(Eve's POV)Callahan turned to me and gave me the folder. “Edit the changes in the contract and then send it to Kei and me. Don’t forget to cc Bob and Millicent. After that, we can leave.”Easy peasy! I smiled, nodding at Callahan as I took the folder. It was not a déjà vu, and I was glad I didn’t have to panic. I knew exactly what to do.I nodded cheerfully as I had done that task yesterday… mine, but not Callahan’s. Then, his words echoed again in my mind.‘We can leave?’“Huh? We?” My eyebrows were furrowed as I asked him.“Yes,” he answered without looking at me as he was busy reading a text message. “I had this weird dream about you. I want to make sure it’s not happening,” he replied while typing.I didn’t mean it to happen, but my lips involuntarily pouted, upset that whatever that dream was, Callahan sounded sure he didn’t want a repeat performance. I was about to return to my table but stopped and turned around.“I'm just curious,” I asked in a hushed tone, glancing at Mr. Mo
(Eve's POV)I shifted my gaze at Marga, noticing her cold stare, but she decided to remain silent. My only solace was that she wasn’t Bethany, who would pounce on the opportunity to question me. I knew she was itching to ask about my puffy eyes and red nose. She probably blamed Callahan for it because she saw us talking in the driveway.Thinking I wasn’t ready to talk about it, she stood up, offering her hand to Isabella.“Let’s have that warm bath, Isabella,” she said, smiling gently at my daughter.Isabella groaned, not wanting to leave yet. She and her two brothers were seated, crossed legs on the floor, playing a snake and ladder board game Cooper found in the attic. She pouted and raised her head to look at me.“Go with Marga,” I muttered softly, kissing the top of her head. “Mommy’s head is aching. I’ll go to your room later, okay?”“Okay,” she smiled sweetly, reaching for Marga’s hand. “Can we play later?”“Later means time for bedtime,” Theo puckered his lips, standing up. “I
(Eve's POV) Marga was humming Dancing Queen, swaying her head while spreading peanut butter on the slice of bread. I wasn’t sure if she intended to prepare our lunch boxes or recreate Mt. Everest using the sandwiches. Like me, her eyes were puffy from crying with me last night. As much as I wanted to keep everything to myself when she entered the bedroom, I knew I had to tell her. She kept saying I didn’t deserve what Rosie and Jessy did to me. I ended up consoling my best friend and calling her husband to pick her up later. If there were one person to carry this problem with my children, it would be me. Only me! It was enough that Marga and Bethany were there to help me, but only to a certain level. They have their own lives and family, too. Jessy nudged her head as if she could communicate telepathically with her youngest sister. Isabella, chewing her food slowly, moved her gaze in my direction. She swallowed the cereal, puckered her lips, and scooped another from her bowl. Her r
(Eve's POV)“Do you really have to take us to school?” Jessy scowled at Callahan, her arms tightly crossed, sneering as she peered at the seven-seater car parked in front of her.Rudy opened the door for her, but my daughter remained rooted in her spot, unwilling to get in. When Jessy didn’t get into the car, he smiled softly at me, left the door open, and returned to the front, getting into the driver’s seat.Callahan gave Jessy an irked glance and let out a sigh before reaching into the pocket of his suit jacket to get his ringing phone. He walked a few steps away from us and answered the call.Jessy scoffed and rolled her eyes. “What is he doing here, Eve? Is he your boyfriend?”“Does it matter?” Rosie sighed and shook her head. “Just get in the car, Jessy. Please,” her twin sister said, getting into the car and going to the farthest seat.“Of course it does!” Jessy growled, stomping her feet as she entered the vehicle.I sighed and waited for Callahan to return. Like Jessy, I wish
(Cal's POV)Rudy stayed under the tree, near where he parked the car, finishing the coffee Eve had given him earlier. He usually had breakfast at home, but I was already waiting for him when he reached the driveway. He greeted me warmly and smiled gently as he opened the car door for me.This was what I liked about him. Even when I told him we would go to Eve’s place first, he simply nodded and kept the questions to himself, that was, if he had any. Like Bob, Eve seemed to have won Rudy’s heart, too. Who didn’t like Eve? If Millicent were here, she would probably raise her hand, and I understood well her reasons. She wasn’t like Bob, the forgiving type. What Marcus did to her and her husband was something she would never let go and forget.Millicent…I let out a frustrated sigh, remembering what happened last night. Millicent showed up last night. It seldom happened, but she was drunk from the party and came to see me only to vent her anger with Eve.Not wanting to wake Diana up, I br
(Cal's POV)“What’s wrong with Eve?” Bob asked worriedly when he entered my office.“Hmm?” I raised my head, looking at him, pretending not to know anything. “Why? What happened?”My cousin rolled his eyes and sneered. “What happened? Hmph! I knew it. You’re the culprit.”I took a deep breath, shifting my attention back to the document on my desk and scanning the words for the third time. Eve’s silence distracted me the whole morning.“I don’t know what you’re saying. Why? Is she crying?” I asked in a dull, lifeless tone, yet deep inside me, I worried I offended her much.“No, she’s not, but -”“Is she talking to herself?” I interrupted but did not look at Bob.“No, she’s -”“Did she say something to you?” I said, raising my head again and lifting a brow as I waited for his answer.“No,” Bob sat on the couch and crossed his arms over his chest, scowling at me.“Then, nothing is wrong with her,” I said, writing a note to revise the figures and tossing it on the outgoing tray.“Then wha
(Eve's POV)“This is crazy!” Callahan groaned, placing the sandwich back on the table.“You’re not eating that?” I gasped, sitting beside him. My eyes were still wide, pinned on the food that would go to waste.“You’re not eating my sandwich!” He hissed, narrowing his eyes at me, grabbing the sandwich again, and angrily taking a bite of the bread.“Just asking, Cal,” I said, raising my hands. “Make sure you eat them. You have the habit of eating only half of your food,” I muttered as if I were talking to Cooper or Theo.He chewed the food but watched me carefully arranging my notebook, tablet, and recorder on the round wooden table. Then I reached for the sandwich in my bag.“Aw,” I mumbled, pouting at the sorry state of my lunch. My other things in the bag must have pressed the sandwich down into the bag, causing the peanut butter to ooze out and the bread to flatten. I was sure it was a perfectly shaped sandwich when Marga placed it in my bag, but now it looked saggy and unappetizin
(Eve's POV)“Send me the meeting minutes now,” Millicent said, giving me her I-do-not-care-how-you-do-it-look.She stood up and walked towards Callahan, kissing his cheek.“Next time, don’t leave without telling me,” she murmured sweetly, smoothing the lapel of Callahan’s suit jacket.“You’re still sleeping, Milli,” Callahan said in his lifeless tone. “I hate waking you up,” he added before easing back and turning to Bob.Whatever he said to Bob no longer mattered to me. It was like insects were buzzing inside my ears, blocking all the sounds in my surroundings. Before Millicent left the room, she gave me one last look, perhaps trying to check if I would fall if she glared at me again.I didn’t care. At this moment, I was sure my heart had stopped beating while my mind weaved over scenarios of what happened between Callahan and Millicent. I swallowed hard, imagining him getting out of bed, kissing Millicent, naked in his bed.Sighing, I stood up and thought of calling Fabian to clear