Author's note: I want to thank all of you for you reviews. They really encourage me to continue this story. :)
Amanda slowly lifted her eyelids. She instinctively observed the motel room which was already covered in the early morning sunlight fighting its way through the dirty curtains.
When she turned her head to the side, she noticed that her father wasn't lying next to her anymore.
An uneasy feeling shot through her body immediately and she sat up on the sofa bed.
The 9-year-old brushed her blonde curls out of her face hoping to find her father somewhere in the room. Unfortunately, Amanda was disappointed as the only person she could detect was Mrs Grayson's son who was still sleeping on the bed.
She was wondering where her father could possibly be when she noticed that his suitcase was not placed beside the sofa bed anymore. In fact, just like her Dad, it was nowhere in the room to be found. Suddenly, Amanda also realized the absence of Mrs Grayson's huge designer bag and that was when she began to panic.
Would her Dad really just leave her in a creepy motel with that rich boy in order to be with her? No, that couldn't be true. Her father loved her. He would never do such a coldhearted thing.
Nevertheless, she had to admit that he seemed so different last night. Was it possible for him to change so magnificently in only a few hours? Has she changed him? It must have been her.
Amanda was sure that the reason for her father's unusual behavior was that dark-haired witch, who even convinced him to leave his daughter behind in order to have him all to herself.
The little girl was furious and needed to let out her anger, so she jumped out of the bed and was determined to go after her Dad when all of a sudden she heard loud noises coming from the bathroom.
"Dad?" No response followed. Instead, it sounded like someone was choking in there.
Anxiously, Amanda stepped closer to the door and concentrated on the weird noises.
Yes, there was definitely someone throwing up, but was it her Dad?
Now, she was worried and needed to know what was going on. Her heart was racing when she reached for the door knob, but like she had assumed, it was locked.
After a few minutes she heard someone flushing the toilet and naturally Amanda wanted to get out of sight, but she was too slow.
The thin wooden door was torn wide open and in its frame stood no other than Victoria Grayson.
The little girl felt the instinct to run away as fast as she could, but for some reason she was frozen to the spot and was once again staring into the dark brown eyes of the woman from next door.
A shiver ran down her spine when Mrs Grayson didn't move and kept peering right into Amanda's soul - or at least the girl felt like she did.
They were both equally shocked about each other's presence and remained silent.
It was in those moments of silence that Amanda recognized how exhausted the woman in front of her looked. She was neither wearing one of her gorgeous dresses nor did she hide her face behind tons of make-up.
Mrs Grayson just stood there with a face as pale as a ghost, her hair up in a messy ponytail and wet streaks sticking to her cheeks.
In contrast to the glamorous and ever-smiling woman Amanda and the rest of the world knew, Victoria Grayson looked like an ordinary person right in that moment.
A human person, a real person, was what was coming to the girl's mind first.
Luckily, David came back at exactly the right time dissolving the uncomfortable situation.
"Amanda, Victoria? Are you alright?" He closed the door of the room and moved towards the bathroom.
Victoria shook her head and answered. "Yes, of course. Amanda just wanted to freshen up in there." Then she smiled at David's daughter like nothing had happened and stepped out of the door.
"She's right, Dad." The 9-year-old confirmed when she saw her father's questioning look.
"Okay, we'll leave in 15 minutes. I already put our bags back into the car."
Oh, so that was why their suitcases weren't up here anymore. Her father did not intent to leave her behind but rather make her spend who knows how much time with that witch and her son.
Amanda didn't know which idea made her angrier, so she just banged the door and locked herself in the bathroom.
"She'll calm down, I'm sure." David said when he saw how terrified Victoria looked.
"Hopefully." She answered and started rubbing her temples.
"Hey, are you okay?" David placed a hand on her shoulder and looked into her face.
"Yeah, I am, why?" She removed her hands from her temples crossing her arms in front of her chest demonstratively.
"Because you look extremely pale and your legs are shaking, that's why!"
Victoria was not in the mood to put up a fight so she decided to explain. "It's the morning sickness, okay? I can handle that, so don't worry. Plus, I haven't slept well in the last few days. I just need to sit down for a moment." She didn't want to admit it but she really felt dizzy and faint since she had woken up this morning.
The perfect man he always was, David guided her to sit down on the bed and held her hand which he noticed was cold and sweaty.
Victoria closed her eyes forcing herself to feel better.
"Are you sure, you still want to go on this crazy road trip, Victoria? Don't you think it might be too stressful for you? I mean in your state you shouldn't…"
David was interrupted by Victoria squeezing his hand and leaning forward to him
"I told you, you don't have to worry about me." Then she began to whisper. "And the baby will also be fine. It's not my first pregnancy. I know what I can do and what I can't. When I was pregnant with Daniel I even went to all those events with Conrad and you have to believe me that travelling in a car and sleeping in cheap motels is definitely not as stressful as being forced into too tight dresses and heels and then faking to be friends with people you don't even know."
David was obviously convinced by her confidence and tried to forget about his concerns. "Alright, but you have to promise me that you'll tell me if you don't feel well and that you'll see a doctor regularly."
"Of course I will, David! I'd never put the health of our child at risk!" The sound of those words was still strange to both of them. Our child. They couldn't quite believe it.
"Well, when I was downstairs I called Roger and he gave me the address where we'll meet him in half an hour." David explained when he saw Daniel waking up and crawling onto his mother's lap.
"Where are we going Mommy?" He wanted to know sleepily. "And where's Dad? I thought we would spend the holidays together."
Victoria didn't know what to answer. She didn't want to scare her son and exchanged a clueless look with David.
"Daniel, listen to me." She then began hoping to find the right words. "We are just taking some time off. You'll see your Dad soon enough… I guess." The 6-year-old was apparently satisfied with the response he got and didn't ask any further questions.
Amanda on the other hand refused to go anywhere but back home.
It took David some really good parenting skills to make her leave bathroom and a great deal of patience to convince her to get into the car again.
When they finally arrived to meet Roger Halsted, they were at least 30 minutes late.
They found themselves at a small parking lot nearby a forest where they recognized Roger waiting in a black Jeep.
He started walking into their direction and shook hands with Victoria and David as they eventually reached him.
"I'm so sorry we're late." David apologized and glanced back at his car to an offended looking Amanda.
"Never mind, I'm just glad you're all here." Roger returned and pulled two identity cards out of his bag. "As you've requested Mrs Grayson."
"Thank you so much, Mr Halsted." Victoria gratefully accepted the IDs and showed them to David.
"Carolyn and Bryan Meyer?" David read out their fake names.
"Yes, you'll have to practice saying that now." Victoria assured. "And Amanda and Daniel are our children so you'll also have to pretend that you're married to me."
David smirked at the idea of Victoria being his wife. He wished that someday she would become Mrs Clarke for real and they would have this traditional wedding and raise their beautiful children together in a small house with a garden where they would grow plants and enjoy homemade lemonade on hot summer days. He would earn enough money to provide for his family and maybe they would even buy a dog and live happily ever after.
"David? Are you still with us?" He had been carried away by his fantasy and was now facing Victoria who was already in possession of the key to their new car.
"What? Yes, sure I am." He quickly answered. "I'll get our bags and you'll take care of the children okay?"
After they had changed cars it was time to say goodbye to their accomplice.
"Thank you for helping us. I really do hope that Conrad won't turn to you when he notices that we're gone." David voiced what was also one of Victoria's biggest concerns.
"Trust me, I'll remain silent." Roger reassured.
"Thank you again, Mr Halsted, for being so loyal to me and not to my husband. I promise you, you'll get your reward when all of this is over." Victoria shook hands with the Grayson Global employee being aware of the fact that they both knew more about their actual mission than David did.
"Anything for you, Mrs Grayson. I hope that you two will find happiness together." He smiled at them before finally saying goodbye. "And now have a save trip. I'm praying for you."
It was quiet in the car when David started the engine. He turned around and waited for Victoria to give him confirmation. She simply nodded. It was enough for him to drive off and away from the Hamptons.
During the long ride his thoughts always came back to his fantasy of them being a family.
It seemed more real to him than ever and yet he feared the obstacles they still had to overcome which were endangering his vision of their perfect future together.
Not my best work, I know, but I just needed to write this chapter so I can finally write some fun Conrad stuff in the next one!