DAVIS – POV
"Nakia Oliver."
Why did she choose that name?
Every time I hear it, my chest tightens. It shouldn't hurt like this. It's irrational, but something about her… I can't ignore it.
I was in my office, trying to focus, when a knock interrupted my thoughts.
"Come in," I said.
PA Pattinson entered, holding a thick file. "Boss, this has everything we could find on Ms. Kiefer Samuel," he said, placing it on my desk.
I stared at the file for a long moment, not touching it.
Why am I so curious about her? It's been a week since we first met, and ever since, I've been restless. This isn't like me. I'm not the kind of man who loses sleep over a stranger. But with her… it's different. Alien emotions are wrapping around me, suffocating my logic.
Frustrated, I stood up. "Let's go, Pattinson. You drive."
I needed air. I needed space from whatever the hell was happening to me.
---
KIEFER – POV
After pouring everything out to Cecelia, I finally felt light enough to act.
I turned toward the photo of my father on my desk—the ever-elusive Heaven Samuel.
"Let's see what you say when we finally meet," I whispered. "Will you acknowledge your mistakes? Or pretend I never existed? Either way… your future is in my hands now."
But it wasn't time yet. I needed a face—someone the world could see while I stayed in the shadows.
I called Cecelia.
"From today on," I said, "you'll be my assistant—and my public identity. You'll be Nakia Oliver until I decide to step forward. That name will be our weapon."
She agreed instantly, eager to be part of the plan and even more eager to be close to her god—Davis White.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
"Hello?" I answered cautiously.
"Hello, Nakia. Davis this side."
My heartbeat spiked. Just hearing his voice—it was like an electric surge, impossible to ignore.
"Hello, Davis. What can I do for you?" I replied, trying to sound calm.
"The agreement's ready. We just need to meet and finalize the details."
"Sure," I said. "I'll come to your office in a couple of hours. I've got something to handle first."
I winced a little. I hadn't even asked if he'd be available.
But his reply surprised me.
"Alright. I'll be there in two hours as well."
"Okay then. Bye."
"Bye."
As soon as I hung up, I turned to Cecelia. "Get the documents ready for the meeting. Meet me there in two hours."
She nodded and left for Samuel House—on my behalf.
---
CECILIA – AT SAMUEL HOUSE
At the gate, Cecelia confidently told the security guard, "Tell Mr. Heaven Samuel his daughter, Kiefer Samuel, is here to see him."
The guard's eyes widened in confusion. He'd only ever known one 'Miss Samuel'—Katherine. Still, he passed the message along.
Inside, the maid who received the message hesitated. Kiefer Samuel? That name had never once been spoken in the mansion in two decades.
Rather than go to Heaven Samuel, she went straight to Katherine.
Katherine was in the middle of pampering herself when the maid delivered the message.
"What?" she snapped, standing so abruptly the stool fell over. "What did you say? Kiefer Samuel?!"
She stormed across the room, knocking over vases and smashing a mirror.
"Have you ever heard that name before?" she barked at the maid. "Have you seen a single photo of her in this house? She's a scammer! Throw her out—right now!"
The maid relayed the message to the guard, who returned to Cecelia with cold eyes and cruel words.
"You're a scammer. Leave now. Don't ever come back."
---
KIEFER – POV
Cecelia called me on the way back, voice trembling. "They threw me out. Called you a scammer. They didn't even let me speak to him."
I hung up.
It started to rain.
Hard.
The city blurred around me as I wandered aimlessly, heart hollow. I sat at the nearest bus stop, drenched, confused, aching. The humiliation burned deeper than the cold ever could.
Why, Heaven Samuel?
Why did you reject me again?
---
DAVIS – POV
We were driving down the main road when I saw her.
A girl at the bus stop, soaked in the rain.
One glance. That's all it took.
"Stop the car," I barked. "Pull over. Now."
Pattinson barely managed to swerve to the curb before I was out of the car and running toward her.
"Kiefer!" I shouted.
She didn't move.
I wrapped my coat around her and pulled her into the car.
"What the hell were you thinking, sitting out here like this?" My voice cracked. "Kiefer, talk to me!"
She said nothing.
Her lips trembled. Her eyes were glass.
"Nakia?" I said softly, trying again. "Are you listening to me?"
And then the tears came.
She flung herself into my arms, clinging to me like a lifeline.
"Why doesn't he recognize me?" she whispered through sobs. "Why won't he meet me? Why did he abandon me and Mom, and then marry someone else and have another daughter like we never existed? We suffered alone… and even now, after Mom's gone, he still pretends I'm nothing. Nothing."
She broke down completely, crying against my chest. I held her, helpless.
I didn't say anything. I just let her cry.
Eventually, her body went limp with exhaustion, and she fell asleep in my arms.
---
DAVIS – LATER THAT NIGHT
I sat in the back seat, holding her close.
She was asleep, her face peaceful now, but my chest was still twisted with something I couldn't name.
All I knew was—I never wanted to see her like that again.
I brushed a strand of wet hair from her face and leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.
"I'll be by your side, Nakia. Always. No matter what happens."
I stared out the window as the car drove us into the dark.
"I'll support you. Guide you. Help you become everything you were meant to be. You'll take back what's yours, and no one—no one—will stand in your way."
And then, barely a whisper, I said the words I didn't have the courage to say when she was awake:
"I love you, Nakia Oliver. I don't know if it's right, or if it's too soon. But one day… I'll make you fall in love with me too."