A mistake... a baby!

"Father, where are we going?" Alessandra, who was just ten years old at the time, asked her father Benjamin.

The man cast a glance in the direction of his daughter before returning his attention to the road.

Before responding to his daughter, he inhaled deeply and paused for a moment. "Sandy, we are going to the city. A long journey from this village." He uttered his words in a feeble and halting manner.

Benjamin was unable to hold back the tears that were welling up in his eyes.

"But, daddy, why are you crying?" There was a concern in her tone.

Benjamin Robbins did not respond and instead continued to drive his car without stopping. However, just a few minutes later, he can't help but start crying.

"Alessandra, I'm sorry. Please forgive me your father,"

"Huh?"

Benjamin reached for his daughter's little hands and grabbed them. "Because from now on, you won't have a complete family anymore. Your mother left us and went to live with another man. I don't want to lie to you in any way, honey. But, your mother ended up living with a rich man. And there is no way she will return," His voice trembled

Even though Alessandra did not have a complete comprehension of what was happening, it appeared as though her tears had a mind of their own and were able to fall freely from her eyes.

"W-What? Did mother leave us? But she loves us... right?"

"I'm sorry, Sandy, but I can't answer that question. But, the only thing I can confirm is that going forward, it will just be the two of us. We are going to live quite far away from this town. We will put this unfortunate event in the past, and from this day forward, you can count on me as both your mother and your father. Forgive me, Sandy. I can't give you a complete family anymore,"

Alessandra curled her bottom lip and gave her father a tight hug. "I... I understand, dad. I'll always be with you. I'm not going to leave you, dad. Never,"

"I love you, Sandy. You are my little princess, my baby. You are the only person I have in my life, and the thought of losing you would be too much for me to take. I'll do everything in my power to make your life better and provide you with a promising future," The expression of anxiety and worry could be seen on Benjamin's face.

"That won't happen, dad. I will never leave you like what mom did. I love you too, daddy." Sandy said with a smile, but it quickly vanished as she saw something in the road.

"Sandy? Why? Is there any problem?"

"What do you think of my academics, dad? My friends?" Alessandra sighed.

"Once we go to the city, Sandy, you will find it easy to meet new people and form new friendships. And you are going to transfer to a new school. There are more kids like your age. You will expand your circle of acquaintances." The way he is speaking to her is reassuring.

Benjamin revived the car's engine. They had put in a lot of miles by the time they spotted something not too distant from them.

"What's that dad?" Alessandra pointed in the direction of something that was a few meters away from them.

Benjamin did not respond and simply continued driving without stopping. When they arrived at the exact spot, there was a car there, and it appeared like there was some kind of ruckus going on.

"Sandy, I need you to stay here regardless of what will happen. Give me just a second to look into it,"

"But dad... don't leave me." The tone of her voice reveals apprehension.

"No, Sandy, I won't leave you, honey. Stay right where you are, I'm going to go check out what's going on." After parking, he got out of the vehicle.

Sandy was there when her father defended an old man from a family who was harassing him while they were in a limousine. The old man is selling strawberries on the side of the busy road.

After a few minutes, the owner of the limousine got out and drove away.

Alessandra had the impression that she needed to go down and ask about what was taking place to satisfy her curiosity about what was happening. She got out of her father's car.

"You have a very nice heart, sir, and I want to thank you for saving me. I really appreciate it." The elderly man is showing respect for her father by bowing to him. The elderly man was not neat looking and appeared disheveled.

Young Alessandra can say that the elderly man has a hard and poor life. His skin is dry and appears to have a rough texture, and his clothes are unclean. He was holding the hands of her father.

Alessandra can notice that her father did not show any sign of being disgusted by contacting their skin.

"Don't even bring it up. I've only done what I consider to be the right thing. Soon it will get dark here. Do you want me to buy all of your strawberries so that you can go back to your home? If you'd like, I can drive you to your place," Her father offered a suggestion.

On the other hand, the elderly man shook his head. "There's no need to bother anymore, I can't thank you enough for all that you've done for me."

Benjamin shrugged his shoulders in response. "Alright. I won't force you. But, it looks like you haven't eaten yet, and there are still a lot of strawberries left. I really hope that this will already be enough to help you," She saw as her father gave the elderly man ten dollar bucks.

"My daughter and I need to go right away. The night is drawing in," After saying his goodbyes, he walked back to his car.

Her father saw her.

The elderly man gave a small nod. "Before you go, there's something I've been meaning to tell you,"

The old man turned his head to look at Alessandra, who was standing off to the side. He moved closer to her while maintaining an intense concentration on her. The young girl became frightened because of the intensity of his gaze. And before she could get out of the way, he already had a firm grip on her little hands.

"Don't be afraid, young girl. I promise not to harm you in any way." The elderly man calmly said.

The stranger temporarily closed his eyes and just focused on Alessandra's hand.

"You won't have to wait long, little girl, to find the one who is meant to be yours. You'll meet him soon. And before you go, I want you to know that you will be given two signs to let you know that he is your soulmate. I want you to know this before you leave. You'll find a spade tattoo on him, and he'll become your white stallion,"

"Knight in dazzling armor?"

The elderly man flashed a grin. "This means that he will save you, but I can't tell you from what kind of situation. You have to come to terms with the fact that this someone will genuinely love you more than anyone else, and if you choose to let him go, you might have to endure pain for the rest of your life."

Alessandra was going to ask something, but at that moment, his father dragged her arms back to the car.

"Sandy, it's going dark soon. Let's go,"

Benjamin let out a sigh of relief. "Whew, thank heavens we finished it." He removed the sweat off his forehead with a tissue. They have recently completed renovating their apartment unit.

Since they are unable to move their belongings back to their house, her father placed an order for new appliances and furniture. Aside from that, her father may want to forget things that are associated with her mother's recollections.

Alessandra took a tour of the new apartment they had moved into. While they were enjoying a meal at a well-known fast-food chain, not far from their current location, they lucked out and came across an affordable flat.

Eric claims that the very last person that lived in their flat has just moved out, thus it is currently unoccupied.

She is confident in stating that the location of their new house is ideal. It is situated within the country's most important urban center. Both the establishments and the schools are conveniently located nearby. Even while it is not as large as their property in the countryside, it nevertheless manages to maintain a comfortable and homey atmosphere. And perhaps most importantly, her father won't be miserable any longer.

He won't have to see her mother and her love anymore. Benjamin, her father, will be able to live a quiet life because of this.

"Get some rest, Sandy. I'll take care of getting something to eat," Her father said.

She shrugged her shoulders but proceeded to clean the dust off the ceiling in silence.

"Oh, before I forget. Tomorrow, we have to get up early. I talked to Eric, and there's a school just a few blocks away from our apartment. I'll enroll you. I don't want you to be late for registration."

Another time, Alessandra shook her head and asked, "After your enrollment, are you comfortable going home alone yourself? If not, I'll ask Eric if he can walk you to our apartment."

It was alright with her because she had already met their neighbor Eric, and he seemed like a decent old man. She turned around and asked her father, "Sure, dad. But why aren't you going to come with me?"

Her father took a few long breaths before continuing, "I'm going to hunt for a job, Sandy. If I don't look, our funds will run out. You know that I'm not a rich guy. You know that we bought furniture and appliances, and it cost almost half of our savings," he stated.

Alessandra is just a young girl, but she grasps the meaning of what her father is attempting to convey despite her age. Her father is only forty years old at this point. He's an architect.

"Oh, dad, I will pray that you will be accepted," She said to her father.

He smiled, but she was aware that it didn't extend to his eyes. "Whew, I hope so, honey. I can't afford not to work. I want to give you a wonderful future," he said.

Alessandra harbored a deep-seated resentment toward her mother, believing that if her mother hadn't abruptly gone with a wealthy man and abandoned them, Alessandra's father wouldn't have been forced to struggle so hard to provide for their needs.

They could have had a comfortable life if her mother hadn't just left them. Her mother is not content with her father. Although her mother is not rich either, she has a nice profession. She is a sous chef in a popular hotel in their town. And she is just an only child. Not to mention that they weren't renting their house back then. They could have had a comfortable life if her mother hadn't just left them.

Alessandra used to ponder the question of why some people aren't sincere about commitments.

***

The following day, her father followed through on what he had said yesterday. And he registered her in a private school that was located only a few blocks from where they lived.

But Alessandra didn't agree to go home by herself because she didn't know very much about the place yet. She was afraid of being alone. Later on, Alessandra's father agreed to bring her along with him when he went for his job interview, and she just waited for him in the lobby.

"Dad, what happened?" She questioned her father as soon as he emerged from the interview room.

His facial expression is unremarkable as he speaks, "They told me that they are going to email me about my job interview and that they will let me know via email whether or not I was accepted,"

As they were walking towards public transportation, Alessandra's father proposed that they should just go out and buy fast food because he was too exhausted to cook at home, and Alessandra agreed with his suggestion.

They are currently waiting in the shed for the bus since her father has decided to cease driving their car because doing so would result in an additional expense and he is also considering selling it online. So now, they will be riding the public bus instead.

"I'm sorry, Sandy. Our life has suddenly changed. We need to adjust to our new lifestyle. Besides, taking a bus is not that horrible. And it's not expensive either," he winked at her. The bus arrived, and a lot of passengers got on board.

Alessandra let out a chuckle. After that, she thought about the pals she had after school every day. They get a free lift from his father all the way back to their house.

When the bus conductor had collected the fare, he turned to his father and asked, "Where are you headed?"

"Santa Clara Village."

The young girl with braids who was standing next to them exclaimed in shock and asked, "Hello, sir. Do you both live in Santa Clara Village?"

To Alessandra's calculations, she is approximately the same age as the young girl.

Her father gave the fare to the conductor and then looked at the girl and said. "Oh, hi darling. Yes. My daughter and I are staying in Santa Clara Village. We haven't been here in a week. Is there any problem?" Her father then stared at the girl.

"Oh, I see, sir. Because it's only my first time seeing you both. I also live in Santa Clara Village. It's only a little village, sir, so everyone knows one another," she said.

Her father acknowledged what she was saying by nodding and asking, "Is that so? I see..."

"May I ask, sir, what block do you live in?"

"We are renting a flat in an apartment building, and our address is Block 7,"

The young girl said, "Oh my goodness! Sir, really?! We're neighbors. I am living in Block 7 too. Are you both living in a four-story apartment with a metal gate?" Her eyes shone with excitement. "We're neighbors. I lived in Block 7 too."

Her father indicated with a nod that he agreed.

The tiny girl exclaims with a beaming smile, "Oh my god! Anyway, mister, my name is Cathryn!"

And Alessandra was aware that Cathryn had already won her father's vote; she knew her father already liked Cathryn. She looks like a positive girl. "Just call me Uncle Benjamin. And here's my daughter Sandy," Alessandra's father introduced them.

The young girl gave her a friendly grin and said, "Hi, Sandy!"

It was strange that they had only been talking for a short period, but she seemed to be at ease with her now. She expressed her wish that they may become friends.

"Hi, Cathryn. Sure. I also want to make friends since my father told me that we will live in the city for good," She greeted back.

Cathryn giggled. "Oh my gosh, then good!"

She noticed a man standing next to her. Alessandra can determine that the man is in his early to mid-twenties. "Is he your family member, Cathryn?"

The young girl nodded. "Yes. He is my nanny's son, and his name is Justin. Consequently, I now think of him as my brother as well."

Justin responded with a smile when Alessandra bobbed at him.

According to her observations, the people who live in their village are friendly neighbors, so it appears as though she won't have any trouble adjusting to her new environment.

The conductor's announcement that they had arrived in Santa Clara Village was the only thing that managed to pull them away from their conversation.

After alighting from the bus, they carried on their conversation as they made their way through the village.

They arrived in Block 7 just a few minutes later.

"This is our home," Cathryn said, pointing to the large house that was located just in front of the apartment where they lived.

Cathryn is correct; they are merely neighbors! Justin has already gone inside. She let out a gasp.

His father gave the young girl a look and said, "Cathryn, if you're not busy, you can join us for snacks. I bought some burger and fries here,"

"Wow, you know what, Uncle Benjamin? I can never say no to food!"

What Cathryn said made them all laugh out loud.

Her father gave her a grin. "It seems you have a very strong appetite, Cathryn. Sandy, keep Cathryn entertained while I prepare the snacks."

Cathryn had a look around as her father went to the kitchen.

"Your place is wonderful. It looks so comfortable. Do you have a room?"

It's funny to think that they had just met, but she was already showing off her room to him.

"Oh my goodness, it's amazing how well we can get along. The color pink is one of my favorites as well. " Cathryn screamed.

"But, Sandy. May I know in which school you are currently enrolled?"

"I am currently in the sixth grade at Santa Clara University, Cathryn," She answered.

Cathryn surprised her greatly by screaming at the top of her lungs and even hitting her in the arms.

She rolled her eyes and asked Cathryn in a humorous tone, "Can you kindly lower your voice? You're in my room, haler?"

Cathryn's bottom lips were being nibbled on as she spoke. "Oops. Sorry! I can't help it! Seriously, you're also enrolled at SCU? I'm also studying there. Maybe we'll be classmates, Sandy! I'm also in 6th grade," Cathryn said with a smile plastered across her face.

Alessandra is already like Cathryn now. And secretly harbors the dream that they will be classmates soon.

A couple of weeks passed.

Benjamin instructed his daughter to wait for their package outdoors and the delivery man. Her father placed an order for something on the internet. Alessandra got outside, and she saw a group of young people hanging out in front of Cathryn's house.

"Sandy, has the delivery boy arrived already?" Her father's voice could be heard yelling from inside the house.

"He hasn't arrived yet, dad!" Alessandra exclaimed. She yelled back at him. She doesn't want anyone to see her she's stalking or eavesdropping on him. That would be the end of her!

She was able to spot a man emerging from Cathryn's home even from a considerable distance. He has thick, wavy, and dark hair. Her eyes seemed to be riveted on the man, and even though she couldn't look at him closely, she knew that he was a handsome man. It is obvious. He has a domineering aura.