After giving one last look to all the arrangements, I went back to our room to change into something appropriate for the party. A royal blue, off-the-shoulder, knee-length dress of mine felt like the perfect outfit for a children's party so I changed into it and let my hair loose. Applying some light makeup on my face, I slipped into my sandals and made my way downstairs.

The main hall of the house was all decorated in pink and black, two favorite colors of Cara. The cake had arrived from my bakery, which was in the shape of Mickey mouse, a cartoon which she watches whole day long. All her playschool friends were invited, along with their mothers. To entertain the kids, I had booked a magician.

"Everything is perfect." Liam said to me but it didn't help that I was stressing out. It was Cara's first birthday party and I wanted everything to be perfect.

"Catheryn called. They are around the block." Helena announced and everyone gained their positions. Liam turned off the lights and darkness pravailed in the hall.

Few minutes have passed when the screeching sound of a car came from outside. Two soft footsteps entered through the door and that's when the lights turned on.

"Happy Birthday." We all screamed in unison and Cara's face paled at first. It took her a minute to realise what was happening and when she finally did, a huge smile broke on her lips.

She looked slightly intimidated by the crowd so when her eyes finally met mine, she came running towards me and wrapped her small arms around my legs.

"Happy birthday sweetheart," I said and kneeled in front of her to hug her properly. "Did you like the surprise?"

"Yes, I love it." she giggled, still hugging me.

She slowly parted for a moment and then looked around. "Where is Daddy?" she asked in her innocent voice.

I didn't have courage to tell her that her father refused to attend her birthday so despite every sane part of my mind telling me not to, I lied, "He will come soon. He had some work."

"Okay," she said.

"Come on, let's get you dressed." I said and took her to her room where I had already put aside a new dress for her. It was a fluffy pink frock with matching sandals. Excitedly, she changed into the frock and then I styled her hair in braids. She looked certainly the cutest child ever, which was not fair since all the children are equally cute. But she was special to me.

When we went outside, the magic show had started. Cara rushed to all the kids lined up around the magician and started clapping whenever he did any trick. Sadness filled me on realising that she would soon notice that Evan wasn't joining her party and it would ruin her happy mood.

"I am worried for him." I heard Catheryn's voice beside me. "This day is always very hard on him."

"I'm more worried for Cara. She doesn't understand Evan's justification for his actions." I said, looking at her happy state.

"You are becoming a full time mother, Scarlet." she chuckled on hearing my answer. "You care for her just like Eliza would have done."

I blushed at her praise and returned it with a smile. "I just hope Evan understand some day that it's time move on."

"One can hope," she muttered.

After the magician's performance was over, it was time to cut the cake. Liam was the one who made this cake because I was busy and he had done a great job. Cara's grin widened on seeing the cake.

"Come on, cut the cake," I stood behind her with the knife in my hand.

"We should wait for Daddy," she said with a pout and my own smile evaporated.

"I think he is stuck in some work." I lied again because I had no idea what else to say. "We should cut the cake and save some from him."

"Okay," she nodded and then proceeded to cut the cake. Her hands wobbled as she cut the cake messily and I moved forwards to help her. Everybody clapped around us and it made Cara's eyes brighten with happiness. For a girl who had never celebrated her birthday, it was a big thing.

While Kelly served the cake in plates, Cara rushed to open her gifts. All her friends gathered around her as she opened all the gifts one by one, her face brimming with excitement.

Leaving her to celebrate, I went to check the food corner and stopped when I found Liam and Helena talking there. Helena was ramblings on and on about something while Liam was gaping like a person looking at their high-school crush. When he noticed me standing there, I winked at him and he blushed hard in return. Not wanting to disturb them, I went back to Cara and help her open the gifts.

One by one, people started to leave and Cara's gaze remained fixated on the door. Everytime the door opened, her face brightened with hope but not finding her father there, her mouth formed a frown.

I couldn't see her disappointed anymore so I gathered all the courage and decided to tell her the truth. Slowly, with hesitation, I walked towards the couch where she was sitting, her gaze focused on the door.

I sat beside her, with my body turned towards her. "Cara, I need to tell you something."

"Yes, mama." she focused her attention on me.

"Baby, actually," I took a long pause to prepare myself for her sad reaction. "Daddy couldn't---"

"Cara," My words got caught in my throat when I heard Evan's voice. Both Cara and I looked towards the source of the voice and found Evan standing at some distance, staring at her. "Happy birthday."

Hearing this, Cara jumped off the couch and rushed towards him to hug him. He leaned forwards and picked her up in his arms, holding her close in a tight hug.

"You finally came," I whispered with a smile on my face.

He nodded and rested his head on top of Cara's head. "I had to," he mouthed.

..........

After tucking Cara in her bed and making sure she was asleep, I stood up quietly and made my way to the door when suddenly, I heard her whisper. "Mama."

"Yes," I answered.

"Thank you." she whispered with a smile on her face and then yawned cutely. "I loved the party."

"The pleasure is all mine." I replied and turned off the lights.

With silent steps, I made my way to my room. Through the half-opened door, I peeked inside and found Evan sitting silently on the bed. He was holding Eliza's photoframe in his hand and there was a hint of moisture in his beautiful eyes.

When he found me coming inside, he immediately put the frame back and shifted his focus to the file in his hands.

Gulping, I stepped inside the room. It was killing me to see him this sad and I was willing to do anything that would relieve his pain. Quietly, I walked towards him. Jumping on the bed, I scooted closer to him.

"What are you doing?" he asked in irritation when he found my attention on him.

"Do you need a hug?" I asked.

A frown appeared on his forehead after which he gritted, "No. Thanks." And then he shifted his attention back to the file. But I knew his focus was somewhere else, judging by the fact that the file was upside down.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he snarled when I moved closer to him and wrapped my arms around his torso, in a way that we both ended up in a very uncomfortable hug.

"Scarlet---"

"It's okay, Evan. You will be okay, I promise. You did a good deed today and Eliza will be proud of you." I muttered as I kept my arms around his torso, despite his obvious reluctancy.

"Leave me," he said but his voice was lower this time.

"You might not need this hug but I do, to make sure you are fine." I said.

After few seconds, his hesitation decreased and he returned the hug by wrapping his arms around my waist. I felt him rest his head on the crook of my neck, his breath creating tingles inside my stomach.

"I don't think anything will be okay," I heard him mumble softly. His body limped suddenly, as if he was tired of being so rigid day to night and he needed someone to take care of him.

I moved my hands to his silky soft hair and massaged his scalp gently in soothing manner. "You will be, I can sense it."

He chuckled against my skin. "You are something else, Scarlet." he said and pulled away, the loss of his warm body making me cold.

I shrugged before lying on the bed. Surprisingly, he kept the files away and turned off the lights, instead of working until late night. He cozied himself under the blanket, with our faces facing each other. Passing him an assuring smile, I closed my eyes and waited for sleep to overcome me.

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