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LEILANI It’s been two days since I let Pixie begin to live with us. Those two days have been more peaceful than I expected it to be. Pixie seemed to have been serious when she said she was sorry for her wrongdoings. Right now, I totally understand her. Malcolm doesn’t want to have anything to do with her, at the moment, his entire focus is on proving that the boy isn’t his, which I find unnecessary. Melinda became friends with Pixie’s son, whom we learnt his name was Ryan. Sienna now lives alone at our old house, since she insisted on giving us privacy. That day when she and Malcolm came back from moving our things, she had been infuriated when she saw Pixie. She had pulled me aside and scolded me, asking if I was in my right senses. I managed to convince her, even though I knew she wasn’t really confused. She had said she hoped I knew what I was doing before leaving that day. Even I do not know what I’m doing. But one thing is sure, I’m moved by my motherly instincts. I know how scar
SIENNA I find it hard to understand Leilani these days, I just can’t figure out the reason why she let that bitch and her son stay with them. Leilani has always been soft right from childhood, I thought experiencing life would change her, but then it seems like it didn’t. I keep wondering if this was the way she survived while away for five years. I wondered if she let just anyone into her home back then in New York. I had yelled and asked her not to contact me while still living with that bitch. But deep down, I know I didn’t mean I will always look out for her even if she makes the dumbest decision. Today was a holiday for everyone. No company was expected to operate as it was a national holiday. Some companies will definitely operate, but then, Leilani had made it obvious that everyone should stay at their homes as she had no interest in operating the company on a national holiday, so here I am, at home and alone. I was so bored and damn the movies were not doing it for me. I coul
ISABELLE It’s been two days since I found out about the little girl who has an uncanny resemblance with Melinda. At first, I was in so much doubt about the possibility of her being Leilani’s daughter, but then I decided to threaten Elodie, saying that I would contact the police as well as the girl’s real mum, Leilani Bradford. The threat had worked on her, she was scared and almost went down on her knees, while pleading with me. This one action of hers, further proved that she knows about Leilani and that Miranda was Leilani’s kid. But then, Leilani doesn’t seem like someone who would leave her kid or something. I mean she acts like a goody two shoes and for someone who was terribly religious as at the time she left. I doubted she threw her child away or abandoned her at the hospital. “I’ll have to act cautiously to use this to my advantage,” I thought, smiling. Finally, I got something that would help me go back to California without any trouble. The sound of someone knocking on m
MIRANDA That day when mummy and I were supposed to leave and that unfamiliar Aunty showed up, I had been so mad at her for spoiling my plans of leaving this horrible place with mummy. After I stormed to my room, mummy showed up and begged me not to talk to that aunt until we find a way to leave. Even I didn't want to speak to the Aunty, I really disliked her, so listening to mummy wasn't hard. I woke up this morning and made my bed. I was about to go into the bathroom when Daddy suddenly stormed into my room and dragged me out. I was too stunned to speak. Before I could get myself, he pulled me into the room opposite mine, which was the new Aunty's room. So, here I am speaking to the Aunty, who seemed friendly and at the same time, unfriendly. "Meet me here in ten minutes. You can bring any of your clothes, your favourite toys or anything. But make sure no one sees you," she told me. Excited about the fact that I was going to meet my real family, I nodded enthusiastically and raced
SIENNA The moment I put down the phone, I raced up to my room like I had suddenly lost my mind, to change my clothes. Leilani raced after me while asking what was wrong. But then I was too anxious to speak. If not that I was clad in nothing but my panty and bra, I would have raced out of the house the moment I received the call. I randomly took any cloth my hand could reach and wore it, not minding if I wore it right. “You are really scaring me,” Leilani complained and trailed behind me, as I raced down the flight of stairs. I pulled the door open and raced to my car. Once I got in, I turned on the ignition, but then Leilani got in. “I will drive. You seem disoriented.” I didn’t argue with her, I let her drive. “Where to?” she asked. “Mills Hospital.” Since the hospital was a really popular one, I figured out she would know the place, so I didn’t bother telling her the address. She stepped on the accelerator and sped off. Along the way, I explained the situation to her, but she
LEILANI I drove Sienna back home, the entire time in the car was silent, as Sienna was too lost in thoughts, or maybe embarrassed to say a word. I didn’t bother to say anything to her, as I totally understood how she felt. I pulled up in front of my house. Sienna got out of the car and mumbled a thank you, then walked inside the building. I heaved a sigh and trailed behind her. Getting into the house. Sienna lowers herself onto the couch, still not saying a word. “Si, I understand how you feel. I don’t think this is enough reason for you to feel down,” I whispered. She nodded as if she got my point. But then, I knew she was barely listening to me. “Sienna, you are not listening to me right now. I can clearly see that.” She covered her face with her palm and gazed at me. “I’m too embarrassed Lani.” “I know that Si, but that is not enough reason for you to look lost and…” My phone rang loudly, cutting me off. “Let me take this, It’s Melinda,” I told Sienna, upon checking the call
MIRANDA The unfamiliar voice of a female who seemed to be in a serious discussion with someone woke me up from my sleep, I stirred and my eyes fluttered open. I yawned and looked around at the unfamiliar room. I felt lost for a moment and continued looking around, wide-eyed. But then, my eyes landed on the figure standing in a corner of the room, everything rushed back to my memory. I stretched my legs and tried to rise from the bed, only to end up falling back to the bed. An unbearable pain shot through my ankle, and a tormented cry left my lips. I quickly looked down at my legs to know the cause of the pain, only to see my legs bound to the bed. Horrified, I wiped my eyes and looked down again, the chain was still there, it was so tight that any attempt by me to move my legs would make it bite into my skin. I immediately looked up at the figure that was now gazing at me, smiling like a maniac. "Why am I bound?" I asked, tears running down my cheeks due to the pain. "Come on, hon
LEILANIThe moment I felt something heavy hit my back, then Plastic's voice sounded. I turned around with my aching back."You shameless slut," I growled and gritted my teeth in painThe pain in my back was unbearable, but I had it in mind that if I let this opportunity to expose Plastic slip by, another might not come forth soon. I landed a kick on her stomach and she staggered back."How dare you," she snarled and rushed to attack me.I stood still watching her barely making an attempt to move, she stormed like a mad bull towards me. The moment she got close to me and reached out to grab my hair, I took a step back and she ended up crashing miserably on the floor."You are wicked Lani," Sienna who was standing at the door the entire time laughed."Let me see," I heard Melinda's voice from outside the room."I swear Sienna. I will end you one day," I glowered at her."Aunty will be back in a jiffy," I heard Sienna say to Melinda. She shut the door and walked over to us at, the same ti
LEILANI Here I am, seated on the sandy beach overlooking the vast water. However, instead of watching the water being pushed around by the waves like everyone else, My entire attention is on my two adorable kids, building sand castles in a corner. “Stop that, Melinda,” Miranda screams at Melinda who was so invested in destroying the sand castle she had built. “Let’s do something else, I’m tired of building sand castles every time we visit the beach,” Melinda yells and continues to kick and scatter the sand castle they had spent almost an hour building. “Melinda, stop that,” I yell, bringing their attention to me. “She doesn’t want to play with me,” Melinda complains, her eyes getting moist. “You mustn’t run around all the time,” I say, but Melinda was hearing none of it. She threw herself on the ground and began to roll herself on the floor. “Melinda, stop that,” I say, now pissed off at her unruly behaviour. She rises from the ground and grabs hold of Miranda’s swimsuit. “Th
FIVE MONTHS LATER MIRANDA “Stop that Melinda!” I screamed as she continuously banged her spoon on a stainless plate, creating a loud disturbing noise. “You never like playing!” She screams back, giggling. “I’m trying to study,” I replied, pulling my hair. But my crazy twin smiled and banged the spoon on the plate even more loudly. “Fine,” I say, slamming my book shut and rising from the bed. “What do you want to do?” I ask. “Yes!” she screams and leaps up. It’s been five months since I was taken home by my real family, five months since I discovered Aunt Isabelle’s true colours, Five months since I found people who sincerely love me and wished the best for me. Honestly, my family has become the most important part of my life. I can never stay a day without seeing them. My mum, Leilani, treats me like I'm the most precious thing on earth, and most times I wonder why Melinda never gets jealous. My dad, on the other hand, treats me like I'm the most delicate thing on earth. He
MIRANDA “Is that another me?” the little girl who looks exactly like me gasps I stood still, unable to say a word and watched as she also took steps towards me, her legs shaky and her eyes fixed on my face the entire time. Getting to me, she raises her hand to touch my face. But then, I am reminded of Aunt Isabelle's words about her being the major reason why my parents don't want me. "Don't touch me," I snarled and roughly shoved her aside. "I need to speak with Malcolm Blake and his wife," I said, older this time. "That's my mum and dad," the girl who looks exactly like me says. I glanced at her and eyed her unpleasantly. "I'm not dragging that with you," I snarled at her. "Anyone getting the duo, or I should barge in and find their suite myself?" I ask. "No, I'll call them," the lady says. Nodding my head at her answer, I stood still watching her make a phone conversation. "They'll be here soon," she says, putting down her phone. "So doppelgangers are real," the annoyi
MIRANDA I was so engrossed in the storybook Aunt Isabelle had purchased for me when I noticed someone trying to come into my room through the window. Scared, I got into the closet to hide myself. I would’ve called Aunt Isabelle, but then I recalled that she had warned me on several occasions to always keep my windows locked. Not wanting to get scolded by her, I carefully hid myself inside my closet and shut the door, heart beating erratically and waiting for the intruder to show up. However, after a long wait, no one showed up, making me look out of the closet. Then, I heard someone screaming for help. People asking for help was a normal occurrence in our neighbourhood. I’ve always watched a lot of people struggle with their captors. It was a daily occurrence that scared me. But then, I always watch to know who to look out for. Like always, I tiptoed to the window and that was when I caught sight of a familiar woman being pulled by the hair. For some reason, the way the man was tuggin
"Miranda." I gasped and stared wide-eyed at my little angel staring down at me. The maniac kept tugging my hair to bring my attention to him, but then it was as if I couldn't feel any of those at this moment. My entire focus was on the little girl in the window. "Miran…" I try to call again. But then, I'm cut shut as a familiar voice calls out the name before I could complete it. "Miranda," Isabelle's annoying voice sounded. At that moment, I felt my skin crawl and my heart began to beat frantically. "Don't tell me Elodie and her husband gave my daughter to this witch," I mumbled, gripped by fear. Having witnessed what Isabelle is capable of, the last thing I want is to have her next to my loved ones. Most especially, my daughters, but it seemed like that was just my wishful thinking. Eyes still on the window, I watch my daughter's face lit up with a smile the moment Isabelle reaches her side. I watched, with tears trailing down my cheeks as Isabelle fondly pats my daughter's hai
LEILANI “What?” I gasp in shock. Malcolm ignores me and rises from his seat. I grab hold of his hand to stop him from walking away. “How can you just drop an information like this and suddenly try to leave without explaining things to me?” I ask, still in shock. Disbelief clearly written on my face. “What? You suddenly want to believe my words right now?” Malcolm asks and pulls his arm off my grasp. “Malcolm,” I whisper in shock at the force he used in pulling his hand away. “What Leilani? What! I'm sick and tired of constantly having to explain myself to you countless number of times. I try to please and understand you all the time, but you keep making things hard for me. Tell me, do you even believe what I just said about Elodie?” He suddenly throws a question at me. I stare at him without saying a word. Honestly, this news is a shocker and I'm having a hard time believing it. “See, you don’t,” he says. Casting one last look at me, he dumps his cutleries, not caring if they f
LEILANI “When did we suddenly get to this?” I ask myself. I stood in place, too shocked to move. This was the first time a gun was being pointed at me. Yeah, I live in the United States, and shooting often occurs. But then, this is the first time I’m actually witnessing it. I watched as the guy pulled the trigger. “Is this my end?” I ask. Suddenly, I’m snatched like I weigh nothing and thrown aside. “You really want to die, don’t you?” Malcolm’s angry voice echoes. His voice sounded so far away, yet I was in his arms. My focus was on the masked guy trying to get away. I watch as he slips into one of the hospital rooms. “Baby,” Malcolm calls, shaking me rigorously. “Huh,” I answer absent-mindedly. “Leilani!” he suddenly yells my name. Making me snap out of whatever trance I was in. “He tried to shoot me,” I mumble. “I almost died without meeting my daughter,” I begin to cry. “Almost, but you didn’t,” he says, pulling me further into his arms. “She is dead,” I mumble, point
LEILANI The moment Frank runs past us with his skinny wife in his arms, Malcolm and I immediately run after him. Getting outside the building, Frank runs over to an old truck that looks like it will break down at any minute. “Are you honestly taking her to the hospital with that?” I ask “Let’s use my car,” Malcolm calls after him. Soon, we all got into Malcolm’s car, and he speeds to the hospital. Getting to the hospital, Elodie is lowered into a stretcher and wheeled into the emergency room. Malcolm and Frank goes off, as Frank mentions that he would like their family doctor to attend to her since he works here. I watch as both of them walk away in search of the doctor. Frank’s sister and I rushes after Elodie, who was already wheeled to the emergency room. “Has something like this happened to her before?” I queried her. She gave me one downgrading look and didn’t bother to answer. It is already bad enough that I haven’t seen my daughter even when I’m already in Colorado. Now,
LEILANI "You should pull yourself together, Lani. I'm sure you don't want Melinda to worry about you," Malcolm says the moment he ends the call. I didn't say a word and quietly snuggled into his chest. Honestly, I, too, knew I must have frightened Melinda. Heaven knows how she is feeling right now. This is one of the reasons why I said I'm not a good mother. "I'll go heat the milk. You need something to help you calm down," Malcolm says and proceeds to leave the room. Just as soon as he leaves, my phone rings, and I realize it's Sienna after speaking with Sienna. I felt calm and knew that I didn't need the milk to calm me down again, as my best friend had already did. I rose from the bed and found my way down the stairs. I was barefooted, so my feet barely made any sound. Getting to the kitchen, I found Malcolm on a call with his back turned on me. Not wanting to distract him from the call, I quietly stood behind him while waiting for him to finish answering the call. "You mean my