Light In My Darkness

27

One year later

"Mom," Kiara whines when I stopped her swing. It's almost gonna be a year since I legally adopted her as my daughter and made everything beautiful.

"It's time baby, we should get going now," I say scrunching to her level in an attempt to pick her up but she pushed my hands away crossing her arms with an adorable pout.

"No,"

"Fine, stay here. No more cartoons and I'll ask aunt Lilly and Emily to stop bringing you jelly beans and gummy bears." Her eyes go wide immediately as she lets out a small gasp.

"Plwease Mumma, I wanna shwing." She says jumping up and down.

"It's swing baby," I corrected her. "I thought we can have ice cream, but you wanna play right?" I asked tapping her little button nose.

"Ice Cream!" she squeals draping her hands around my neck in excitement, it's the only word she can pronounce properly.

I chuckle picking her up and kissed her rosy cheek.

"Mom, I want that teddy." She wails pointing her finger repeatedly towards the enormous red teddy bear.

I smile unknowingly looking at it, it reminds me of the first time I met him.

Ian

"You're too small to play with that baby, but mommy will get you once you grow up into a big beautiful girl."

"Pwomise?" She asked in her baby voice.

"Promise," I cooed, placing her on the table of the ice cream parlor. We ordered chocolate chip ice cream, Kiara too loves chocolate ice cream just like me.

She would extend her hand pretending to feed me and then would withdraw her spoon as soon as I try to take a bite shoving it into her tiny little lip giggling all the while.

"Bad girl," I said looking away deluding her to be angry.

"Aww, mummy." She laughs kissing my cheek with her lips smeared with brown ice cream. I smile drawing out a tissue and wiped her lips.

"How about we pay your friends and Gia a visit?" I asked tickling her, and she nods her head in excitement.

"Mom, can we buy ice cream fowr them?"

"Sure my lil beast,"

We left the place after buying buckets of ice cream and arrived at our destination quicker than expected and my tiered baby was sleeping peacefully in my lap.

It was difficult to hold her sleeping figure along with my handbag and the paper bag.

My steps gradually died down when noticed a tall figure leaning against a sleek black car with hands shoved looking right at us.

Ian?

Deciding to move further, I took a few steps towards him when Kiara stirs in her sleep tightening her hold around my neck and hair.

"Ouch," I nearly lost my balance and would have dropped her if not for Ian who was quick enough to come to our rescue draping his right hand around my shoulder and the other one on Kiara.

"You okay?" He asked with his tone laced with concern with his eyes scanning me as though he was confirming that I was alright.

"I'm fin-oww!" Kiara pulls my hair once again, and yet again he removed my hair from her hold.

But this little beast had other plans as she wraps her tiny hand around Ian's long finger tightly.

Neither of us said anything, we silently looked at each other not knowing what to do.