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(Eve’s POV)“Eve…” Marcus whispered, shaking my shoulder gently.I let out a deep groan, quietly complaining to myself. I rolled to the opposite side of the bed, hoping to get more sleep. I had not slept in days because Cooper had been having asthma, Theo had a fever because of infection, and I had been feeling under the weather for days.“I’m sorry, sweetheart, but Jessy’s fever is not going down,” Marcus muttered worriedly. “What should I do?”“Huh?” Hearing Jessy’s name woke me, but I could hardly open my eyes.Jessy seldom gets sick, but when she does, it is usually so severe that we have to bring her to the hospital. I groaned and tried to open my eyes again. Marcus had just returned from his business trip last night, but he told me he would look after the kids so I could get a few hours of sleep.“Eve…”“How’s Jessy?” I asked with my eyes still closed.“Eve, Jessy’s missing.”Missing? Still dazed, I opened my eyes.“Marga?” I mumbled confusedly, squinting and wondering why my be
(Eve’s POV)Millicent grabbed my arm and pulled me to the pantry before I could reach Callahan’s office. I winced, feeling her fingernails digging into my skin. My body jerked when she banged the door and pushed me, pinning me to the wall.“You bitch! Of all days, you chose today to be irresponsible!” Millicent snarled, squeezing my arm harder. “Just because Cal is giving you some sort of special treatment, you’ll abuse his kindness!”“Millicent,” I groaned, wincing at the pain. “Cal -”“Know your place, Eve! You are not friends, so don’t call him Cal. He is Mr. Barclay to you,” She interrupted, not letting me finish, and gave my arm one hard squeeze before releasing me. I lifted my hand and lightly brushed my fingers over the area. My lips curled in discomfort, and I flinched again when Millicent banged the door on her way out. I let out a heavy sigh and glanced down at my arm, still feeling her tight grip. I groaned when I saw the visible marks left behind by her forceful grip.Al
(Eve’s POV)“Mommy! Mommy!”Isabella immediately took her small pink backpack from her chair and sprinted excitedly toward me. She gasped, halted abruptly, and turned around.“Hurry, Theo!” She said, her eyes wide, realizing she had left Theo inside the classroom. She lifted her arm to wave and giggled. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Garcia. I’m just excited to see my mommy. Goodbye, and see you tomorrow,” she explained in a hurry, extending her arm and reaching her brother’s hand.When I arrived at the classroom doorstep, only two students were left. Their class ended two hours ago, but Rosie’s class was until one. Mrs. Garcia stopped checking and stood up, heading in our direction.“Ms. Bennet,” she smiled, surprised to see me.“Hi, Mrs. Garcia,” I greeted her, taking Isabella’s bag. “I can’t thank you enough for letting these two angels stay here this long,” I said, smiling gratefully at her.“You’re early,” Theo muttered, eyeing me suspiciously. “Marga said you don’t work in the library anymore
(Eve’s POV)Slowly, I opened my eyes and turned my head on the alarm clock on the side table. It was three in the morning, but instead of believing the time, I reached for my cell phone to check the time and date. My lips curved into a smile, and I sighed softly, getting up and processing what to do.I could not undo what happened yesterday. What I meant was getting late and making horrible mistakes at work, costing Bethany and me our jobs. The Wyatt-and-Callahan incident was another story. And Jessy? Again, that was another story.Before I entered Moira’s room, I read her reply to me. Callahan fired her, not because she was incompetent but because of her relationship with me. It was unfair!“Good morning,” Bethany said, almost whispering. She was drying her hair with a towel as she walked toward the dresser. “You’re up early,” she continued, still in a hushed tone.Marga rolled to the other side, occupying the space I was sleeping in a while ago. She groaned but didn’t wake up.“Toda
(Eve’s POV)“Finally!” I murmured and sighed in relief when I was alone in the elevator.Bethany spoke continuously from the basement until we reached her stop on the eighth floor. She apologized many times, explaining that she was just nervous about the meeting. This side of her was new to me, although I knew she was not as calm as Marga.I squeezed my eyes shut and shook my head as if they were enough to wake me up. I let out a sigh, thinking of how many cups of coffee I had to drink. I thought of sleeping on our way to the office, but Bethany must have been possessed by some annoying spirit playing a non-stop song.Only one song!She was singing Lathi while driving, and there was a line she perfectly sang, and when I asked her what it meant, she shrugged and giggled.“I don’t know. I searched it online, and it said you couldn’t run away from your mistakes,” she answered, singing again.Weird. Not that I wanted to argue with the singer, but I wasn’t running away from my mistakes; I
(Eve’s POV)Callahan stared at me without his eyes flinching. His gaze pierced through me as if he was trying to rack my brain. This was weird. Why did he have to know when he didn’t care? Although today, his first but my second, I clearly remembered what he said. He didn’t want to be responsible, but at this moment, he seemed to pull out my tongue to tell the truth.‘No, no, no! My mind screamed as if he could really read my mind.The shrill, persistent ring of the cell phone echoed in the small room. I jolted, thinking my heart had jumped out of my chest, when the ringing stopped.“Eve -”‘No, no, no! I cried in my mind.Ms. Jung saved me again when the phone chimed with a message. Immediately, I swiped the screen and sighed in relief, quickly reading her text message. I stood up, ready to escape Callahan, but Bethany grabbed my wrist.“Where are you going?” she asked, her eyes wide and worried. “Sorry, it’s a joke. I’m not trying to -”“I know,” I said, raising the phone. “But Mr.
(Eve’s POV)“Cat support?” Bethany laughed again, her palms on her stomach.When we got to Callahan's office, Bob and Bethany insisted on knowing the story behind the ‘cat support’ story.Callahan wasn’t there to object, so I told them about it without telling the whole story, of course. I had to make it believable. Probably because of lack of sleep, Bethany did notice I wasn’t looking at her when I told the story. Bethany would know if I were keeping something from her. She could not stop laughing while Bob only rolled his eyes, shaking his head.“Okay, enough,” I said, raising my hands. “What’s this meeting for?” I asked, glancing at the time.As if someone had pushed the stop button, Bethany sucked in her lips and looked at Bob.Bob tilted his head, widening his eyes at her.Bethany looked elsewhere and shook her head as if understanding each other in their silent communication.“Hello,” I said, waving my hand at them. “I didn’t get the password,” I joked.“Password?” Bethany lift
(Eve’s POV)“I thought you went home already.” My voice almost didn’t come out. I immediately picked up my clothes and stepped back. “Please don’t come in.”Callahan sighed and closed the door behind him.“This is my office, Eve. Don’t forget that,” he said, still walking in my direction.“Stop,” I croaked, feeling my defense melting.Callahan did halt but in front of me. Then, he leaned forward to pick up the car key on the side table.“Oh,” I murmured, realizing why he returned to the office.I swallowed hard when his eyes returned to my face and slowly lowered his gaze. I craned my neck, pinning my eyes on the elegant, linear pattern of the ceiling.Callahan gasped and lightly touched my arm. “Did I do this?”“Did what?” I asked curiously, looking at the still visible mark of his and Millicent’s grip on a day that didn’t matter anymore. “Ah,” I pursed my lips, unsure why it left marks on me when it was not supposed to exist or happen.I tilted my head, seeing the horror in his eyes