"I want to double up my courses."

"Eat your breakfast."

"I will keep my credits up, and with some advanced classes, it will be easy to just finish school early."

"Drink more milk, it might help your brain to regain its understanding."

"Allea, I'm serious, this is too easy for me. I promise I'll keep my academic records at the top."

I sighed, we have discussed this countless times, where Kai has urged me to finish his four years of high school in time half or more, but at that time I refused and delayed this topic. I thought once he'll join the school, get familiar, maybe he'll drop this stubbornness of his, but here we are again. This time he has a new thing to busy himself with, in his fast-approaching summer holidays, otherwise, extra-curricular classes never end.

"Kai, I know this is easy for you, but...can't you just spend time steadily in your school years?"

Although I wanted to reprimand him, asking, what about all the social building that comes with being at school, as Kai was already poor at it but didn't say it aloud and changed my words. I just can't berate his confidence like this, because I can understand him and me berating him about something he has no control over would only hurt him and make him self-conscious.

He looked down, and hesitantly mumbled, "I just...it's too boring."

Seeing him avoiding my eyes, I once again sighed, this boy truly knows how to make me agree to his requests, I'm helpless in front of his pitiful actions, "...We'll talk about this later."

"Not again!" With a defeated exclamation, raising his head abruptly but in the next instant, he bowed it further down.

Shaking my head lightly while eating my food, I continued, "Till then I'll tell Ben to arrange your advance classes, we'll see how you handle them."

Lifting his head in surprise, he looked at me with bright blue eyes, and rejoiced, "Okay!"

Narrowing my eyes at this dramatic boy, I vaguely mimicked his elation and pointed toward the breakfast in front of him to finish it soon. Bobbing his head up and down, now in good mood, he dug in.

As I was about to be done, my gaze traveled around to find Jackson. When I came downstairs, Kai told me he already ate and left, thinking about this, I inquired, "Why did Jackson leave the breakfast in such a hurry?"

Swallowing the last bite, Kai explained, "He said going to corporation today with you, so he went to get ready,"

"Oh..."

When Kai was wholly done, I walked with him outside the mansion and bid him to his way to school, while all the way boring his little hints to not forget to tell Ben about what I have promised. Resisting my instincts to dishevel his styled hair, I controlled the urge to just push him inside the car and just told the driver to just bring this annoying thing away from me.

Seeing Kai's car driving out, my gaze moved toward the wristwatch to note the time. Impatiently, I moved my eyes toward the main door, and as I was about to turn around and go inside again to call Jackson out when he finally appeared.

For a second, my gaze halted right on his attire, his image, and this moment overlapped with the first time I waited for Jackson outside the mansion, when it was my first day at the corporation.

A smile appeared on my lips, for going to the company he dropped his air of casualness, appearing perfect from tip to toe in his light-brownish three-piece suit, a precise fit to his lean body and making him appear stern and commanding. Raising a brow, I commented, "It feels like looking at the Jackson of years ago."

I remember the first day, just like this, when I waited for him, he entered the car without looking at me but didn't forget to order me to open the door for him, and from that moment on along with doing the work under him, my job also included opening doors for him. It was such a minor thing, but small things can affect our habits in a long run. He wanted every aspect of this life to pass from my own hands, everything that now others do for me, first I needed to ameliorate them. Along with other things, he taught me how I needed to learn and appreciate the growth and efforts of everything.

Recalling something he said to me when I made an insignificant mistake, his words always remained with me; 'Don't make mistakes, particularly the small ones, these little motherfuckers are more to be warned off. Remember Allea, instead of mountains one stumbles off stones, and before some stones gather to make a block in your way, learn to end their existence.'

Holding a smile, I pulled my mind out of the pleasant memories, and just stared at the man, who has changed so much in recent years. Jackson smiles has become more often, less stiff, and surely knows how to joke more, and open up, discerning so many positive changes in our old man always make me acknowledge the fact that how meaningful it's that he's living how he wishes.

But right now he's back to looking like the threatening Jackson with his over-bearing momentum and the way he carries it. I narrowed my eyes and playfully added in my words, "Just don't behave like that Jackson."

Jackson stiffly walked toward me, giving me a blank stare at my words, he snorted and demanded, "Turn your face away, don't spoil my mood."

Obediently I faced away from him and walked toward the car, gesturing the driver to enter it while I opened the door for him and gestured toward Jackson to enter. He looked at my actions with a stinky gaze, seeing him pause with now a thoughtful look. For a moment his face turned softer and the relaxed expressions returned, as he looked at me again, there was a slight smile on his face. I didn't comment and waited for him to enter the car, when he did, I walked toward the other side and sat down.

I glanced at him beside me, Jackson was looking over something on his phone. Whenever Jackson visited in past years, he never went to the company but remained up to date through the news, he even never asked me about the insides of the company, nothing. I thought this time he's staying a little longer, so he might visit the corporation, but now I'm feeling that something has triggered his lazy and irresponsible nature to go with me and that something might particularly be the meeting I have today.

If Jackson wasn't coming with me, I wouldn't have recalled until Nayla informed at the office that today we have a meeting with Robert Smith. My brows frowned and I couldn't help but ask, "I don't get it, why are so adamant about attending such a futile meeting."

His tapping figures on the screen paused, slightly raising his head, he gave me a peripheral glance, and for the first time, I saw the hints of hesitation on his face.

When he didn't say anything and not even looked at me, I required, "Say something?"

Waking up from his stupor at my light push to his shoulder, Jackson regained his stern expression and reproving tone, "What meeting? Brat, you must have been too unruly in your work, I'm going to check your outrageous actions."

Giving him one last look, I didn't reply at his series of falsely spouted words and shrugged. He can do whatever he wants to do, it's not like I or anyone else can stop him. Not minding his indulgence anymore, I didn't continue the topic and resorted to looking through my e-mail until we reach the company.

.

.

.

"Yes, confirm the companies I short-listed, I have e-mailed their names to you."

"Yes, Boss. Um, all of them are to be under the organization's investment?"

"Except the two, I have marked them."

-Knock- From Ben in front of me, my gaze flickered toward the office door, from where the interruptions knocked. With my utterance of permission, Nayla walked in. I again put my focus on giving directions to Ben, when we were done, I gestured Nayla to speak.

"Boss, these are the file from the marketing department," She paused, as she put the files on my table and continued, "I was here to inform that Xit's Co-CEOs along with their assistant and sub-ordinates are waiting in the meeting room."

"Hm," After acknowledging her words, I moved my hands to overlook the file Nayla has just placed on my table, "I'll be there in a moment."

"Where's Mr. Hale, did you inform him?" The moment my words ended, Ben was quick to question Nayla.

"Yes, he was currently at the HR, I informed him, he'll join soon."

In response to Ben's rushed words, Nayla reacted to him calmly.

Seeing Ben so agitate over such frivolous thing Jackson put over his shoulders -about informing him regarding the meeting, if I didn't know better I would have believed Jackson's careless words of Ben being his envoy for a second.

Shutting the file, I stood up and walked out of my office with both my assistants following me.

I just hope this is the last time I have to see Robert Smith, no, this time I'll make sure this is the last time.

These past days were enough to ask me things I should have done long ago. I have been asking myself why I just didn't end every contact with him, why I wanted to tease him, what fun it would have brought me? Nothing.

Until finally I reached the conclusion, the conclusions I found deep inside me -the thoughts that I finally made myself willing to come forward.

And finding the answer, soon I told Nayla to arrange the meeting with them as soon as possible, extracting ten to fifteen minutes was not hard from my schedule.

Our reasons might be entirely different but I too wanted to meet him after the party.

Just a simple reason, that may be insignificant for many but not for me; not for the Allea who wants liberation from this little thing.

I wanted Robert Smith to know who I'm, I wanted this man to know this Allea.

Not the one who degraded her mother's nurturing by begging in his feet. There was once an Allea, who yearned for the love she never had in her life, who longed to call this man father, an Allea who wanted the acknowledgment of this relation from his mouth, but in the end, got nothing. And now this Allea wants nothing, nothing from him, and from the world.

I wanted him to see this is the Allea her mother raised. This is who the daughter of Zinnia Ciarve should be, raising her head high, looking straight in the eyes of that man and owning to her existence, her nurturing, her name -Allea Zinnia Ciarve. Owning to the fact she's not the daughter of the man who left her, but of the woman who raised her, fighting the odds she stood as a shield to protect her daughter and the women who put her daughter above everything in her life.

I want him to recall my existence, not as the child he threw away but as the daughter of Zinnia Ciarve.

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