Marrying Mr. CEO

3

DAMIEN

I pulled over at the school, turning off the ignition while my gaze wandered around the environment. I've heard stories about this side of town, something about it being one of the unsafe places here in Miami. The school environment wasn't even secure enough for parents' minds to be at rest while their kids were at school.

"Thank you." Amy's voice took my attention as I watched her unclasp the seat belt.

"It's fine," I told her.

Though she tried hard to act casual, I could see the nervousness written all over her; the way her smile cut through her face, wide, uncomfortable, and forced.

She must have forgotten the fact that I could literally read every single expression she made.

I should be the one with these expressions because—hell, she had a daughter?

Whom she named Hayley?

I would have understood if she had moved on, but there was no ring on her finger. I would have understood if she had just given the child another name because Hayley was intimate; it was our thing. Would she be that heartless to give another man's child a name we had both agreed on?

I still remember the day we talked about names we could possibly give to our kids. It was as clear as day in my head, just like all the other memories we shared together.

We were both in an empty lecture room, snicker bars scattered around us as we talked about the most mundane things.

"Okay." She had sat up, grinning at me as she pulled her hair into a ponytail, her bangs falling an inch below her brows. "Babies."

I smiled. "Babies?"

"Yeah, I mean, we've talked about our wedding and the honeymoon to Puerto Rico. The farmhouse where we'd spend our Christmas and holiday periods, but we never talked about children. You wanna have kids, right?"

"Of course." I gave her an incredulous look, biting into a snicker bar.

"How many children would you want to have?" she asked, reaching for her smoothie.

I stopped to think for a moment. "Uh—well, I'd say three? There's a balance in that number."

She frowned. "An ominous balance. The number three is scary. I vote four. Three boys, one girl."

I chuckled. "Why three boys?"

"The world needs more Damiens, please."

"Hopefully, better versions," I remember saying. "I would say two boys and two girls; there's a balance there too."

"What's your deal with balance?"

I shrugged. "To be honest, I would prefer more female babies. I feel like they're easier to handle."

"Dude, you're clueless if you think that. Remember that time I had to babysit those girls back in high school?"

"The one where you quit after 4 hours?"

She had nodded. "They're demons."

I laughed. "Well, I must admit, having more Amy's running around might be hell on earth."

"Hey, take that back. I'm not that bad."

"Yeah, you're not." I mocked in agreement.

Rolling her eyes, she dropped her smoothie. "Okay, names. If we had a daughter like you want, what would you name her?"

"Hayley," I had said without thinking.

"That was fast? Have you thought about this before? Did you betray me with your thoughts? We were supposed to think about it together."