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-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-“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-“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-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-“Mummy. Mummy, wake up.”I woke up to Skye’s voice as he repeatedly patted my cheek along with calling me and waking me up.Based on my body clock, he woke me up earlier than we usually wake up.“Sunny, is not here.”I quickly opened my eyes and got up.Sunny was sleeping in the middle of us; on the other side, I made sure there were big pillows for Skye as well as on the floor.“Where is Sunny?”“He took…”He stopped as he blinked his blue eyes.“Is it Lance?”“Lance?”“The one who gave you a car.” I reminded Skye in a different way.“Yes, Mummy. He came here earlier, and then he invited Sunny to leave the room.”“What?”I immediately stood up. “Come here.” I hurriedly called Skye.I right away picked Skye up. I didn’t even think to put on my slippers as I hurried out of the room.Did he take Sunny while I was sleeping? Will he keep Sunny away? All this question is freaking me out.“Sunny!” I shouted at the same time I hurried downstairs. “Sunny!”When I got downstairs,
CELINE POV-“Thank you.” Was all I could say.I suddenly felt ashamed of myself. If I continued to leave, I would leave Starr’s grave alone and I wasn’t sure when I would be able to visit her grave, if that happened.“You don’t have to. Starr, is also my…”He didn’t continue because he wasn’t sure if he could say that.“She is also your child.” I continued.A moment of silence prevailed around us before we heard Skye calling me from the kitchen.“We’re being called by…” I mentally took a deep breath. “Let’s go?”I didn’t wait for him to answer but instead I walked past him. I felt strange as if something heavy had been removed from my chest, which I was so delighted to feel relieved... I want to hug him.“Yes, sweetheart?” I asked Skye when we arrived at the kitchen.“Mummy, I’m hungry. Aren’t we going to eat yet?” Sunny asked.“We will eat now. I’ll just get the rest of our food.” I told them.“Can I sit beside you, Sunny?” I heard Lance asking permission as I grabbed the broccoli
CELINE POV-When we arrived at the mall except for the staff and security guards, there was no one else but the four of us.“Wow! We’re the only people here.” Sunny commented in amazement.“Did you rent the entire mall?” I pump Lance.“Yeah. So that we can enjoy it. Sunny can't be with the many people in the mall.”“Yes, she is, but you don’t have to do this. What about the other people who–”“Celine, don’t think about other people first. I only rented this mall, not the entire mall in Chicago. Also, Sunny could enjoy the mall without worrying and without you worrying about what might happen to her because of the crowded people.”I watch Sunny and Skye holding hands. Sunny pointed at the playground that we can’t go to sometimes or, if we did, we didn't last more than five minutes because of the number of people and children playing there.I think Lance is right, maybe it’s not bad to be a little bit egoistic for the happiness of my kids.“Mummy, can we go there first?” Sunny asked wh
THIRD PERSON POV-As soon as Lance woke up, the first thing came to his mind was his recurring dream where Celine left him. He let out a sigh, trying to get that dream out of his mind, until he became aware he couldn’t hear Celine’s voice, that he played before falling asleep.The two things were working, which made him wonder why they were both off. He dismissed that puzzle after realizing nine hours had passed since the scheduled time he should have risen.He impetuously moved. He was about to run to the bathroom, but he was again surprised to find his suitcase missing.“I’ll just buy some new clothes.” Lance uttered to himself.He went out first and hurried downstairs.“BENJAMIN!” He called out loudly to the person who was in charge of his mansion whenever he was not there.Lance called Benjamin several times. He even went to the kitchen, but before he could enter, Benjamin was already in front of him.“I told you to wake me up at nine in the morning.”“Ah, Sir Lance, about that–”
CELINE POV-I held Skye's and Sunny’s hands and headed for the main door. I was about to ring the doorbell, but it suddenly opened from the inside.“Madame Celine!” Benjamin cheerfully greeted me, the mansion’s head cook who had also taught me to cook before. It was nice to see him still here. “Welcome back!” he tearfully muttered.“Thank you, Benjamin.”He gazed downwards at my children. “What are they doing here?” Benjamin looked back at me. “I mean, Sir Lance is planning to go to Italy two hours from now.”“What will he do there?” I asked. Perhaps he had other business scheduled.“To visit you. He plans to spend two days there to see you.”“Mummy, where are we?” Skye asked.Benjamin’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry. I’m so excited to see you, Madame. Come in first.”“Mummy used to live here, sweethearts.” I answered Skye’s question before we entered.Once we entered, I observed almost nothing had changed except for a wall with pictures of me, Skye, and Sunny hanging on the wall.“Mummy,
CELINE POV-It wasn’t even fifteen minutes before Hendrix returned to the mansion.Giovanni can’t accompany us and they don’t want my children and I to leave alone, we’ll have Hendrix drive us back to New York. Also, Hendrix himself showed up to take us to New York hours ago before he took me here to the mansion.Hendrix carried Skye while I carried Sunny. They both fell asleep again as I changed their clothes.“Say hello to Hannah for me,” Giovanni whispered to me as he hugged me.“If she asks you.” I laughed and whispered back to Giovanni.“Andrea.” He sullenly called me by my real name.I looked at our parents. I smiled at them. I’m so lucky to have parents like them, a family like them. Without their intervention, the fear of confronting Lance would have kept me frozen.“Be careful. We will go to New York next on our grandchildren’s birthday.” Mommy pronounce.“Hendrix, take care of our daughter and grandchildren.” Daddy reminded him.“Yes, Sir.” Hendrix responded.Daddy returned
CELINE POV-I easily got Sunny to sleep, especially Skye. Skye’s eyes were tired from crying.Looking at my child sleeping after talking to Skye, I couldn’t rest. I couldn’t sleep well until I was sure my children weren’t burdened with heavy feelings.What if there were more things Skye and Sunny weren’t telling me? Things that were heavy on their hearts and minds.I slowly got up and kissed my children on the foreheads then left the room.My parents were waiting for me in the living room to talk to me. I was sure it was about their grandchildren. Like me, they couldn’t sleep well until they knew what they heard earlier.Once I went downstairs, I saw Giovanni waiting with our parents.“Did you talk to Skye?” Mommy asked as I sat down.Along with my nod, I took a deep breath. “He was referring to Lance. He has known for a long time.”“How?” Giovanni asked.“In their eyes. They have the same eyes, and when Skye saw how much they looked alike, he suspected Lance was their real father.”“
CELINE POV- The dinner that Hendrix and I were supposed to have didn’t happen, and I didn’t even go to see Lance, instead Hendrix drove me to the mansion. He didn’t let me drive, even though I insisted I could drive. I think it’s a good thing he forced me to drive to the mansion. The entire trip, I was thinking about nothing but what he said about Lance.I wanted to think about what Hendrix said to me.“Celine?”When I heard Hendrix’s voice, I noticed we were already outside the main door. He was already outside and the passenger door was open.I unbuckled my seatbelt, then got out of the car and closed the door.“Thank you.”“No worries. Think about what I told you. I’m here until tomorrow night.”I nodded. “I’ll think about it. I’ll call you right away if I change my mind.”There was a small smile on his lips at the last words I said.“I’m leaving.”I nodded, not knowing what to say.I followed Hendrix’s car with my eyes until it headed towards the main gate and exited.I remained
CELINE POV-One corner of my lips twitched while reading the documents, including in Giovanni’s computer.It’s nice that Giovanni is in the right hands with our family company.I was dropping the folders I was holding on the table when Giovanni’s telephone rang, connected to the entire building.“Good afternoon, Ma’am Andrea. Mr. Lance Hart is here.” Enzo informed me on the other line.I glanced at the digital clock. Twenty minutes before six in the evening, I didn’t notice the time.“Let him in here.”“Yes, Ma’am.”After I hung up the phone, I arranged the papers I had read to hide them again.I hadn’t finished arranging them when I heard footsteps approaching me and, as I looked at the owner, it was the person I was expecting.“Sorry if I was late. There was a problem with my private jet, which required me to buy a new one.”“It’s okay, Mr. Lance Hart.” I said formally. I pointed to the open area. “Sit down there. I’ll be right next in a second.”“Sure.” He also replied formally.On
CELINE POV-I spent time at the coffee shop after leaving the hospital and after talking to Hannah.Mom also informed me they had released Giovanni because his condition was better than expected. He just needed to rest his legs and arms for one to two weeks.I sighed, remembering the conversation between Hannah and me.I wanted to take back what I had told Hannah, to talk to Lance. It’s all clear to me, so why do I need to hear what he has to say?“Here,”I looked at the iced Spanish vanilla coffee along with the cookies and cream croffle that Ashley had placed in front of me.“Are you having a problem?” She asked, sitting in the other chair.“I’m sorry if I’m not that helpful here.”“It’s okay so I can learn to talk to other people too,” Ashley said with a smile.I smiled at Ashley’s words and took a sip of my coffee.It seems everyone is ready to face what they fear, yet I thought I was courageous, but for Lance’s love, I was always afraid of the truth. Even though I know he didn’t
CELINE POV-I picked up the medicine bottle. My forehead furrowed, reading what this medicine was.I took medicine like this after I moved here to Italy, but with the help of my family I could stop needing this medicine.This medicine is calming whenever feeling fear or unable to control heavy emotions.I shifted my gaze to Hannah. She was already standing and looking at me. Her eyes were red. What caught my attention was her trembling hands.“Q…Queen…”My brow creased, not just because of what she called me, but because of her raspy voice.I shifted my gaze to Giovanni. His eyes were also red.“What’s going on here?” I asked, still full of ponder. “Do you know each other? How? Since when?” I take back my gaze and forth between the two of them until my gaze settles on my brother. “Why didn’t you tell me?”If he knew Hannah, he would know that she was close to Lance.“I’m going out now…”My gaze shifted to Hannah again. This was the first time I had heard her voice shaking, as well as
CELINE POV-It felt like I had fallen and got up when I remembered I was in a meeting. When I got up at the same time as I opened my eyes, I was surprised to see that I was in the room and my children were next to me.I slowly got up to avoid waking my children. I took my phone out of my bag and saw that it was only seven in the morning.I usually wake up at twelve to one in the afternoon if my children don’t wake me up.I fall asleep late when I don’t take sleeping pills, so I wake up late. I still feel heavy every time I wake up. I always lack sleep and force myself to get up even after less than four hours of sleep, so that I can do something and be with my children before they start school again.My body clock is the reason I haven’t been able to work at the company, but now, except for waking up early, I feel light.I kissed my children on the forehead. I smiled, seeing them sleeping soundly. I just saw my children sleeping again in the morning.It was still one to two hours befo