ten

Morgan's POV

My phone kept beeping.

I groaned in anger at whoever deemed it fit to wreck my sleep. Who the heck was disturbing me so damn early in the morning? I moved my hand, looking for my phone that wouldn't stop beeping. As I moved my hands, I hit the phone and knocked it down to the floor.

"Great." I mumbled. "Just great."

The stupid nonsense was still an annoying little sleep wrecker, buzzing every now and then. Then it began to ring. What the hell?!? I got up out of frustration after the final ring and picked the phone up from the floor, eager to see who it was.

An unknown number. Texts, also from the same unknown number. I opened it. The first read 'good morning, how was your night?'. I opened the next, 'How have you been?'.

I scoffed. What trick did Dante exactly think that he could play on me? That he could appear all of a sudden and walk back into my life the way he walked me out? He had to be kidding.

Without a second thought, I blocked the number. If he wanted to see how I was doing? If he wanted to know how I was doing, He'd have to come and ask me himself. Asides that, he could disappear for all I care!

I got up and stretched myself, taking in a huge breath. Today, I was going to focus on myself, my kids and work. Nothing else, no one else.

No Dante! No Nova! None of them! Just work!

I got up, got the children dressed for school so that Mr Vontrap could take them, and the got dressed for work.

"What's the special occasion mommy?" Miranda had asked when I was through with dressing her and Cole for school.

"There is no special occasion honey. Why do you ask?"

"You've been smiling like cra-- ouch!" She turned and looked at her brother, her eyes shooting daggers at him. "Why did you have to hit me?"

"You don't say words like that!" He corrected, then looked at me. "But you've been smiling a lot mommy. Do you want to tell us why you are so happy?"

"Doesn't mommy always look happy?" I asked them afraid that I might have showed traces of the fact that I was sad over seeing Dante and Nova reappear into my life like nothing had ever happened.

"You always look happy mommy." Cole replied. "But not this happy."

"Yes." Miranda echoed. "Not this happy."

"Well..." I started, trying not to show that I wasn't happy but simply trying not to think about past nonsense, but was glad that I was giving out the impression I wanted to. "Mommy just had a very good dream about flowers and butterflies and you guys and Molly and grandpa and all the people we love." I shrugged. "You know, things like that."

They nodded, mirroring my smile that was genuine.

"You know I love you both right?" They nodded.

"And we love you too Mommy." Miranda spoke.

"We love you too."

"Now we have to go so that we arrive school on time and so...."

"We don't keep uncle Vontrap waiting." The echoed in unison making the three of us laugh.

"Off we go!" I yelled in jubilation as we headed out to meet Mr Vontrap, waiting beside the car.

***

"What's the special occasion?" My father asked. I looked up from my schedule on my system, and saw him leaning against the door of my office. I hadn't seen him at home this morning.

"Hey dad!" I called out, waving to him. Just the same question the kids had asked me this morning. "No occasion. Just that I had woken up, told myself to be happy and think about nothing but the people I love and suddenly, here I am... happy!" I threw my hands in the air giving him a bright smile.

"That's good to hear. At least we all have to be happy that the fundraiser went well."

"Yeah, it did." I responded, going back to my laptop.

"You sure this has nothing to do with Dante?"

"Don't start dad." I couldn't bear him talking about Dante when I had already told myself that today would never be about Dante or Nova.

"Okay, fine, I won't."

"Thank you." I cooed, not looking away from my laptop.

"When was the last time you and I had lunch together?"

I looked up from my laptop and thought for a while. I couldn't even remember the last time I had lunch with my own father. "It's been such a long time."

"Let's have lunch today." He said looking at his watch. "It's lunch time already. Let's eat outside of the company."

I looked at him in a way that meant 'really?'

"You don't want to eat with me? Your father? Oh my goodness!!" He placed a hand on his chest, moving to the seat in front of me. "Do you know that..."

"People are out there, fighting to make reservations so that they can eat with Theodore Stefan Rosewood, the father of the CEO of Rosewood Enterprise? The one that built the Rosewood Enterprise to what it is today?" I looked him in straight in the eye.

"How...how did you know that that was what I was about to say?" He asked stuttering.

"And here I am, telling you to have lunch with me and you treat me like this?"

"Fine!" He spat out, slouching into his seat. "The ball is in your court, do what you want."

I smiled. It was so nice to see this side of my father that he never showed to the world. "Fine, I'll go to lunch with you."

"Good." He snapped, shooting up from his slouched position. "That's my princess. Shall we?" He asked talking out his hand.

"We shall." I responded, linking my hand with his.

"If anyone asks where the CEO went, tell them that she has been abducted." He said to my secretary with a wink as we left the office hand in hand.

He opened the car door for me to get in and just then, I felt it again, someone's eyes on me.

"Is anything wrong?" My dad asked still holding the door.

"I'm starving." I said with a smile.