《My daughter wants a Mommy》 Prolouge ¡°What type of attitude is this?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t marry. Even if I did it would be the man of my choice.¡± *Slap* A sudden slap from her father had stunned Eva. Though her mother was against Eva, she had never expected sudden outburst from her husband. ¡°What are you going to do? Marry that useless bum with that extra luggage?¡± Her father''s voice thundered inside the room. ¡°Father, you shouldn¡¯t force my sister-in-law.¡± The word voiced the consent of the bearer, yet looking at the grin at the face of her sister-in-law all Eva could do was clench her fist. ¡°Force her? Yes, I should have been more strict to her. So that I didn¡¯t have to see such a day.¡± Eva¡¯s father, Rayn could only sigh. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t force her. She might be in love.¡± Those words of concern infuriated him more. ¡°LOVE?¡± Rayn charged towards Eva, grabbed her wrist and dragged her into the room. ¡°From today you don¡¯t need to go to university. You don¡¯t need to do any show. You will just stay home until your engagement.¡± Eva was furious. She had never expected that his father would resort to such behaviour. She was hurt, never had she expected that there would be a day when her father would sell her as a business deal. But most of all she was worried. ¡®Will he miss me if I don¡¯t return? Will he look for me? Should I tell him?¡¯ She shook her head, ¡®He will just say that Lily was missing me.¡¯ Even the smile that appeared with the thought was too painful for her. Tears welled up in her eyes as her phone rang. ¡®Lily? Why did she call me now?¡¯ Before she could decide what to do, someone snatched her phone away. ¡°Give it back,¡± Eva screamed. ¡°Sister-in-law, you shouldn¡¯t be like this. Father will be very angry if he hears about it¡± ¡°Give it back.¡± She pounced towards her, yet before she could reach her, Eva¡¯s sister-in-law had left the room. ¡°Don¡¯t worry sister-in-law, I will keep it safe.¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°Give it to me. Just let me talk to her once more. I will give it back.¡± Alas! Her plea fell to the deaf ears. Yet neither of them had noticed that the call had been received. Night 9:45 p.m. "Will that boy be good for our daughter?" Ryan couldn''t help but frown at such a silly question of his wife, "If he is not good then who will be?" "But those rumours¡­" "What rumours? He is the upcoming face of the entertainment industry, his father is the member of parliament, her mother is the director of SMH group of industries, do you think the reporters will be gossiping about us, if not them?" "But¡­" "No but. Mr¡­" *Boom* *boom* "What was that?" Both of them were confused as the slamming continued. Before they could come down the banging stopped with a thunderous quake that shook the whole mansion. "What are you doing?" Ryan shouted, looking at the four hooligans. They were carrying crowbars, baseball bats. The shattered door behind them was the result of their action. "Security, security," Ryan shouted, yet nobody answered. "What do you think they just let us in? The only place they will be going to now is the hospital." "What are you doing? Do you know who I am?" Ryan clenched his fist as he shouted again. "Do you know who I am?" Yet one of the hooligans shouted back at him. Dazed from the unexpected outburst from the intruder Rayn shook his head. However, the man broke into hysterical laughter at the next moment, "If you don''t know me then how are you expecting me to know you?" "You?!" The veins popped up on his forehead but before he could scream again, the man continued, "Big boss wants to ask you something." "Big boss?" He tried to find the one called the big boss and around the same time, an unarmed man of the group came forward, "Where is Eva?" "YOU?!" He had seen his picture before but it was the first time meeting him face to face, "It''s you bastard. I am going to kill you." Ryan charged at him like a raging bull yet he was blocked. The punch he had thrown had never reached its target. The man grabbed his hand and twisted it, a cry of pain escaped his mouth. "Release my father." This time it was Eva''s brother. He was younger but the result was the same. A kick to his chest and he was sent flying. His wife came running to support her husband who was having a hard time breathing. "Where is Eva?" The voice even made those behind him shudder in fear. "You, bastard let me go. I will call the police. I will drag you to the court, I will...ahhhh" As the big boss applied more force, Rayn could only cry in pain. "This is your last chance. If you¡­" the big boss stopped without completing his words, before he shouted, "EVA¡­" His voice echoed through the giant mansion. Yet there was no answer. "EVA, Answer me. EVA" "Aiden? Aiden is that you?" Aiden released Ryan who stumbled and fell. Even in pain, Ryan wanted to run behind Adrian but a baseball bat barred his path and his wife behind him stopped him. "Do you think you can escape after what you are doing here? You still have time, leave now and I won''t pursue the matter." "You won''t pursue it?" The man with the crowbar gave a burst of hysterical laughter, "You have touched something important to the big boss. You just hope that he doesn''t pursue the matter." While they were talking Aiden had kicked open the door. Rather than opening it is better to say he had shattered the door. On the opposite of it, was Eva. Looking at him with heavy eyes. "You? Why are you here?" "I¡­" Aiden stumbled to complete the sentence before changing it. "My daughter wants her mommy back." 1. My sweetheart is sleeping *Ding* *Dong* ¡°Ahhhhh¡± As soon as Eva opened the door, the girl opposite of her screamed and jumped into her embrace. Eva¡¯s scream resonated with her. ¡°Can''t you do that every time you see each other? "A traditional cold black-haired beauty, Iris, bypassed the crazy couple and walked into the house. Today, she was really satisfied. Iris was the leader of the three-girls group, ¡®The ice hearts¡¯. After 3 years of training and a couple of singles. They had released their first album. And a couple of hours ago¡­ The door closed behind them as the other girls jumped on her. ¡°Platinum. Platinum. Do you know what that means?¡± Eva screamed. ¡°We are famous. We are rich¡± The youngest of the group, Mia was more excited than anyone else. Three of them hugged each other and continued to scream. Even reluctant Iris couldn¡¯t control herself and join in. Out of breath, soon they scattered across the ground. ¡°Huh...huh¡­ The house is beautiful.¡± "I like the chandelier." Mia chimed in. "My dad gifted it to me." Her breath was still unstable, yet she added, "I told you. You can live with me. I have four bedrooms. Choose any one of them." Iris sat back up and patted her head. Being the oldest of the group she was the big sister of the group. "Can''t do that. I have to take care of my brothers." "My parents won''t let me." Mia was a little reluctant. It dampened the happy atmosphere "But it will be our hideout. Tonight we will party till we can''t move." At Iris''s words, Eva jumped back on her feet. A creepy smile was on her face as she moved towards the wall and opened the curtain. "No way. It is not the thing I am thinking it is." "Ahhhhh! It''s a siren." Mia is the most excited one. As Iris continued to read out the specification from his memory. "Siren 777 lifestyle series. With quiet port tech¡­" As she continued to mumble Eva plugged it in and the sound exploded. *Boom* Boom* Boom* The song was the top single of their album. "The love of Satan", currently no. 1 on the pop chart, was showing its validity on the system.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. "This is awesome." "What?" "I am saying this is best." "What? How much? 42k." Iris helplessly shook her head. She understood that Eva couldn''t hear her at all in the loud music. On the other hand, Mia had already started dancing and soon the other joined in. *Ding* *dong* *Ding* *dong* *Ding* *dong* The bell continued to ring but failed to complete its duty. Only when the song had ended they had understood somebody was ringing the doorbell. "Who is it?" Iris asked as Eva peeked through the peephole. "I don''t know? This is my first day here." "Maybe the music was too loud." "Hello, how can I help you." Eva greeted the man standing outside. Six-feet tall the man had one lightest skin tone they had ever seen. The hair was trimmed short like a soldier. Just a good smile would have been enough to make many girls faint. Yet¡­ "Can you turn the volume down?" Eva had expected it. Still, when he had received from such a handsome man, she blushed. "My sweetheart is sleeping, so please turn the volume down." The man didn''t wait a moment more and entered the opposite door. "What? Sweetheart?" Eva was stunned, "Did he just ask me to turn the volume down just because his girlfriend is sleeping?" "It was too loud," Iris added. "Whom are you supporting?" Eva shouted. "Maybe she is in love. The man was her type after all." Mia chimed from the side. "Wh-what are you saying?" Her stumble gave her intentions away and the other two attacked her like hungry predators. The door closed behind them and the sound system continued to scream. It wasn''t long before the bell rang again. This time they had noticed soon enough. "We should turn the volume down." Iris was hesitant, Eva had no intention to lose. "This is my home, I can do whatever I want? Who is he to order me around?" *Ding*dong* "What do you want?" Eva screamed as soon as she opened the door, "Tell your girlfriend to put on earplugs. I won''t be turning the volume down." The man, in front of her, didn''t say a word and pushed Eva out of the way. "What are you doing¡­" she couldn''t complete his sentence as Mia grabbed her from behind. She was about to shout at her too but when Mia pointed at the baseball bat the man was carrying. A chill ran down her spine. The man was holding the bat on the top of his head and it was about to come down. ''What do you want?'' She wanted to shout but the intended words didn''t come out. Instead, she pleaded, "Please stop. I will turn the volume down. Please¡­" *Crash* boom* The screaming siren met its painful demise. Followed by a mournful cry from the owner a silence enveloped the room. However, it wasn''t the end. The slaughterer continued its vicious act of murdering all the components which were connected to it. Eva''s leg gave away a long time ago. She had sprawled on the ground. Beside her was Mia. Though she wanted to console Eva she couldn''t stop shaking. Only one on his leg was Iris. She wasn''t sure whether she should fight for her friend or introduce her to her love at first sight man. ''He had a girlfriend? So what? Who said I can try? If he is willing to go such a length just to protect his girlfriend''s sleep, then¡­'' With a resolute will, she was about to move towards him but he moved first. "Woman, I have warned you." The man spoke as he put down a black card. "Ask if you need more." Tears continued to stream down her eyes as Eva was controlling herself not to attack him. "Today is your first day here. You don''t know whether he is a gangster or a criminal. It''s better if we don''t make a move now. We three might not win against him." A moment ago Mia had whispered those words into her ears. ''Just you see if I don''t put you in jail¡­'' Her thought was cut short as the man turned towards her from the outside of the door. "You can call the police, you can go to court but do it tomorrow. If you dare to interrupt my sweetie''s sleep¡­" He didn''t complete his sentence before he vanished behind the closing door. "To hell with your sweetheart." Eva broke into tears as she crawled towards her now dead music system. Mia, on the other hand, ran and closed the door, before sighing the breath of relief. Only Iris stood there without a single movement. "I think I am in love." 2. Extorted!! *Ding *Dong* ¡°Hey Eva, we shouldn¡¯t barge in the other people¡¯s house in the morning.¡± Mia was trying to hide behind Eva. ¡°Barge? He should be happy that I didn¡¯t bring my bat.¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± a man opened the door. Not a man but a boy to be precise. Looking at the little boy Eva was unable to spit the fire she was containing in herself. ¡°What do you want, old lady? If you aren¡¯t going to say anything then I¡¯m going to close the door.¡± ¡®Like father, like son. Wait for a minute.¡¯ Eva shouted, ¡°Who are you calling old lady?¡± Eva was about to charge at the boy but Mia stopped her. ¡°Where is your father?¡± ¡°My father is at the office.¡± ¡°Your mother?¡± And he closed the door on their face. ¡°Hey? Hey? What was that?¡± ¡°Eva calm down? We will be late at the¡­¡± Right at that moment, the door opened again. Behind it stood a woman. One couldn¡¯t guess her age but she looked like an office lady. She not just looked like one but also dressed like one. ¡°Sorry, my son¡¯s rude behaviour. But how can I help you?¡± The woman looked confused. ¡°She moved into that apartment, yesterday.¡± Mia pointed at the door behind them, but before she could continue her words, Eva burst out. ¡°And your husband attacked us with a baseball bat. And destroyed my new sound system.¡± ¡°My husband?¡± The confused look of the woman enraged Eva more, ¡°Yes, you might not know but he barged in my apartment and said he did it because the sound was disturbing the sleep of his sweetheart.¡± Listening to Eva¡¯s words the woman was able to comprehend the mystery. She put up a smile and said, ¡°Please wait a moment.¡± Entered the room. ¡°She was blushing.¡± Mia shook her head and whispered, ¡°If my boyfriend had done the same for me then that would have been my reaction too.¡± ¡°Please take this.¡± The woman came back and gave them a card, similar to the one the man had handed her, ¡°I don¡¯t know how much it costs, but if you need more please don¡¯t hesitate to ask for more.¡± This time she handed them a visiting card. Before they could respond, she smiled at them, ¡°Please, we are busy now. We can talk later, have a good day.¡± And closed the door. ¡°What just happened?¡± Veins popped up on her beautiful face that had turned red in rage. Eva was about to bang on the door but failed to succeed. ¡°Eva, you should stop now.¡± ¡°Did you see her? Throwing money like that? Who do they think they are? They don¡¯t know me. I will drag them to the police.¡± ¡°Now, now. Calm down. Let¡¯s go to the studio first and¡­¡± Mia dragged Eva away from the door. One could hear her anger even after the elevator closed its door. *****------***** Owen was happy. Well, happy wasn¡¯t the right words to explain his ecstasy.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡®Three years, three long years. I have given my all to the group for three years and now a platinum album. No no no, looking at the trends it will go double platinum by the end of the month.¡¯ He was excited, too excited to sleep at night and his phone didn¡¯t have any intention of letting him. Still, he was happy but¡­ Looking at the girls in front of him, he felt that someone had poured a bucket of cold water over him. ¡°As long as he is there I will not join any show,¡± Eva shouted. ¡®Let¡¯s say he is a gangster but what is the relation between him and your reason between not joining the show?¡¯ Owen wanted to curse but it was her family who was funding the whole group and if she¡­ ¡®Only one who can control her now¡­¡¯ Owen turned to Iris to help. The dependable big sister of the group, Iris just smiled at him, ¡°Even I want to meet him once.¡± ¡®What? It¡¯s not even a day that they had tested success and their personality took a total 180-degree turn? How unlucky could I be?¡¯ ¡°Ok, Ok I get it. Don¡¯t worry Eva, He will be behind the bar before long. And I will see if I could get them out of the apartment.¡± ¡°I want them out, by the time I return to the apartment, otherwise¡­¡± ¡°Ok, ok. He will be out.¡± Owen nodded vigorously. ¡®Who do you think I am? Real estate police?¡¯ ¡°Why are you shouting?¡± Mia who had fallen asleep protested, however, it just oiled the anger inside Owen. ¡°Why are you sleeping now? We have a press conference in an hour. If you sleep now your face will be all puffy.¡± ¡°Manager, Please let me sleep a little more. They didn¡¯t let me sleep last night.¡± Her objection would have met another rejection but Owen¡¯s phone rang first. ¡°Hello.¡± He screamed at the phone. ¡°Manager Owen, the people from the Pod securities had arrived.¡± ¡°What should I do? Should I take them to lunch?¡± The woman on the other side was shocked by the sudden outburst and didn¡¯t know how to respond. ¡®Useless. Every one of them is useless.¡¯ Owen took a deep breath, ¡°Bring them to the floor, give them the details of the programme. Tell them, if anybody touches the girls, then it wouldn¡¯t just be the job they will be losing. ¡°Ok.¡± The answer that came from the other side was weak. ¡°What about the make-up artist?¡± ¡°They were waiting in the make-up room.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t anybody let me know.¡± He disconnected the line without giving any chance to justify herself. ¡®Useless. I will get all of them out.¡¯ he was cursing outside, but as soon as he entered the room his expression changed again. ¡°Yes, yes, brother I will go with you. Just get him out of that apartment.¡± Eva was talking to his brother on the phone. ¡®The President of the AK pharmaceutical?¡¯ Thinking about it, one couldn¡¯t help but shudder in fear. Though they might not be comparable to the business giant SHM group, at least when it comes to pharmaceutical and electronics the AK group is in the top three. No matter who they are, they will think twice before going against the AK group. Now that the girl had told his brother, all Owen had felt was sympathy for the man he had never met. ¡®At least I don¡¯t have to put my hand into the mess.¡¯ Owen, with a smile on his face, announced, ¡°Come on girls, we have to go. Only 55 minutes left. Quick quick.¡± Still, Owen had to put too much effort to send them to the make-up room. About 40 minutes later, he knocked on the door of the make-up room. After getting the confirmation he entered with three bodyguards behind him. ¡°Wow, The girls look beautiful as usual. Chop chop. We don¡¯t have much time to waste. Oh! These three are specially trained bodyguards.¡± ¡°As you are now a B-listed celebrity, it¡¯s time you should have your bodyguard. So they are Noah, Mateo and Aiden.¡± ¡°YOU¡­¡± The girls¡¯ reaction wasn¡¯t something Owen had expected. One is cowering in fear, Iris¡¯s eye was shining and¡­ ¡°Why are you here?¡± Eva was screaming at the top of her lungs. ¡°Are you following me?¡± ¡®Who? Which one are you talking about?¡¯ Owen turned toward the new faces to see who was the accused one, but the man walked passed him even before he could look at his face. No matter how much she screamed, fear was embedded in her bones. She took a step back by instinct, ¡°What? Now that I have called my brother, you are afraid?¡± ¡®Could it be the network of the AK groups was so fast? No, they were here even before Eva had called her brother. Then?¡¯ A bad premonition rose in his heart as Owen moved to intervene but it was too late. As soon as the man put his hand towards Eva, she jumped on the chair in fear. ¡°Wh-what do you want?¡± ¡°Give it back.¡± The man¡¯s voice was like a bucket of cold water. Eva couldn¡¯t help but shudder in fear, ¡°Wh-What?¡± ¡°Return the card you had extorted from Arya.¡± With his words, silence enveloped the room. Everyone heard him loud and clear. As a result, all the eyes turned towards Eva, who could only mumble, ¡°Ex-extorted?¡± 3. Gunshot ¡°Who extorted money from your sweetheart? Huh?¡± Eva rage had over-written her fear as she continued to poke his chest. ¡°Arya said you took a card from her.¡± Aiden¡¯s voice sounded hesitant. He couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Didn¡¯t you?¡± Eva, who was about to pounce towards Aiden stopped at her tracks. She was not sure how to respond before someone from the side responded in a low voice, ¡°She gave it to us.¡± As soon as Aiden''s eyes fell on Mia, she shuddered in fear. ¡°Yes, she gave it to us and closed the door on us.¡± With the right words, Eva protested yet Aiden was expressionless. ¡°Didn¡¯t your parents teach you to return the things that are not yours?¡± ¡°What did you say?¡± Eva¡¯s fuse was lit and she almost exploded, before¡­ ¡°Silent. If anybody spoke any more words I will fire all of you.¡± ¡°But he had started it.¡± Eva¡¯s weak protest fell into deaf ears. ¡°Shut up.¡± Throughout the whole ordeal, nobody in the room had observed that there was one more person in the room who was moments away from exploding. It was the manager, Owen. People were continuously calling him. It was almost the time of the press-conference yet none of the girls was ready and on top of that¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t want to hear anything. I want all of you at the venue within 10 minutes. Noah will be protecting Iris, Mateo will be with Mia and¡­¡± Both Iris and Eva wanted to say something at the same time but, ¡°Shhhh¡­ I say silent. Aiden you will be with Eva.¡± Looking at the cowering girls, Owen felt happy inside. Next, he turned to Aiden, ¡°You are here for work. Don¡¯t you have any respect for your employer?¡± Owen was staring right into the eyes of Aiden but failed to see any fear or respect, ¡°I, I will let your boss know about your behaviour.¡± Aiden was about to say something but Noah stopped him. Looking at Aiden, he shouted again, ¡°Now wait outside. If anybody touches the girls it won¡¯t be just your job that you will be losing.¡± None of the three responded to his threat just left without a single word and Owen yelled again, ¡°What are you waiting for? Complete the makeup as soon as possible.¡± The artists performed their job without any more instructions. Soon the girl group came out of the room and without a word their bodyguards followed behind them. The Stardust talent agency was one of the top talent agencies. There were almost 5 A-listers and more than 15 B-listers signed with them.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. A 20- storied building in the city heart was their property and the press conference was about to take place at the conference hall on the ground floor. The security was tight throughout the whole building. Without proper checking, nobody can go above the ground floor. So the ground floor always remained bustling but today it was more so. Many of the well-known reporters, news portals managers and even some of the tabloid reporters were invited. Few lucky fans, chosen through the lucky draw, were invited to receive the groups signed platinum edition of the album. It had started late as Owen had expected. The group performed two singles which are currently at 1st and 3rd position of the pop charts. Followed by the album signing event and photo sessions with the fans. Then Owen introduced and congratulated the group for their chart-topping success, hence starting the interaction session. Reporter: Mia, out of the 8 songs in the album, there was not a single song that was led by your voice. Now that your group mates have at least one chart-topping song under their voice, do you think that you have missed your chance? Do you think if you had a better exposure you would have done better? ¡®That bastard!¡¯ Owen couldn¡¯t help but clench his fist from the side. But Mia responded with a smile. ¡°Not at all. I want to congratulate my sisters for their success first. As for me, I think I am not ready yet, but I will have my chartbuster too.¡± ¡°I like to add that all the songs in the albums are the result of our collective effort. It¡¯s not like I have a chart-topping song, it is that all three of us have two songs in the top 10.¡± As soon as Iris finished, Eva added, ¡°Ice hearts have two chart-topping songs.¡± It must be one of the enthusiastic fans who had clapped first and soon others joined in. The question-answer session continued for quite some time before it came down to the last question. Reporter: Now that the ice hearts have been recognised as B-listers will you be continuing your future with Stardust or you are looking for better options? Iris: ¡°Not at all. When we had nothing Stardust had supported us. Why would we be leaving now? We are willing to continue our future with Stardust, if possible. Also, we like to thank our manager Owen for his ceaseless effort. Thank you, Owen.¡± The other girls chimed in too. Like a veteran, Owen spoke, ¡°No need to thank me, girls. It is the result of your effort. Also, I want to thank you all for coming here. Thank you.¡± Thus it ended. Without spearing any breath Aiden and others appeared behind the girls. Other security officers came in to stop the enthusiastic reporters, photographers and ever excited fans. Mia was close to the door. She was guided by Mateo, through the path fenced by the securities on both sides. Noah led Iris and behind them was Eva who was closely followed by Aiden. Crazy fans were on both sides, photographers were aiming for one close shot. The reporters were putting forward their mic and recording device to catch their one last answer. It was chaotic and in between those hands, something reflected the light above. Eva, who was close to it missed it but someone behind her did not. Even before Eva could understand what had happened, a hand wrapped around her slick waist and pulled her off the ground. ¡°Kyaaaa¡± She cried in fright but the next thing she saw was blood on the ground. She tried to find any point of pain on her body but failed to sense it. Then the hand around her waist pulled again and gave her a twirl. ¡°What are you doing?¡± The intended words never left her mouth and¡­ *Boom* A gunshot silenced the world. Being too close to the gun sent her ears buzzing. When it cleared again, cry and scream filled the ears, and her whole body collapsed under the heavyweight from behind. 4. My Sweetheart ¡°Are you ok?¡± Arya asked as soon as she slid open the door. ¡°Pa, did you beat the bad guy?¡± But before Aiden could answer a small child came running in the room, brightening the room. ¡®Beautiful¡¯ is not the right word. Large deep blue eyes were decorating her little round face and those molten gold hair would have made any angle blush. The bright yellow frock was feeling jealous of her milky white skin. ¡°Is she your child?¡± Every time Aiden heard those words his chest swelled in delight. ¡°No matter what you say, she is my pride¡± That he would answer with a loud voice. As soon as Aiden had seen her come running towards him, all the pain just left his body. He was ready to catch the graceful fairy in her mid-flight but she stopped steps away from him. She turned towards Arya for a moment before turning to Aiden with sad eyes. Looking at those eyes, a cloud of rage grew stronger in his mind, ¡°What is it, sweetie? Are you hurt.¡± She didn¡¯t even look at him, just shook her head while staring at the ground. Aiden turned to Arya with questions but she just shrugged. ¡°Pa is bad.¡± The little child spoke and¡­ If it was any fantasy world, then Aiden would have crumbled like broken glass. Arya turned towards the windows while trying to hide her laughter. Aiden was quick to take off the needle that was connected to his veins. He tried to crawl towards the child as he came off the hospital bed but the child took a step back. Aiden was having a hard time breathing yet he asked while struggling, ¡°Tell me, sweetheart. What is it?¡± ¡°Pi said, you went to a sister house and broke her so-so,¡± After struggling a few times she said, ¡°Her things and¡­¡± ¡°Khuk¡± Aiden could understand that someone inside the room was trying hard to suppress her laugh. Aiden chose to ignore her for now and asked, ¡°And what sweetie?¡± ¡°And you didn¡¯t even say sorry.¡± She continued to speak while looking downwards. ¡°I am sorry, sweetie.¡± As soon as she heard the magic words, she jumped in Aiden¡¯s embrace with a dazzling smile. ¡°Lily, tell your father that he should say sorry to the sister not to you.¡± Hearing Arya¡¯s words, the little child tried to say it. But Aiden responded, ¡°Don¡¯t worry sweetie, I will say it to the sister.¡± Feeling the threatening glare Arya put on a smile, ¡°Like you would have listened to my words. Now come up on the bed, let me see it." Aiden took Lily and sat back on the bed. "Pa, did you beat the bad guy?" Aiden puffed up his chest and boasted without shame, "Don''t you know how strong your pa is? The shot at me but it didn''t even hurt."Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. "Where? Where? Show me, show me." "Here." Aiden tugged his shirt up and showed them the bruise. That was all that was left after the bullet was stopped by the bulletproof vest. Looking at the bruise Arya couldn''t help but shook her head, "Mom, would be very angry if she listened to this." Aiden had no intention to listen to her nagging and turned to Lily, who was inspecting the spot with caution. "Doesn''t it hurt?" Her large blue eyes were full of curiosity. "Well, it hurts a little. But if you kiss me, then it won''t hurt anymore." Lily didn''t believe his words still asked, "Really?" "Yes." She wasn''t sure about the validity of his words yet gave two kisses on his cheek. "Wow," Aiden exclaimed, surprising Lily. "You are a genius." Lily had no idea what Aiden was talking about, yet Aiden continued, "My sweetie has a superpower. It is no longer painful. Lily, do you know magic?" "Huh!" She wasn''t sure whether she had superpower or not but she was happy. "Lily, come here, have an apple." It was her favourite fruit so she didn''t hesitate anymore. She took out Aiden''s phone and continued to eat. "That was all?" Arya asked with a serious voice. Aiden shook his head and showed his right hand. The part between his wrist and elbow was wrapped in a bandage. "Do you need to continue this type of work?" Hearing her unhappy tone Aiden smiled at her and grabbed her hand, "Sister, you know me. This is what I like." "Like? What will happen if one day¡­" Her voice shook and she couldn''t complete the sentence, just patted Lily¡¯s head. "What will happen to me? As long as my big sister is with me, even the reaper will be a¡­" A hit at the back of his head forced him to stop, but the protest came from a different place, "Don''t hit my pa." Lily shouted and took her place in Aiden''s lap, "Pa can you beat this bad man?" Aiden looked at the video that was playing on his phone. To his surprise, it was his video. The attack that had occurred in the morning. "Do you know them?" Aiden could see his face couldn''t be seen in the video, still, she asked. Lily vigorously nodded her head, "They are the ice hearts, my favourite. There is the red heart, the blue heart and the pink heart. But somebody attacked the blue heart. Such a bad man. Why are they attacking such a beautiful sister? Do you know how beautiful her voice¡­" "That was your case?" Aiden confirmed Arya''s worry with a nod. "It seemed like the assaulters accused them of stealing their songs." "For a song? How silly are they? People are fighting for food and these idiots are killing people for songs?" Aiden sighed. "The industry is far messier than you could think. That is also why your mother didn''t want¡­" She couldn''t complete his sentence before Aiden''s phone had started to ring. Looking at the number Arya turned to Aiden. Aiden, on the other hand, was talking to Lily, "Honey, pa has to go to work." "Aren''t you hurt?" "Didn''t you heal the pain? I am okay now." He put Lily on the bed as he came off. "Listen to Arya, go home and be a good girl and I will come back soon." "But I want to go with pa." Lily was reluctant. Looking at the pleading eyes he could only turn towards Arya. "Aren''t you going to play with your brother? He is waiting at home." It was not enough so Aiden had to raise the steaks. Only after he promised that he would take her to an adventure park, Lily agreed to let him go. "Don''t worry, you go. I will cover it." With her confirmation, he left. It wasn''t even five minutes and Arya and Lily were getting ready to leave the room, the door opened from outside. Eva came in with Mia and Iris. But looking at the other two women couldn''t be sure it was the right room. It was Mia who had recognised Arya first but somebody else screamed before them. "It''s the ice heart. Blue, red, pink. I love you." If Aiden was here he wouldn''t have believed the crazy transformation of his angle. 5. Like father, like daughter The rain was showing no sign of stopping. The thunder was especially loud tonight. *Crackle* With another thunder, the elevator stopped on the fifth floor. The light, just outside the elevator door was flickering. As the door opened a food delivery guy came out. ¡°509! 509!¡± He didn¡¯t take long to find the address. He pressed the bell, but there was no response. He pressed again and waited. He put his ear on the door and pressed again, ¡°Could the bell be broken?¡± *Knock*Knock* This time he chose a more direct method. And now he could hear someone moving inside. The sound of unlocking came and a little gap appeared. A bald head with two ferocious eyes peeked from behind. ¡°Who are you? What do you want?¡± Being a professional he had expected this much of an unfriendly tone. ¡°Sir, your food is here.¡± His professional smile didn¡¯t leave his face. ¡°Put the food outside and leave.¡± He has to meet those types of introverts from time to time. He put his heavy bag down and started to take out the food. ¡°But sir, the payment.¡± He took out one of the food boxes and asked. ¡°Huh!¡± The grumpy bald man snorted and closed the door, while the food delivery guy continued to take out the food baskets. The door soon opened again. This time it opened a lot, still, the man was standing in such a way that one couldn¡¯t peek inside and the delivery guy had no intention to. He had taken out all the food and was stacking them just outside the door. He received the money with a small bow and started to count it while the bald man started to take the food in. *Crackle* Another thunder and the bald man fell on the floor never to move again. *Gunshot* ¡°Wow! They are quite sensitive.¡± The delivery guy moved away and hid beside the door. There was a silencer on his gun. He had shot the bald man but the last shot was shot at him. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. He crouched down and rolled by the door to shoot at the man inside the room. Looking at the scene inside he could only sigh. ¡°Captain is too fast.¡± The man shot at him a moment earlier now lay dead with his grey matter and blood painted at the wall. He moved in with caution. ¡°You are very beautiful.¡± That is what he had heard as he moved into the 1BHK apartment. A man in black was patting the head of a small little girl who was couching with her parents at the corner of the room. There were three more bodies around the room. Two died with a headshot while the last was beaten unconscious. He couldn¡¯t help but take another look at the man in black. The man stood up, puffed his chest and spoke loudly, ¡°But my sweetheart is prettier.¡± *****-----***** A Moment ago, inside the room. The bald man closed the door and came in to take the money. ¡°What are you doing?¡± The man with the scar who looked like the leader of the five asked in a hushed tone. ¡°Boss I have to pay for the food.¡± And he moved to pay. The next moment the light flashed outside, but none of them noticed the shadow, hiding at the balcony. And then came the thunder. It was the moment when the delivery guy had shot the bald man. But that wasn¡¯t the only bullet shoot under the veil of thunder. Before one could understand what happened the man stood close to the hostage with an uzi fell. Nobody knows whether it was due to panic or he had seen something, the man looking at the door shot the next shot towards the delivery guy. However, he couldn¡¯t pull the trigger the second time. The glass crumbled under the stress of two bullet holes. The man standing close to the balcony didn¡¯t understand what had happened before he sprawled on the ground with a hole in the head. At least the boss wasn¡¯t too slow and brought the rod down on the shadow¡¯s wrist. As the rod was about to touch his wrist, the shadow slid his hand along the rod to minimise the impact. It happened so fast that the boss couldn¡¯t follow the hand movement with naked eyes and the next thing he felt was the butt of a gun hitting his face. Before he could recover from the shock a punch to his solar plexus knocked him unconscious. ¡°Looks like the wound has opened up again.¡± The cloth above his right wrist was now wet. ¡°Three shots in 1 .245 second.¡± The data is reported on his earpiece. Soon enough other voices chimed in. ¡°I don¡¯t even know why I am here.¡± ¡°What are you talking about? I am a sniper and I had only shot once in the last 14 missions.¡± He ignored all the talk and moved towards the hostage and soon the delivery guy entered the room. *****-----***** ¡°Sorry, but where is the patient?¡± Iris was the first one to ask and was about to say something more, but a pair of hands stopped her from behind and whispered a spell into her ear. Looking at the blushing face Arya couldn¡¯t help but put on a smile, ¡°I am Aiden¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°We know.¡± Eva didn¡¯t let her complete the sentence, ¡°Actually we are¡­¡± This time Lily spoke. ¡®Speak¡¯ wasn¡¯t the right word, she shouted, ¡°I know, I know. Ice hearts. You are a red heart, blue heart and pink heart.¡± ¡°Lily, let the guest come in.¡± Lily was reluctant to obey but still came to Arya. ¡°We are here to check Aiden¡¯s condition. It happened while protecting me.¡± Eva was embarrassed, not knowing how she should react after the outburst of the morning. ¡°He is fine. It is his work after all.¡± Arya smiled, ¡°Also I want to return this.¡± Eva quickly took out the contactless card she had given her in the morning, ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have taken this from you.¡± ¡°No, no. It¡¯s okay.¡± ¡°No, that was my fault after all.¡± Eva put both the cards on her hand. ¡°Please take these.¡± With a bow, she was about to leave when someone stopped her from behind. Lily was staring at her with her large blue eyes. After hesitating for a moment she asked, ¡°Blue heart, are you ok? That bad guy didn¡¯t hurt you.¡± Looking at such a beautiful child a smile bloomed on her face too. She crouched in front of her, ¡°No, your father saved me.¡± ¡°Pa?¡± Lily was a little confused. But Eva confirmed, ¡°Yes, your father saved me. He is very strong.¡± Hearing the praise, Eva felt that Lily¡¯s eyes were sparkling right now. She puffed up her little chest, ¡°Yes. My father is the strongest.¡± Looking at the innocent face Eva didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry, ¡®Are all members of the family the same?¡¯ 6. Did you call me aunty? *Ding*dong* ¡°Who is it this time?¡± The clock showed 10:30 p.m. Eva wasn¡¯t expecting anyone at this time. As soon as she put her eyes on the peephole, she took a few steps back by instinct. She wasn¡¯t sure whether it was due to fear or surprise. Nonetheless, she opened the door. ¡°Hello?¡± Her voice shook a little. Aiden nodded but hesitated to greet. Lily, on the other hand, was excited as ever. ¡°Hello.¡± Still, that was all she could say before she hid behind Aiden. And the awkward tension continued for a moment, before Eva asked, ¡°Would you like to come in?¡± Eva had no idea why Aiden chuckled as he entered the room, yet she led them to the drawing-room. ¡°Please, have some cookies.¡± The cookies were too enticing. Lily almost pounced towards it but her little hands stopped an inch away from the cookie. She turned towards Aiden. Though Aiden wasn¡¯t even looking at her, she had already comprehended his intention. She went back and took her seat beside Aiden. Looking at the little play, Eva almost burst into laughter. She took out a few and gave it to Lily, or at least she tried. As expected Lily didn¡¯t touch those. ¡°Come on, take it. Your father won¡¯t even say anything.¡± But the girl was too obedient. She turned to see her father who was smiling at her. And rejected the offer. ¡°Pa said, out to accept anything from strangers.¡± ¡°Stranger?¡± Eva chuckled, ¡°Lily knows who I am, right? I am a blue heart.¡± Lily was happy hearing it but that was all, ¡°Pa said, I can eat only the food Pa and Pi had made.¡± Eva had no idea why she called her mother ¡®Pi¡¯ but that is not important now. ¡°If Lily takes this, the blue heart will give you an autograph.¡± Lily was unable to hide her excitement anymore. ¡°Pa?¡± There was a hint of pleading in her sad yet large blue eyes. Alas! Aiden didn¡¯t respond. ¡°Please refrain from teaching her something unethical.¡± ¡°Unethical?¡± Eva was dumbfounded. ¡®Giving a cookie to a child is unethical?¡¯ ¡°It is regarded as a kind of corruption to compel others to do stuff in exchange for private gain.¡± ¡°Corruption? Private gain?¡± No matter how many brain cells she killed, she couldn¡¯t understand how a seemingly innocent case of offering cooking to a child turned into a parliamentary debate. ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about it any more.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.¡°Yes, let¡¯s not.¡± Eva nodded her head. ¡°So what do you want to talk about?¡± ¡°I am sorry.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Looking at the emotionless face of Aiden, Eva couldn¡¯t understand whether he was truly sorry or not. But the important question is, ¡°Sorry? For what?¡± ¡°Because I broke your sound system.¡± Eva sighed inside, ¡®So you understand?¡¯ Alas! He didn¡¯t. ¡°This is your apartment and you have your freedom of space, still¡­ You are ringing the music at 120 decibels. Even if you are from the music industry you have no necessity to listen to music at such a high volume.¡± ¡®What are we talking about?¡¯ Eva couldn¡¯t say anything as Aiden continued. ¡°Even if you don''t think about your future, you should have thought about your neighbours. That sound is very harmful to a little child like her. Even at different apartments, the vibration generated from those high-frequency sounds is very harmful to a little child¡¯s heart.¡± Eva¡¯s brain had stopped functioning a long time ago. She was just staring at Aiden. ¡°But, that shouldn¡¯t have justified my action. I should have let you understand the harmful effect of it. I am sorry for my action.¡± ¡°Was that an apology?¡± Eva spoke out in trance. Before her brain could compute the harmful effect of her words, it was too late. Yet the reaction was contradictory to her expectation. ¡°It might not sound like one, but it is.¡± Aiden¡¯s straight face responded. ¡®So you know that.¡¯ Eva sighed in his heart, ¡°No problem at all. It won¡¯t happen again. Now if you excuse me, I would like to rest.¡± One press conference would have been bad enough but the incident follows were more so. From the hospital to the police station then again to the hospital and office. ¡®You are lucky that I am even talking to you.¡¯ Aiden nodded and stood up. Lily was intended to, but Eva doesn''t know whether it is the cookie of the promise of the autograph that stopped her. Before Eva could react, Aiden moved and carried her in his lap. ¡°Honey, don¡¯t be like that. Those commercially available cookies are not good for you. Tomorrow I will bake some for you.¡± ¡®Commercially available? Those were hand made by the Michelin 2 stars chef. Do you think you can cook better than a 2 star?¡¯ Yet Eva didn¡¯t have the energy to argue. As Lily whispered something in his ears, he nodded. ¡°Yes, We have to go to the amusement park. Don¡¯t worry, sweetheart. I will bake the cookie after you go to sleep.¡± Lily gave a bright smile but looked back at Eva. Then she whispered in the Aiden¡¯s ear again. In response, Aiden turned to Eva too. ¡®No, I don¡¯t need any of your cookies.¡¯ Eva shook her head, expecting the question but what she heard made her speechless. ¡°No sweety. Can¡¯t you see how tired aunty is?¡± Eva¡¯s eyes flew open, as Aiden continues, ¡°Aunty is old now. She needed to rest, otherwise, she won¡¯t be able to sing. She can¡¯t go to the amusement park with us.¡± ¡°What? Who said that?¡± She screamed. No, it sounded more like growling. ¡®Did you just call me aunty? I am young enough to be your daughter.¡¯ She could speak out loud before Lily chimed in, ¡°You can go?¡± Lily¡¯s eyes were especially bright. Those eyes caught her off-guard. ¡°No, No. That is not what I am¡­¡± She couldn¡¯t complete the sentence before Aiden added, ¡°Sweetheart, Don¡¯t force aunty, She needs to¡­¡± ¡°I will go.¡± Both of them turned towards Eva. One is excitement, while the other is confusion. ¡°I will go with you tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yipee.¡± Aiden didn¡¯t see his Lily this excited in a long time so he coincided. He chose to leave for now. ¡°Get ready at nine, otherwise we are leaving without you.¡± Aiden didn¡¯t even look towards her as he left the room. ¡®Why does it feel like I fall into their trap?¡¯ Even Eva didn¡¯t understand why she had accepted the invitation. She was crestfallen. Little did she know there was one more person gloomier than her, Aiden. ¡®I have planned to spend my whole day with my sweetheart and that¡­¡¯ All he could do was pour his anger on the cookie batter. The result- Eva: These cookies are very tasty. Lily: My Pa is best.