Just as she took a bite of her toast the doorbell rang.

"God! It's just 8 in the morning and because of that stupid guy I haven't slept properly for two days," she murmured putting the toast back in the plate.

"You stay here. Don't move. I'll see who it is. Ok?" Lilly said to the toddler as she placed a soft kiss on his curly head.

"Kay...Kay !" he replied enthusiastically.

"I love how you agree with me every time. If only everyone were like you my life would have been so easy." She said to him smiling as she went to open the door.

Lilly opened the door and found one person standing in front of her she had come to hate the most in the world.

"Good morning Miss Lilly Jones." Ashton smiled.

" I was having a really good morning until you decided to appear on my doorstep and bother me." she said returning a not- so- genuine smile.

"Well... thanks for inviting me," he said as he quickly squeezed in his way from her left while she just stood at the door and only realised seconds later that he had already invaded her house. Again!

"I didn't invite you." She accused.

"Oh! You woke up just now it seems," he said as he ran a glance from head to toe.

"Not an early riser, eh?''

" 8 o'clock is early enough for me." she retorted trying to fight with the embarrassment that her choice for the night was causing her at the moment.

Just then a sound of an utensil falling on the floor came from the kitchen and Lilly remembered she had left Sam alone in the kitchen.

"You seem to have a visitor early in the morning," he said raising a brow as he turned his steps towards the kitchen.

" I should greet him too."

"Wait!" She called from behind but he didn't stop.

"Damn it! I don't want him to meet my son right now or ever for that matter."

Ashton stopped at the kitchen door as he saw the back of the kid who was sitting in a child's chair and was playing with his breakfast rather than eating it.

With careful steps, he walked towards the toddler and stopped when he came face to face with him. He looked at him. His gaze transfixed and the little boy returned the look.

Lilly stopped at the door as she witnessed the silent conversation that was going on between the two men. Even though she hated to admit it but she realised how much Sam had taken after his paternal family.

"Hey... hello there." Ashton smiled as he stretched his hands to pick up the baby. But before he could do so Lilly quickly picked Sam up and held him to herself in her protective embrace.

"You are not taking him anywhere." she clenched her teeth.

"I am not taking him anywhere. Not now. I just... want to hold him."

The look in his eyes was so honest and this was his right as an uncle to the boy. Reluctantly, she pushed the toddler in his arms and to her surprise the little Sam who would throw a tantrum every time a stranger came near him went quite willingly into his arms.

Sam looked up at the face of the stranger who was holding him. With his chubby hands, he touched his face, his eyes and his stubbled jaw as if trying to imprint the stranger's face in his memory.

"How are you doing, little one?" Ashton asked as he gently touched Sam's chubby cheek.

Sam replied with something in his incomprehensible language as he clapped his hands which made Ashton laugh.

"Did you see that? He replied to me!" Elated, Ashton looked at Lilly.

Yes, she had seen that and if she were, to tell the truth, she didn't like it one bit. Sam who always ignored the strangers was now happily getting close to the one man he needed to stay away from.

"Ok. Now," Lilly interrupted the chatting of the toddler and 'his new friend'.

"Give him back to me." She said stretching her hands towards the little boy. "Come, Sam."

But the toddler refused to go back to her. Rather he wrapped his arms around Ashton's neck and buried his face in his wide chest.

Lilly gasped at the boy's refusal. 'Traitor!' Her mind screamed inwardly while Ashton laughed rubbing the toddler's back.

"Hah! he refused you which means he likes me more."

"Please come down from your high horses Mr Ashton King or I am afraid you might fall." She bit out before shifting her attention to the toddler again as she cooed at him.

"Sam, come here."

But the toddler refused to even look at her. His refusal of her once again aroused the jealousy towards the man who at the moment was being showered with all his love and attention but then again she couldn't deny the fact that Sam hadn't gotten any male figure in his life and this was the first time a male had made an effort to get close to him. No matter how much she hated this Ashton King but she couldn't ignore the look of love and adoration that shone in his eyes for Sam.

If the circumstances had been different...if he wasn't Sebastian's brother...if he wasn't here to steal Sam then maybe she would have liked him because of the way he treated Sam or maybe it would have been something more than just like...

A throaty chuckle brought her out of her reveries and she heard Ashton speaking. "He doesn't want to come back to you." He looked at Lilly with eyes that were shining as if he had returned victoriously from a war.

"So little one," looking at the toddler he continued, "You had your breakfast. Right?"

Sam once again replied with something in his gibberish language which earned him another laughter from Ashton.

"OK then. Since I knew your aunt is a miser and she won't even ask me for a tea or coffee so I had my breakfast before coming here. And I am happy to see that she is at least feeding you nicely."

The taunt didn't go unnoticed by Lilly.

'Does this man find it so enjoyable and fun to infuriate me every time he opens his mouth?' she had wanted to ask but controlling her anger she placed her best smile on her face and said.

"Sam knows that we treat our guests with love and respect but we need to be wary of strangers. Right, Sam?"

"But I am not a stranger. Right, Sam?"

The two adults looked at each other challengingly as the toddler turned his head from the man to his beautiful aunt and back again and then he clapped his hands as if enjoying a show.

"OK Samuel, I have a gift for you." Ashton turned his attention to the boy as he continued, "Let's go to the living room."

Sitting on the couch he placed the toddler on his thigh and held him there securely wrapping an arm around his tiny body. With the other hand, he pulled out a soft toy from the carry bag he had brought with him.

"Here," he said handing the toy to the toddler. "Your gift."

Lilly watched as Sam inspected the toy with his chubby hands and curious eyes and finally smiled.

'His first toy from anyone in his paternal family.' Lilly smiled as her heart clenched at the scene.

'Sam deserve someone who could love him, adore him, spoil him, a male figure in his life but that someone can't be Ashton King.'

"You play with the toy now," said Ashton placing the toddler on the soft carpet as his gaze met Lilly's.

" I have a gift for you for your aunt too."

A gift from the great Ashton king was the last thing she wanted or needed but she knew well enough that it won't be a gift for her.

'Though I am sure he must have brought poison so that the only obstacle in his way to Sam could be removed easily.' she narrowed her eyes as she sat on the chair opposite to him.

He took out a file from the bag and placed it in front of her. She looked at the file and then back at him with a questioning look on her face.

"This is the result of the DNA test. Samuel indeed is a part of King's family."

His words drained the colour from her cheeks. She knew the truth, of course. She knew Sam had Sebastian's blood in him then why the words of confirmation from Ashton's mouth had surprised and scared her at the same time? Was it the fact that now his insistence on taking Sam away with him will only increase?

No... she can't allow that to happen. Putting on a mask of confidence she pushed the file back towards him as she said, "I know that already. So it's not news to me. If there is nothing else you can leave. I have a lot of work piling up on my table."

" I think you have a weak memory that's why you forgot what we talked about 2 days ago." Crossing his arms in front of his wide chest he looked in her eyes as he continued, "Ok let me help you remember. Samuel is a part of King's family so he needs to be where he belongs to. Since you have looked after Sam for so long I will compensate you, of course." he said placing a blank cheque in front of her.

" I have already signed it and all you need to do is just fill the amount. Put as many zeros you want and leave the child with me."

The words that left his mouth felt like daggers that pierced her skin deep. So deep that she couldn't even shout the pain.

"Mr Ashton King, my son is not a commodity so you don't need to make him a part of our deal. You can come and meet him as many times as you want but don't take him away. I am not going to give up on him and as for the cheque," she continued as she picked up the cheque and tore it into 4 pieces before placing it back on the file. "I hope you got the answer. I will not give my son to you." She knew well enough that she was fighting a battle she was destined to lose but that didn't deter her from fighting for the child.

"It's ok then," Ashton smirked as he leaned back on the couch. Stretching his arms to his sides he rested his ankle on his knee as he looked at her and something shone in his eyes. In that moment she realised how confident he was about winning this.

" I will give a call to my lawyers and they will be here soon. And tomorrow morning we will meet each other in court. Face to face, Ms Jones."

All the thoughts deserted her mind and she had to clench her hands to stop them from shaking.

"Money is not all a child needs. I agree that money can provide him with a comfortable life but what about love and happiness? Will you be able to love him and care for him? Will you be able to sacrifice your work for him?"

" I will hire the best nannies for him."

She gave out a sarcastic laugh at his words. "He is a small boy. Of course, you can arrange a row of nannies but would that be enough? They will not be able to provide him with a mother's love. I have raised him as my own. Since the moment he was born I have been there by his side. There are countless times when I woke up in the middle of the night because he had a fever. I have been there for him all along while you appeared just yesterday. Who do you think the court will support?"

"If it's just about providing a female in his life to act as his mother then I will marry someone. She will look after him."

Lilly gave a humourless laugh.

"So you think another woman will treat my Sam as her own? And from where in the world did you get that Idea, Mr Smarty pants?"

"And from where in the world you get the idea that the man you will marry someday will treat Sam the same as you do? What's the guarantee that he will love and adore him the same way as he will for his kids?"

Now she was back to square one. Trapped in her own trap because the man in front of her had an answer to every question.

"Cat got your tongue, Miss know-it-all?" He mocked her.

The tension between the two adults only increased by every passing second while the little toddler who was so unaware of the intense atmosphere was playing happily with his new toy.

"Alright then," Ashton said catching Lilly's attention.

" I have one final proposal for you. If you agree then great but if you refused I will make sure you never get to see Sam ever again."

Oh! She knew it well enough. She knew it all along and the bright glitter in his eyes was the clear indication that he will burn her world if she ever tried to cross him.

"What do you want?" she asked gulping down the thick lump that had formed in her throat.

"Marriage. To you."