Chapter 9

I should have known this would happen. The moment I entered the Jones' house threshold, Mrs. Jones tackled me with a fierce hug.

" Oh, my God, Arabella! I've missed you, child! Where have you been? Why didn't you keep in touch? And why didn't you tell us you have a daughter?" She bombarded me with a lot of questions. It made my head spin.

" Mom, you're suffocating, Bella. Let go of her, geez! Can you at least let her sit first?" Collette came to my rescue, and I looked at her, secretly thanking her.

" Oh, yeah, yeah, of course. Come, Bella, let's get you inside. We have so much to talk about, but first, let me take a look at that famous little girl of yours." Mrs. Jones said and ushered me inside the house.

When we entered the living room, the first thing I saw was Liam and his girlfriend being cozy on the sofa. When Taylor saw me, her face turned sour, and she glared at me, then at my daughter.

Sophie squirmed in Collette's arms and extended her arms to Liam, and shouted. " Uncle Liam!"

" Hi, sweetheart!" Liam answered and stood up.

He took Sophie from Collette and swirled her around. Soon the living room is filled with her laughter and squeals. We watched the two play, they looked so happy, and it breaks my heart again.

Collette moved closer to me and put her arms around me. When I glanced at her, she had a knowing smile. She can see the pain in my eyes and squeezed my shoulders, letting me know she understands.

" Liam, stop that! You will make her vomit. Come, give her to me. I want to meet this pretty little Princess." Mrs. Jones came closer to them and took Sophie out of Liam's arms.

" Hi, princess, what's your name?" She asked her, then Sophie looked up to her and answered timidly.

" Sophie." The moment she met Sophie's eyes and looked at her face, she gasped and quickly looked my way, horrified.

I tried so hard to look puzzled, to hide my nervousness. Then, finally, Aunt Carmen looked down at Sophie again, and her eyes soften.

She hugged her and kissed her head. Then, she looked at her husband, Demitri, and motioned him to come closer. She is on the verge of crying, so I turned to Collette and asked her for help.

" What is it, dear? What's wrong?" Mr. Jones or Demetri asked his wife, Carmen, when he came closer to them.

" Nothing dear, I just want you to meet Sophie, Arabella's daughter." She answered him and showed Sophie's face to him. He, too, had the bewildered look on his face and looked at me then at Liam.

" Hi there, my little one. What a pretty little girl you are. How old are you, my love?" He asked Sophie and kissed her tiny hand.

" I'm five," Sophie answered, holding her open palm up. He smiled at her and glanced at me again.

" Okay! Who's hungry? I know I am! Let's go, baby girl, let's eat." Collette cut the tension and took Sophie from her mother's arms.

I released the breath I didn't know I was holding when they finally agreed and went to the dining. But I can see that Mr. and Mrs. Jones kept glancing in my direction and staring at Sophie openly.

Only the blind cannot see the resemblance of Sophie to her father. But I will stick to my story until it is time to reveal the truth. Liam is happy with his life now, and I don't want to ruin it by declaring he is the father of my child.

I rolled my neck to relieve the tension I am feeling. Then, I took Sophie from  Collette and sat her on my lap.

" Alright, let us say a prayer first before we dig in, shall we?" Aunt Carmen said and clasped her hands, closed her eyes tightly.

" Father,  we have gathered to share a meal in your honor. Thank you for putting us together as a family. Thank you for bringing us back, Arabella. Thank you that she found her way back to us and brought us this beautiful bundle of joy, Sophie. We thank you for all of the gifts you’ve given to those around this table. Help each member of our family. Use these gifts to your glory. Thank you for this food and bless it to our bodies, Lord. In Jesus' name, we ask Amen."

" Alright, dig in, everyone. Arabella, do you want me to feed Sophie so you can eat properly? You are so thin, child. You must take care of yourself." Aunt Carmen offered, but I smiled and declined respectfully.

" It's okay, aunt Carmen, I can manage her. And she is still quite shy with you guys." I answered and looked at Liam, staring at me, and to Taylor, who's been throwing daggers in my direction. Her lips curled with disgust and jealousy.

" Bella, dear, if you don't mind me asking, where is the father?" Demetri asked so suddenly. I choked on my food. Collette passed me the glass of water and pressed her lips, trying not to laugh.

" Ahm, I don't know, uncle Dem, we kind of lost contact when I went to Denver," I answered him, not meeting anyone's eyes. I was pretending to be busy feeding Sophie and covered my face with my hair.

" So he's from around here? Do I know him, Bella? Does he know he knocked you up? Tell me his name, and I will hunt him down." Liam asked, lips grew thin with anger, and his eyes turned cold.

Then, I heard Collette choked beside me. She grabbed her water and drank, then turned a mischievous eye on me.

" Are you okay, Collette? Her mom asked her.

" Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah, I'm okay, mom. The food just went through a wrong pipe." Collette answered her mom and continued eating.

" By the way, Bella, Collette is getting married in two weeks, and I'm sure now that you're back, she will ask you to be her maid of honor. So will it be okay if we make Sophie the flower girl? She will make a beautiful flower girl. " Aunt Carmen asked me, and I looked at Collette, who is now grinning from ear to ear, and nodded her head vigorously.

" What?! I thought I would be the maid of honor?! That's why I am here!" Taylor shouted with an edge on her voice and glared at me.

" I'm sorry, Taylor, but I did not say you will be my maid of honor. It is just right that Arabella will be my maid of honor because she is my best friend. When we were younger, we had made a pact that we would be each other's maid of honor. But, don't worry, you are still invited to my wedding since you are my brother's girlfriend at the moment." Collette told her, shrugging her shoulders.

" And just what do you mean by at the moment, huh?!" She glared at Collette, and Collette just shrugged her shoulders and pretended she doesn't care.

"Aren't you going to say anything?! I came here thinking I would be the maid of honor!" She turned to Liam, who seem to doesn't care what is happening around him.

" Taylor, Collette is right. She didn't say you will be the maid of honor. You just assumed that you would be." He answered her thoughtfully. She gasped at him, then stood up and walked out of the room. But not before she threw me a threatening look.

" Well, that was interesting. Whoever told Taylor that she would be the maid of honor?" Aunt Carmen asked, shaking her head.

" Even if hell freezes, I will never ask her to be my maid of honor," Collette grumbled, and I chuckled.

When I looked up, I caught Liam staring at me, and he looked down at his food quickly, pretending to study the shape of the steak on his plate.

When I turned to aunt Carmen, she had this secret smile on her lips and stared at Sophie with happiness. So why do I get the feeling that I won't like what will happen next?