FYI: There are some lemon-ish/lime scenes. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

March 25th, 2027: New York City, NY. Tom Jones song was playing in the background. "Wow Wow Wow, She's a lady, Talking about that little lady…"

A lady with straight black long hair with bangs, wearing her black big Prada sunglasses and a beige sunshine hat was strutting on the sidewalk with her daughter Grace. Grace was wearing a sunny yellow dress and pink sandals. From afar, if anyone noticed them, they looked fancy and stylish, but Anastasia knew what state she was in. She needed money, she needed a job, she needed a lot a things. However, she knew that all of those needy things can't be compared to Grace. Grace was her gift send from above. It was also a constant reminder to not give up on living. She loved her daughter very much that she can't afford to let Grace suffer. Right at this moment, they 'moved out' from their sixth apartment and with their suitcases, went to a nearby park.

"Go on Gracie, go on and play. I just need to make a few calls." Grace nodded and went to the swings. As Grace was playing in the playground, Anastasia sat on a bench and watched the scenery for a bit. She spotted an ice cream truck and went to buy a big vanilla ice cream for Grace. She liked to spoil Grace with whatever she could. It at least got her mind off of reality.

After finishing the ice cream, Gracie went back and played with the other children, and Anastasia dialed her friend's number.

"Hello, may I speak with Momiji, please?"

"Anastasia Honda? Is that really you?" By the sound on the other side, Anastasia knew she was speaking with Momiji Vanderbilt, a friend and colleague she knew from her last job.

"Hey! It's been a long time. I was wondering if your mother still lives in LA?"

"Yeah, why? Need some help with something?"

"No, I just need a favour from her. May you send me her address?"

"Yeah sure. I'll text you." Anastasia was glad she called Momiji because he didn't ask questions that normally her other friends would ask. It gave her a breather and she appreciation that from him.

"Yes please. It's very nice to hear your voice Momiji, thanks."

"It's my pleasure, and I'm also fond of having you call me." Anastasia chuckled.

"I'll talk you to soon alright?"

"Yeah, anytime." Anastasia hung up the phone. Great! Now I have a plan on what to do. I just hope Serena Vanderbilt can help me.

All of a sudden, Grace ran back to her mother, crying out:

"Mommy, mommy!"

"What is it dear?" Anastasia asked in a worry. Grace was in tears as she hiccuped her words.

"They, hic, they say that I hic, don't have hic, a father..."

"Who said?" Anastasia asked as she glared at the kids at the playground. Grace shook her head as she buried her face in her mother's arms.

"Mommy, I do, don't I? I do have a father. Right? He's just somewhere in the world?!" Gracie started sobbing.

"Oh dear. Come here. It's alright... it's alright..." Anastasia cooed at her daughter as she hugged her.

"Sweetheart, your father is in the world. Just travelling a lot..." She started explaining but paused as she remembered that very special night...

Anastasia's POV:

...It actually started on a 'not-so-particular' day in 2021. I was still living with my parents and just had a fight with my mother. I hurt her by accidentally tripping her. But she didn't want to hear my explanation and drove me out of the house. I was enraged about that, but more importantly at myself for being so clumsy. I knew my mom was right. She's always right. So I went out to the city and walked around the park. Next thing I knew, I ended up in a bar.

"Can I get a sex by the beach please?" I ordered as the bartender filled up my drink. My thoughts were blank as I drank away. By my fifth drink, a stranger sat beside me.

"What do… you… want?" I was slurring as I lifted up my drink.

"Nothing…" He didn't say anything for a while. But then he turned his head and said: "I see, you're having a bad day."

"Bad day?" haha. "How did you know?" I slurred my words as I felt my eyes becoming heavy. All of a sudden, I started giggling.

"Your face made a weird expression..." I got up from my seat, feeling careless and a bit drowsy. I started swaying my hips from side to side.

"Bartender! Turn up the music please!" And the volume was up. It was EXO's [a K-pop group] Every Night. I danced to the music and looked at the guy sitting at the bar.

"Did you know I used to have a boyfriend that would look at me exactly the same as what you are doing now?" I invited him to dance with me.

"No, I don't dance."

"Oh! Come on! Who doesn't dance with that look in your eyes." I grabbed the guy's arm as he let go of his drink and we swayed together on rhythm. We were really close that for some odd reason, I had a stomach full of laughter.

"What's so funny?" He asked but didn't stop dancing.

"Nothing... ...And you said you didn't dance..." I put my arms around his neck, and boldly smacked my lips on his. He seemed shocked, but he neither pushed me away nor tried to engage in the kiss.

I didn't care. I started giggling again as I swayed my hips and rolled my shoulders to the music while still having my arms around his neck. I started to pull away from him as I wanted to move to the center of the dance floor, but suddenly, he gripped my arm firmly and whispered:

"Come with me." The bartender was about to refute as we passed by, but the guy signaled something for the bartender to be silent. For me, that wasn't important, I didn't care, I was just in my giddy world.

"Where are we going?" I slurred as I chuckled.

"Somewhere private." He said as he was still holding my hand. When we entered a smaller space, I saw my reflection in my mirror.

"We're in the restroom?" The guy didn't reply back. He locked the door and then picked me up and sat me on the counter. He then slowly intertwined my fingers with his and leaned in. I also leaned in and smacked another kiss on him. But then as I was about to pull away, his other hand was on the back of my head and kissed me harder like he's trying to tell me that he was serious. My insides were heated as if every kiss after that serious kiss felt like burning fire. We kept on kissing until his lips were on my nape and then down to my breasts. With every kiss, the sensation felt too good and this kissing help escalating until our tops where off and a loud voice from outside was knocking the door.

"EXCUSE ME. THIS IS A PUBLIC FACILITY." Everything stopped. We were both out of breath and tried to adjust ourselves while still in a tipsy state. Slowly, the guy started putting on his shirt. I asked dumbly.

"What happened? I don't wanna stop." I pouted as I lay down on the cold counter. He pecked my lips and whispered:

"No. Not here. Let's go back to the front…" I nodded like a good puppy. Once he was done dressing up, he looked at me; who was barely dressed. He lifted my arms and helped me put my shirt back on. When that was done, we opened the door. There, standing impatiently was a grumpy old woman. She gasped.

"OH no, you didn't." I was too tired to process anything that I didn't hear anything after that.

When we got back to our seats, the guy paid the bill and with his arms around me, we walked out of the bar like we were a compatible couple. I shivered.

"Are you alright?" I nodded again as I smiled widely. The guy looked around and then asked me.

"Wanna go to my place? You don't seem well..." I held onto him like he was my savior and whispered into his ear:

"Is that really what you think of me?" And then I bit his ear. It got him enticed and right away, he carried me to his apartment. I squealed on the way to his apartment until he put me down on a bed. I tried to kick him but he dodged it. I looked at him and a smirk creeped onto his face.

"Yo, why are you looking at me like that?" He walked closer to me.

"Please, stop looking at me like that. I know something's fishy when I see one." He kept walking slowly towards me like a predator catching its prey. When he finally 'caught' me. I yelped. Kisses were tickled from my nape to my face. I giggled but got distracted with kisses intercepting my giggles. He then gently brushed his finger against my cheek.

"What, huff, are you, huff, looking at?" I asked. He doesn't say anything, instead slowly it felt like he was engulfing me with his deep kisses. His deep kisses were like at the bar ones; they made me ache for more. I soon forgot my rationale and realized that I was in a deep pool. He kissed me again and again. For every kiss, it felt like I was on a deeper level. But I wasn't alone. I knew that he felt the same as me. There was some kind of exhilarating feeling that we couldn't let go of. Our bodies were moving as one in sync. Clothes stripped away as the kissing and touching got intense and heated. I grabbed his hair and he responded with a groan. At one point, he was panting heavily and looked at me as if I was an angel sent from heaven.

"Mother? Mother! ... Are you alright?" Anastasia snapped out of the memory.

"Yeah, sorry sweety. Come on, let's get out of here."

END OF CHAPTER 4