with a fork and grabs everyone's attention.

"I am aware that we usually do this before food, but I would like everyone to say a few words about what they are thankful for this year before we move on to the dessert." He says and everyone nods, grinning at each other while I roll my eyes and Emily giggles at my reaction.

My daughter understand me, and she finds me funny. What else do I need in my life?

"I would like to start, I am thankful for these beautiful people I have in my life whom I get to call family. I know they will be there for me every step of the way." Marcel finishes.

Everyone starts speaking turn by turn and soon every eye turns towards me and I glare at Shelly who's grinning, looking at me expectedly, "Do I have to?" I look between her and Marcel who nod, obviously not taking no for an answer.

"Well, there's nothing I am thankful for, but I am thankful to Uncle Marcel and Aunty Shelly for being the most supportive family, more than I deserve. And to this little angel by my side, she's the most precious person." I smile at her and she jumps out of her seat to hug me and I laugh.

"Easy, baby!" I say, hugging her back and she giggles.

"What are you thankful for, Em?" Shelly asks her and she looks at me.

"For her. For momma!" She grins and I kiss her forehead.

God, why the hell is everyone staring at us with teary eyes? It's more than awkward, so I don't bother to look at them. When Charlotte clears her throat, for once, I mentally thank her for taking the attention off of me. This kind of emotional attention makes me nauseous, honestly.

"I am thankful for Paul," she starts giving him a small peck before continuing, "And for our wedding in four weeks." She grins, looking at everyone as Paul takes ahold of her hand.

What?

I frown as I look at everyone, expecting to see grinning faces but both Paul and her parents' faces are stretched with utter surprise. Shelly is the first one to break, she immediately tears up but then smiles at her daughter and everyone else just follows suit.

"We're so happy for you! We thought it was never going to happen." Gretta says and Paul laughs.

"Trust me, I thought this one wasn't easy to get hitched to. But then we finally set a date four.. well, more like three weeks from now." He tells everyone while I just sit there with a shock on my face.

Charlotte is getting married. The evil bitch is getting married. This isn't the first time I am hearing about it, but just setting a date feels too real. Does she even deserve it? Well, I don't know about her, but Paul sure as hell deserves it. He looks at her like she represents his whole fucking world.

"We are going to have a big fat wedding." She grins, clapping her hands and slightly glances at me, giving me a wink as she smirks a little.

Fuck.

I know that look, and I know exactly what's going on in her head this time. I don't even have to calculate her moves, because this is something inevitable, I can't change this situation. Well, of course, I can skip her wedding but Marcel and Shelly will be beyond pissed if I do that.

I am doomed!

"Emily, would you like to be the flower girl at our wedding?" Charlotte asks my daughter.

I am about to open my mouth and tell her there's no fucking way she's going to be a part of her wedding but then I look at Emily and gulp down the words in my mouth. Her whole face is lightening up at her question and she nods, eagerly and both Paul and Charlotte look ecstatic. Paul seems genuinely happy while Charlotte seems like she can't wait for this whole thing to unfold.

She knows exactly how this is going to effect me, and she's aware that I have absolutely no say in this, neither have the power to control it.

"Momma, flaar-gal." Emily grins at me and I nod, giving her a smile.

"Thank you for asking her, Paul.. Charlotte."

They both just nod at me and everyone starts gushing about how amazing the wedding is going to be. I start picking at my dessert but then look at Emily who's staring at me with her big eyes, observing my every move. Immediately, I put a smile on my face and offer her a small piece of pumpkin pie which she happily eats.

After everyone finishes their dessert, I pick Emily from my lap and move her to the other chair as I stand to help Shelly a little with cleaning the table. I don't usually offer such help, but I need to keep my mind busy otherwise it would soon explode with the thoughts pouring out as a lava. Gretta and Shelly have already cleaned up most of the mess and are on their fourth glass of wine as they chatter in the kitchen.

With dirty dishes in my hand, I make my way to the kitchen and suddenly stop walking when I hear the mention of my name.

"Where are Diana's parents?" Gretta asks, obviously catching Shelly off-guard who chokes on her drink.

She composes herself and puts a smile on her face, "They.. uh..-"

Before she can complete the sentence I speak up, "They are dead." I say, moving forward as I keep the dishes in the sink and both of them stare at me.

"Diana." Shelly gapes at me and I stare right back at her, challenging her to say anything that would cause complications.

"Oh, I am so sorry dear." Gretta says, pity clear in her voice and I stop myself from scoffing.

"That's okay, it's almost been four years." I shrug and walk out of the kitchen.

I hate people giving me fake sympathy, I don't need it. And most of all, I don't want to talk about my parents, ever. That's just one of the things that has always been off-limits for me and it will always remain that way. I sigh as I notice that everyone has yet again moved to the couches and Emily is sitting in Paul's lap, smiling as they converse. I don't mind him as much as his fiancée, he doesn't give the same negative vibes.

When Paul notices my presence, he smiles at me, "Your daughter is adorable, Ms. Rose." He says and I beam back at him.

"Thanks, Paul. Although I will have to steal her back from you now." I say and look at Emily, "Come babe, time to go home."

She pouts a little and everyone starts looking at me but Marcel is the one who speaks up, "Stay a little?"

"No, that's fine. We've to stop by Ella's on the way. I'll see you in office on monday." I give him a small smile and he nods.

"Con-Con." Emily says loud enough for me to hear and her pout is now turned into a huge grin.

She loves those two dorks just as much as I do, even though her favourite man in the world happens to annoy the shit out of me. I tell everyone goodbye and congratulate Paul and Charlotte before grabbing my coat and leaving the penthouse.

As soon as I step out of the building, I let out a huge breath of relief and take in the fresh air. God, I hate family dinners. After I get my car, I tuck Emily under the seatbelt and start the heat for her to get warm before I start driving. Her nose has turned pink from the cold air and she keeps looking at me throughout the drive before I hear her breaths turning heavy. On the redlight, I look over to her and she's fast asleep. An involuntary smile takes over my features at the sight and my mood lightens up a bit.

Honestly, I am freaking out from inside as I make my way to Ella's apartment because Aaron happens to live in the same building. It's scary to even think about, and is making me so anxious just at the thought of running into him. I want to see him again, but I hate how things ended between us. I always knew we wouldn't last, but I also thought the reason would be me doing something, not him, never him. That's how much I trusted him.

Dr. Brown seems to think that I am more hurt at the disappointment I feel towards Aaron for betraying me rather than the thought of him kissing Lizzy. I started seeing Dan again, I had to, I couldn't go down the old path of misery especially with Emily by my side. I am in therapy again, even though it's just been two sessions till now but it calms me. People are scared at the thought of seeking help from a psychotherapist because they are afraid of the tags that society will put them under, and mostly because they fear opening up to a complete stranger. But the way I look at it, you can either run from your problem or face them straight on. I prefer the latter, especially because we have so many complete strangers in the world, and their job is to simply not judge us.

Ella agreed to babysit Emily while I had my weekly sessions, and sometimes I wonder where I would be if it weren't for Connor and her. They help me a lot with her, and I can see them having a family of their own someday. I am positive that they'll make great parents!

After parking my car, I move to Emily's side and slowly unbuckle her before carrying her in my arms and locking the car behind me as I make my way to their apartment. She lightly breathes on my shoulder and I hold my breath throughout the way I walk in the lobby and the elevator opens. A couple storms out, and I close my eyes, hoping for it to not stop at the second floor.

When it doesn't and the elevator slides open at the fourth floor, I let out a breath of relief and walk out, knocking on Ella's apartment door. She takes her time opening it and seems surprised to see me.

"Hey girl!" She says, moving to hug to me and I give her a side hug, Emily squeezing between us.

"Ella, who is it?" I hear Connor's loud voice and wince immediately as I enter inside.

"Shush! She's sleeping." I whisper, glaring at him and he gives me a sheepish smile.

He stands from the couch and places a quick peck on my cheeks before moving behind me to look at my sleeping daughter. His hand moves to her cheek and I immediately swat it away.

"Don't you dare wake her up." I warn him and he pouts like a baby at me.

"But I haven't met her in so long, I miss her." He says, giving me a puppy dog eye and I smile a little.

"You met her last week, Con."

He rolls his eyes before going to watch the television and Ella gives me a smile as I move to their guest room to put Emily to bed. Thankfully, she isn't wearing something that will make her uncomfortable to sleep. I just quickly remove her jacket and then pull a blanket on her. Ella stands by the door as she looks at the two of us and I smile down at Emily's angelic face before moving out of the room.

"How was the dinner?" Ella asks once we get in the living room and I shake my head, catching Connor's attention as well.

"She's getting married." I say and they both give me a confused look.

"Emily? Shelly?" Connor speaks and earns a rightful glare from me.

"Charlotte." I state.

"Which idiot agreed to have a funeral right after the wedding?" He says and I laugh.

"Paul." I rub my temples and then mention, "It's going to be a big fat wedding."

They both take their time to grasp what I really mean by it, and as soon as they do, Ella takes my hand in hers, giving it a little squeeze. Connor frowns at my statement and then looks me in the eye, obviously trying to understand how I feel.

"You don't have to go, you know that right?" Ella says and I scoff.

"They asked Em to be the flower girl."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Connor says, his tone harsh as ever. He's mad, I can tell just by his expressions.

"No, and she seemed so happy, you know? She loved the idea of being the part of the wedding and I just couldn't ask her to say no. She's a baby after all, she doesn't understand everything."

Connor shakes his head in disappointment and Ella wraps her arms around me and I sigh. "It will be okay, you're strong enough to go through one lame wedding." She tells me and I nod, hoping for her words to be true.

"Can I ask you guys a huge favour?" I start and they look at me.

"Yes, anything." Ella says.

"I want to go get some air, just look after her. I know you both do that a lot already, but I will be back within some time. I just really need..." I falter off and Connor rolls his eyes.

"Go, get drunk. We'll make sure she's okay." He grins at me and I give him a small smile.

Before leaving, I peek into the bedroom to make sure she's still asleep and move to give her a quick kiss on the forehead before collecting my clutch and making my way out of the apartment. Ella promises to call me anytime Emily wakes up and I sigh, thanking them both.

As I start my car, I know exactly where I am going, driving down the Brooklyn Bridge, I make my way to the only bar where I go to drown in my sorrows. I sigh as I park my car and get out, slamming the door shut behind me.

"Bourbon, please!" I say as I take a seat by the bar and the bartender nods at me.

The place is quite occupied, considering it's thanksgiving. Maybe, a late night party is what everyone needs to get over lame family dinners. Honestly, Marcel and Shelly are my family and that's the only reason I tolerate Charlotte's ass sometime.

After what seems like four drinks, the bartender passes me a lemon soda and I frown at him, "I didn't ask for this. Refill my drink, buddy." I say and he gives me a smile.

"Someone bought you that drink." He says and I frown.

Why would any guy in his right mind would buy a girl lemon soda in a bar full of alcohol?

I look around before glancing at the bartender again, "Who was it?" I ask and he shrugs, pointing towards the opposite side.

He moves away and I nod, looking for the person and as soon as my eyes land on him, I freeze in my seat. His eyes immediately meet mine and my heart seems to stop beating at the sight of him and I gulp, trying to move out of the trance or even questioning my sanity. But then he gives me a small, almost apologetic smile. 

That smile.

Aaron.

What the fuck is he doing here?