(Sarah)I still could not wrap my head around what had happened yesterday. Thomas had called and told me that he was coming to see me. I had thought that he was coming back to me! The thought had made me so deliriously happy that I had immediately run off to the spa to get a facial and blow-dry. I had put on my best outfit – a short, pink dress that I knew he liked. Smoothing my dress out in the mirror, I had felt happy with myself. He was seeing me after many days. It was important to remind what he had been missing. And then I had sat down in the lobby waiting for him.He had walked in through the door and barely glanced at me as he sat down. My heart sank and my mouth ran dry.Thomas had sat on the leather sofa opposite me, staring at the floor for a few minutes. I had only echoed his silence, not knowing what to expect. But, even then, a pit had been forming in my stomach. He had a formidable expression on his face.Trying to dissipate the tension in the air, I had asked him if h
(Lydia)Thomas had selected one of our favorite restaurants again. As we pulled up in the parking lot, a smile broke out on my face. I smoothed out my shimmering mauve dress and caught a glimpse of my face in the rearview mirror. I had dressed up especially tonight. I was excited for this dinner.Rossi Ristorante was an Italian place downtown and we had hundreds of fond memories here, including random stop-ins for pizza and bruschetta while we were at university, some of our friends’ birthday parties (with the restaurant’s famous gelato cake), and the weekend after our graduation when we had stopped by here for dinner after spending hours shopping for our wedding.Thomas had always loved their pizzas and crostata. Based on his heritage, I was surprised that he hadn’t selected this very restaurant to propose to me in.So when he ordered me a pistachio gelato that he knew that I had always loved, I wondered if he remembered any of these things. “Do you remember the dinner we had here af
(Lydia)At work, I was on my third cup of coffee the next morning. Both my head as well as my eyes ached. I was only going through the motions of my rehearsal, waiting to get back home and rest. My whole world had suddenly spun out of control. And I hadn’t received so much as a single warning.I had realized that my feelings for Thomas, which I had so carefully folded up and tucked away into the back of my heart, had suddenly and abruptly resurfaced in the wake of his constant attention and care. He had started to win my heart back again.And, just as that had begun to unfold, Sarah had resurfaced with news of a child.The reason this was so pitiful was that … I would never stand in the way of that child’s happiness. I would never want a child to grow up without a father as caring and loving as Thomas.So, I tried to mentally drop the subject and swallow the fact that Thomas and Sarah would end up getting married.I tried to reason with myself: I have had a good life without him, anyw
(Lydia)The next few weeks passed by in a blur – not the swift, quick kind. My life had transformed into a haze in that I could no longer understand what was happening any longer.Thomas had called me several times. I had neither picked up nor declined. And I had not called him back.Truth be told, I had been hoping that he would show up again in person. My heart had been aching at the thought that he could consider getting back together with Sarah. After all those tall claims he had made, too – after chasing after me and waiting on me hand and foot.But there was a silver lining in all this: I had come to learn of my own strength. I had thought that if I lost Thomas a second time, I would be as devastated as the first time around – perhaps, even more so.But things did not pan out that way. I was disappointed and, without a doubt, in pain but I did not crumble this time around.I was glad; I would never want to be the way my mother was to me to my children. I was thinking of her afte
(Lydia)A cascade of emotions flooded through me: I was shocked, sad, nostalgic, happy to see my mother again, struggling with the memories of the past – of me defending her and of her ignoring me, and so much more. With this much going on within me, I was rooted to the spot.“My child…” my mother said through trembling lips and a broken voice.“Mama…” I finally said and exhaled. I had had no idea that I had been holding my breath for so long. I flung my arms around her.She stiffened when I did so. My heart lurched. How could she come here after so many years and then reject my attempt to hold her again?She was shivering.I held her by the forearms and looked at her in the eyes. “Are you okay, mama?” I asked, my voice more concerned for her than she had ever been for me.It hurt but that didn’t mean that I still didn’t care for her.My mother shook her head and dropped it. Her shoulders began to shake. She was crying.“What’s wrong, mama?” I asked her, alarmed.My mother looked up
(Lydia)I could not help the icy look in my eyes. After all those years upon years of neglect, she had come to see me in the hospital. And she had not even bothered to ask after me later. A part of me could not even believe that she was truthful. “Why?” I asked quietly.My mother’s eyes widened, as though she were appalled at my question. “You’re my daughter, Lydia!” she said.I shook my head. I had not been her daughter when my father had punched me in the face. She had not come to see me becoming a bride. And she had never asked after me for all these years since after the accident. What has changed now?Eyes teary, I looked at her. But before I could gather the strength to say even a single one of these things, she fished out a piece of paper from her creased old purse and handed it to me.Then, she turned around and left.On the paper was the address of a hotel that she was staying at. I considered running after her but my head was spinning from all of these sudden events and rev
(Lydia)With a heavy lump in my throat, I hung up the phone. I stared into the void for a minute. Absolutely nothing made sense anymore. But knowing now all that Ruby had told me, I realized that I needed to talk to my mother. I should not have let her leave so quickly. I should have taken her to a restaurant – maybe had lunch with her.Fifteen minutes later, I was in my car with the location of her hotel set as the destination on the GPS navigator. I had no idea what I would say to my mother. “ETA: five minutes. You are now on the fastest route to Green Air Fort Hotel” the robotic voice on the navigator application system said.What would I say to her? How would I talk to her? My heart thumped wildly as I pulled up in front of the building and handed my car keys to the valet. As I made my way into the elevator, my mouth ran dry.But I knew that it was the right thing to do. My mother deserved to be loved and cared for by me. All those years ago, she had made a mistake by not leaving
(Lydia)Ruby was biting her nails and pacing rapidly around the corridor when I got home. She looked up when she heard the door open and darted towards me as soon as she saw me.“How did it go?” she gasped, clutching my arms.“I – he – they’re exactly the same as before, Ruby!” I garbled, “The old man threatened to go to Thomas and – and – I don’t think he knows that we’re already divorced and …”My face was flushed. I was sweating. I had been hold on to a pang of anxiety ever since I had left the hotel. I was struggling to keep my senses but my voice weakened and my head swayed dizzily as I exhaled, “I can’t let him get to the children, Ruby ... I don’t think he knows but – what if – and … I – I can’t let him know more, he just can’t … I won’t let it – he can’t …”Ruby flung her arms around me and started blubbering uncontrollably. We had been here before. We had spent our entire childhoods this way. And, now, this man had returned to refresh our memories with the horrors of the past
(Lydia)By the time I reached Ruby’s apartment, I could hardly breathe. My legs burned from climbing the stairs two at a time, but I didn’t care. My mind was racing, filled with every worst-case scenario I could imagine. Ruby’s phone going unanswered and her not showing up at the mansion had sent my thoughts spiraling into dark territory.I pounded on her door, my fist landing hard against the wood.“Ruby? Open up! It’s me!”The hallway was eerily silent, my frantic knocks echoing off the walls. I pressed my ear to the door, hoping to catch even the faintest sound of movement inside.“Ruby, please! Are you okay?”The seconds stretched unbearably. Then, finally, I heard the muffled shuffle of footsteps. Relief surged through me, but it was fleeting.The door opened just a crack, and Ruby appeared, peeking through the gap. Her face was calm, but her eyes held a flicker of something…annoyance? Discomfort?“Lydia,” she said, her voice carefully even, “What are you doing here?”I pushed th
(Lydia)I spent the car ride back home in relative silence, my thoughts consumed by everything that had happened in the past few months. The whirlwind of Nathan’s threats, Jack’s complicated relationship with Ruby, and Mama’s illness. It felt like I was constantly running a marathon with no finish line in sight.Now, as I crossed the threshold into the house, a surge of relief washed over me. At least for a few hours, I could breathe.My speech in the Assembly Hall had been well-received and I was grateful for that. What I had done was a long time coming because I had been worried about Mabel and Miles’ school for quite some time. Ever since they came home one day and told me what the kids were talking about, I had a thought in the back of my mind that this was going to be a problem moving forwards. And it was.Well, I hope all of that was settled now. As I walked into the living room, I saw Mama sitting in a recliner, bundled in a blanket despite the warmth of the room.“Back alread
(Ruby)I left the boutique in the afternoon to go to my apartment. I had some chores to do and I knew the apartment was probably a mess. When I reached there, I immediately started to do laundry. It took time, but I got it done just in time.As I folded the last of the laundry, I couldn’t help but think about what to eat since I’d planned to grab a quick bite before heading to the mansion to look after Mama. One of my workers was closing the boutique for me today, a rare reprieve I desperately needed. I had just gathered my things when a knock at the door startled me. I paused, glancing at the clock. I wasn’t expecting anyone. Peering through the peephole, I saw nothing but the empty corridor. My first thought was that it might be another bouquet. Curiosity got the better of me, and I opened the door. What I saw made me gasp so loudly I nearly dropped my bag. “Jack!” He was on his knees, his face pale and sweaty, twisted in pain. Blood stained his shirt and pants, and his han
(Jack)The tension had been building inside me all morning, a storm of frustration and unanswered questions I couldn’t shake. Thomas’s decision to meet with Nathan still gnawed at me. It wasn’t just the secrecy of it, though that alone was bad enough, it was the recklessness. The risk. But as much as that boiled my blood, there was another matter weighing heavily on my mind, and this one had a name: Marco.By midday, I’d had enough. I wasn’t going to get anything productive done sitting in my office, stewing over things I couldn’t control. I grabbed my jacket, told my assistant I’d be out for the rest of the day, and headed for Amanda’s apartment. If anyone could give me answers about Marco, it was her. When I reached her apartment, Amanda opened the door, her eyes widening slightly in surprise as she asked, “Jack? What are you doing here?” “We need to talk,” I said, stepping inside before she could protest. She frowned but didn’t argue, closing the door behind me. Her apartme
(Ruby)The boutique was quiet that morning, the kind of peaceful hum that made it easy to focus. I was in the back office, hunched over my sketchbook, refining designs for a new collection. My desk was strewn with fabric swatches, colored pencils, and notes scribbled on sticky pads. A rich emerald green satin caught my eye, and I reached for it, envisioning how it could drape into a gown. The chime of the boutique’s door opening filtered through the walls, followed by the light footsteps of customers browsing. I barely looked up, trusting my small but capable team to handle the sales floor. “Ruby,” Mia, one of my new hires, called from the doorway. She was a petite girl with a shy smile who had started just a week ago. I glanced up, pushing my hair back from my face, “What’s up?” “There’s a man asking to see you,” she said, shifting nervously, “He’s...um...he looks important.” I frowned, setting my pencil down. Important? My mind immediately went to Adam. Maybe he was here t
(Lydia)I stretched my arms, glancing at the clock on the nightstand. The sun was peeking through the horizon and today was the day where I would be taking a stand in front of all the parents. I shoved thoughts of Clara and her cryptic messages aside. That mystery could wait. My focus now was on standing up for myself and my children against the parents who had dared to insult us in such a vile way.Mabel and Miles were already awake, their chatter filling the house as they got dressed for school. It was good to see them so excited about returning to class. Their enthusiasm fueled my resolve. I joined them in the kitchen, ensuring their breakfast was hearty enough to carry them through their day.Thomas came down just as the kids were finishing up. He looked slightly more rested than he had the previous evening, though his demeanor was still a little distant. As he grabbed his coffee, I walked over to him, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “Good luck at work,” I murmured, my hand brush
(Lydia)The clock on the wall ticked steadily, its sound the only companion to my restless pacing in the living room. I glanced at the door for what felt like the hundredth time, waiting for Thomas to come home. My meeting with the principal had gone better than expected, or at least, I had managed to secure a proper confrontation with the other parents. But the weight of it, the anger I’d felt earlier, was still coiled tightly inside me, waiting to be shared. Finally, the sound of keys jingling at the door broke my train of thought. Thomas stepped in, his tie loosened, his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His shoulders sagged, and there was a faint crease between his brows, the kind that appeared only when he was genuinely stressed. "Hey," I greeted softly, walking over to him, “Rough day?”He nodded, offering me a tired smile as he leaned down to kiss my cheek, “Just one of those days. Work’s a mess right now.”I wanted to press him for more, but the lines on his face told
(Thomas)Standing by the massive floor-to-ceiling window in my office, I watched the city skyline, its usual vibrancy dulled by the fog in my mind. The weight of what I was about to do settled heavily on my chest, but I couldn’t back down now. Nathan’s trial loomed on the horizon, and his request to meet one last time echoed in my thoughts. There was no way to shake the feeling that this meeting might hold the key to something vital, even if it came at a personal cost.I picked up my phone and scrolled to Aiden’s number. He answered on the second ring, his voice as sharp and precise as ever.“Thomas,” he said, “I assume this is about Nathan.”“It is,” I replied, my tone flat but resolute, “I’ve decided to meet him.”There was a pause on the line, long enough to make me think he might object outright. Finally, Aiden sighed, “You’re sure about this? You understand what you’re walking into.”“I’m sure,” I said, “But I want to make something absolutely clear. This meeting stays between u
(Lydia)Walking into the principal’s office, my hands felt unusually steady. The incident from a week ago rang in my mind, those mothers standing in front of the school, blocking my way, their condescending smirks and venomous words spilling out like poison in front of my children. I had been humiliated, sure, but more than that, I was enraged. Not because they had said those things to me, but because Mabel and Miles had heard every single word. It wasn’t just me they had attacked, it was my family, my children. And no one, not even a clique of overzealous parents with too much time on their hands, was going to make my children feel unworthy or unsafe.The principal’s office was predictably neat and orderly, the faint smell of coffee lingering in the air. She was a woman in her late fifties with kind but firm eyes and she greeted me with a professional smile when I entered.“Ms. Lydia, please have a seat,” she said, gesturing toward the chair opposite her desk.I sat, straight-backed