Billionaire’s

After Derek’s phone call with Sandra, he turned to face Samantha, whose tiny arms were crossed. Her little face scrunched in frustration as she glared up at him with teary eyes. Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

“I want to go home,” Samantha announced.

“Our date isn’t over yet, princess. We have to…”

“I don’t want to go with you anymore. I want to go home,” she said, and although Derek was amused, he felt sorry.

“Why not?” He asked, and a tear dropped from her eyes.

“You said someone else was pretty!” she accused, her voice trembling with indignation

Although they were still parked by the roadside, Derek got out of the car and went to meet her, trying his best to explain “Sam, sweetheart. I was just being nice. It doesn’t mean anything. You’re still the prettiest little girl I know, and your mom

“I don’t care!” Samantha interrupted, her bottom lip quivering as her eyes filled with tears. “You want to marry that other lady, not my mommy!”

Derek blinked, taken aback by the sudden outburst. “No, no, darling, that’s not true at all. I only want to marry your mom. You’re upset over nothing, I promise

But Samantha wasn’t having it. She turned her head away, arms still defiantly crossed. Take me home, she demanded, her voice shaking. “I don’t want to be here anymore. You don’t love us. You want to be with her!”

Derek sighed and rubbed his forehead, unsure of how to fix this. He shouldn’t have had that conversation with Sandra in front of Samantha. He had made the mistake of assuming Samantha was a kid and wouldn’t take something like that seriously.

He reached for his phone, deciding it was time to call for backup. Evelyn would definitely know how to handle this.

“Babe?” he said when she answered. “We’ve got a little situation here.”

“What’s wrong?” Evelyn asked, sounding concerned when she heard the worry in his voice.

Derek glanced at the sulking child and sighed again. “I was on the phone with Sandra and…”

Evelyn’s laughter echoed through the phone. “Let me guess, Sam’s mad at you for talking to another lady?”

“Yeah, and it’s not looking good. Apparently, I called Sandra ‘pretty‘ and told her to come over for dinner with my parents tomorrow since we plan to get married. You know, that sort of talk, and now Sam thinks I want to marry someone else instead

of you.

Evelyn’s laughter echoed through the phone. “Aww, my baby has my back. Well, that serves you right. Derek. How could you call another lady? Especially in pretty in front of your daughter? I fully support Samantha on this one.”

Derek groaned. “Come on, that’s not fair. You know why I had to do that. Could you talk to her, please? She’s crying now, and I’m not sure how to make this better.”

“Alright, alright. Put her on the phone, Evelyn said, still giggling.

Derek handed the phone to Samantha, who hesitated before taking it. She held it up to her ear, sniffling. “Mommy?”

“Hey, baby.” Evelyn’s voice came through warmly. “Derek didn’t mean what you think. He was just being silly. You know he loves you and me, right?”

Samantha w

wiped her nose with her sleeve. “But he said she was pretty. What if he wants to marry her and not you?”

Evelyn chuckled softly. “Sweetie, do you remember the new house we just got? Who do you think is going to live there with

Samantha thought for a moment, her brow furrowing. “You, me… and Rek?”

Great! They were back to Rek agam, from Daddy to Rek

“Exactly. And do you think your daddy would want to live in a new house with us if he didn’t love usi

Samantha’s expression softened, and she bit her lip. “Na

“That’s right. He loves us very much, and we’re going to live happily ever after, just like you always wanted. He is your daddy, and we’re all going to be together. Does that sound good!”

Samantha smiled a little, her eyes brightening “Yes, Mommy.”

“Okay then. Can you forgive him now?”

Samantha hesitated, glancing at Derek, who was watching her nervously. “I guess so, she finally said into the phone.

“Good girl. Evelyn praised. “Now give Derek the phone back”

Samantha smiled as she handed the phone to Derek, who gave her a relieved smile before speaking to Evelyn. “Thank you,

You saved me.”

Evelyn’s voice was teasing. “Don’t get too comfortable. You owe us big time for calling someone else pretty”

“It will never happen again. I promise, Derek said, looking at Samantha with a wink before hanging up.

“I love you. Princess. And I love your mommy, too. Never forget that, okay Derek said, and Samantha smiled wide, the anger completely washed away.

“Okay, Daddy. I forgive you,” she said, and Derek relaxed as he got back into the car.

Derek made a mental note not to underestimate feminine jealousy at any age.

A couple of hours later, after showing her around the Hotel and spending time with her at the playground. Derek was on the phone with Evelyn again, ready to take Samantha home.

We’re heading home now. Are you still at Rayna’s?”

Yeah, Evelyn replied. “But I’ll be on my way now.”

“Want to pick me up on your way?” Derek asked, and when she agreed, he asked her to text him the location before hanging

up

A short while later. Derek pulled up to Rayna’s apartment, and Evelyn hopped into the car. She glanced at the backseat and noticed Samantha was unusually quiet. “Is she asleep?” Evelyn asked with a smile.

Derek nodded. “Out like a light. It’s been a big day for her.

“So, did you both have lots of fun?” Evelyn asked, and Derek told her all they had done.

“What about you?” Derek asked when he was done.

“You won’t believe that Rayna ran into your best friend at the grocery store today, she said with a smirk.

Derek chuckled. “Oh yeah What happened?”

Evelyn recounted the story Rayna had told her, and Derek laughed. “We really need to figure out a way to get those two to make up, he said

Evelyn grinned. “I was thinking the same thing. Maybe we should invite them both to the housewarming party after we move

in next week”

Derek nodded ‘Good idea. Only that I didn’t know we were having a party”

Evelyn laughed. “It’s not a party party. They’re the only ones we are inviting You know, my best friend and your best friend she said with a wink, and Derek chuckled.

10:59 AM C

After a few minutes of silence, Evelyn spoke up again. “By the way, what’s your plan? Why did you invite Sandra to dinner with your family!”

Derek sighed. “It’s not just Sandra. Michael will be there too. Michael doesn’t want her to know about the Hotel incident, so I’m going to do it for him the same way he helped me tell them about you when the magazine scandal came up. I want to make sure my mother investigates the hotel incident herself. I’m sure she will do a thorough job of it just to make me stay away from you,”

nodded, understanding his reasoning but still feeling uneasy. Just be careful, Derek

Evelyn n

“I will,” he assured her as he reached for her hand and raised it to his lips.

“Uhni, a Doctor friend of mine is visiting tomorrow. His name is Liam,” Evelyn said, and Derek turned to spare her a glance. “Liam is a female name, right?” He asked, and she giggled.

“I said HIS name is Liam; I didn’t say HER name,” she said, making him glare at her.

-Who is

is this Liam, and where is he coming from?” He asked irritably, and she laughed.

Remembering what Rayna had said about Liam seeing her Kitty, she decided not to mention that he was her OB/GYN,

“He’s a friend and has been very helpful all these years. I met him while I was pregnant. He’s very dear to Samantha and me. He’s in Ludus for a medical conference and wants to say hello,” she said, and Derek narrowed his eyes.

“Tell me he is a middle–aged married man with three kids,” he said, and she laughed.

“No, he isn’t. He’s young and single. Why are you asking that? Evelyn asked, amused

“Is he interested in you?” Derek asked, and Evelyn shook her head.

“I don’t think so. He’s been a supportive friend and has never given me any reason to think he wants more than just friendship,” she said, and Derek sighed.

“Alright. It should remain that way. He doesn’t live in Ludus, right? That means when he’s going to return to wherever he came from after his conference,” Derek said, and Evelyn giggled.

“You have nothing to worry about,” she promised.

Once they reached Evelyn’s house, Derek carried the sleeping Samantha inside, and gently placed her in bed. As he headed back to his car. Evelyn followed him to the door, and he kissed her softly before leaving

As he drove away, he called his father. “Hey, Dad. So, what did Mom think of Samantha!”

His father’s voice came through warmly. “You saw for yourself that she loved her. Samantha is a wonderful little girl. Derek Your mother will be over the moon when she finds out Samantha is your kid.”

Derek smiled. “I hope she remains over the moon when she finds out Evelyn is the mother.”

“Don’t worry, she won’t have a choice,” his father promised.

“Dad, I need you to invite Michael over for dinner tomorrow, I already invited Sandra. If Mom is close by, you can pass the phone so I can let her know Sandra will come over tomorrow,” Derek said, and his father raised a brow,

her

“Your Mom left the house a while ago. What’s happening at dinner tomorrow?” He asked, and Derek told him about all that happened.

“I see. Well, I have made some findings about Michael myself. After you told me about him the first time. I’ve been looking into him, and I’ve found out some pretty interesting stuff that would shock your mother,” he said, and Derek frowned.

“What did you find?” Derek asked curiously.

After they both discussed the details of all they had on Michael, Derek hung up and called his mother.

“Why are you calling me after we met just hours ago?” His mother asked curiously when she received the call.

She was on her way back from the lab, where she had gone to submit Derek and Samantha’s DNA samples. She had told them she wanted it treated as urgent.

“I wanted to let you know I invited Sandra to dinner tomorrow. I think it’s time we meet both families,” Derek said, and his mother’s face lit up with a smile.

“Oh, Derek! Finally! You’re making the right decision,” she said happily, thinking that he was giving in because he no longer

wanted to be on bad terms with her.

Derek smiled but didn’t respond. He knew his mother thought he was moving toward marrying Sandra, but she was going to

be disappointed.