ARTEMIS' POV:-

I was sitting in Elijah's car. I had blindfolds on my eyes. After dinner, he covered my eyes, saying that he had a surprise for me. He was not telling me a thing about that surprise of his. "Elijah! I hate surprises. Please, tell me. Where are you taking me?" I asked Elijah again as I was getting angry. Well, I was kind of frustrated.

Instead of an answer, I heard him chuckle. "Just calm down, baby girl. I know you hate surprises. But as always, you love the ones I give you. You are going to like this one too." Elijah replied to me in a low tone while he was driving the car. It felt like he had been driving for hours.

The car finally came to a halt. "We are here. But you are not allowed to take the blindfolds off of your eyes or peek." Elijah warned me again as he undid his seatbelt. I literally rolled my eyes at him as he told me that for a thousandth time already. I heard the door being unlocked. A few seconds later, he opened the door to my side and pulled me out of the car.

He didn't put me down as I was blindfolded. Although I hated the surprises, I couldn't deny being with him whenever I got the chance. I placed my head on his shoulder as he carried me like a baby in his arms. He took a few steps, then he stopped. He placed me on my feet and turned me around.

"Are you ready for your surprise, baby girl?" Elijah whispered in my ear. I pouted in annoyance but nodded my head. I was not a very patient person to deal with those kinds of surprises that easily. Elijah chuckled as he might have seen me nodding. He took the blindfold off of my eyes.

"Now, open your eyes." Elijah whispered in my ear softly. I opened my eyes as he had told me. As the blurriness of my gaze faded, my eyes widened in surprise. Tears started welling up in my eyes as I saw that surprise in front of me. With a surprised look on my face, I turned to look at Elijah.

"My baby! I can't believe my eyes. I am actually seeing the face of my beautiful baby girl in front of me." I heard a familiar voice. I walked towards her as my tears betrayed me again. I jumped into my mother's arms. I couldn't believe it. Elijah actually found my mother.

My mother wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tightly. "It is really you. It is my mother. I can't believe it. I have finally found you." I whispered in her ear as I started weeping. I couldn't control myself anymore. The last time I had seen her was the day when she left me. No, it was the day when my father separated us both. It was the most painful day of my life.

Elijah and I were sitting into my mother's home. Elijah was sitting beside me. My mother went to get something for us. Elijah had one of his arms wrapped around my shoulders. My head was placed on his chest. I couldn't stop weeping since I saw her face. When my mother couldn't handle me, she left me with Elijah to handle me.

"It's alright, baby girl. You don't have to cry like that. You have been waiting to meet your mother. Don't you want to talk to her? You just keep on crying." Elijah whispered in my ear while he was rubbing his hand on my back gently. He was trying every possible way to make me stop crying.

He gently wiped my tears and made me sit straight on the couch. Although I wanted to hug him. I never really thought how emotional I would get the moment I would see my mother again. "Your mother's name is Fiona. And do you know, Amy, Amira and Ryan are your step siblings?" Elijah whispered in my ear softly and my eyes widened in shock. I just never thought the world could be that small.

My mother was practically in front of me. But I was unable to see her. "Really! They are my step siblings?" I asked Elijah in a confused tone. He chuckled as he heard me. He patted my head as he nodded his head. He pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket as he gently wiped my tears off of my face.

"Yes! Remember, you told me that you look exactly like your mother. I once met the triplet's stepmom. Today, Amy mentioned something about her mother. That's when I realised that I had found your mom already." Elijah replied to me in a low tone. I was trying not to cry again. So I wrapped my arms around his torso and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you for everything, Eli. I thought I was never going to see my mother again. But you made it happen." I thanked Elijah in a low tone. I raised my face and pecked his cheek. I heard him growl under his chest as I pecked his cheek. I just wanted to make him feel how happy I really was after seeing my mother.

Someone cleared their throat. That made me pull away from Elijah almost quickly. "Get a room, both of you. If you want, I can clean up a room so you two can thank each other." My cheeks burned as I heard a masculine voice teasing me. Elijah growled in annoyance and I buried my face in my palms. It was embarrassing to be caught like that.

"That's alright, sweetheart. Teenagers do these things. I am sure your mother was the same when she was your age." That same man spoke again in a gentle tone. His tone made me look up at him. It looked like I was staring at Amy's face. Amy looked exactly like that man.

"This is Artemis Carter. Your stepdaughter. Artemis, he is your stepfather, Mr Victor Rodriguez." Elijah introduced us both. I stood up and held my hand in front of him to shake his hand. But instead, he pinched the tip of my nose and pulled it playfully. An angry pout appeared on my face as he pinched my nose.

"Welcome to the family, sweet heart. I can't believe it. Now I have three daughters." Victor spoke in an excited tone as he was chuckling. I guess my angry pout looked funny to him. My mother came back with a tray in her hands. She placed the tray on the table. There were four glasses filled with her handmade lemonade. And her chocolate chip muffins that I loved.

"Don't be shy, dear. I can see your mouth watering. Grab as many as you want. It's your home too." Victor spoke in an excited tone as he grabbed one of the muffins and took a bite. It surely was hot. He was huffing as he tried to chew that big bite that he took. I also took one muffin in my hands and tried to take a bite.

My lips burnt because the muffins were freshly baked. "Careful, Artemis. Let me take this." Elijah growled at me as I whimpered in pain. He was blowing the muffin on the top. I looked at my mother's face and my cheeks burned again. I knew Elijah was extremely protective towards me. It was not a show off.

Elijah then held the muffin in front of my mouth. I took a small bite. With that bite, all the beautiful memories of my mother came rushing to my head. "Thank you, Alpha Elijah. Thank you for bringing me my baby. I actually thought I would die without seeing her face. As her father had mocked me." My mom spoke in a low tone as she leaned into Victor's arms.

I was not the only one who felt that way. I was not the only one who was scared of whatever my father said. My mother felt the same way. "She was the one looking for you everywhere. I just became the connection to bring you both closer." Elijah replied to my mom in a lower tone.

I was on cloud nine as I saw her beautiful smiling face again. There was hesitation between us. Years had passed without any communication between us. That's why we were hesitant. But both of us were happy. "What are you doing, Artemis? Have you graduated high school?" My mother asked me in a low tone. I gulped hard due to nervousness as I turned my head to look at Elijah.

"She has graduated along with your stepchildren. As she is a genius, she is preparing for college interviews in fashion colleges." Elijah replied to my mother's question instead of me. He was not a controlling kind of man. I was just ashamed of telling my mother that I was a year behind.

It was my father's fault. He believed everything his wife told him. She told him that I had an affair with a boy at school. Dad pulled me out of the school without asking me. He made me lose a year. Until my principal got angry. He came to my house to tell my father that I never did such a thing. After my principal's assurance, my father let me continue my studies.

"I think, there has been years between us. It is going to take her a while to open up in front of me." Mom spoke in a disappointed tone. She looked sad that Elijah replied to her question instead of me. I was not sure how to tell her that I was just ashamed.

"That's not true at all. Artemis is like an open book. And she is very good at communication. The emotions aren't letting her speak. She is too emotional for now. I am sure she will open up once you start to spend some time together." Elijah replied to my mom in a low tone. I turned to look into Elijah's eyes. I was just glad that he was there with me. Because I had no idea what I was going to do without him by my side. Elijah intertwined his fingers with mine as if he knew that I needed him. I placed my head on his shoulder while I was staring at my mother. I was not sure what I was supposed to say to her.

All those years, I had been planning to meet my mother. I always thought I would tell her everything that happened to me after she was gone. But the moment I saw her again, my words got lost. "Looks like you know her better than anyone else. Amy used to tell me so much about you both. According to her, your couple was the most beautiful and perfect couple in the whole world. Now that I am seeing it with my own two eyes, I believe she was actually right. You both look perfect together." My mother complimented me in a joyful tone. Her eyes were blinging with happiness and excitement. She was happy to see me with Elijah.

I saw tears welling up in her eyes. Victor was quick to wipe her tears. It was almost like I was watching Elijah and I, in front of myself. "I have always prayed for you. I never wanted you to be fated with anyone like your father. I was forced to marry him. I spent a few years with him. He was nothing but a Satan in my life. While I was nothing to him but a machine that gave him a child." My mother added in a sad tone. It squeezed my heart to see her cry like that. Her tears were evidence of how much my father had hurt her. I was able to get up. But Elijah stopped me.

My eyes went back towards my mom. Victor had his arms wrapped around her protectively. He was gently rubbing her back to help her calm down. My heart fluttered as I saw them together. My mother looked happy with Victor. I turned my head to look at Elijah. He was smiling softly while staring at my face. He brought my hand closer to his face and pecked the back of my hand. I was thinking about ways to thank him properly for everything he had done for me. He held the muffin in front of my mouth for me to take another bite. It felt heavenly to have him by my side.