Let the past make
you better,
not bitter
-
Buddha

______________

"Hello, Allison Hart here," I answer my phone without checking the caller ID while I instruct Hope about packing my clothes. We're going to Thomas's house today so I have to pack my clothes and all the necessary things that are required. I'm quite eager since Daniel promised me that we'll go for our honeymoon after this week. Finally, my celibacy is going to come to an end.

What will you call the thing that happened yesterday? You cried out his name loud for the whole street to hear.

Shut up!

"Allison," Merlin answers, her voice brushes my thoughts off. My body turns rigid immediately. Her voice filled with panic and she's exhaling hard. Is she okay? That's the first thought that crossed my mind.

"What's wrong?"

"Some social worker is here. With... officers. They have an... an order. They're taking my baby."

Nausea slams into my stomach and I feel like I'm falling. Grappling, grasping for a perch to stop the descent.

"Tell them I'm on my way. They can't take them until your lawyer is there. Just calm down."

"Hurry," she begs in a whisper. And the line goes dead. Hope follows me without a word. Packing and other things can wait. Duty comes first, especially when it's about a child. I text Marcus on my way to Merlin's house, asking him to get there as soon as possible. I might need his help.

When we reach the destination after a journey of fifteen minutes, the first thing I notice is the vehicles that are parked outside Merlin's house. Gavin, the father and his lawyer who is non other than my ex-boss stood there talking to young some officer.

My gaze move towards Clare, the social worker whom I know personally. Must be serious if she's involed. She's talking to Leila, her assistant while Merlin is standing beside them.

I take a moment to analyse Merlin, she looks tired and weak, tears rolling down her eyes. Her little boy, hugging her legs —crying.

Jesus!

I take a deep breathe, forcing my expression to turn professional as I march towards Clare. Clare smiled when she notices me but that vanishes when she catches the seriousness on my face.

"I'm Merlin's attorney," I tell her. Surprise flashes across her face, she gives me a small nod. "I would like to know about the reason why this is happening."

Clare nods again. "This isn't my decision. Order from the top. Mr. Gavin reported us an incident where the mother, Merlin is seen in a club hitting a guy in front of the child. Exposing her child to violence, taking the child to a night club are the issues questioned and considering that the neighborhood isn't safe, we'd to take actions. The father's concerns were verified and we are planning to hand over the child to the father in the presence of the officers."

I take few seconds to get the information into my head. I take a letter she gives me. Negligence! That's the offence. Exposing a child to violence especially when the custody case is going on is not helpful.

"You can't do that," I say frankly, my eyes fixed on Clare.

She raised her eyebrows. "Pardon?"

I rub my temple with my point finger before taking a small step towards Clare. "The custody case is going on and Mr. Clark is being alleged of abuse so sending a small child with him is not acceptable. The consequences wouldn't be good, Clare."

"He's Adrian's parent ."

"So is Merlin," I point out. "When her child is being taken away from her without a warning then most definitely you cannot give the child to a father who has been accused of abuse and criminal behavior." My words come out sharper than I intended but Clare gets the point. She takes few seconds to think before nodding her head.

"We'll arrange a place."

I nod. Clare would make sure that Adrian is safe until tomorrow. I'm not going to wait for another two days for the hearing, I'm going to request for an emergency hearing.

"Can I talk to Adrian?"

Surprise flashes across Clare's face again but she covers it up immediately. I can't blame her entirely, I've never taken personal interest in a child's case, especially a family case.

"I'm sorry I can't allow that."

I shake my head in annoyance. "You can, Clare. I'm not going to eat him. Trust me, I had my breakfast."

A chuckle escapes from her as she mutters something under her breathe. "You have five minutes."

I give her a small smile, thanking her internally. I turn my attention towards Merlin who's with Hope now. Adrian is standing with Leila, looking at the ground.

I grin brightly as I step towards the little boy, kneeling down. "Hey handsome," I call out, holding out my hand. The small raises his head and I notice his green eyes filled with tears. "Hold my hand and I'll tell you a plan to stay with your mother forever."

His eyes lights up. "You will?"

I nod my head and within seconds, he shakes my hand with his soft small ones. "I'm Allison, your savior. I look like an angel, right?"

Are you serious right now?

His eyes runs over my white power suit. "You look pwetty."

See? The boy gets the point.

You got to be kidding me!

"I know right." I pull him closer by holding his shoulders. "Now listen, buddy. We're playing a game here."

"Really?" His big green eyes widens in amusement.

"Yup! If we both win then you get to stay with your mom forever and I buy you your favorite toy. Got it?"

He looks at me as if he's thinking something hard. "What should I do?" Smart small guy!

"You have to stay away from your mom for a day. Until tomorrow morning."

Tears fills in his eyes again and my heart sinks. His warm little body crashes against me, arms wrapping, holding on for life. His voice is muffled against my neck, but I hear every word. "I get to stay with my mom after that?"

I wrap my arms around him, holding him closer to him. "Yes."

"Pwomise?"

"Promise," I mutter, my hands roaming over his head.

"Will Papa hurt Mummy?" My body freezes. My eyes meets Clare's blue ones. Her eyes turns wide, her body rigid like mine.

"No, baby. I'm an angel, remember?"

He pulls away from me, giving me a serious nod. "Mom told me once you will save us."

I give him a huge grin. "Yup buddy! We're friends. You're big boy so no tears," I tell him, wiping his tears with my hands.

After ten minutes, Leila takes Adrian away from Merlin. Merlin manages to remain calm while Leila loads Adrian inside the car. Adrian's eyes fills with tears.

I smile at him. "Big boy," I mutter. He nods his head, wiping his face and smiling at Merlin.

"I'm taking him," Gavin shouts, taking a step towards the car. Clare steps forward, her eyes cold.

"You can't take him. We're keeping him with us until the next hearing."

"Mr. Gavin is the father here and he has all rights to take his child to home," Samuel, my ex-boss says in his authoritive voice.

Clare didn't bulge from his sharpness, she stood her ground as she replied, "Mr. Lane, your client has a case going on the court regarding abuse and criminal offense so we can't send the child with him unless you've a court order."

A smile tugs at the corner of my lips.

"You can't do that. We've the right to take the child with us. She is trying to fuc-"

"I'm the one in charge here so I would ask you to mind your tone. I don't care who you are, I'm doing my duty. My superior officer ordered me to take the child away from the mother as soon as possible. He didn't ask me to hand the child to you. You've to wait until you get a court order. See you later." Clare doesn't wait for their words as she turns towards me. She gives me a small nod indicating that she'll take care of things.

I look at Gavin who is staring at Merlin. I ignore him as I turn my attention towards Merlin who's leaning against Marcus with tears in her eyes. As soon as the van disappears, Merlin's face crumbles. A gasp escapes from her throat and she hides her face in her open palms. Marcus puts his hands on her shoulders as she screams. Slowly the screams turns into sobs.

Her knees give out, and Marcus catches her. Marcus gives me a small nod as he guides her back to her house. I can see the softness and care he has for her but I don't question it since I know this isn't the right moment.

"You can do something, right?" Hope asks, begging me with her eyes.

I don't respond to her because right now I ain't sure enough to give her an answer.

I pushed the last of my clothes into the small suitcase and bit my lip as I struggled with the zipper. Damn bag, why couldn't it adjust a little?

"Ryan, come here, I need your help." I called out for my laziest cousins in-law who was sitting on the couch in my room with his feet up and a big pack of chips in his hands.

"I'm tired, try it for yourself." He answers back in his usual lazy tone.

"You stupid, help me," I shout at the top of my voice. "I'm can't close it."

"Why in the world are you shouting?" I turn my head to see my husband standing in his glory. He's wearing a black suit which fitted him very well.

Why is he so hot? He doesn't have the right to be this hot. My eyes can't stay focused on something else other than him.

"If you are done checking me out then start speaking up." I close my eyes briefly to control myself myself.

Concentrate Ally.

"H-he is not helping me to close my bag." I complain with a pout on my lips and point at Ryan who is narrowing his eyes at me.

"She is lazy," retorts Ryan making me frown.

I'm not lazy.

Sarcasm doesn't suit you babe!

Daniel stares at Ryan and sighs. He then turns his gaze towards me. "Well if you have used your brain and brought a bigger bag then you could have saved us some precious time and effort."

I glare at him. "Point noted, now instead of praising my not used brain, try to help me." He rolls his eyes before taking a step towards me.

I gasp when he holds my hand, pulls me towards him. My right hand rests on Daniel's shoulder while he holds my left hand, his other hand came in contact with my waist. His eyes biting into my skin making my heart race. He let go of my left hand, placing it on the left side of my waist. Now both his hands were placed on my waist.

He gave a squeeze on my waist causing a small voice to escape from my throat. Suddenly, I was airborne, my grip on his shoulder tightened, my feet off the ground. It took a moment for me to realize that Daniel had swept me up and placed me on the top of the bag.

I opened my mouth in shock. He then started pulling the zipper, surprisingly the zipper moves softly and the bag is packed perfectly. "Done." I breathed out a heavy sigh as I got up from the bag and stood up on my feet.

"Well that was a quiet a show." I scowled at Ryan who was now smirking at me.

"Shut up," I muttered with a frown.

"If you're done with your nonsense then better get ready. We have to leave. The more you get time the better you can deal with the case tomorrow."

I give him an amused look, thinking how he knew about the case. I relax when I realize Hope must have told him.

I shake my head as I move towards my closet. I pulled out my jeans and green crop top. It was simple and since its a long journey, this would be perfect and comfortable. I grabbed a pair of shoes and green earrings. I tied my hair into a pony tail and stared at my reflection in the mirror. Perfect!

I walked out to meet Daniel who was busy typing something in his phone and Ryan still eating his chips. I slowly took my steps towards Ryan and grabbed the chips from the pack.

"You greedy woman, how dare you?" He roared, I ignored his comments while I tasted the chips.

"I just ate few." He glares at me as I give the pack back to him.

"Stop it, kids are far better than you both," Daniel complains, throwing angry daggers at us.

I stalk towards him, encircled my arms around his neck. "How do I look, hubby?" I ask, pressing my body against him.

He stared at me for a while. "As usual," he paused and a smirk appeared on his lips. He moved towards my ear and whispered, "like a bossy girl."

I glared at him before hitting him on his chest. He caught my hands and stopped me from hitting him. Suddenly I was being lifted from the floor and I realized that he was carrying me in his back. My eyes widened in surprise.

"Put me down you self-cent-"

"Language Mrs. Avery."

Mrs. Avery? Hmm mm... That sounds good.

Since when did you started enjoying someone acknowledging you as Mrs.? asked my little inner voice.

Since the moment he did so.

Suddenly, I found myself inside the car. I look at Daniel who closes the door, walks around the car and slides inside the driver seat.

"Where is Ryan?" I ask once he settled in.

"He will come in another car since he have some work to finish. Just shut that mouth of yours."

"You're are a blo-"

"Complete that sentence and you wouldn't be able to walk properly for a weak."

It takes my huge brain few seconds to understand what he actually meant. My cheeks turn red immediately. The seriousness in his voice tells me it's better if I shut my mouth.

Are you really planning to stop calling him those names?

Definitely not, its just for now.

Right!

"Looks like we're running late," I comment, checking the time on my watch.

"I was never late, it's you who took long time. Wear the seat belt."

I shook my head. "No I won't." I turned my head away from him and stared outside the car.

Suddenly I felt a hand pulling the seat belt. I turned to see Daniel pulling the seat belt. "Did anyone ever tell you that you have a smart mouth which could put you in danger?"

"Oh yes, I have been told this many times and I know well that I'm great." He stares at me for a while, moves forward and pressed his lips on the crook of my neck making me gasp.

"You..you-" I was cut off by his finger on my lips.

"Shut up," he whispers slowly, replacing his finger with his lips.

Oh boy!

I immediately respond to his kiss but he pulls away quickly. "If you open your mouth again then I will have to shut your mouth like this," he informs before starting the engine.

Giving him a sweet grin, I spoke, "Well... I think I should open my mouth often since I like your way of... shutting me up." He turned his head towards me and I winked at me.

He rolls his eyes, turns his gaze towards the road. "She is really something," he mutters under his breathe making me chuckle.

Oh hubby, only if you really knew what I'm capable of...

"Allison"

"Hmm" I frowned not opening my eyes.

"Allison"

"Get lost," I mumbled clearing my throat with my eyes still closed.

"Wake up Allison." I felt a soft touch on my skin and I smacked my lips together.

"Allison, wake up." I groaned, opened my eyes and saw Daniel who was sitting beside me on the driver seat, staring at me with a smile.

So he knows to smile.

Of course... If the simple gesture of lips curving upward is known as smile... Then you're right he is smiling.

Inner voices are really annoying sometimes.

"You know," Daniel began to speak as he removed my seat belt. "You sleep like a log."

I frowned. "A girl needs her beauty sleep. Don't you dare comment on it." He rolls his eyes.

A smile touches my lips again. Every time he rolls his eyes, I see a carefree side of him which he kept hidden for long. I feel the importance of my decisions.

I yanked open the door, slids out easily. My eyes catches the sight of the huge mansion. I wasn't surprised to see the huge mansion as I had already expected something like this. Looks like my parents home, the same homely vibe. The only hope is that people living here are not cold-hearted like my parents. Daniel got out of the car, walked towards me and stood beside me. The sky had turned darker which confirmed that its already night.

"Let's go inside." He said and entered the mansion as if he owned it. Why can't he ring the bell and wait? Where the hell are his manners?

You better follow him or you're going to get lost.

I think you're right. Without wasting another second, I followed Daniel. I find him standing in the center of the living room. I led my way towards him and stood beside him.

"Daniel," a voice greeted Daniel warmly.

The voice belonged to a man who was nearly as tall as Daniel but slightly shorter and thinner. He had black hair with few grey and has crease marks around his eyes. He was casually dressed in black sweats and a white shirt with two buttons opened. The man was in his mid fifties, I guess but he still looked handsome. It reminds me of Judge who looks like he's still in his thirties.

"Thomas," Daniel greeted back warmly. I stared at the old man and suddenly he turned towards me. His lips curved upward showing a smile.

"So this must be your beautiful wife." The man spoke, it didn't sound like a question but more like a statement.

"You're right, this is Allison, my wife," Daniel replies and then turned towards me. "Ally, this is Mr. Drolenzie, my father's best friend and he's like my second father." The way Daniel spoke clearly showed how important is Mr. Drolenzie for him.

"Mr. Drolenzie, its a pleasure to meet you." I smiled politely.

"Ah, the pleasure is all mine dear. You can call me Thomas. Daniel has not made mistake in choosing a perfect wife." He laughed easily but before I could respond Daniel muttered in a low voice, "I really doubt that." I glared at him.

"I'm sure you both must be tired so Daniel take your wife to her room. I'll ask the maid to carry your luggage to your room." I nodded my head looking up at him. I was actually looking for an excuse to sleep.

Daniel led me to our room and it was as huge as my room back at my mansion. Soon, the maids brought our luggage and walked out of the room. Without wasting another second, I jumped on the bed and stretched both my hands sideways and closed my eyes.

"Ally, change your dress." I scowled hearing his order. Is there a damn rule to change your dress before you sleep?

Yes! For people who know what is cleanliness.

I opened my eyes and sat on the bed with my legs pulled to my chest, my chin resting on my knees. I see Daniel walking inside a room which I assume is the bathroom.

One week and few missions to accomplish.

1. Deal with tomorrow's case. Make sure Adrian is safe.

2. To be a loving wife in front of Thomas and his family.

3. Find out about the shareholders.

4. Throw Annabelle out of my husband's life.

5. Check my work.

Last one is a bit twisted. I don't know why but I have this vibe of something going wrong. After I was back from Merlin's house today, Greta called me to inform that Mr. Leo who had been my client for past one year has decided to close deals with my firm.

At the same time, Hope told me that Mr. Moorehead — another important client— wanted to talk to me personally. I instructed her to give him my personal number since only family has it. Ben is out of town since his mother is sick so it's just Adam and Cassy.

Greta told me that Cassy isn't there at the office for the past few days. Something seems off. Did I make a mistake by taking a vacation suddenly? I trusted my friends to do the right thing and I knew they were capable but right now, I'm not sure anymore.

Sometimes instincts are much strongers than belief.

I turn my attention towards my other tasks. First one is tricky. I need to refer it once more. Merlin told me that the guy was trying to grab her and she hit him in a way of self defense but again there's no proof. Exposing a child to violence is huge in a custody case and moreover, it's Samuel who's dealing with it. We never worked on a case together before but I know how good he's at custody cases while I never worked on a family case before.

Second one sounds good but I'm sure Thomas already knows something. I knew it the way he stared at me. It wasn't the happiness that Daniel married someone. He knew something.

Third is an important one. Finding Daniel's shareholders and convincing them is tough. If I cross that one then it isn't difficult to manage Annabelle.

Fourth and the most important and difficult and dangerous and confusing and stupid job is to throw Annabelle out.

How many times will you use an 'and' in a sentence?

As many times as I like it. Now you shut up.

As if I'll ever listen...

Shut up

These inner voices are really annoying nowadays. Well back to our topic -- Annabelle.

Daniel has been hiding few things about her. I'm not sure what but there's something. I'll get the report from Marcus by tomorrow which will help me better. What I don't get is, why Annabelle is wasting her time with Daniel? He's not the only male species in his world then why? She is an intelligent and gorgeous woman who can have any men then why in the world is she behind Daniel. He is not that handsome anyway.

Suddenly the bathroom's door opens revealing Daniel, he walks out just wearing a sweatpants. I gulped seeing him shirtless.

Not so handsome?

Shut up!