(Thomas)I was at my wit's end.It didn’t matter how much I proved to Lydia that I was serious about her – she did not seem to believe me.Was this it for us?No, it couldn’t be. We have two beautiful children together whom I love with all my heart. We will be connected with each other throughout our whole lives, then how could she not feel the way I feel for her?Did she stop loving me?The doubts swirling in my mind made it difficult for me to go to sleep. I twisted and turned in my bed for the whole night before giving up just before daybreak.The twins were with Lydia but she will be dropping them off at the mansion before leaving for doing interviews. She would be promoting her new film for the rest of the month, which meant the kids would see her less. I would also see her less and I cannot take it.The need to always be in her presence consumes me these days. Ever since I have my memories back, I feel regret coursing through me every time I am away from her or the kids.But wh
(Lydia)“Yes,” I murmured through the phone, trying not to have the kid’s attention on me as they munched their pancakes happily.Jonathan Nilson had called me just as I had finished making breakfast for the twins to talk about the promotional interviews that I have lined up now that the filming of the movies is completed.“We are spreading our promotional tours to LA, New York, and Washington. I need you to be available for the next month. Is that a problem?” he asked over the line.I bit my lips hard.I have been through so much these past few days that the thought of leaving my children behind fills me with utter dread. I do not want to do this but I also signed a contract where I agreed to promote the film. If only I had known everything that would follow afterward, perhaps I would have thought about all the clauses more.A knot formed in my stomach as my silence ran loud and clear.Jonathan sighed from the other end, “The contract you signed-”“Give me a day,” I cut him off, “Gi
(Thomas)“Is there anything else that needs my attention?” I asked Robert, my executive assistant.“No, sir, not today. You do have lunch tomorrow with the executives of a start-up, I believe,” he said, sliding the glasses up his nose as he concentrated on my schedule.“Cancel it. I have lunch with the kids tomorrow,” I told him, getting up and fixing my dress shirt.“Isn’t that today, sir?” he said hesitantly.“Well, it's tomorrow as well,” I replied to him, “rescheduled the lunch for next week.”“Very well, sir,” he nodded dutifully.“I really do appreciate you, Robert. You know that, right?” I tell him with a sheepish smile.Robert chuckled, “Yes, sir.”Robert truly has been a big help. I file it in my mind to give him a bonus at year-end because he truly has been a big help in managing the tasks in times when I have been distracted.Now that things were moving forward, my full concentration was on work. Although I can always cancel lunches to focus on my kids.I have missed so man
(Lydia)I left Thomas standing there with a beautiful bouquet of daffodils in his hand.I felt bad but I had also just come to the decision that I would take some time to gather my own thoughts before letting Thomas in again once and for all.But then again, does Thomas want that at all?The flowers were a nice gesture, and I really appreciated it, but when I told him that I would be leaving, he was enthusiastic about that. He did not seem sad at the prospect of me leaving.Was I perhaps thinking about it too much?Maybe he was happy about this new experience I was going to have and was utterly devastated at the thought of being away from me yet, still put a smile on his face to make it seem like everything was okay.My head hurt by thinking of all these things as I climbed up the steps in the mansion. I didn’t see the kids downstairs so they must be in their room with Margaret.I knocked lightly on the door before popping my head in to see that Margaret had put them to bed and was no
(Adeline)The oncology ward was as depressing as ever.There were people my age, but there were also the young ones; the teenagers with a hopeful future snatched from them like a rug and the children who should be running around but were now sitting in their wheelchairs, slumped.They had learned about the horrible side of life even before knowing what life truly meant.My heart hurts for all of them. I wish I could do something to make their disease vanish, but I was not a doctor, nor a researcher.At this stage of my life, I wished I had led a better life than I had but what was the point of crying over spilled milk?Today was my monthly appointment where the doctor told me all about how the cancer was shrinking after a month of chemotherapy. Until now, the results were exceptional and I hoped that it was the case now as well.I did not want to bother any of my daughters because they had their own things to worry about. Lydia was busy with making preparations for the tour and Ruby w
(Lydia)I was driving my car, on my way back home when my phone started ringing. I ignored it because ever since the last accident, I have made it a mission that whenever I am in a car, either if I’m alone or with anyone else, I will not pick up any calls or do anything that would require my attention to be diverted from the road ahead.I know previous accidents weren’t because of my fault, but being extra cautious would hurt no one.The phone stopped ringing, causing me to relax once more but just as it had stopped, the call started coming again. My shoulders tensed and worry started to settle in my gut.Was it the kids? Has something happened to them? Or perhaps Thomas?My heart started beating rapidly and I immediately opened my indicator light to park the car to the side. While I found a good spot to park at the side of the road, the phone had turned off and started ringing again.Once I finally managed to park the car, I picked up my phone from the passenger seat to see that Ruby
(Jack)I never had any trouble buying things but as I stared back at the cases upon cases filled with rings of different sizes and designs, I didn’t know what to do.“Mr. Lombardi, is there anything to your liking?” the store manager asked.I was at Tiffany & Co. and the staff had kindly shut the entire store for me, just for privacy as I tried to think about what kind of ring I should buy for Ruby.I wanted to propose to her for a while now and was just waiting to see what my mother thought about her. Mother's attitude at the twins' birthday had made my fears settle down. She was nice to Lydia, Ruby, and their mother.Perhaps it was too soon to make a decision like this, but I wanted to marry Ruby. I wanted to start a life of my own and also have beautiful children like my own brother.I never imagined to find someone like Ruby and now that I have, I don’t want to lose her.I spared another look at the case in front of me filled with opulent and showy crystals atop golden and silver
(Lydia)I woke up early today even though it wasn’t me who had to drop off the kids at school. I had left them at Thomas’ yesterday and came home in a panic after Ruby had called.The rest of the day was spent cuddling together with Ruby and Mama. We had watched a couple of movies and ordered in because we were just too lazy to get up and make something.It felt nice to just lie down with my family and do nothing. I did not have many chances to do that recently.I had also called Jonathan Nilson to let him know that I would be joining him for the tour. He was happy that I decided to come and immediately called a meeting of the cast members to discuss our schedules.Apart from Nathan Andrews, there were a couple more B-star actors who had a lot of fan-following. As for me, I don’t think I had any fans, however, the media had surely been interested in the kids because of everything that went down.I don’t know how, but Thomas took care of the people who were following the twins around a