Always Committed to You

"Mommy, mommy, wake up. It's time to shake up. Wake up, mommy."

"Urge yes-yes, I am up," Ella grumbled and sighed sleepily as she felt little feet bouncing on the bed she was sleeping on.

"Stop jumping on the bed, Lily. You will hurt yourself," she told her five-year-old daughter while rubbing her own sleepy eyes. She was way too sleep-deprived to match her daughter's excitement this early morning.

"Okay-Doki, mommy." Her daughter chirped excitedly.

"How can someone be so perky like you this early in the morning?" She asked her, dumbfounded.

But who is she kidding? Lilly has been an early riser since she was a toddler, just like her father.

Like father like daughter.

"Because I am an early bird." Her little girl started jumping on the bed again.

"Ugh! No more jumping, Lillian Daniella Ashfield." Her mother told her firmly. This made Lilly stop. Her mother calling her by her full name is never a good sign.

"Come on, Lilly. Let's get you ready for school," Ella said while getting up from bed. She then picked her daughter up in her arms, making her little girl squeal in delight.

"Okay, Doki, mommy."

Even though, for a five-year-old, her daughter is a smart girl, sometimes she can be quite a handful.

Whatever it is, she is her life.

For the past five years, Lily has been like her alarm clock. Just like her father, she does not fail to get up early. She is used to getting up at six every morning. Whereas Ella is concerned, she can sleep till noon, but no such luck when you have a notorious little girl jumping on your bed at six a.m. sharp every morning.

Once she brushed her teeth, she helped her daughter get ready and then went towards the kitchen. Ella thought about cooking pancakes for her little daughter. Lilly loves pancakes. She is also a sucker for sweets, but which kid doesn't like sweet food?

"Mommy, I am hungry." Lily ran downstairs towards the dining area and sat on her chair.

"And your pancakes are also ready." Ella puts the plate in front of her daughter, filled with three pancakes and maple syrup on top.

"Yay, I plovv you, Mnomy," she said with her mouth full.

"I love you too, Lily. But no talking while eating." Ella smiled. Her daughter is the sunshine of her life, twinkling stars in the darkness.

It is, however, beyond her imagination how this little girl in front of her can feed herself with three pancakes. While Lilly was digging into her pancakes, Ella took a hot shower and hastily dressed herself for work.

"Hurry up, Lily, or else we will be late for school."

After a five-minute drive, they both reached their destination.

"So here we are, Lily. I might be late today, so Cory Grams will pick you up. Be a good girl, and don't harass her."

"I won't, mommy. I will be a delightful girl," she giggled.

"I am sure you will be, honey. Have a good day." Ella kissed both her cheeks.

"You too, mommy." Lily pecked her mother's cheek and ran into her school as Ella waved goodbye to her daughter.

While Ella was driving to work, Daniel was sitting in a coffee shop with his best friend, trying to examine everything around him.

"Dude, didn't I tell you that we would get the best coffee here?" Daniel's best friend, Timothy, told him.

"Sure, Tim. Whatever you say." He mentally rolled his eyes as he looked around the café, 'The Brunch.'

He sure has heard a lot about this cafe. It has created quite a goodwill, and he is curious to form an opinion for himself about the place.

It has been quite a while since he took time out of work and truly enjoyed a place. Even though the very reason for his presence in this café is for the work itself, he could not resist giving in to the serenity of the aroma spread all around him.

After a few moments of silence, gazing around him, subtly glancing at the customers, and enjoying the ambiance, Timothy asked his best friend. "So, what do you think about this place?"

"Much better than I thought. It just has this unexplainable aura around it that makes you enjoy it," he said with complete honesty.

"Good thing we agreed to visit here. If everything falls through, this deal with Mr. Nelson will be great for us and our business," Timothy said to his friend.

Daniel thought for a while and answered, "Yes, Tim. This place holds a lot of potential, and if expanded properly, it could do wonders. It would not only help us, but it would also help Mr. Nelson expand his business. It is a win-win situation for all of us."

He meant what he said. 'The Brunch' is unique in its own way. It is more or less a cafe, which has allotted one section to books proudly sitting on the shelves. However, the majority of the space is occupied with couches and chairs with matching tables where the customers can sit to either do their work or enjoy their coffee and food.

Everything was well coordinated here. From the décor to the arrangement of the furniture, even the colors of the walls were neither too bright nor too dull. It was the perfect shade of pastel. The soft music in the background was the icing on the cake, which added soul to this café. It was lively, yet peace was maintained.

Overall, this place is pretty wonderful. It gives a comfortable and pleasant feeling. But minor changes here and there and a bit of expansion would open new doors for not only the customers but even for the owner.

"I really pray that things work out with Mr. Nelson. This place is really something, and it could easily generate a good profit with some modification and expansion," Timothy voiced out his thoughts to Daniel.

"Yes, hopefully. I will call and inform him about our arrival. As it stands, we have a meeting with him tomorrow, so we have got enough time in our hands to plan everything meticulously." Daniel was quite optimistic about the present meeting.

They both drank their coffee peacefully. There was a constant flow of customers coming in and going out. Even at half past nine in the morning, this place is pretty full. This must be the go-to place for a lot of locals here.

But suddenly, Daniel's train of thought was disturbed, and his attention diverted to the entrance of the café after he heard the soft ring of a bell. He glanced towards the door of the cafe, where he faintly saw an average-height woman rushing inside. He was not able to see her face, as there were people around her.

She pushed past the crowd and ran behind the counter in haste. His best guess was that she was late for her work. But there was something about her that made his eyes follow her around like a magnet. There was something truly familiar about her, but he did not wish to let his thoughts go in that direction. Yet he could not help but put in an effort to put a clear face on that body. Just when he was about to get a glimpse of her face, his friend butted in.

"Dude, we should get going, or else we will be late for our check-in."

Daniel nodded and reluctantly got up and left with his friend. He really did wish to see her face. It has been a long time since he felt a desire to know someone of the opposite gender. It might be his mind playing games, but he wanted to confirm his gut feelings, at the same time, he was afraid of the revelation.

Anyhow, his primary focus was to prepare for his meeting with Mr. Nelson for the deal to pull through.

Today, unlike usual, Daniel was feeling delighted. He has not been this excited for years now. He guessed that he was pretty curious about seeing the mystery girl who caught his eye the other day, even though he had not seen her face. She had been on his mind ever since he had a glimpse of her, but he was too caught up in his work to go to the cafe again. He was busy preparing a presentation to show to the owner of 'The Brunch.'

Hopefully, today he will be able to see who she was-that is, if he was right about her working in that café. He doesn't know, but he feels like he knows her from somewhere or has some kind of connection with her for some unknown reason. Well, only time will tell.

Things, however, have always been busy for Ella. The workload in the café and the chores at her home were increasing day by day, leaving little time for herself. She also had to look after Lily. So, more or less, she had been juggling the work of the cafe and home, more so, for the past seven days. Particularly now, after Rowan had informed them about the likelihood of new modifications at the café.

He wanted to expand his business and chose to entrust the entire operation to her and his daughter. Though her life can be pretty hectic from time to time, she loves every bit of it. She would not change it for anything.

Ella enjoys her post as a manager at the café 'The Brunch', and Lily also makes her life pleasantly tolerable at home. After all, being a single mother is not that easy.

Just like the previous day, Dan and Timothy ordered the same coffee while they waited for Mr. Nelson to arrive for their meeting. It was rather unusual to hold the meeting at the same cafe rather than an official meeting space, but an informal setting may have been just what was needed for a good end.

Rowan Nelson is the owner of this cafe, but his daughter and her best friend manage it. They don't know much about them, but they expect to meet them. Daniel and Timothy came a bit early to enjoy the beverage along with the delicious dessert this place offers, and they both had to agree that the food and drinks served here do not disappoint one bit.

While Timothy was entirely indulged in the scrumptious chocolate mousse, Daniel was looking out for the mystery girl as he sipped his coffee, but to his utter dismay, there was not a single trace of her.

Dammit!! Where is she?

Hell, when did he become so desperate? He had never seen her face to begin with.

Nonetheless, there were still roughly twenty minutes left for Mr. Nelson's arrival, so to pass the time, Daniel decided to browse through the book section in the cafe. As he walked through it, he could see that, for a small section, there was diversity in the books. From children's fantasy to self-help, the café provided a good variety of books for customers of all tastes. It was rather impressive. As he scanned through the kid section, he saw a familiar figure stretching herself to place a book on the top shelf. She looked awfully familiar from behind. The same petite height, the same cocoa-colored hair-everything about this mystery woman reminded him of her.

'No, Dan. Stop it. This mystery woman from yesterday could not be her. You can't think about her now. Not after all these years.' He tried to block all his thoughts about her and went towards the mystery girl to help her out.

Ignoring his thoughts, he grabbed the book from her hand and placed it in its destined place, with his front faintly touching her back.

"Thank you so much," the mystery woman said, making him go rigid.

That sweet, angelic voice. Dan doesn't even need to think hard to recognize that voice. After all this time, he recognize that voice as clear as a day.

"Shortcake," he whispered.

Ella, though, did not have the need to turn around to see the person who helped her. Except for the voice of the person, the name called by him was enough to recognize the man behind her. There was only one person who called her by that nickname.

She desperately hoped that she had heard wrong or that her mind was playing games, but unfortunately, that was not the case. She clearly heard the person calling her shortcake.

"Danny," she whispered, but no voice came out. She was speechless.

She did not dare turn around. She was too scared to see and face him. After all these years, how the hell is she supposed to respond? Thousands of thoughts were going through her mind, but none of them gave her the courage.

What is she supposed to say to him after six years?

How is she supposed to react?

The worst is how he is going to react to seeing her after so many years. And most importantly, what the hell had she gotten herself into?

There was a sudden rush of panic inside her. So much had happened between then and her leaving.

Ella could not help but close her eyes tightly, wishing all this was nothing but a frightening dream. But who the hell was she kidding? Daniel's presence behind her was no less than a bittersweet dream, but it could easily transform into a terrible nightmare within a flick of a second.

Daniel, however, found her body stiffening in front of him when he called her by his given nickname. At first, he was too shocked to react. But then his reaction was an impulse.

As she was not turning around even after hearing his voice, he grabbed her shoulder and spun her towards him to ensure he was not being delusional. He could not have been, as there was only one person on this planet to whom he ever felt attracted, and the mystery person being his shortcake could not be just a mere coincidence.

Yet, even remotely aware of the identity of the woman, his breath was caught in his throat when he finally saw her. Never had he thought that he would find his shortcake, Ella, in Rosewood.

When Daniel turned her around, she was at a loss for words. She knew that a day would come when she would have no choice but to face him. But never had she ever thought that the day would come so early if anyone could call six years soon.

Ella looked at him in the eyes hesitantly, and there were tonnes of emotions flashing.

It stunned her.

No words were being exchanged. They were only looking at each other, trying to remember what they had been like six years prior to this day. It was as if the time had stopped and they were the only two people standing.

"Danny," she whispered without realizing it. She wouldn't be surprised if he did not hear her.

Daniel doesn't look that different, apart from his face. Unlike before, he had faint stubble growing, which made him look even more attractive.

On the other side, Daniel was still not able to believe that his Ella was standing in front of him. It has been six years since last he saw her. She was as beautiful as she had ever been. Her hair was, however, longer than before, and he desired nothing but to run his finger through it.

How is it possible that even after so many years, one can look so beautiful, if not more?

But there was definitely something different about her. Even as they looked at each other, his mind was swimming with so many emotions and questions, and there was only one person who had the key to his troublesome questions, which had not let him have a good night's sleep for more than half a decade.

Just as he was about to speak, he saw her gaze down slightly, as if she were trying to get away from him. But he knew his Ella. Even today, he could read her with ease. Just like he had predicted, there was something that made her leave him, and meeting him again was never her plan.

What are you hiding, Ella?

His train of questions and their gaze were interrupted as the owner of the café reached.

"I see you have met the manager of this cafe, Mr. Daniel Ashfield."

"Manager?" He repeated. He couldn't believe what he heard. What the hell is Ella doing as the manager of 'The Brunch'?

It made no sense to him.

"Yes, Mr. Ashfield. She is the manager of 'The Brunch," Rowan Nelson repeated.

But before Daniel could wrap his mind around this new-found knowledge, his best friend showed up, equally shocked to see his long-lost friend.

"Ella?" Timothy called her name in disbelief. "Shit! Is that really you?"

Daniel could see that even his best friend didn't expect to see Ella here. Even though it was not a professional reaction, he could not blame his friend. Anyone would have been baffled to find Ella in this café.

"Uh, hey, Tim." She tried to smile, but it came out more like a forced expression than she would have liked to give her old friend.

He, however, did not pay much attention to her reaction and immediately went to embrace her in a warm hug. "God! It is so good to see you after all these years. You have no idea how much I have missed you."

But before he could further inquire about her presence, Rown Nelson spoke, "Well, I see you guys know each other."

"Now that would be an understatement, Mr. Nelson. We have been really good friends since our school days. In fact, best friends." Timothy replied with a smile. He does not know how to express in words how relieved and happy he felt to finally find Ella. However, her presence in Rosewood did not make sense to him either.

"Well, then I won't hesitate twice to sign these deals if your proposal appeals to me. Trust is an important factor to me in this business, so if Ella trusts you, then I am bound to. And please, call me Rowan," he said.

"Of course, Rowan. We won't disappoint. Our firm aims to please." Timothy said.

After a brief internship at one of the companies in Pelican City, Daniel and Timothy decided to take a chance and start their own architecture firm. They were still establishing their own footing to establish themselves, and in the short time since they began, they have created a strong network.

It was their good fortune and connection that one of their clients recommended their name to Mr. Nelson.

"Sorry, I am late. I hope I didn't miss much." A girl with red hair suddenly appeared. She looked a bit out of breath.

"Of course not, honey. Mr. Ashfield and Mr. Bason, this is my daughter Aubrey." Rown Nelson introduced her.

"Hello!" Aubrey smiled. "I might be his daughter, but I am completely aware of the ins and outs of this business, so do not underestimate my skills."

"My daughter might not look like a tough cookie, but she sure knows how to run a business." Rowan Nelson proudly praised her daughter. She might look like a fragile lady, but she is certainly a tough lady.

Daniel, however, could not help but look at Ella as Rowan, Timothy, and Aubrey exchanged a few words. He was quite taken aback when he saw her beautiful smile with unshed tears and mixed emotions on her face. He was aware of how much Ella craved her father's love, and witnessing the connection between Rowan and Aubrey would have stirred up those suppressed feelings.

Despite his curiosity and will to drag her away to demand an explanation for the reason for her running away, first and foremost, he wanted to hug her. But he refrained from doing so. It took all his strength not to touch her or pull her towards him.

"Why don't we all sit and commence our meeting?" Rowan Nelson led the way to a cozy spot next to the window, where they all sat comfortably.

It was a round table with Ella in between Rowan and Aubrey and Timothy sitting next to Rowan with him.

Except for the questions running through him mentally, the meeting discussion between them was crisp and to the point. Dan and Timothy explained to them their entire plan and future outlook for their project. They explained to them the process of their expansion and the benefits of it.

Besides this cafe, there is a small, empty cottage owned by Nelson's. Daniel and Timothy suggested extending their land by including the dwelling, which would provide them with the extra area for this café.

At present, this cafe only has a small library, but they can also add a musical area for karaoke nights. Music is the soul of life, and there is nothing like good music that would help someone ease themselves from their stressful life. The room would, of course, have soundproof walls so that other customers wouldn't be disturbed. A small section could also be dedicated to students who wish to use computers at a reasonable rate. It would really benefit teens, locals, or even tourists. A backyard for small stage shows, community nightouts, or events could also be built. He also gave the idea of having Friday night as a stage night where people can perform and showcase their talent for one day a week. Even though it would be quite work, it will be worth it in the end. This investment could not only benefit the town members but would also provide extra income and profits to the Nelsons.

"What do you think, Rowan?" Daniel asked him, praying that he would agree.

Unlike before, he needed a reason to stay in Rosewood. Business was the last thing on his mind. He needed this time in Rosewood for Ella.

"It really looks interesting and promising and the amount quoted by the two of you is in our budget," he replied thoughtfully.

"Dad, I think it will be great for the cafe. What do you think, Ella?" Aubrey asked her best friend.

"I agree, Aubrey. This really looks good." Ella replied. However, she sounded hesitant.

She was not sure if signing this contract with Daniel and Timothy would benefit her as much as it would for the Nelsons. They had a history, and she had a secret. She would neither be able to run any longer from the truth nor would she be able to successfully hide her truth from Daniel any longer.

"Then it's a deal. Even though I will be constantly present every step of the way, I want you to contact Ella and Aubrey about everything. Both of them will be in charge of this project."

Daniel and Timothy were both pleased.

Daniel might not be aware of their present complicated status with Ella, but fate has definitely given both of them another chance. He really hoped that their encounter was not for the sake of closure.

Ella, on the other hand, was afraid.

This project would take almost a year to complete, if not more. She did not need to be involved with Daniel and Timothy personally to know that they would personally be involved in every step of the process. She was confident that until the work on the café was done, both of them would take a temporary residence here. Further, much to Rowan's pleasure, they chose to involve most of the local contractors.

How the hell is she supposed to deal with it? Spending time with Daniel for one entire year. She can't even back out or give any excuse because this cafe means a lot to her, and she cannot disappoint Rowan. She can't run away from this place. The people here are someone whom she has come to call hers.

Rowan has been a father figure to her, more than her very own dad. Cora, his wife, is like her own mother, whom she never had, and Aubrey is her best friend and sister, not to forget Ron. She won't be able to leave them. They have been more than her adoptive family. They have given her and Lily stability, and for her own selfish reasons, she cannot take that away from her daughter.

She needs to act like a grown-up and deal with this. She couldn't run away again. She needs to face her past. She just hopes that, in the end, she still has her daughter Lily with her.

Her only reason for living. And hopefully, this unfortunate situation won't affect her and her daughter emotionally.