The next morning, i decide that I would pick up the pieces of my life and move on. Yes, Gabriel hurt me but I won't give him the or anyone else the benefits of watching me crumble because of the situation.

I am Katherine Williams. I am a beautiful and a successful woman who has built a lot to her name and achieved so much. I won't let anyone destroy my happiness.

I take a quick shower and brew myself a cup of coffee before settling into my clothes. A pair of of peach Palazo trousers and crisp white shirt. I finish the look with a set of jewelry and dab my face with minimal make-up.

Satisfied with my look, I feed Elle her breakfast and have my coffee before exiting the house.

Before getting to work, I make a quick stop at my favourite bakery. Yes I know I have a sweet tooth but you can't really blame me. It keeps me on top of things. I order a box of vanilla cake and ice cream.

I am about to enter my car when I felt someone tap me on my shoulders. I turn quickly and my facial expressions changes drastically.

"What do you want from me Gabriel? I told you to stay away from me. Haven't you done enough?"

"Kathie" he begins but I am uninterested in whatever he wants to say.

He made his bed so he should swim in it and make out with the fishes if he has to cause I don't care.

"Honestly Gabriel I have no interest in whatsoever nonesense you want to spill. I am done and I'm late for work. Goodbye"

I quickly enter my car and drove off immediately. Seeing Gabriel again tugs my heart but I won't be a fool for the second time.

I arrive at work and is greeted warmly by Mira. She looks at me pitifully and I know instantly that she has heard everything.

News travels like wildfire.

"How was your leave ma'am Kathie"

"You don't have to feel sorry for me Mira. I'm better now"

"Are you sure" she inquires "you could've just stayed home and let me handle everything here. You know I can do it"

"I know you can but for how long will I continue to hide? Believe it not, it has already happened and I won't just sulk at a corner crying over spilt milk. What's done is done" I say with a shrug

"You should just stay off social media for a while" she insists

I chuckle "I'm okay Mira. Thanks for your concern. Hope there wasn't too much trouble here?"

"Everything was fine" she replies with a smile "I'll send a copy of a sales report to your email"

"I never regret hiring you" I applaud her and she gushes

"Anyways, I'll be in my office if you need me" I tell her and walk into my own little space.

Being a fashion designer and designing wedding dresses has always been my dream ever since I was a little girl growing up. I wanted to be the person every couple smiles at when ordering their dresses. I wanted to be the reason for that smile and that's why I work constantly to make sure it becomes a reality.

But with the way my life is going, I don't think that one day I'll wear a wedding gown as beautiful as one of my works and walk down the aisle.

I bury myself into my work to try and get something done.

I'm thinking of opening a another store at a new location but it's still at the planning phase. There's still a lot of paper work and physical work to do and I'm not still sure if I want it in this country or somewhere else.

After responding to some clients order, I schedule a fitting session for one of the lady's so that she could try out one of our dresses later in the day.

I inform Mira about it though cause I'll be visiting dad and I'm not so sure I'll be here when she comes.

I knock off early after putting Mira in charge and drive over to dad's office. He welcomes me warmly.

"Child of mine" he calls and hugs me

"Father of mine" I reply before sitting down. "You seem very busy" I announce after noticing the pile of paper on his desk.

"You remember that business deal I told you about?"

"The one involving the expansion of your construction company?"

"Yes" he sighs heavily "I'll be receiving some investors in a weeks time. Please endeavor to be there"

"But what would I be doing here?"

"Not here. I'll be inviting them for dinner at my house and it's only befitting that my family is complete with me"

"But dad" I whine "you know I don't like getting involved in your business"

"One day Kathie. One day is all I'm asking out of your busy schedule"

"Alright" I reply. I'm not going to win this fight even if I tried. He'll end up guilt tripping me till I give in.

The door opens up and a lady steps in. She kisses my dad lightly on the cheeks. For a second there I am dumbfounded because I have no idea what is going on.

"Oh" she exclaims when she notices my presence in the room. "You must be Kathie" she comes to where I sat and hugs me tightly. "I've always wanted to meet you"

My dad speaks up "Kathie this is Ava and Ava, my daughter Katherine" he introduces us while I'm still trying to understand what is going on here.

"I can see the resemblance" she mused

"Daddy I don't understand" I speak up "when did you..." I point from him to her "how?" I finally asks the dreaded question.

"Let's talk about this later okay?"

"But I thought you and mom..." I trail off waiting for a reply. Waiting for him to tell me that he's messing with me like he always does but the look on his face tells me otherwise.

"Is this why you insisted that I come here?" I ask "to meet mom's replacement?"

"Katherine"

"Save it. I'm outta here" I say and abruptly pick up my bag and walk out of the office. They both have some nerves huh.

One walks away from my life and disappears into thin air while the other one is getting lovey dovey with another woman and pretending as if I don't exist.

I wonder why everything in my life is going the complete opposite of what I expected it to.

*.*.*

The drive home was silent and for once I appreciated the silence. It kept my brain relaxed and focused.

Ava? So that means that there's no possibility of my parents ever coming back together. And I'm supposed to get used to the idea of having another mother?

I feel like my life is just one big Broadway show and people are just lining up to pay for tickets to watch it.

I arrive home and undress, then step into the shower and allow the water to wash it's way down my body to soothe my muscles and cool my body down.

After drying myself, I wear my pajamas and floppy slippers then walk over to my mini bar to pour myself a glass of wine.

I sit down on the dinning area and log online scrolling through my news feed.

My phone chooses that exact moment to ring and I see Gina's name on the screen. She wants to video chat with me and I pick up instantly.

"Hi Gina"

"Someone seems like she's in a high spirit" she stated and I roll my eyes

"Your eyes are going to fall out one day from their sockets if you keep on doing that" she mocks me but then I do it again.

Minutes later, Mia appears on the screen.

"Hi Mia" we both chorused

"You guys never told me that cooking could be so strenuous. It's like my body isn't part of me anymore" she complains and that's when I noticed that she's plopped on the couch.

I giggle.

Mia is a chef. She owns her own restaurant and is quite an excellent cook that has catered for lots of big events while Gina is a doctor. Frida was the only one who just graduated and was yet to find a job. I don't know anything about her anymore though.

"I thought you're used to it by now?" Gina asks and I seconded

"I'm never going to be used to the weight of the world weighing down on my shoulders"

"Complain much" I taunt her and she glares at me.

"So how was your day Kathie"

"Well you know," I began "went to work, took care of some clients, and did I forget to mention that I bumped into Gabriel at Bits and Bites?"

"Did he do anything to hurt you cause trust me I will whip his ass to a pulp" Gina exclaims and we laugh.