Chapter 2

EMMA

“Welcome to the world, Benjamin...”, I whisper, crying, feeling my friend hug me. I close my eyes, hugging my baby, who is still crying in my arms, and I am fully aware that it will be just him and me against the world. After a few hours already in the room and nursing my son for the first time, I tell her what I saw earlier, and she stares as she hears everything. I know perfectly well that it was not my mind's imagination, and I was able to verify this when my friend went to the reception seeking more information and said that she was related to the couple with the baby. She found out that I had become pregnant by none other than Alex Laurent, one of the most important CEOs of the financial world in all of America. I have had a baby who is the son of one of the richest men I could have ever imagined. My baby is the son of the heir of a very well-known subsidiary company, and this shakes me up even more. “From now on, it will be just you and me against this world, son.”, I say this with tears in my eyes, caressing the few strands of golden hair of my baby, who is looking at me with his big blue eyes. Just like Alex's. “Nothing will happen to you because Mommy will protect you always and forever,” I whisper with my eyes closed, kissing the baby's soft skin. I will be a young single mother raising a child completely alone, and only with the help of my friend will I risk getting in Alex Laurent's way ever again. Furthermore, I would rather have a job that pays me poorly and support my child with the little I will earn than run after a married billionaire who will surely humiliate me with the excuse of the belly button. It will be just him and me against everything.

FOUR MONTHS LATER Please let today be my lucky day, God. I finish my prayer by opening my eyes and finding Benjamin looking at me with his fingers in his mouth, lying in his crib. I crack a smile as I approach, and taking my son in my lap, who perks up quickly, I pull my top down before starting to breastfeed the baby. Furthermore, I sit down on a chair in the small room of a rented house that I share with Coral and begin to rock my body in a slow rhythm as I watch Benjamin suck the milk from my breasts with a sleepy expression. “Mom is going to try to get a new job today, my love; it's a nanny position for a child I found on the internet...”, I whisper as if he is listening and paying attention to what I am telling him now. “Wish your mommy luck; we need this money to keep living; the diapers are running out and so is the money...” I am interrupted when I see Coral enter the room with a cute face pointing at Benjamin, who grows more and more every day. After his birth, I got a temporary job as a night waitress at one of the bars in the area. It was at a dangerous time, but we needed a small salary, but it didn't last long, and the bar closed two weeks ago. So, I have been trying to find any available job positions. I managed to finish school, but did not have the opportunity to attend university because of my pregnancy. Yes, I am a mother at 19, and it seemed scary when I found out that I was pregnant with Benjamin after meeting Alex at a club where we were celebrating Coral's birthday. “You have to go, or you'll be late, Emma.”, I nod and kiss the baby once more with my eyes closed before putting him to sleep in his crib. “Be well, my love...”, I whisper, caressing his little cheek as I turn to Coral. “You'll manage, my friend, and don't worry because I'll be here to take care of him.”, She smiles, touching my shoulder, and at that moment I hug my best friend. I found the nanny position on one of the job sites; I don't know if it is temporary, but the selection process opened, and I managed to be one of those chosen for today's interview. “Do you think this outfit is okay?”, I asked, pointing to my sweater and jeans. “You are naturally beautiful; good luck!” I crack a confident smile, warning that I've taken out breast milk in case Benjamin feels hungry while I'm away. It is the United States, but here it is a place like any other, where not all the people who reside here are well-off. I don't have a car, so I walk to the center, where I catch the subway that will take me to the other center of the city, where the place I was sent by phone is. Since Benjamin's birth four months ago, I have been trying to do the best for him, but sometimes I cry at night before going to sleep thinking about the possibility of my son growing up in better circumstances, and in the end, I always remember him. Alex Laurent. I swear I try my best not to think about him, but sometimes I waste my time googling his name and finding several articles and news stories that claim that the success of his company is growing more and more. While he has everything, I have nothing but my beloved son. Inside the subway, I try not to think about it because I know perfectly well that I will cry at some point, and now is not the right time for it. I would ask my family for help, but my parents died a few years ago, and the remains of my remaining family members are in Brazil.