Kiera's P.O.V:

2 years later........

"Sofia? Come fast. We are getting late!!" I shouted hoping she would hear me over the loud music she was playing. She was 12 now. Handling teenagers really was tough. I never thought I'd have to raise one in my twenties. I still remember how we escaped.

~Flashback~

"Kiera, is that you?" Mom asked as I entered the house. Dad was reading a newspaper on the sofa.

"Yes, mom. I need to talk to you and dad," I spit out the words.

"Sure honey what's.... Sofia!!! Honey!! It's been so long...," mom started saying and then stopped mid-sentence not knowing what to say.

"Yes, it's been long. I'm glad to see Kiera and you guys," she said and went to hug my mom.

"What did you want to talk about?" dad asked fixing his glasses.

"I'm leaving this place. I'm taking Sofia with me," I said hoping they wouldn't tell me to not do this.

"If that is what you need," he replied surprising me.

"You're not going to tell me to not go?" I asked surprised.

"Of course we won't stop you. You are an adult now, Kiera. You can do what you want. We only want you to be happy," mom replied. I wondered how they had changed so much. A few years back they wouldn't even let me move out.

"I'll book two tickets for tomorrow then," I said and took Sofia with me upstairs. I booked two tickets for the next day. We would leave in the morning. She helped me pack and then we ate dinner probably for the last time in a while with my family. We went to sleep after that, her hugging me like she had no one else. Like I was her only family.

I already loved her like she was my family.

___________________________
We woke early went to the airport, got on our flights and went to France. I chose it because it was close to Italy. I would feel closer to Stefan. Even though his body wasn't  there. But his childhood had been. And his soul might be.

We didn't face any trouble at all. Sofia's passport was made with a fake name but nobody could detect that. I closed my eyes and thanked Stefan for that. He knew it could come to this. He had been prepared. I only wish he had told me. I wish I had known we wouldn't get to have forever. I sighed.

"Are you okay?" Sofia asked me. Her eyes were full of concern. She was so sweet.

"Yes, honey. I'm fine," I answered with a tired smile. Right then an air hostess came to check if we put on our belts. After some time we were in the air. Sofia had taken the window seat. It took us 7 long hours to reach Paris. Sofia slept most of the time. My mind roamed in and out of thoughts of Stefan. I still loved him. I always would. I knew that.

~Flashback ends~

"I'm gonna start the car. You lock the door while getting out," I said and got out. I got in the car and started it. Then I started at my house. It was a duplex house in Ault, France. Much like the one I had in Maysville. The sea was close and I sometimes liked to go there and spend some time alone when Sofia was at school. I called her Stella in front of other people because in all official stuff we had to use the one in her passport. The name in the passport was Stella Kingsmore. I guess Stefan had chosen that name. Sofia didn't mind being called Stella. She responded to both names.

"I'm here," Sofia said rapping on the window and I jumped. I was lost in my thoughts and hadn't noticed her coming out of the house. I unlocked her door and she got in. I drove to her school that was a 10 minute drive from our house and went to work.

Yes, I had collected my GED and had applied for a job after coming here. My mom had forced me to apply for a GED after Stefan... Anyway, I had gotten a job at Dubois Enterprises. I had gotten the post of PA. My grades were surprisingly good in contrast to my record of being present. My interview had gone well and they hadn't asked me much. Mostly I had to check files before sending them in to Mr.Dubois and sometimes I had to make him coffee. Poor guy was a workaholic. He arrived at 8 and started working. He didn't even come out for lunch. He left at 7 in the evening with some files. The phrase 'took work home' suited him perfectly.

"You're early," Claudia the receptionist told me as I entered. I smiled at her. She was a nice woman in her forties.

"Yeah, I dropped Stella off early," I told her. Most people at the office had thought that Sofia was my daughter. They thought that I had gotten knocked up early , had gotten a GED so that I could get a job and raise Sofia. They thought I was a single mom. This fact kept a lot of eyes off of me. But not Mr.Dubois's. I had caught him checking me out on my first day here.

It's not that I wore sexy clothes or anything. I wore jeans and plain shirts, not the cliché tight shirt with my clivage showing and a tight pencil skirt that all girls wore in novels.

Mr.Dubois was quiet young for a CEO. He was in his late twenties. From the gossip I heard his father had gotten a little sick and handed him the company. Mr.Dubois had made huge profits after that and the company was soaring.

When I first saw him I was a little awestruck to be honest. He was hot. Exceptionally hot. He had blonde hair and green eyes. There was something about him. There was a warmth in his gaze. But I refused to be anything but strictly professional. And I had still been grieving for Stefan. Even though it had been two years. So, I pretended not to notice. I hoped I could continue to work there and keep my professional life separate because I really liked my job. Little did I know fate had other plans for me.

Yay, a thousand words. Long chapter guys. Forgive me for the typos but I was so sleepy when I wrote this. I hope you enjoy the chapter. Don't forget to vote.

Also, how do you find Mr.Dubois? 😏😏