The Bridal Candidate 1 (Heart Connections)

by Linda Verji

  "Pack her something to eat," Aiko said. Anger could only keep the girl's hunger at bay for so long.

  Once she and Seraphina were done with breakfast, they headed out to the car. The moment Zoe saw them she straightened and held on to the handle of the back seat.

  "You can sit in the front with me," Aiko said clicking on her keys to open the doors.

  Zoe rolled her eyes and entered the back of the sedan.

  Since Lowell School was closest they headed there first. Zoe ignored Aiko for most of the ride. Fortunately, she was nicer to Seraphina. Though her answers were short, at least she didn't ignore the little girl. The moment they reached Lowell School, Zoe dashed out of the car without as much as a goodbye. Aiko sighed as she watched her future step-daughter go.

  It sucked to be in the dog-house again.

  Well, at least she had eight hours before she had to deal with Zoe's angry silences again.

  Or so she thought.

  However, five hours later, she found herself seated in the principal's office in Lowell School while a sulking Zoe waited outside the office.

  "Is her father on his way?" asked Principal Hackell. "I can't discuss this matter without him here."

  "Unfortunately he is currently unavailable," Aiko said. She'd tried to call Damián and only been greeted by voicemail. A call to Coltech Technologies had revealed that he'd left the office for an important meeting. Aiko snuck a glance at Zoe before she added, "I can ask him to come in tomorrow."

  The principal thought for a moment then nodded. "Yes, please ask him. In the meantime, you'll have to take Zoe home with you. She can't stay here."

  Aiko gave a start. "Why?"

  "Because she's just been suspended," Hackell stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "Zoe made a bet with other students that she could kiss one of our older students, then ambushed him in the cafeteria in full view of the whole school; embarrassing the boy, herself and our school in the process."

  Aiko's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "What?"

  "We've stood by while Zoe did a lot of things..." Hackell glared at Aiko with stern eyes. "… But sexual harassment absolutely crosses the line. It is appalling, immoral, an invasion of other people's space and behavior that we cannot excuse. The suspension is just a start. Zoe will be lucky if we - or the boy's parents - don't take additional action. While we decide, she has to leave the premises."

  "When will you make a decision?" Aiko asked, shock still pulsing through her.

  "As soon as we've spoken to her father. And not just about the suspension." Hackell sat back in her seat. "I've been a teacher for a long time, Aiko. And I've dealt with a lot. Students talking back to teachers, fighting, bullying… But what I've discovered is that incidences like this - incidences involving sexual deviance especially at such a young age - are usually rooted in self-esteem and self-respect issues, not indiscipline. Which is why I needed to talk to her father. If he's not careful she's going to end up the prey to predators and groomers. And that's the last thing any of us want for Zoe."

  Aiko walked out of the office moments later, the principal's words ringing in her ears.

  "Let's go." She gestured at Zoe to follow her but didn't wait. Soon she heard the girl's footsteps behind her. They were both silent as they headed to the parking lot. Aiko didn't even know what to say to Zoe, didn't know what to think. Was this because of what had happened last night? Was Zoe just acting out? Or was it, as Mrs. Hackell had said, rooted in deeper issues that Aiko hadn't even realized that Zoe had.

  As soon as they got to the car, Zoe stormed into the back seat.

  Aiko was silent for a while longer, trying to wrap her head around what had just happened. It was only when they came to a traffic stop that she finally asked, "Zoe, why did you attack that boy?"

  "I didn't attack him." Zoe met Aiko's gaze in the rearview mirror with a glare. "I kissed him - and it was just Knox."

  "So that makes it right?" Aiko's voice rang with disbelief. "Because it was just Knox?"

  "Whatever!" Zoe responded with a roll of her eyes.

  "No. Not whatever," Aiko berated. "What you did was wrong and-"

  Loud hooting cut into her words as the other drivers let her know in uncertain terms that the green-light had just come on.

  "I really thought we'd turned a corner," Aiko said, her eyes on the road. "You've been doing so much better."

  "Argh! Do you ever stop talking?" Zoe retorted.

  "Zoe, that is disrespectful-"

  "Where are we going?" Zoe cut into her words. "This isn't the way home."

  "To my office. You'll stay there until it's time for us to go home" Aiko said briefly. She didn't want Zoe staying in the house alone with just the staff in her current mood. There would be no one to control her if she threw a tantrum or even decided to leave. Getting back to the topic at hand, Aiko continued, "It's not okay to talk to me or anyone like-"

  "I want to go home," Zoe said.

  Aiko started, "Zo-"

  "I want to go home," she interrupted in a louder voice. "I want to go home."

  The ruckus continued all the way to Aiko's office, accompanied by forceful kicks to the back of the seats. Unwilling to start a shouting match with the girl, Aiko drove on in silence.

  Once they arrived at her office, she manipulated her car into her spot then opened the doors. "Let's go."

  "No." Folding her arms over her chest and glaring at Aiko, the girl said, "I want to go home."

  Aiko circled the car to stop by the back passenger door. She opened it. "Zoe, get out of the car."

  Zoe rolled her neck and stayed put.

  Aiko stared at her for a moment, frustration bubbling beneath the calm façade she put on for the girl. She considered forcefully dragging her out, then reconsidered. That would be going down to Zoe's level and who's to say that Zoe wouldn't cause a commotion in her office, and maybe even hurt her business. No, dragging her in wasn't an option.

  Then what was she supposed to do?

  As much as she hated to give in to Zoe's demands, taking her home seemed like the best option. However, that also meant that Aiko would have to take the day off so she could stay at home too and make sure that Zoe didn't go on the rampage. Aiko was not happy about that. She had two meetings this afternoon that would now need to be canceled. But she had no choice.

  Heaving a sigh, Aiko said, "Fine, we'll go home-"

  Triumph glinted in Zoe's eyes.

  Ignoring it, Aiko continued, "Give me a few minutes to talk to Cara, then we'll leave."

  After cracking the windows then locking the car, Aiko hurried up to Heart Connections. She found her niece at her usual position behind the reception. After giving Cara instructions to postpone the meetings, then picking up her laptop so she could work at home, Aiko hurried back out the door.

  The BMW was right where she'd left it. Zoe wasn't.

  Aiko's heart started a fast gallop and her blood froze in her veins when she couldn't see Zoe in the backseat. Maybe she was asleep, Aiko consoled herself as she ran towards the car. But that hope was soon dashed when the closer she drew to the car. And when she saw that the back window was shattered, its glass littered on the asphalt lot, the blood drained in her face.

  Oh, God. Dragging in short, shallow breaths, Aiko swiveled searching between the cars for Zoe - and didn't find her. Oh, God.

  CHAPTER 25

  It was late afternoon by the time Damián's meeting ended. While in the elevator, he turned his phone on. The moment he did, he saw the several missed calls and messages from Zoe's school and Aiko. He called the school first and was informed that his daughter had been suspended, Aiko had picked her up, and he needed to make an appointment to see the principal.

  Aargh! Running his hands through his hair, he dialed Aiko's number. She picked up just as he was the elevator doors opened up in the underground parking lot.

  "You tried to call me?" he asked as he exited the elevator.

  "Zoe's missing."

  "What?" His hea
rt jumped in alarm as his feet ceased all movement, froze on the spot. "What do you mean Zoe's missing?"

  "I had to pick her up from school because she was su-" Aiko explained.

  "I know all that. The school told me you left with her," Damián cut in as his mind remained riveted, captured on the most important thing. "So how did she go missing?"

  "I took her with me to the office," Aiko spoke quickly and urgently. "When she wouldn't come in, I left her in the car so I could get something from my office. When I came back the window was broken, and she wasn't in the car."

  "You left my daughter in your car?" Damián roared. His voice was loud enough that it attracted a curious looks from a few people.

  "I was only-"

  "She was in your charge," he cut in before Aiko could defend herself. "You know damn well that Zoe's is a flight risk. Why would you leave her alone in your car?"

  "I didn't think that-"

  "Yeah, you didn't think," he sniped back. He was so angry, he felt as if his head would explode.

  Then the thought hit him. What if Zoe hadn't left on her own? What if someone had taken her? Icy terror curled into his blood. No. No. He needed to stop focusing on his fear and focus on finding Zoe. It took a huge effort to get his mind functioning and asking the right questions.

  Number one, "Does it look like the window was broken from the outside or from the inside?"

  "I - I don't know." Aiko sounded like she was on the verge of tears.

  But Damián was too worried about his daughter to care about her hurt feelings. He asked, "Is most of the broken glass inside your car or outside it?"

  "Outside it."

  Which meant that it'd been smashed from the inside. Zoe had definitely left on her own. Which was good, right? Still, the fist clenched tight around Damián's heart didn't loosen its grip. Jaw set, he strode towards his car. "Have you called the house to check if she's there?"

  "I'm actually there," Aiko said softly. "She's not."

  Damián barely recognized his own voice as he asked, "Have you called the police?"

  "No, I thought that I should get to the house first to check if she was there then-" Aiko's voice faded off.

  Damián cussed under his breath. Where the hell was the rational Aiko he was used to? Because this… this was beyond stupid. Anyone with half a brain would've figured out that if Zoe's was running away the last place she'd go was home. By now the police should've been called.

  Aiko cut into his thoughts. "I've called the school but they say they haven't seen her either."

  "If she was there, they wouldn't know," Damián said, his voice tight with tension. "It's not like she'll announce her presence after they kicked her out."

  "Maybe. But her friends may know something," Aiko suggested. "I'll go to the school and talk to Shelley."

  "Don't! I'll go there on my own," Damián snapped then ended the call without waiting for her response. Was he being too harsh on Aiko? He didn't care. His daughter was missing. He got into the car and zoomed out of the underground lot, his only thought on finding Zoe.

  While on his way, he called his contacts within the police department. Usually a runaway was not their main priority, but he had anger and the Colter name behind him. Within minutes, the police had patrol cars keeping an eye out for Zoe. They'd also sent officers to the house to question Aiko, another set to her office to see if anyone had seen anything, and were sending someone to meet Damián at Zoe's school and help with the questioning.

  Damián was just driving into Lowell school when his phone rang.

  "Colter," he said, curtly.

  "Damián?" He didn't even need to hear the woman's name to recognize her voice. She didn't bother to introduce herself either. "Why is Zoe here?"

  Relieved air filtered into Damián's lunges. "She's there?"

  "Yes."

  "In your house?"

  "Where else would I be?"

  "Is she okay?"

  "Well, apart from the crying I'd say she's in sporting shape." The woman asked irately, "Why is Zoe here? I thought we agreed that you would keep her?"

  "I'm on my way,"

  "Dam-" He ended the phone call before she could finish speaking. Despite knowing that his daughter was safe Damián couldn't keep himself from hurrying to her and making sure. Every red light was like a barrier keeping him from her. But even as he raced towards her, he remembered to call the police to call off the search.

  His daughter was safe.

  Twenty minutes later, he stopped in front of her house. The moment he rang the doorbell, she yanked the door open and started, "Could you please take Zoe home. I don't want Henry to find her here."

  "It's good to see you too Jeanine," Damián said, sarcasm pouring from his voice.

  The last seven years hadn't changed Jeanine Andrews' outer features much. She'd gained a few pounds in the last couple of year but it didn't detract from her curvaceous beauty. Her hair was still long, lustrous and pale as woven gold. Her eyes were a rich brown framed by long lushes, her skin was creamy perfection, and her lips were the same rose-petal pink that had haunted most of Damián's college years.

  Yet something had changed about her; the lines along her brow were deeper as if she frowned too much, her gaze was harder, and her mouth was unsmiling.

  "Yeah. Hi. Whatever." Jeanine waved away his greeting before turning back into the house and calling out, "Zoe, your dad is here."

  "No, I'm not going with him," Zoe's loud yell filtered out from somewhere in the house.

  Her yelling was enough to color Damián's relief with anger. Did that girl know how worried they'd been? How much she'd put them through?

  "Zoe, get out here," he called out.

  "No."

  "I do not want drama." Jeanine heaved an irritated sigh before marching away from the door, leaving it open. Assuming that that meant he was allowed to enter, Damián followed her in.

  The Andrews home was small enough that with three long strides he passed the stairs and found himself in the living room facing a glaring Zoe.

  "I'm not going with him," Zoe declared to her mother, even as she tucked her legs deeper under her on the armchair.

  Jeanine said softly, "Then where will you go, Honey?"

  "I'm staying here," Zoe turned her attention to the coffee-table, reached for the remote controller and switched on the TV. It came alive on a music channel, instantly filling up the small living room with rapping and crooning. Acting that the two adults weren't in the room with her, Zoe bounced her head along to the music.

  Jeanine turned shot Damián icy glare. "Outside."

  She started towards the double doors that peered out to the walled backyard. Damián followed her. As soon as he closed the door behind him, Jeanine dropped the motherly act. "You need to handle this. Get her out of here,"

  He said curtly, "That's your daughter you're talking about."

  "No, that's your daughter." Jeanine wagged her finger at him. "And this is on you. You're the one who wanted sole parental custody, so deal with her."

  Hmm. Wasn't it convenient that she'd forgotten that she was the one who'd started this? Did she really think that he wanted his daughter to grow up without a mother? If it wasn't for Jeanine's two-faced nature, he would never have applied for sole custody. He would've much preferred joint custody. But Jeanine had proved over and over again that Zoe was the least of her priorities. Furthermore, despite having been granted visitation rights, she'd never claimed any of them. Never.

  Jeanine asked, "How is she even here? How did she find my address?"

  He looked stonily at her. "I didn't give it to her if that's what you're asking. And if you were a normal mother, you'd be asking me why she's here not where she got your address. What kind of mother-"

  "Look, I would love to hear what you have to say about my mothering skills or whatever but I don't have the time," Jeanine cut into his words. "Henry is probably on his way home with the girls. I would prefer that he not find her here. I have enough dram
a in my life. Thank you very much."

  "What would you have me do?" he asked. "Carry her out."

  "If that's what it takes." Jeanine shrugged. "She's your responsibility."

  "Wow! You win Mother of the Year." Damián shook his head as he started for the door but Jeanine stopped him with a hand on his arm.

  "And this can't happen again." Her gaze pierced into him. "Stick to our agreement."

  Damián shook his head, unclasped her fingers one by one from his arm then pushed the door open. Once in the house he called out over the loud music, "Zoe, let's go home."

  Zoe ignored him and turned to her mother who'd just come up behind him. "Can't I stay here? Just for a few days?"

  "I'd love you to stay but I'm afraid it's not possible, honey," Jeanine said. "We really don't have space."

  "I can sleep on the couch," Zoe pleaded.

  "The couch is really dirty and uncomfortable, Zoe. In fact, we're having it reupholstered," Jeanine excused even as glared at Damián like it was his fault their daughter wanted to spend time with her.

  "Then I'll sleep on the rug," Zoe whined, her eyes filling with tears.

  "We don't have extra bedding."

  "I don't need bedding." One tear slipped down Zoe's cheek. "I can cover myself with my school jacket."

  Seeing his daughter beg like that - begging to be loved by her own mother- was enough to drain out all his anger. His voice softened. "Zoe, sweetheart, let's go."

  "No, Mommy, please let me stay," Zoe pleaded, her teary eyes on her mother. "Please."

  Jeanine just stared at her and pulled on her lower lip.

  "Sweetheart, let's go." Damián reached for his daughter arm but she snatched it away and jumped to her feet, her eyes still on her mother.

  "Mom. Mom, please."

  But Jeanine's eyes skirted away from her. This time when Damián curved his arm around Zoe's shoulder she didn't pull away. Her head bowed and her shoulder slumped, she let him lead her out of the house.

  Damián felt Jeanine's eyes burning into his back as he walked Zoe to his car. Some part of him wished that she'd call Zoe back, even if it was just to give her a goodbye hug. But nothing like that happened. Just as they got to the car, he heard a bang as Jeanine slammed her front door closed.