New chapter finally done!

Thanks SO MUCH again to everyone who left reviews, faved/followed this or anything else I posted! It all means a lot to me! ^-^

Also shameless self-promotion lol, I posted another new fic inspired by this one called "Happily Ever After?" like a week ago. Check it out if you can?

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Disclaimer: ONE DAY CRESENTA SHALL OWN TS. SHE SHALL I SAY!

Sam stood frozen in time, her mouth catching flies, her eyes peeled wide, forgetting even to breathe as she stared at the man before her in utter shock for a good five minutes as she attempted to process what she thought he'd just said to her.

"You ... I want ... you."

Her emerald eyes wildly searched his sea foam ones for a confirmation and soon there was no denying it for the look in them, a clash of passion and raw fire was so palpable that even if she hadn't heard him say the words at all, just by looking at him she'd be able to tell exactly what they'd been.

She gasped and took a big step back away from him, almost tripping thanks to the high heels she wore and found herself jumping back another foot, afraid when his arms lashed out towards her even though it was obvious he'd only done so to try to steady her from falling flat on her ass.

Now a safe distance away Sam held a hand over her rapidly thumping heart, trying to stifle its frenzy before her missing voice slowly, very slowly returned to her larynx.

She was just open to open her mouth and ask if he was insane when suddenly she paused midway noting movement in a neighbour's window from the corner of her vision.

Her gaze moved off Scam and looked right at it to see Mr. Perez peeping at her not so subtly from behind the edge of his bedroom curtains. This was hardly something new, after all nearly all the men on her block routinely spied on her because sadly she was a young, presumably pretty woman living almost all alone.

Normally this was just another daily annoyance of the difficult life she'd made for herself and she'd long learned to tune it out. But this time as she was leered at she became nervous, dread filling her when she noticed that it wasn't just her that creepy Richard Perez was looking at … but her and Tim Scam.

And for the first time she realized what her standing there in the middle of the night, in such close proximity to her small home with some unknown but clearly well-off man who normally would not be caught dead in such a rundown place may look like to an onlooker's eyes.

The conclusions that could be drawn from this, the rumours that could fly about how she may have scrounged up this month's rent after all, terrified her.

The last thing she needed was her landlady suspecting that out the desperation of hers that was public knowledge, she may have resorted to prostitution, selling her own body to get the money she needed to survive. If that were to happen she'd be kicked out for sure.

Knowing she couldn't do this out here Sam said nothing as she took out her phone, grateful for it still having some battery as she quickly texted Clover to please hold onto Josie for a little bit longer and that she'd explain later. Her message was riddled with typos due to her fingers jittering so badly but thankfully it was enough to get the point across.

She sent it before wordlessly walking towards the entrance of her flat, leaving Scam in wonder as she unlocked the door and stepped inside before holding it open for him to follow her.

For a moment he didn't, finding her invitation suspect. Was she really going to just let him waltz into her house? Into her life? So ... easily?

Curious to find out he slowly obliged and made his way over to her.

But no sooner had he set foot inside her abode and the door shut fully behind him did Samantha make it painfully clear that no, she had no intention whatsoever to make this easy on him.

"DO YOU WANT ME TO BE YOUR MISTRESS?! ARE YOU TRYING TO SOLICIT ME FOR SEX, SCAM?!"

Scam spun around to look at her with wide, stunned eyes completely taken aback by her nasty remark.

For a minute he couldn't find words as he just stared at her mute from disgust before he began to vehemently defend himself against her lewd accusation towards him.

"What?! N-no! NO." He stated firmly, making it certain that that wasn't what he was after all the while feeling sick for even having to do so because she should already know as much.

Sure, they weren't best friends back in the day but with how he carried himself around her, her friends, and other female WOOHP agents it should have been enough for her to understand that he wasn't some sleaze ball. This had been uncalled for.

The genuine repulsion and wounded look he gave her being enough to show that he wasn't lying about this, Sam let it go and switched gears to something less scandalous.

"A charity case then?" She questioned eyeing him pointedly with her arms crossed over her chest and her posture defensive.

The Tim Scam she once knew wasn't much of a giver but he was a hotshot now and the super rich did tend to indulge in such projects to feel good about themselves and of course to get pats on the back in the media.

Mandy Luxe for example always appeared so gracious on the outside, doing giveaways for those underprivileged chiefly through donations to the Designer Clothes for the Needy Charity Drive (1). But those who really knew her like herself and Clover were aware that she only did it to draw attention towards her fashion house and to rub her fortune in other people's faces.

So who was to say that Scam didn't have the same intentions towards her? After all he was arrogant, egotistical, and they had been mortal enemies in the past. He was bound to get a kick out of his success compared to her failure, was he not?

But once more Scam shook his head and denied it.

"No," he insisted, more annoyed this time while giving her an exasperated look which just screamed the words come on! and seriously? at her.

Now having eliminated the only other options and knowing for sure what it was that he was after, Sam decided to stop beating around the. She had to nip this thing in the bud right here and now because what Tim Scam wanted from her? She could never give it to him and he needed, she needed him to get that through his thick skull.

"I'm going to make this as quick and painless as I can ... " She paused to draw in a long breath and look him square in the eye before she said what she had to in an unwavering, no-nonsense tone.

"I don't have room in my life for a man. Okay?"

But Scam failed to heed her words as he took a step closer towards her, shaking his head in denial as he whispered softly, "If that were true, then you would not have been in that restaurant that night."

She couldn't fool him so easily. She herself had admitted to him she'd been there on a date and thus on a quest for love.

Sam bit her cheek hard at his words, mentally kicking herself for her prior decision once again to go on that stupid date when she hadn't even been in the mood to. If only she could've seen the trouble that would have come from it, she'd never have gone to that restaurant.

But then again if she had the ability to see the future, her life wouldn't be the mess it was today now would it?

Brushing off that last thought Sam focused on the man in front of her and fixed him with a hostile glare. It seemed he didn't want the process of his rejection to be painless after all.

Fine then she huffed in rage, she'd tried her best to be civil and it ended here.

"Okay," Sam shrugged, raising her hands up in defeat. "You're right, it's not all men. It's just YOU that I don't have room for in MY life."

The scowl, the look of anguish that formed on his handsome face fuelled her to go on because right now, boy did she want to hurt him.

She was tired, sick and tired and just wanted some relaxation and he was here to ruin it just as selfishly as he'd ruined her day.

"No matter how much I want love, want a romance …" she snarled pointing his way as she declared icily. "I still have standards Scam! You don't meet those standards and you NEVER will!"

With that she turned away, unlocking the door for him to get out as she got on with her night.

She took off her coat and hung it where it belonged and then disposed of her heels and changed into slippers, treating him as though he was invisible as she got her place ready for her daughter's eventual arrival.

"Why not?!" She heard him ask, cringing when she realized her intentional rudeness towards him hadn't worked to ward him off.

Irate, she kept her back to him as she tidied up determined to not hear him while he refused to take the hint and continued trying to change her mind.

"Of all the terrible things I did in the past I never once willingly broke your heart," Scam argued remembering how mindful he'd been to not do that even though it had been uncharacteristic of him during a time when he cared for nothing and no one.

To this day he remembered that crush she'd had on him when he'd posed as Mac Smit. Despite his monumental alarm at her admission of it, he had handled it well. He'd been sensitive and respectful towards her, let her down gently, and never once had attempted to use her feelings in a later scheme when honestly? He very well could have tried to do so.

But Sam didn't seem to think that mattered at all as she simply snorted at him unimpressed. "So now you want your chance to do that? Is that it?!"

Doing his best not to be offended by her continual misinterpretation of his motives Scam shook his head again as he fought to make her understand despite her being so damn difficult.

"No Sam ... I ... I just want a chance to try and make it right."

Noting that she had paused in picking up the pieces of a wooden peg puzzle and what looked to be a knockoff Furby toy on the small coffee table and was now looking at him again, he carefully picked the right words before continuing.

"I can't help but feel at least partially responsible for how things turned out for you."

Letting out a long sigh he ran a hand through his brown hand as a look of guilt crossed his features at the rotten situation she was in now, one that he'd never ever have expected Sam Simpson to be in five years ago.

She was the smart one, the one with all the potential, out of all of her friends it was she who had the highest chance to be a success and yet all her talent, her skills ... they'd amounted to absolutely nothing. It pained him to see her like this and if he'd had any part in what had happened to her, direct or indirect, he wanted to take responsibility for it.

"If I'd just given us a chance back then maybe today you would be ..." A small smile tugged at this lips at the thought of the amazing life they could have made together, the power couple they could have been. "We would be—"

"Look Scam," Sam cut him off, pronouncing his name with excessive venom like a female snake spitting poison from her fangs. "You've made enough mistakes of your own to hold yourself accountable for, you don't need to borrow mine."

Taking a step closer to where he was she held the toy in her hand like a weapon raised towards him before hissing. "What happened with me is all on me. My mistakes. My life. Mine. You have no part in it."

Watching his face fall and his smile melt away completely Sam felt satisfied that she'd cleared that up and went on to address something else she also desperately needed to.

"And that history of ours, that past you just referred to?" Her voice almost shook with rage now as she was forced to recall it, remember another idiotic mistake that she'd once made when it came to her love life which could be described as nothing more than a serious of unfortunate events.

"It was a crush! A stupid crush that an even stupider, naive teenager had on a man who was selling her a lie! Just the first betrayal from a guy! A giant red flag for things to come! Nothing more! NOTHING MORE!" She decreed now shuddering as she glared.

And the daggers of her eyes carved gaping holes into his heart and soul as he listened to her speechless, never having felt so hated in his life even back when he had actually been the bad guy who deserved the loathing.

"So stop bullshitting!" She cried, not giving a damn about the carnage she was inflicting on his feelings as she balled up her fists and only shouted louder. Louder and louder till the insides of her flat almost trembled from her volume.

"Stop trying to turn what we were into some epic romance because that's miles away from what it was!"

Her rant over and hopeful that it was finally enough to make him leave her the hell alone at long last, Sam turned away again.

Only to have him mumble five words under his breath that forced her to freeze on the spot.

"... But it could have been."

All of sudden Sam was transported away to another time and place, into her past and into the arms of the man whom she'd forgotten the entire world and even herself for. She closed her eyes as unforgotten pain hit her like a burst dam.

"Life is about what is Scam ... not what could have been."

Her lips said those words on their own, she didn't even register them as she remained caught up in her thoughts of the dreams she'd once cherished and believed to be sacred that had been so badly shattered that they could never be repaired again.

She could have been a success instead of a failure. She could have graduated at the top of her college like she had the brains to instead of be the dropout she was today. She could have gotten the support of her family when she revealed she was pregnant. She could have married the man she'd once been certain was the love of her life.

Could have. Could have. Could have.

But fate had had other plans in store.

"But I've changed Sam!" Scam tried to convince the woman he was losing more and more with every second.

Why was she allowing their bad past to get in the way of what could be a beautiful future? If only he could get her to see that. The law had forgiven him, why couldn't she?! She just had to try. Just try. Just once.

Mustering up his courage he walked around her and made her face him again as he gave her the most sincere smile he could offer while gently, very gently holding her elbows and pulling her to him.

It was his touch that finally pulled her out of her trance and she looked back at him incredulous, hardly believing he'd just put his hands on her without permission.

Immediately she growled and squirmed to get away from his grasp but then something from deep inside her stopped her and somehow she found herself calming down and just looking at him and the earnest smile on his lips while he spoke to her softly.

"I'm not that man you used to know once, believe me. Just give me chance," He begged setting aside his pride and ego for once in his life as he did so, as he poured his heart out to her and appealed for her to not shut him out just yet.

He knew he could make her so happy, fill her life with so much love that she wouldn't know what to do with it. He could give her the life of dreams and fantasies! The one that she deserved. The one that she and her daughter deserved.

"Please Sam?" He requested ever so patiently with so much longing in his words that it seemed almost impossible.

And in reaction, inside the confines of her chest Sam felt her heart which had become rusted and turned to stone for most of the world actually start to throb like a normal, unbroken, and undamaged one would.

For just one fleeting moment she felt like she was 19-year-old Sam again.

The brush of his manly fingers although slight on her arms spread such a blistering heat throughout her entire being as though giving her the kiss of life and resurrecting her from death.

Almost like a flicked switch, it activated something inside her that she'd assumed was long dead and gone.

And there was only one, just one name for it ...

Desire.

Suddenly she gasped, breaking their connection and tore herself free of him as if he were a ticking time bomb that could explode at any second and take her life from her. She shook her head no both to him and herself as she kept moving herself backwards.

God it was happening again, just like that night when they'd made out! Why?! Why was he doing this to her? She didn't want to get her hopes up again! She'd already learned her lesson about how dangerous that could be! She didn't want to be letdown again. Not again! Never again!

"AND I'M SUPPOSED TO BLINDLY BELIEVE IN YOU?!"

Her renewed outburst almost made Scam jump because he hadn't expected it.

He blinked, dazed and confused because he could swear that he'd just been making some progress with her.

But if that had ever been the case, it sure didn't seem like it now.

"Make that mistake AGAIN?" She roared. Do you think I'm an idiot?!" Sam barked, now bringing up their past, just their past and nothing else this time. "Your word counts for nothing Scam! In fact the fact that YOU are saying it? Heh, that actually makes it count for LESS than nothing!"

"But if you ignore that and keep shutting me out, how are you going to realize that I have changed?!" Scam fired back completely lost at the impossible situation she was putting him in.

"Just tell me that much Samantha," he asked sounding frustrated in a way that she'd never heard Tim Scam ever be as he waited for her answer.

Just five seconds of silence later she gave it to him despite knowing full well that it wasn't the one he was counting on getting from her.

"... Maybe I don't want to realize," she stated plainly. "Maybe it doesn't matter to me if you have changed Scam. Your life is wonderful now so go live it, maybe I don't want any part of you regardless."

His mouth parted and eyebrows rose at her cruel statement in the face of all he'd said and in that moment, it almost seemed as though he didn't even recognize her as the girl he'd once known so well.

That Samantha used to synonymous with hope, faith, and optimism but the woman before him now? She was just so bitter, so cold, so empty that he couldn't even begin to fathom what had made her this way.

Her verdict delivered, he felt his feet itch to walk away yet he stayed glued in place as though something was holding him captive to her. Something which he sensed was fate.

"But I believe there was a reason why we met that night," he blurted out before he could stop himself still unable to just erase this from his mind as mere coincidence instead of a sign from the universe.

They'd disappeared from each other's lives entirely years ago only to meet again now when they were both single and both able to belong to each other once more. What were the odds of that?!

"There was a reason that you opened up to me and why we shared that kiss."

"Ugh! That stupid kiss!" Sam thought as it replayed in her mind like a movie scene and compelled her cheeks to redden in such a way that she couldn't hold Scam's gaze any longer.

When she looked at the floor he caught the shift in her composure instantly. She'd done this the last time he'd brought it up also, in fact whenever he reminded her of it she could not meet eyes with him and that alone said everything to him.

A woman often said more with her silence than she ever did with her words and Sam was doing that also even if she couldn't see it or was pretending to be blind despite seeing it.

So feeling bold he finally said exactly how he felt to her about them and their chance encounter of that fateful night.

"I believe that it was fate that brought you to my friend's restaurant that night. Fate that is pulling me towards you like a puppet on a string. Fate ... that wants us to be together."

Yet despite his moving words and blatant honesty, Sam remained callous.

"Fate?!" She scoffed, giving him the stink eye and a sneer. "Call it what it is Scam! Bad luck! Something that if you haven't noticed already—"

She waved a hand around dramatically, gesturing to the shabby interior of her pitiful living space which was likely tinier than the bathroom of his smallest mansion.

"That I tend to get hit with a lot nowadays."

"Sam," Scam tried again unwilling to give up even though she'd left him with no reason not to anymore.

But the hand she held up in his face like a stop sign finally halted him.

"Look ... " She muttered as she rubbed her temple with her other hand feeling a headache budding there as she picked up on the flood of the many faint ding ding ding of text messages coming from instead her pocket no doubt from a concerned and curious Clover.

Scam had been here for at least a half hour and that was all the time she had to spare.

"You got what you wanted, I listened to what you had to say, and the answer is no. Can you just go now?!"

He couldn't help but feel hurt with how she was shooing him away as if not a single thing he'd said had made any impact on her even though every word he'd said had come straight form his heart.

Scam looked at her with pining eyes for a moment more only to have her just point at the door again and he signed feeling rejected in a way that he hadn't in a long time now.

Why? He thought as he slowly made his way towards the exit as was waiting for him to. Why did it have to be the one girl that he'd realized he actually had true feelings for that had no interest in him?

It seemed that it was true then, wasn't it? The saying that in this life, you couldn't have everything. He had wealth, power, and fame but he couldn't have her love and he struggled to make peace with that disheartening reality as he turned to go.

But still he stopped in her doorway and made one, last ditch effort to get through to her.

"… You can try to pretend that it didn't happen but we both know that you kissed me back. Yes you were surprised at first when our lips met but that surprise lasted three seconds and what replaced it wasn't fear or disgust, it was passion. And when it ended and you slapped me, you pushed me away not because you didn't feel anything but because ... you did."

Sam didn't say anything for a while after that trying so hard not to let his words seep into the iron wall she'd built around herself.

It aggravated her when they left a dent regardless of her valiant efforts and trying to make up for that, to get the upper hand again she spat haughtily.

"If that's the spin you want to put on it then fine, I won't argue. I don't care what you think Tim Scam! Now go and whatever you do, do not come back!"

The second those words sprang from her mouth she heard his footsteps charging back towards her in big steps. She felt him stop right behind her so close that she could detect the warmth of his hot breaths fleeting down her back.

With baited breath she waited to see what he would do next and unbeknownst to her, Scam stood there with his hand just inches from her shoulder. He got so close to grasping it, touching her again when suddenly he put his arm down back at his side.

It was no use.

Closing his eyes he bowed his head in defeat and frowned before he gave her what she'd asked for, turned, and left empty-handed without so much as another word.

Hearing the door open and close a moment later, Sam didn't turn around just yet as she stood there almost stunned that he'd actually gone away.

"... He left?," she thought to herself, slowly turning her head over her shoulder to check if he really had.

Finding her flat empty of anyone but herself in it, she slowly walked over to the door and opened it just in time to see Scam's Lamborghini Veneno Roadster reverse and drive off into the night.

When it was gone she tried her best to be relieved as she should be for finally having chased him away, but was unable to as once more the now familiar and terrible sense of abandonment consumed her.

"Of course he left ..." She laughed bitterly now, rubbing her arms up and down where his hands had been mere minutes ago but only a waning ghost of their presence lingered instead now upon her skin.

And she fought with herself not to cry but failed, a lone tear trickling down her cheek as she said to no one but herself in a lonely little whisper.

"... They all do."

At the rooftop of the glamorous Beverly Wilshire Hotel just steps from Rodeo Drive, Alexandra Hernandez silently sipped her fancy Apple Pie in the Sky cocktail.

The flavours of the Barefoot Bubbly Brut Cuvée, apple juice, honey, and cinnamon schnapps washed over her tongue as she stood amidst the excited buzz of Mandy Luxe's big party that had been held to celebrate the immense response given towards the preview of latest line.

She'd been a part of that success herself being her fabric developer and thus by default she'd been forced to come here despite not really caring to.

Yawning a little and stifling it into her drink, Alex felt the boredom that she now always did when being at any event like this. Living the life of a fashion celebrity she got invited often but that wasn't the reason why she didn't enjoy these gatherings.

She hadn't become desensitized to the glitz and glamour or of being among the who's who of the city, that was always a prestigious honour but she mostly came alone which left her with nothing much to do and no one to talk to unlike back when she used to frequent parties with her two bestest friends in the whole world, Clover and S—

She frowned, mentally slapping herself in disbelief for going there again. It had been years, literal years yet from time to time her mind would just unwittingly wander back to the past, the door of which had been dead bolted shut forever.

And for good reason.

Back in the day, who'd have ever thought that she'd be toasting Mandy's success instead of Sam's?

Knowing she had to go before her half drunk brain tortured her by making her think more of the girl she refused to acknowledge the existence of anymore, she checked to see if the coast was clear before trying to escape to the glass elevator that led downstairs.

She'd almost made it when she was stopped by the telltale, nasally voice of the party's very own hostess.

"Leaving so soon, Ally?"

Even though she knew Mandy was just trying to be friendly, Alex couldn't help but discreetly roll her eyes at her once again calling her with the nickname she'd picked out for her instead of the one she already had.

It was like Mandy thought they were BFFS or something and had given herself the right to give her a special name which she herself had never permitted her to and likely never would.

Alex turned and faced the sleek-haired woman who was on her husband's arm (Daniel Bates, the only son and heir of Chester Bates (2) of the famous "Power 4") dressed in a flashy black Jovani exclusive and with a speciality made, purple Queen Mandy cocktail held in her left hand that bore her enormous, blue diamond wedding ring.

"Danny dahlinnnnng!" Mandy drawled, making lovey dovey eyes at the tall, brown-haired, medium-built, light-skinned, blue-eyed man in the expensive Armani suit who smiled back at her within a second of her calling for him just like an exceptionally well-trained puppy dog would.

"Tell Allllllly not to go!"

"I'm sorry but it's late and I really should be going," Alex interrupted shortly, not giving either of them a chance to stop her.

Offering them another congratulations for their accomplishment, she shook their hands in turn before moving to hit the button for the ground floor.

Only to be delayed again as Mandy sighed loudly no longer even bothering to hide her displeasure with her now.

"I wish we could be friends, Ally. Why do you hesitate?" She whined as she stared at her for some sort of explanation.

Alex always did this. She always ended their conversations before they began, gave back her extravagant gifts, said couldn't come along when she invited her for anything other than work things, basically pushed her away on all fronts and she didn't like it. Didn't like it one bit.

Alexandra was at her standard now, most useful to her and she wanted her in her personal circle instead of just as a business acquaintance as she was right now.

Alex shrugged, laughing a small laugh as she bought time to answer Mandy by playing with the strap of her silver Prada purse and then by tucking a loose lock of her curly hair behind her ear.

"I'm afraid I'm too busy for friends right now. It's just my job keeps my sooo occupied that I rarely have time to leave the lab, you know?"

She smiled as she said that even though she knew it was a total lie. Her being occupied had nothing to do with it. Ever since the girl that she'd considered her blood sister had betrayed her, she'd lost all faith in that thing the world called friendship.

What was the point then of her making more friends? None.

Hearing Alex's lame excuse for turning her down yet again, Mandy nodded but inwardly glared because she could tell it wasn't genuine.

The real truth, even if Alex wouldn't say it with her own mouth was that she still, to this day retained a sense of loyalty towards Clover and more importantly towards Sam.

So of course she wouldn't befriend her, someone who'd played a pretty big part in destroying the redhead's pathetic little life, now would she?

But it didn't matter, she decided now smirking to herself evilly as she allowed Alex to leave for now even giving her a small wave as a polite goodbye. One day she'd get Alex completely on her side.

After all how long was her frail connection to Sam via Clover going to last? It had been half a decade since they'd fallen out and they would never again renew their friendship. Not after what had happened back then.

Clinking her glass with her husband's at that thought, Mandy grinned slyly as she went back to mingling with her affluent guests feeling like just like the winner she was so used to being.

She always got what she wanted. Always. And Alex?

She was no exception.

When a knock sounded on her door a half hour later, Sam cautiously peeked through the blurry peephole before opening it.

She didn't fail to notice how her heart starting thumping hard, wondering if a certain man had returned to her despite the harsh lecture she'd given him that was still ringing in her own ears.

Lying to herself that it was merely doing so out of panic and not something ridiculous like anticipation, she leaned up on her tiptoes and glanced out at who had arrived:

It was Clover and her baby girl Josie.

Unlocking the door she let them in, immediately picking Josie up in her arms and cradling her close after having to delay seeing her tonight.

"Mommy missed you so much baby! So, so much!" She repeated over and over while rocking her up and down while the little girl was stunned at the level of her mommy's sorrow.

"What happened?!" Clover asked as she looked to Sam with wide, concerned eyes. To say that she was worried sick would be a massive understatement.

Sam never had ever asked her to keep Josie even a minute longer than earlier stated. She always complained how the many jobs she had to juggle already gave her so little time with her that something major had to have gone down tonight for her to make such a strange request.

But instead of giving her an answer Sam just shot her this look that said she'd tell her later as she continued hugging her little girl tight and doing nothing else.

Sealing her mouth Clover watched her to try and pick up a clue and solve the mystery for herself.

She couldn't help but notice that Sam seemed very shook up and she wondered why that was. Had she bumped into Mandy again? Or perhaps her own father, Shawn Simpson whom she hadn't seen or heard from in years just like Alex? Or maybe (hopefully not) Josie's dad?

There had to be a good reason for her frazzled state right now, but seeing that Sam wasn't in the mood to be interrogated she decided not to push her. She'd just bring it up later when Sam was more willing to talk about it.

At least she'd been able to get a step closer today to achieving the dream she'd imagined for Sam and Josie by introducing her little niece to Tim Scam, albeit on paper.

She smiled being content regardless because soon enough he'd enter Josie's life for real and she'd get to meet him in person.

All she had to do now was sit tight and be patient for all of Sam's misery, all of Sam's suffering and pain to at last come to an end.

And she had faith, unshakeable faith that Tim Scam would make it happen.

Soon.

Really, really soon.

"Another one please," Tim Scam grumbled gruffly, pushing his empty glass towards the bartender again as he sat slightly slumped over on a stool, brooding in his best friend's restaurant because he was far too depressed to go home and be alone just yet.

Receiving another order of his usual drink here he nodded an unsaid thank you, chugged down half of his refill of his sour whiskey on the rocks before turning in his seat to glance out at the clientele tonight just as he had that night when he'd run into Sam.

Only tonight he knew she wasn't there and he sought comfort in that fact because he hadn't returned to this place with the desire to rewind time and see her once more but rather ... to let her go.

After some deep thinking and soul searching, with a heavy heart he'd come to the epiphany that despite wanting to do so much more maybe that was all he could do for her now; just let her be as she'd demanded.

Perhaps their ship had long sailed and no matter how badly he wanted it ... a second chance with Samantha just wasn't in his destiny.

Feeling thwarted by luck's hands he downed what was left of his drink in one long gulp as he tried so hard to wash away the reminders of the last few days.

But even while the details of them became murky with the copious amount of alcohol now in his system, despite all his efforts the actual moments still stubbornly stayed put.

So it seemed as much as he wanted to erase her Sam Simpson would continue to live in his mind and his heart at least a little while longer before he could summon the will to evict her once and for all just as she had him from her life.

Sighing and putting down his glass because he could drink no more, he rose to his feet and walked away after receiving word that his chauffeur was here to pick him up.

He could only hope that as time passed so would the memories, and with it would go the dreams that he'd foolishly begun to dream about her and himself.

"And they all lived ... happily ever after."

Sam read aloud the final line of the Cinderella storybook in her hands before closing it and smiled when she found her tiny princess fast asleep, little snores escaping her as she'd already entered the land of dreams where anything was possible.

Pulling up her blanket to her chin and kissing her small forehead, Sam put the book on the bedside table before getting up and tiptoeing away not to wake her little darling.

"Sleep well angel," she whispered turning out the light and slowly closing the door, only releasing the knob when it was fully shut so that it wouldn't make a sound to stir Josie just as she always carefully did every time she tucked her in.

And her smile widening on her lips she realized just then how normal everything seemed in this moment, how peaceful and undisturbed. It was almost as if Tim Scam hadn't even ever been here or anywhere near her and her life was just the same as it had been for years.

"If only things could stay this way," Sam thought. But only time would tell if she'd lost him for good this time or not.

Praying that she truly had, she left for the bathroom to prepare herself for bed never noticing the rustling sound that came from inside her daughter's bedroom just as soon as she'd walked away from it.

Josie opened one eye and strained her small ears, making sure her mommy was gone by counting her steps on her fingers, making sure she reached at least twenty before she sprung into action.

Clinging to the edge of her blanket she used it like a rope to climb back down onto the ground. When she landed she squinted in the dark to locate her knapsack and her emerald eyes lit up when she spotted it on the floor in a corner of her room.

Trying to stay as quiet as a mouse to not be caught, she crawled towards it and unzipped it extra slowly to prevent it from making its usual brrrrrrrrr sound.

Reaching in she quickly grabbed something before crawling once more to her bed and repeating the process of scaling her blanket to safely make it back onto her mattress.

Now back in place she took a few quick breaths to recover from her little adventure before opening the coloring book she now held in her hands to reveal the photograph of the man hidden inside.

Her teeny fingertips delicately touched his face again, and she grinned a big, childish grin before doing something she'd never had the chance to do before in her life.

"... Night night daddy," she whispered as she brought the glossy image up to her face and planted a quick kiss on the picture version of his cheek in the moonlight, wishing her daddy goodnight wherever he was.

"Pwease come home soon," she pleaded to him, feeling like he could hear her even if he wasn't here because she was his baby and he was her daddy and they had a special bond, before gently putting him back inside her book, closing it, and hugging it to her chest one last time before she put it under her pillow.

She was just about to lay down to sleep when just then, a shooting star darted across her small window and she gasped knowing what she had to do.

Scrunching up her small nose, closing her eyes, and crossing her fingers on both hands she made a wish on it just like her mommy had taught her to.

"Pwease God pwease ... bwing my daddy home soon!"

(1) Reference to Season 3, Episode 11: "Dental? More Like Mental." Sam mentions donating a sweater to the Designer Clothes for the Needy Charity Drive.

(2) The "Power 4" appear in Season 4, Episode 14: "Evil Heiress Much?" I thought I'd pick a rich guy from the TS universe to be Mandy's husband's father.

So ... I feel like that was a loaded chapter.

Think there is any hope for Alex and Sam? Also Josie seems to have her heart set on Scam being her dad but her mom just turned him down flat.

Do you guys think that Sam truly does not have any feelings for Tim or is she just in denial? And does Scam mean his decision to not pursue Sam anymore or is he just upset right now?

Also would love to hear your first impressions on Mandy's husband Daniel. He'll be popping up more later!

Anyway! Thanks so much for reading and review please if possible? ^-^

Love,

Cresenta!