         Bethany looked out the hospital window through the blinds to the outside world as she curled her fingers around small hands. This small creature she held has ten fingers ,and ten toes,the most vibrant auburn hair and hazel eyes as she slept in Bethany's arms. She kept her eye on the room door knowing at any moment she would have to make a tough choice about this beautiful baby in her arms. Adoption would have been easier if the child's father was not whom he was.
                Bethany kissed the small hands staring at the door as she heard footsteps coming down the hallway like a parade amplified in her head. She was so paranoid her small miracle would go missing if she allowed the nurse to take the baby to the nursery. How can she love someone she just met?How could she worry for the future of this small child she just had?How could she fear for her life before she had a chance to live?
           Voices got louder in the hallway when she heard a on duty nurse mentioning that visiting hours were almost over as the door tore open revealing what she saw as the reason for all her fear and worries enter the room.
            Gregory Zehettii entered the room disheveled and already frustrated from being detained from his goal long enough. Bethany nodded to let the nurse know it was okay he came in as she hugged the child tighter out of protection. The nurse signaled five minutes letting him know she would be back.
              Bethany sighed .
          " What do you want ,Gregory?" She said now eyes snapped on him in concern. He left her alone to carry this burden and she hadn't seen him since he broke off their engagement all the while knowing she was two months pregnant. She felt abandoned and left to fend for herself. The last time he spoke to her was at his and the Toosley girls wedding. The woman she was replaced with so soon. She didn't say much as she was still suffering morning sickness at the time and stated to herself most of the wedding.
     She recognized her dress on the woman she picked out and saw all the decorations her and Gretchen zehetti set up. As soon as the wedding was over she said her generous words to the bride and groom as tears brimmed her eyes to reflect her broken heart. Then she made her exit not going to the reception knowing she would have to explain things to Gretchen a woman that was nothing but nice to her.
          It would be hard to explain to this woman things she wasn't clear on herself. But one thing she was clear about was Gregory zehetti the father of her child was sitting here and she could figure out why. It wasn't for support for her role as a mother . It was for him to remind her the obligation of giving her only child to an adoption agency to fix his mistake of being with her at all. To erase everything they ever had. To erase her forever.
         His face looked defeated in her tone as she addressed him. But the question still stood in her eyes as she waited for his answer. Gregory was a married man now and he had no right to act if he was going to give her any hope of his return to her.
       He knew she was pregnant under the assumption she was giving up their child since they were no longer able to raise the child together. Gregory was a boastful man of chocolate hair and green eyes and chiseled jaw of a very handsome man. He was very much a ladies man and had no issues with securing mistress or potential lady friends to keep him company. But Bethany wasn't one of his normal girls . She was his childhood first love,she was his one true love,and now she has created a small tiny thing that shared both of their love.
         " Would you deny me to say goodbye to my only." He hesitated waiting for the gender to be confirmed. Bethany Grigorii scoffed at how eager he was to say his goodbyes to this precious child of hers and his like it was a business transaction that had to be done in order to secure a long awaited deal . It was bad enough he planned a silent adoption where she wasn't allowed to know where their child was going at all . Now he was reminding her it was time to say goodbye to someone she just met.
              " She is My daughter ." Retorted Bethany. This was intentionally done to stake claim over the life she was now responsible for. Because that's exactly who this little girl was. Her daughter. The little girl with the red hair like her mother she so desperately wished she was here to hold her first grandchild,but wasn't here for that either. Instead she was in hiding after her brother Ryder disowned her, Gregory broke up with her, and now he wanted to act as if he was interested in the life he was sending away.
          "Our daughter." He corrected her ." I remember helping to create her." He added as he really didn't want to waste his time on the conversation that he was done talking about. Him and Bethany made a deal to give up the baby to save the reputation of both families . He hated how stubborn she could be . How she could be so set on making it more difficult than it had to be.
    Bethany snapped him a look so fierce that it could freeze a heart. According to Bethany this was her child. He threw it away when he ended their relationship after years of love over a business deal between the two families forgetting her all together so when she found out she was with child as she was ran out of town that her father helped build before he died over a territory dispute made her a jaded casualty of a war between power struggle in a change of management.
                 Gregory huffed as he tried to be calm not to be quick to his mighty temper he was known for as he tried to reply calmly.
                  " I said what I said." Bethany scoffed. She didn't think she had to justify her reasoning of her wanting her daughter. Her wanting something she created . Gregory was being cold and aloof and it was getting on her nerves. This was not the man she knew not the man she once loved all those years as they were in each other's constant embrace. The night she made love to Gregory she was under the assumption he loved her and it was a promise for their future between this one act of love.
         "She is our daughter. I only wish to say goodbye to her before she sees her new family ." He said as a matter of a fact. She laughed inwardly how he want to claim this child whom moments ago was ready to give up in an instant . She knew he really didn't want either of them it was clear the day he left her and hounded her to go to the adoption agency where she was left there alone signing away the rights to her unborn child. He didn't even show up for that. She was left utterly alone with that burden to do alone just like she was left alone to carry this child .
                  Bethany softly said . " That was the original plan.It was before I met her."she said looking at the baby born on valentines day of all days .She smiled at the irony of her arrival as she was a child made out of love before her world came crumbling down . Months ago she was the one wearing the engagement ring. She was the one setting up wedding announcements,and excited to be getting married .
But as soon as Regina Toosley became of age she was casted off as Gregory father felt Regina was a better political match for the family . Brian Toosley didn't care his future son-in-law invested years of romancing Bethany to keep him from the territory he would gain in the marriage of the Toosley girl to Gregory zehetii and the massive Zehetii empire.
            " What do you mean that was the original plan?" He demanded now he had processed the words she had said. Gregory paced in place as he didn't like where this was going and he knew once Bethany had her mind made up it would be hard to move it from anything else. That's why he wanted the agency to just take the child before she had a chance to see it. This was what he feared would eventually happen the long drawn out road to regret . The contract was signed .
             " I lost you . She is the only thing I have that lets me know we were real and not a figment of my imagination. She is what is real to me. I can't let strangers raise her knowing she will never know her mother before she had a chance to be one. I can't protect her from people like you if she doesn't know who she truly is.one day she will come looking for me as most adopted kids do out of curiosity. She will hold some animosity I didn't love her enough to keep her. What guarantees she will be taken care of? If she will be happier with them instead of me?if she will have my face as she ages or yours. It's not fair to deny me the only thing that is truly mine. I created her. I carried her. And I love her. You can't take her away from me too. What more can you take from me if you take her you know I'll never be the same person you once knew ." She said softly as to not scare this perfect child sleeping in her arms .
       Gregory's eyes softened as he now understood the depts of her suffering he caused her. Then he straightened his demeanor. He knew he hurt her but now was not the time for him to go back on what they both decided to do with the child.

     "Beth, You can't. A child born before I could give my wife a child of her own would be war.Do you realize how this would look a child born out of wedlock to two powerful families. All the while I'm married to another families only daughter." He snapped. As he tried to argue his point and by the look on Bethany's face he knew he was going to lose.
      " Sounds like a personal problem to me. This is not an negotiation, Gregory. I'm keeping her and you can just leave and pretend I do not exist. You did a swell job in forgetting me when you married her,and left me on the street pregnant.She is all I have. In fact you can leave. I don't know why your even here. You being here is endangering my daughter as you acknowledge her paternity . For her sake disappear . I will keep her safe from you." Bethany said fiercely .
          Gregory knew she was stubborn and had her mind set it wouldn't change.Damn this women putting him in a disposition to anger his newly wed wife with the marriage too new to established any security from his choice to abandon Bethany.
                " Can I at least know her name?" He tried. As he wanted to know what name she would want for the child. It was more out of curiosity instead of practicality. A temporary distraction for what must be done to ease Bethany from her detouring from their original plans for the child.
              "No. Names has power in it. You will not be able to hold that power for someone you don't find worth knowing. She will be taken care of and her name with be my own . I may not have much to give her but her name I will make sure she is safe from either of our worlds we have grown to know. " She snapped as she pressed the nurses button to usher Gregory out to let him know she was done talking to him about her daughter.
The nurse came in with two other orderlies . Gregory threw his hands up as he looked defeated as he was ushered out of the room .
" Beth! " He yelled as he was removed from the room.
     " I'm sorry I do not know this man . Please remove this stranger from my side." Bethany said in an even tone as the look of sorrow crossed over Gregory's face. He had lost her and now he felt the sting of pain and regret.

Night fell as it became quiet in the room. The nurse came in with a dinner tray as she said casually ,
" She is beautiful. What will you call her,ma'am?"
Bethany smiled as the child began to stir for her feeding.
"You are my sunshine my only sunshine you make me happy when sky's are grey. ...." She mused and answered .
" Her name is Sunshine Valentine. "

              Bethany waited as she saw the nurses packing up her to go supplies for Sunshine as she had created an audience as the took turns holding her as the were removing Bethany's IVs and getting her clothes so she could be discharged from the maternity ward.
                 Bethany knew she couldn't go back to her tiny apartment she had been hiding in until the baby was born. In fact she hadn't planned on a baby being part of her life and didn't make preparations for it at all. She had the baby set up for adoption since her and Gregory zehetti was no more. But when she saw that little girl for the first time . He first thought was to run . To keep her baby and not let that adoption agency take her baby away over some unresolved contract. She would square away the legal repercussions later right now she had to hide herself and her baby. She needed some funds to take care of her new life and her father's various estates that he had would send a red flag to Gregory if he came to search for them.
                     Bethany could have stayed in one of the houses her dad owned but it was too painful to be alone in them after he died . That and her half brother from an affair her dad had during a weak moment of her mother's sickness is now occupied the ones he claimed as his. Ryder made it clear he didn't want Bethany occupying any of their father's estates . He didn't want to see her near him ever again. He was so angry at her after Antonio Bruno their father died.
     Ryder would never allow her to stay there without some reminder of all the times his dad didn't include him in the family growing up.Now that she gave birth to an heir to her father's estate Ryder would not like being in third place to her father's inheritance he set up for his daughter and her children then the bastard brother that had a huge chip on his shoulder.
                   Bethany hadn't been a mother long and already she feared the Toosley and her own half brother seeing Sunshine as a threat to their life. Regina wasn't no usurp princess. Her family was upstart money. Part of the black market side of business when it came to handling business. She had only lost her entire happiness due to her father blackmail evidence against Gregory mother . Since they were cousins through marriage and well became kissing cousins on one eventful night of Gregory parents marriage. Well that was the rumor that was floating around.
                 Most would think you would spend the wedding night with their own husband,but being passed out drunk left her wanting. Many gossiped that Gregory was his own son ,but these rumors were dismissed when Gregory came out a spitting image of his father. Many years went by in a hush hush manner of that faithful night. The Toosley marriage was a contract to keep his mouth shut from her being left penniless if her loving husband found out .
                    Bethany now had three enemies that would view Sunshine a threat to them. She had to disappear. It's why she didn't give the baby her name. She wanted Sunshine to have her own clean slate. She wanted her precious daughter to have her own life free of the world she was born into . If Sunshine was going to continue on the bloodline she had to be invisible.
                           Bethany closed all her bank accounts and bonds ,and sold two properties for cheap turnover well before she had the baby. She had planned to run after the baby was born, but now she wasn't alone. Bethany had liquidated over a few million dollars where she had in cash and prepaid cards that you could toss without registration. She had a unlisted burner phone. In fact she had a bag full of them ready to dispose of. She had identification ready to change her life. Not a life of an heiress of a influential business man.
                        Her match with Gregory was a stepping stone to another wealthy family,but when he broke off the engagement and was married to another a week later showed that she was not as grand as she thought she was. Her father protected her alive ,but when he died she had a target drawn on her back. Bethany was no angel ,but she was also no gangster. She thought she was secured with Gregory,but now she had to run .
                       Bethany grabbed a few things for Sunshine to travel. She couldn't buy any concrete items until she reached her destination. She bought a small house in the country without review in cash. She even placed the house in Sunshines name . She needed a fresh start. She need out of her family business. It was her family business that got her father killed . That introduced her to Gregory. That ultimately broke her heart .
                 She looked at the identification she had made with matching social security card stating her name was Samantha Valentine. Not Bethany anymore Samantha she recited to herself as she read the ID out loud memorizing the information on the card. She breathed in a deep breath grabbed her bags and Sunshine and boarded the bus line.
                         Ideally it wasn't a good time to travel with a new born when she was suppose to be recuperating with all the airborne illness her new precious baby could catch with her frail immune system ,but she had an appointment she needed to keep. She had a job lined up in a few weeks and a house to settle and a life to create. Granted she set up this life with passenger of one,but she could make an exception .
             Why did she think she could give up her child. Better yet why did she allow Gregory to guilt trip her into thinking this would ruin her life if she had the baby. Gregory made it seem like it could hold them back if a lost heir to his dynasty was out there floating around .Gregory was a selfish bastard. He only thought how it would effect him . Like he only thought of how they promised to be together forever until her father died and the Toosley was the main name on top. He wasn't thinking of her at all just tying up loose ends .Bethany became infuriating overwhelmed that he almost made her give away the only thing keeping her alive.
            Sunshine was a quiet traveler . Only time she woke was to eat as Bethany hid her under a blanket to feed her and keep her warm. The ride was uncomfortable and the car seat kept Sunshine safe but she can feel her pad needed to be changed and the use in case of emergency only sign illuminating the facilities door. The next stop was an hour away to change buses and back in the road for a few more hours. At least at the rest station she can use the bathroom ,change Sunshine and pick through vending machine food if that's what you like to call it. Bethany desperately needed a nap,but she couldn't afford to fall asleep with a baby to watch.
                 Bethany got off the bus and hurried to change Sunshine while doing the gotta pee dance as he cleaned up her baby and place her back in the car seat. Then went in the bathroom as she let out a cry of relief . This was the best damn pee in her life she thought as she found relief. She pulled out some wet wipes and cleaned herself up. She changed her maternity pad and pulled a change of clothes out since she messed all over the last pair of pants. She had to change her hair color if she wanted to start over maybe contact lenses she thought as she washed her face in the sink and ran water through her hair.
                        She looked down at the baby and smiled. She picked up the car seat and bags and went in search for the vending machines she would stock up on food and drinks for the next trip.she didn't dare use her prepaid cards in a transit station .she pulled out her cash and made sure it was only dollar bills since she hid the other money in the bottom of her bags and under the cushion of the car seat . She was basically traveling with millions of dollars and acting casual like she didn't have a dime. She had to she was in no state to fight off a mugger . It's why she chose a small country town .A basic dot on a map.she needed a space to bury all the money she hid with diapers and baby clothes she picked up at the local market where she purchased the duffle bags. She only had a few changes of clothes and her mother locket with her parents in it. The only thing from her old life she took to remember.
            It be a matter of time before Ryder realizes she cleared out the bank and sold some properties and by that time Bethany would be no where to be found. Ryder always thought that money was owed to him ,because he was the son of the Bruno's. He was a son ,but his mom was a hired as a nanny for Bethany and when Bethany's mother Rana fell sick when Bethany was only six years old she also became her nurse maid tending to her mother's sick bed . While her mother was dying her dad was screwing the help. The bridge that separated her half brother from her was the same bridge that made him her most dangerous enemy . Ryder was three years old when Bethany's mother died .
             Victoria Ryder's mother and Antonio Bruno mistress raised her as her own all the way up to Bethany's twenty third birthday . By then she took over her mother's business and her percentage in her father's law firm and tenant lands that the Toosley and Grigorii built their homes on. When Antonio Bruno died . Bethany knew her time was borrowed . Thirteen years she was raised with her brother with her Ryder and Victoria and her father .
               Bethany understood her father was with Victoria and thought of her as her unofficial stepmother since besides Rana .she was her second mother even though she really payed attention to Ryder instead of her.
                   Ryder was still wet behind the ears being a snotty fifteen year old brat that was told from day one he was gods gift to women ,and the master of his father's affection . In fact his mother was a gold digger and Mr . Bruno didn't leave her a dime. The reading of the will was eventful since both parents are dead now Bethany inherited her mother's companies that made millions,and her father's tenant lands and her percentage in his law firm that made millions as well. The company would be given to Sunshine as Bethany had a proxy to run the business for income .
                         There was a lawyer set up to handle the money and taxes on these companies . He was also the one who set up her ID and new identity. Rodger had been her father's lawyer and her mother's brother. Since Bethany Mom died he set up all the money left for her. She didn't want me. Bruno to have a dime to spend on his mistresses. Her mother was no fool. She knew the man she married.
                      The bus slowly came to a stop as the overhead light came on as she pulled into the small town she picked. She must have dozed off immediately she looked for Sunshine . She was where she left her . Asleep in her car seat. She had to call a ride share from this point. Thank goodness for ride share because taxes in small towns don't exist.she say on the bench and pulled out a burner . She called a ride share and waited.
                             The driver came up and immediately she knew he was the chatty type. She got in the car told him the address and said ,
"I'll give you fifty more dollars if you keep the talking to a minimum I am suffering a headache ."
She knew how nosy drivers wanted to know information like where you came from.she didn't need someone uncovering her location because a chatty driver couldn't keep his mouth shut. Drivers talk and share last thing she needed was for him to blow her operation.
           The driver kept his mouth shut all the way until the house came into view. It was on two acres of land and the backset of a mountain view. It was quant and beautiful. It was perfect little farm house. Enough space for a garden and maybe a guard dog she thought . Maybe some livestock she mused. Embrace the country life she thought as she got out of the car.
       The town was so small the keys and a note was hanging on the front door. No one locked their doors here. This was home.
          " Welcome home, Sunshine." She said as the baggage was placed on the porch and the ride share driver drove away in the distance.

Pathfinder

A valentine gift

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