CELINE POV-“Good morning, sis!”As soon as I entered the hotel, I was immediately greeted by Sabrina. She is wearing corporate attire, and every detail from her makeup to her hair is perfect.“I have a client meeting today, so I can’t join you for lunch, but at least I won’t see that witch’s face.”“Hey, don’t call Bianca anything.”“Whatever her name is, I’m not interested in knowing about her.”I held my breath. “I hope you two get along well. Bianca is a nice person.”“Excuse me, my dear sister Celine?” she raised one eyebrow at me. Her eyebrow was so high that it arched like a mountain shape. “Are you saying I’m not a nice person?”“You are just being a nice person, but Bianca has been a nice person for a long time.” I said playfully.She opened her mouth, then gasped. “Oh, my gosh! You just insulted me?”“No, it’s not that you’re not a nice person–”“No,” she cut me off. “Never compare me to that witch. It’s insulting to my entire humanity.”“Hey, I told you don’t call Bianca a
CELINE POV-At the same time as I lost my breath, tears fell from my eyes.“I don’t understand why you’re bringing all this back? Don’t you remember? You already said goodbye to me. You threw me away and worse, I begged you not to return me to my parents, but what did you do? Even in that matter, you did not listen to me and you still returned me to my parents. You treated me as if I were worthless garbage.”His gaze descended and his face relaxed at the same time.“Starr...” he mumbled.I followed what he was looking at. I noticed the picture I carried that must have fallen from my pants pocket.As I sensed Lance’s hold on me weakening, I took advantage of the moment to escape his grip, promptly picked up the picture, and concealed it in my pocket.“I didn’t mean to...”I didn’t even glance at him. I went straight to the housekeeping cart. “Let me explain.”I looked at him closely as he held the cart. “No need,” I answered sarcastically. “I don’t need an explanation. It’s very clea
SABRINA POV - “Where’s Celine?” he coldly asked, as if that slap was nothing to him. I didn’t even question if he was conscious of Celine’s presence. What’s the point of him being the owner of this hotel after all? “For what? Hurt her?” I asked sarcastically. “After you ordered our parents to hurt her, now you will be the one to hurt her?” I found out from my parents that day why they were still insisting on returning Celine to the jerk man in front of me and they told me that this jerk man ordered them to return Celine to him no matter what they did they did it to Celine before. At first, I doubted my parents and thought they were deceitful, a common practice for them. But, after Celine’s recent statement, I realized for the first time theyy telling truth. “What are you saying I ordered your parents to hurt Celine?” “You asked them to return Celine to you. Do you have any idea what they did to her just to marry you?” I immediately wiped the tears that fell down my ch
SABRINA POV-After I finished talking to my last client, I stretched my hand. Fortunately, even though I was late, I was able to come up with a good excuse, so they still accepted my offer. Otherwise, I might have been fired from my job. I also intend to resign but not now. I haven’t passed the board exam yet.I suddenly think about my sister. How is Celine doing? She must have rested, and I hope she is doing well. After what I heard earlier, I thought there was still hope for Lance and Celine to get back together, but it looks like I would prefer her to be with Tristan or be a single mother. I look at the time on my phone that I haven’t taken out of my grip since I returned to the hotel. It’s already 15:30. My snout lengthened. If I go back to the hotel, I won’t be able to catch up with Celine. She always leaves before 16:00 or exactly 16:00. I’ll probably just go to the mall to buy my skin care essentials and also look for a book that I can use for the review. I also need to focu
CELINE POV-The night after the incident between Lance and me, I filed for one week’s leave.After what happened, I couldn’t face him yet and the anger I feel towards him might increase.I don’t want to get to where I get consumed by anger and do bad things.When I filed for leave, I didn’t think about what might happen or what Lance would do. I didn’t want to see him even for one week straight.I haven’t been to work for four days, nothing Lance is bothering me. Bianca also told me he hasn’t noticed Lance at the hotel for four days.I took this opportunity to go to the Stellar restaurant with Sunny.As I entered Stellar, the employees greeted me. Some people were surprised, perhaps because I came today and maybe because of Sunny.“Ma’am, do you have a son with Sir Tristan?” asked Olivia, one of Stellar’s new crew, in shock.I smiled at them and went directly to Tristan’s office.“Mummy, I miss Skye.” Sunny utter with pouting lips as I put her down on the sofa.Tristan took Skye to L
CELINE POV - Reaching my home from the apartment, I felt a weight lifted from my shoulders. Even though I don’t have heart disease, I feel like I’m going to have a heart attack because of the nervousness earlier when I lost sight of Sunny. I looked for her all over the office when I didn’t see her. I searched the entire restaurant for her. On the point I didn’t really see her, I was supposed to go to the CCTV room, but I saw her outside the door, running inside. Sunny left the office because she didn’t see me. As she exited the office, she noticed a person resembling me, and when she believed she had spotted me, she pursued it until she left the restaurant, discovering it wasn’t me. I questioned her several times to make sure if nothing bad happened to her. She always answered nothing. “Sweetheart, did nothing really happen to you when you went outside?” I asked Sunny again. “No, mummy.” She answered every time I asked her. “Next time, if the situation is like that, never leav
SABRINA POV - “You know, mommy, I have one thing that daddy inherited from you.” I told them gently. “Of course, you are our beautiful daughter.” “You know what that is? Being bad.” A smile spread across my lips, then I released my grip on her hand. “If I feel scared every time I remember Celine’s screams and cries, how can Celine feel? Surely what happened to her was more traumatic.” “What are you talking about?” asked daddy. “I’m just saying you have to pay for everything you did to Celine. I will never tell her you are both here. With everything that happened to her, she still has a kind heart, which is annoying because people like you surely abuse that. If Celine finds out about your condition, I swear I will not be the one to tell her about this matter.” I clap once. “Okay, if she ever asks about you, maybe... I might tell the truth about your situation. Just maybe.” “Afterwards, we treat you like a princess. Will you do this to us?” Mommy said firmly. I laughed silently
CELINE POV - Upon arriving at Stellar restaurant, I went straight to the bathroom. While I was in the cubicle and peeing, I heard someone sniffling outside. I thought the woman just had a cold but not long after; I heard her crying. After I finished peeing and flushing the toilet, I immediately came out of the cubicle and saw Ashley wiping her face. “I didn’t know you were here, Ma’am.” I smiled at her. I washed and dried my hands. “Wait,” I interrupted her, as she was about to hurry out of the bathroom. “Y-Yes, Ma’am?” Her eyes, nose, and cheeks were red. I go near her. “Do you want a hug?” Ashley nodded, holding back tears. As I hugged her, I heard her cry again. I just rubbed her back. “I don’t know what to do. I’m tired of waiting, but I can’t let him go.” She said between her sobs she could barely speak. The person she loved was definitely the reason she was crying. Ashley pulled away after a few moments. “Sorry, Ma’am, if I said my problem and brought it to work.”
CELINE POV-I placed a pillow on Sunny’s back before sitting her upright and in a comfortable position. I took the salmeterol from her bag and put the mouthpiece on her lips.“Breathe quickly and deeply,” I instructed Sunny.After doing that, I removed her inhaler, then Skye counted one to six seconds.“Breath out slowly,” I instructed her again.After that, Skye held Sunny’s hand and counted again.“One… Two… Three… Four… Five… Six…”I glanced at Lance, who was on the edge of the bed. He is intently looking at Sunny, his forearm on his chest while his other elbow rests there where his knuckle was moving.“Sixty!”Once Skye’s count reached sixty, we repeated the procedure from the beginning. We did this ten times until Sunny’s feeling and breathing were normal.“She is okay now,” I grabbed Lance’s attention.His blue sea eyes widened as he looked at me. “What do I need to do?”“Get out of this room.”“What?”He asked in disbelief.“I’ll put them to sleep first,” I quickly added.“Oh…
CELINE POV-“Daddy Superhero, are you the one who will take us to our new house?”“Yes, sweetheart. I will take you to your new house.”Lance had two bodyguards with us carrying our two suitcases.“Do you want me to carry you?” Lance asked Sunny.“Yes!”I had no choice but to hand Sunny over to Lance. I didn’t want to cause trouble here and scare the kids.Lance picked up Sunny, and I carried Skye.“Does our new house have a big playground?” Sunny question as we walked towards the basement parking lot.“Do you want a playground?”“Yes! I want a big playground where Skye and I can play.”“We’re going to build a playground there.”Sunny clapped her hands in joy at Lance’s words.Once they arrived in front of a van, his people opened it, and Lance got in with Sunny.After he lowered Sunny from the seat, he looked at me. “Get in,” he coldly ordered me.I let Skye out of the car first, then we went to the second row of seats together.When we sat down, the door closed, and the driver got
CELINE POV-“Mummy, are we going to move far?” Sunny asked while I was fixing her clothes.“Not too far,” I replied.“Mummy, why are we suddenly moving?” Skye asked.Surely Skye was curious and felt that there was another reason why we were suddenly moving house, and he needed an answer.“The rent fee here is a bit expensive. Mummy found a better and cheaper apartment to rent .” My excuse.“I hope there is a park or playground where we are moving,” Sunny commented excitedly.I put on a face mask for them.I grabbed one large bag and grabbed two large suitcases. I tried to fit all our belongings into the two suitcases. I only brought the most important things.“Let’s go, sweethearts.”When we got out and got off the apartment, I immediately flagged down the first taxi I saw.“Mummy, Auntie Sabrina won’t be coming with us?” Sunny question as we boarded the taxi.“No, sweetheart. But she will visit us again like before,” I replied. “At the airport,” I told the driver as he got in.I won
CELINE POV-I pulled back the arm he was holding with a frown.I waited for him to speak, but after a few seconds, he did not clarify what he was saying; instead, he just fixed his gaze at me.“I don’t have time for this.” I broke the silence, and this is my saying goodbye to him.Before I could walk away to leave Tristan, the door opened again, and two men entered. The one with a name plate is the manager, and the one wearing the suit, I think, is the owner of the restaurant that Lucian Morgan summoned.“Sir Lucian Morgan?” The owner of this restaurant called in surprise. “I didn’t know you were here. Is there anything I can do for you?”I looked at Tristan. “Give me your resume,” he said as he extended his palm.”“Why?” I was confused.“To know why you will not get a job in this city.”I glanced at the two men who had just entered. When they stared at my face, the manager whispered something to the owner of this restaurant, who was circling with his pair of eyes after that.By tha
CELINE POV - “Thank you,” I told the tenant after she finished talking to me. Before entering, I let out a sigh. The tenant informed me that from today the rent for the apartment will be 10,350 dollars. Almost five times the rent last month. I need to pass the interview and get a job; that kind of rent is out of my budget. “Who are you talking to?” Sabrina asked as I entered. “Nothing.” “You sure?” "Hmmm,” I nodded. “Did you bring all your stuff?” I asked, changing the topic. Sabrina will be back in New York to focus on her review. “Yep. It will be a while before I get back here. I have an exam coming up, so I need to focus on my review. But—” she raised her one pointed finger as if she were stopping me from speaking. "But it doesn’t mean that if you need me, you’ll disturb my review. That’s a big no. Okay?” I just nodded. “Oh! Maybe that’s the one who will pick me up,” Sabrina said when someone rang the doorbell. Sabrina opened the door excitedly, and upon se
CELINE POV-After I picked up the kids and we were going out, we saw Conrad in the parking lot.When Conrad’s gaze caught ours, he immediately came over to us.“Boss Lance ordered me to pick you up.”“Didn’t Lance understand what I told him?”I clearly told him earlier before I got out of the car that I don’t want us to have any kind of connection and that even picking up anyone who has anything to do with him, he shouldn’t do it anymore.“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Madame. Boss Lance just sent me here to pick you up. Shall we go?”The weather was cloudy.I just nodded and went in the direction of Conrad’s car.“Where is Daddy superhero?” Sunny asked as we entered.“He’s busy,” Conrad replied.“He is just like Daddy Tristan, always busy.”I stroked Sunny’s hair and didn’t comment. It would be better if Lance got away from us sooner rather than later before Sunny got completely attached to him.The trip from school to the outside of the apartment building was quick, and a
CELINE POV-When we got down from the apartment, I shifted my gaze to Sabrina after seeing Lance here with the car we rode in yesterday.“Wow!” Skye couldn't help but marvel at the car again.“I don’t know. I’m just not in the mood to go outside.” She explained before I could ask."Maybe it was just a coincidence. Right?” I asked sarcastically.“Yes. Of course, it was just a coincidence.”I believed what Sabrina said.I sat in front of the kids. “Skye, do you want to ride in that car again?”Skye catches a glimpse at Lance. “No.”“Why?” Sunny asked. “You want that car.”“Yes.”Sunny held Skye’s hand. “Then, let’s go. We’ll be safe with him.”Skye and I both did nothing when Sunny pulled him towards Lance.“Let’s go to school, daddy superhero.”Skye looked at the ground.“I’m not here to just drop you off.”“Eh? Why?”Lance sat in front of them, then showed the car key in front of Skye. “I will give this car to Skye.”His voice is not so cheerful but not too dry either.Skye quickly l
CELINE POV - “Sunny, it looks like she really likes art,” Lance said as she stared at Sunny. We were at the Art Institute, walking around. It was surprising that apart from the four of us, no one else was here, or maybe because it was only a few minutes before seventeen o’clock, the museum’s closing time. Since there was no one else around, I let Sunny look at the art alone, of course with Skye by her side. We were about ten steps away from them so that Sunny could enjoy going here more and so that Skye wouldn’t be too nervous. Sunny held Skye’s hand wherever she went. “As she said a while ago, she’s not sure either,” I replied coldly. “Why isn’t she sure? She seems to be enjoying it now.” “Maybe because she’s just used to coming here, or because she appreciates everything she sees. In her condition, she can only go to places like this occasionally, to museums—when there aren’t too many people, the surroundings aren’t dirty, she won’t see anything that can excite her fe
CELINE POV-“Skye, are you okay?” I asked when he didn’t move or speak after seeing Lance.“I’m sorry, mummy.”“Why, sweetheart? Why are you apologizing?”“I am not brave.”I hugged Skye.I told him once that if he wanted something or wanted to do something but was afraid, he should go for it rather than regret it later.I don’t want Skye to be like me; there are many things I haven’t done because of fear of the people around me or what might happen because of fear.“It’s okay to not be brave sometimes. You can still feel scared.”“I want to go home. I want to see Daddy Tristan.”I bite my lower lip. If I had a hard time without him, I’m sure the kids have a harder time adjusting without Tristan. How many times have they looked for Tristan in me? I’m running out of excuses why we can’t be with him.I don’t want to confuse the children by telling the truth about why we can’t be with Tristan again.“Are you sure you want to go home? I thought you wanted to ride in this car?” “I’m scar