Build And Break novel Chapter 32

Angela faced her father, standing straight like a brave soldier. "I don't want to hear anything else from you. You destroyed my life. Because of you my son was denied from a better life. I was forced to deny him his father. You turned Steven against me. First, you urged me to date him, then I made you happy by getting married to him. Then he tells you I cheated on him and instead of urging him to sort things out with me, you made him push me away. You made him hate me. I don't want to see your face ever again. You are not my father." Her chest heaved following the barrage of words. Her hand went to the door knob.

"Don't even think about opening that door." Her father bellowed with a dominant pointed finger.

Angela gave one last look back at the man she called her father and pulled open the door.

Letting go of the tears she held back in her father's office, Angela ran to the car where John greeted her. "Are you alright, Miss?"

Angela nodded at the gentle man.

With a kind smile, John offered his handkerchief to Angela. "Don't let your boy see your tears, ma'am."

Thanking the man with a smile back, Angela wiped the wetness on her face with the cloth.

"Mr. Morris asked to pick him up after you finished your errand. Said he needed you both to accompany him."

Great, Angela thought. First a heated ten minutes with her father and now she was meeting Steven.

The second Angela sat in the backseat, Daniel jumped to her. "How was he? How was your father?"

"Why don't you tell me what you've done while I've been away?" Angela changed the subject instantly. Luckily her son didn't persist his questions and recounted the jokes and stories John had been telling him.

When they had arrived at Steven's building, Angela saw him exit with four burly bodyguards at his sides. One of them accompanied him to their car and took seat in the front passenger seat. The other men got in another car behind theirs.

Angela was taken aback for a moment. Not even in her dreams had she ever expected Steven to say those words. His fingers had entwined in hers. Knowing Daniel was staring confusingly at their arms crossed over his lap, at their linked hands, Angela made to pull her hand free. Steven held her fingers tight in his as he winked at her with a smile. A soft, true smile.

Their hands remained linked until they arrived at their destination. Steven took lead instead of John to open the door for Angela and Daniel. The hand he offered to her, he kept it locked in hers. He clutched on it tighter when he heard the cheering of the fifty ragged people around them.

Steven had hugged every person who went at him, including the filthiest man. He had even given his expensive suit jacket to a skinny young man wearing a holed sleeveless shirt. All those in attendance had applauded Steven when he inaugurated the project of building a center for the less fortunate which will offer shelter and food to some forty people. The media present was impressed. Angela was impressed.

It had been hours later that they had arrived at Steven's place. Steven had spared every minute to converse with the homeless. He had become totally engrossed with listening to their stories of how they ended up like that, how they lived. The articles that had been posted online were amazed at Steven Morris's charity. They even spoke of how Steven and his wife Angela along with their son had captured everyone's heart with their kindness with the poor.

Angela was surprised that the media hadn't speculated about her return. The inauguration had been the first she was seen in the public eye with Steven again since four years. She was even more surprised they had mentioned Daniel as their son. The media wasn't informed of Daniel's existence before. There hadn't even questioned if he was his son. Though nobody had reason to. He was the exact image of Steven.