"Mom, I prepared your bath for you," Savvy smiled. I nodded. "Don't worry, the others have all taken their baths but haven't brushed their teeth because as you can see," she looked at her younger siblings stuffing their faces with ice cream and pizza.
Wait, where's Zachary?
"Zachary is trying to figure out an algorithm to… what he said. Should I bring him some ice cream, Mom?"
"Sure," I turned and started walking to my room.
"How was work today?" She asked, following me into the hallway.
"It was good, very…" I stopped at their bedroom door, opened the door partly, and smiled as I saw Zachary focused on what he was doing. "Good evening, sir," Zach jolted from his seat.
Zachary was the second eldest. He was the only one among his siblings who took no single feature from me. Even his intelligence was like that of his father's, if not higher that is. He was more of the cold-hearted type to outsiders and too obsessed with drawing a line between him and everyone he finds underneath his standard. His personality wasn't like his father, I could vouch for that. I just didn't get where his personality came from. If he was raised by his father, he would have definitely been the heir.
"Mom!" He dropped his pen and ran over to me. I'm not allowed to carry him so I just let him hug my body. "Welcome home, how was work?"
"Work is as it always is, stressful. How did online classes go today?"
"As you can see, homework," I could never be more grateful to God for giving them to me. Instead of giving up when they stopped school, they made use of their old laptops and surfed the internet for daily educational videos. Zachary, Zayne, and Savia did the learning and then Savvy would teach the remaining two. It was the only way they could learn for now.
"Do you want pizza, Zach? Mom bought pizza and ice cream," Savia said with a smirk.
"And you didn't tell me sooner! Zayne would eat it all!" And with that, he ran out of the room to the small living room to fight for his share.
"Boys," we said simultaneously and shook our heads. Savvy did everything like me, and even took over my cleaning obsession… Ur, I mean, the ability to know when something needs to be cleaned because dirtiness is bad. Yes, that's it.
After bathing, I ate what was left of the pizza before taking Zayne and Serenity to my bedroom to sleep. Savvy helped me brush their teeth and change them into their pajamas. I sang them to sleep, kissed their foreheads, and went to the kitchen to feed their highly intelligent pet parrot. Personally trained by Zach.
Zach was in the kitchen, sitting on the small low kitchen island with his laptop, Perry watching what he was doing in awe while Savvy stood on a huge stool, washing the dishes. If those two weren't so helpful, I would never have been able to survive. They started taking care of their siblings before they turned four. Sometimes I wished they acted their age but it was because they didn't act their age that I was able to survive.
"Perry, I forgot to give you your own share of the snacks. Cream cracker?" He raised his head quickly and spread his white and yellow feathers.
"Ooh, ooh, can you dip it in hot cocoa? Can you? Can you?" He pleaded.
I rolled my eyes. "Eat it like this. Tomorrow, I promise to make you hot cocoa with marshmallows," I promised. He nodded in agreement. I tore the wrapper open and dropped it on the island for him to find his way. I walked to the old refrigerator to get him a glass of cold milk.
"Mom, are we still going to The Houston apartment tomorrow for game night?" Savvy asked. The Houstons were a family of four we spent every Friday with for game night. Their children were nine and eleven by age, but they were the only family we associated with. I limited the people I talked to because the fewer people knew about me, the less opportunity for them to figure out who I was.
Because of that, I dyed my hair glazed strawberry blonde and wore black eye lenses, and even dyed the kids' hair black to make it more difficult for people to spot the resemblance between my kids and the all-famous Rominic B. Verlice. They all also wore glasses they didn't need, just to make it harder.
"Definitely." I chirped, shutting the refrigerator door. Savvy sighed, the kind of sigh she normally did when she wanted to tell me something she knew wouldn't please me. "Savia, what's wrong?"
"Four things, Mom, four things," I quietly walked to the kitchen island to drop the glass and the milk while she climbed down. Zach shut his laptop to exaggerate how serious it was. This can't be good.
"Okay…?"
"Mommy, the landlord came today, and not the friendly one that has been letting us live for free," my heart skipped. I heard our old landlord sold our house. He used to let me live for free but after he sold it, he told me I would have to pay the new landlord or be kicked out. I didn't want to tell them because I thought I'd have enough time to prepare before he came.
"And he talked about the rent f*e?"
"Mom, the man just kept screaming at us, not even caring if we were just kids," Zach winced, "he called you all sorts of names, really bad ones that I do not wish to repeat," What more than how I've been sleeping with the old landlord to avoid payment of rent?
"And he gave us until the end of this month to pay or he would be forced to evict us out of his property," Savvy murmured. I inhaled and nodded. Guess I don't have time then.
"How much did he scream about?"
"He claimed that he would only take a year's payment or more and the building needs renovation so—"
"The total is $26,499," my heart sank into my stomach. I didn't have that kind of money. And how can I pay that much for this rundown building? "And number two, the companies you borrowed money for Zayne's surgery, they sent people over today—" I clapped my hand over my mouth to stop myself from screaming out loud. "And Mom," Zach sniffed back his tears, "Zayne showed signs today, symptoms of relapsing. His sickness might be coming back, seriously. Mom, you have to finish his treatment before it's too late. If his sickness comes back, he could die."
"I know, but the drugs are too expensive…"
"And lastly, Mom, I think Serenity is also…"
"God, no! Don't tell me! What am I supposed to do?!" I cried. "She stopped breathing again?" I sobbed. They nodded. "How many seconds this time?"
"Enough to kill her soon enough," I slowly lowered myself to the floor to sit. Zayne and Serenity were not healthy children, especially Zayne. They had been sick since they were born and that added to my stack of debts. If they were under their father's care, things would have been better.
A few years back, Serenity was diagnosed with some kind of abnormal disease that temporarily tightened her lungs and sent pangs of pain to her chest. At first, the doctor thought it was pulmonary edema or cystic fibrosis, but it wasn't—thank God.
According to the doctor, it was an abnormal case but not severe—then. It was a sickness she would outgrow if she kept taking her medication but the problem was that I didn't have the money to keep it up. I only bought some drugs to suppress it and keep it at bay at first, but the drugs were too expensive so I stopped. The doctor kept warning me against delay, but what was I to do?
At that time, I spent everything, sold everything, and borrowed money for Zayne's surgery. He got a spinal cord disease that paralyzed him. It was an emergency surgery to prevent permanent paralysis. I spent it all but I didn't finish the treatment. He needed some drugs to completely cure him but just like Serenity's, I couldn't afford them. The doctor told me it was dangerous not to finish it, but money was a problem.
"What am I going to do now?" I cried. I can't lose them, I can't lose my two precious angels. I'd already come this far. The doctors told me when they were born that Serenity and Zayne would have very weak immune systems, that sickness would threaten their lives and might kill them but if they could successfully cross over to ten years, their system would become stronger.
One more year, just one more year to go.
Serenity's time to outgrow her breathing issue was twelve or thirteen. Still, the probability of her getting better after ten was high. "There's a way," Zach said as he dropped to the floor to sit beside me. He placed his laptop on my lap and turned the screen up so I could see. I almost had a stroke when I saw the headline.
U.S. SWEETHEART AND SINGLE BILLIONAIRE, ROMINIC B. VERLICE, COMING TO LAS VEGAS TO FINALIZE THE A.J. COLLABORATION. IS LAS VEGAS READY FOR THE HANDSOME BACHELOR?
The first thing I picked out was the single part. I never checked and never bothered to look at the magazines or watch the news about him, so I thought he was married. What happened to Peyton?
"Wait, he is coming here?!" Yes, they knew. Like I said, they were really smart and Zach was clever. He was able to see the resemblance between him and his father at five years old. Then he intentionally showed me magazines and talked about him to see my reaction. I failed. He found out and then made Savvy force the truth out of my mouth. You can never lie to Savia, she is like a truth-hunting machine.
I told them everything but made them promise to keep the truth away from their younger ones. It wasn't capable of scarring them (hopefully), because they were them, but it could break the others.
"Yes, Mom, next week. I know you don't want him to know about us, I know you would rather remain dead to him and the world, but, Mom, your children's lives depend on him. He is the only way…"
"No!"
"Mom, listen to us, you need him because no one else would help you…"
"He can reject you all or try to take you away from me through the law! I don't have any money for a lawsuit! I can't…"
"Mom, what choice do you have?!" Savvy screamed. "Serenity and Zayne could die, I don't want them to die." She burst into silent tears, same as Zach. They were kids after all.
"I will find a way to get the money but your father doesn't need to know about me or either of you. Don't try to force me, I won't listen—"
"But, Mom—"
"Enough!!!" To him I was dead, and I will remain dead. I rather watch my children die than have him find out about them and claim them. And that's final.
Lavender went about her day like a miserable person. Her eyes were deep and hollow from crying throughout the night and her strength was almost depleted. She would have applied a lot of makeup to cover it up, but she didn't have the money to purchase a decent makeup kit. Her skin easily reacted if she used cheap or fake beauty products so she resulted in making natural concoctions to sustain her beauty. Still, the herbal and fruit mix was only for skincare and not to cover the horrible state of her face.It'd been days since her children broke the news to her and she'd been thinking nonstop. She was unable to sleep and spent the night crying or frantically staring at her two youngest children to make sure they were still breathing. The day before, the youngest suddenly started feeling dizzy and wheezing, and she knew it was connected to the second youngest. If she didn't act on time, she didn't want to think of what would happen. She was getting desperate and more depressed. It also ir
"Sir, your 3 o'clock is ready for you," Rominic looked up from the sheet he was scribbling on and stared dully at his secretary. As if feeling his gaze, she looked up from her notepad and stared at him in the eyes for a few seconds before she quickly averted her eyes back to the notepad. The first thing she thought was that she was right to check up on him. She was personally assigned to him by his mother, particularly tasked with keeping an eye on him and making sure he didn't overwork himself.She mentally rolled her eyes, that was the hardest part of her job. Everything else was easy but when it came to keeping him at full health, she wished she could quit. He was a stubborn and reckless man. He would unnecessarily work overtime and barely ate, and thanks to his insomnia, he was always having a headache or nosebleed. The man was stubborn enough to reject his medication, just so he could intentionally punish himself.She rolled her eyes again and scoffed. ‘If he was going to act like
Rominic refreshed the page over and over again, still not believing his eyes. He thought that seeing her name was the biggest confusion but while the cars drove to the hospital, he continued to investigate and he saw that the money was paid for the treatment of three children. What was getting him more confused was the names of the children. It couldn't be just a coincidence. It took his mind back to the conversation he had with Lavender on what he'd like to name his children.It was a Sunday night, he lay on his bed, one hand supporting the back of his head and the other placed over his forehead. He stared at the light, his mind calculating and trying to figure out what was stopping the new machine he was working on. He couldn't come up with anything, not even after two hours of just laying there and thinking."Are you still thinking?" Her voice broke through the silent room. He ignored her, which was followed by a laugh, her annoying but yet amusing laugh. She flung herse
‘Oh my fucking Lord!’ Lavender exclaimed in her head. He hadn't changed a bit. She could see that he was visibly thinner and with a couple of early gray strands to his beautiful creamy blonde hair, but his face remained the same. Lavender thought he was still handsome, still breathtakingly and abso-fucking-lutely gorgeous. She thought she was over it, but his handsome face always brought tears to her eyes and it did at that moment. To Lavender, he was just too beautiful and it pissed her off to know that his beauty still affected her.It was for a brief moment but when she locked gaze with his winter gray eyes, her heart skipped. She'd been staring at them through her children for years, but staring at the original made her feel different. She instantly tore her gaze away from his, but her eyes stubbornly shifted to his lips. They were slightly separated from surprise. She remembered that his lips were deep red. They were one of the favorite parts of his body she liked, so she always p
Rominic groaned and placed his hand on his throbbing forehead. He was having a nasty headache. Throughout the drive back to the villa, he couldn't stop thinking about how his life did a 360. He woke up after managing to get an hour of sleep, like every other morning. He started working without food and the day was going miserably just like other days, but he didn't expect something to change this much.He'd seen people react to their loved ones coming back from the dead, finding out their loved ones didn't die as they thought, and he thought it was ridiculous because he didn't believe it would ever happen to him. Sitting there in the back of his car, knuckles white from squeezing the door handle too hard and a nasty pain in his head, he realized that he was the ridiculous one.He wanted to feel elated that his love was back, but he couldn't. There were a lot of things he thought about. First, the whole situation was a big shock and he was finding it hard to adjust. Secondly, when he th
I stretched on my toes, my hands high above my head. I was exhausted. I looked at the comfortable faces of my children as they slept on the hospital bed. Zayne snuggled up against Serenity's unconscious body and Savvy slept next to Zyaire. Zach and I shared a bed. I couldn't believe we'd turned a private ward into our home. It wasn't just because the children were sick, but because we were practically homeless.It'd been three days since Zyaire's surgery. I received a call from the landlord that while he went there to kick me out, some agents from one of the companies I borrowed money from came, and as a 'good' citizen, he gave them all my properties to sell even if it wouldn't cover half of the money I owed them. On top of that, we weren't allowed in that building anymore.I wasn't the least worried about that. With the money I got from my private account, I could settle all the debts once Zyaire and Serenity are alright and there would still be enough money left to get a new apartmen
Dammit! I don't want to get married! Especially to him!There was a time I would have been glad to marry him, but now, that was a nightmare. I didn't want to spend a day looking at his face, let alone a long time. It didn't please me. Yet, I also thought about why he would want to marry me for a long time. If he only needed to legitimize the children, then we could get divorced shortly, right? But wouldn't that still mean I'd lose my children to him?I groaned, throwing my head back with frustration. I felt like slamming my head on something but that wouldn't have changed anything. Stacy followed closely behind me as if she was worried that I would do something stupid. What exactly she was expecting, I didn't know. I wasn't going to kill myself, never. As long as my children were alive, I was more than willing to live.‘Hmm, what if I ask for alimony? If I receive money from him, I could start a business, get enough money and maybe challenge… bullshit,’ I thought. Even if I worked my h
I bit into my nails as I walked back to the hospital ward Serenity was with Stacy. I felt like shit. I already knew this would be the outcome but I still couldn't get used to it. How was I going to deal with pretending to be a happy couple with him when I despised him? Pretending meant I'd have to share a bedroom with him too. That could be fixed, right? He wasn't giving me a chance to negotiate. I didn't have a choice but to follow his orders.I groaned and pushed the door open. This time, the children were complete. Zayne was crying as he hugged Serenity who was laughing and petting him on the head. Zyaire was seated by the window with Zach keeping a keen eye on him. Savia just sat quietly, watching everyone. She was the first to look at me.I sighed and walked into the room. "Zayne, stop crying, your sister isn't going to die,""He's crying because he knows that," they replied simultaneously. It gave me the creeps whenever they did that. It didn't happen often but whenever it did, I
I let out a heavy sigh as I gazed absentmindedly out the window. My mind was in turmoil, consumed with worry for Rominic's well-being. The situation was far graver than I had initially thought.Even though Rominic always backed up his files in a secure cloud, he had been unable to find evidence of the crucial blueprint. He was not only in shock from the knowledge that his secret cloud had been compromised but also from the fact that the perpetrators had effortlessly accessed his password and shut down his security system without any warning.The only silver lining was that his other important files were stored in a different secured box, protected by a randomly generated password that he had carelessly crafted. He had failed to secure the particular file in question, however, because he needed to access it frequently, and the additional security measures seemed like too much of a hassle.Rominic's password was the pet name my mother had used for me, written in reverse with the additio
It had been a week since the reunion, and I had unconsciously fallen into a routine with Rominic — or rather, Rominic had orchestrated this routine for us. Every morning, he made sure to steal a kiss or two, whether in front of the children or in private. We always ate breakfast together, and at night, we would cuddle and make out before falling asleep.The most agonizing part about this routine wasn't that I was angry about it, but because of Rominic's half-hearted approach. He would kiss me until I was a wet, trembling mess, my body consumed by desire, and then he would abruptly stop. His excuse was that he had promised himself he would never do anything I didn't want him to do — in other words, he wanted me to ask him directly before he would take things further.Rominic knew that my pride would never allow me to make such a request. No, he was well aware that with enough diligent preparation, he would eventually break down my defenses and make me give in to my desires. The bastard
I was taken aback, even though I had anticipated it. My body froze for a moment, caught in the throes of a forbidden desire.I was kissing the enemy!He was kissing me!I should stop!But instead of pulling away, I found myself responding, my lips dancing with his in a dangerous ballet. This single act sealed my fate. He slid his leg beneath mine, adjusting our position on the bed to make me more comfortable, though comfort was the last thing on my mind. Rominic's hands roamed my body, tracing a path of desire up my neck and into my hair. He had a particular fondness for my hair, always tangling his fingers in it. A soft moan escaped from both of us, swallowed by our joined lips.I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer, my legs twitching with the urge to wrap around his waist. There was too much space between us, too much distance. I yearned to close that gap, to press myself against him, to feel the friction that would quench my burning desire.I traced the tips of my n
I tossed and turned restlessly on my side of the bed, sighing heavily. Today had been a whirlwind of events, the drama both concerning and exciting. Tyra and Link had decided to have a private conversation to work things out, and the conclusion of the earlier incident weighed heavily on my mind.Rylee had suggested that I should try to make Rominic jealous, throwing her support behind Phineas's plan. Rylee was always in Phineas's corner, and we all knew that it wouldn't take much to provoke Rominic's fiery jealousy. But that was the very problem I was grappling with.Were they truly serious about me intentionally infuriating Rominic? I could barely handle him as it was; the thought of pushing him to the edge filled me with dread. Rominic was capable of such intense rage that he might even commit violence, and they still wanted me to go through with this scheme. It felt like a disaster waiting to happen. Yet, despite my reservations, I couldn't help but contemplate the idea, questionin
I turned my gaze back to Tyra, and was immediately struck by the raw emotion etched across her face. Her eyes, once wide with surprise and disbelief, now glistened with unshed tears. Concern flashing across my face, I gently placed my hand on her shoulder, asking, "Tyra, are you okay?"My touch seemed to jolt Tyra out of her trance-like state, but rather than addressing me, a dark fury suddenly clouded her expression. The intensity of her anger made me cringe internally.Without warning, Tyra thrust her daughter into my arms, barking, "Hold her." Then, with purpose in her stride, she marched straight towards Link, rolling up her sleeves as she went. Link's face contorted with panic, cursed under his breath and hurriedly scrambled out of his seat, putting as much distance between himself and Tyra as possible. "I can explain, let me explain!" he pleaded, his voice laced with desperation."Explain?! Explain?!!! What the fuck do you want to explain, you bastard!!!" Tyra's thunderous roar
The tiny girl in question was undeniably cute. "Wow, so many pups," I said, eliciting a chorus of delighted laughter from the children. I walked over to her and bent down slightly, smiling as she blushed shyly."Hello, I'm Lavender. What's your name?" I asked, keeping my voice gentle."Laverne," she replied, hiding her face behind her small palms. I looked over my shoulder at Elias, who simply shrugged, while Ginger winked knowingly. Ah, so they had named her after me — or at least a close variation."It's so nice to meet you, Aunty Lavender," Laverne said, peeking out from behind her hands. I couldn't resist scooping her up into my arms, cooing over how adorable she was. She had inherited Elias' dark blond hair and skin tone, but Ginger's captivating reddish-brown eyes."What about me?" another voice cried, and I felt a small tug on the skirt of my dress. Glancing down, I squealed in delight at the sight of the puffy little muffin of a child. "Hello, I'm Wren, and Mommy said you alwa
I moved around the kitchen with the agility of a gazelle, determined to get everything done as quickly as possible. Today was the big day, and the others would be arriving soon, but I still had some cooking left to do.Suddenly, Chef Russo returned with his daughter. My kids already loved her, and she was a talented cook too — well, except for Zachary, who seemed to have a bit of a grudge against her.Unfortunately, Chef Russo had come down with a sudden cold that morning, leaving me to battle the meal on my own. Thankfully, his daughter and Savia stepped in to assist me, along with the two maids that Rominic had called in to help. I didn't thank him directly, but I knew he understood how grateful I was for his assistance. If he didn't, that was his problem."Lavender!!!" The familiar voice of Rominic suddenly rang out, and I felt a surge of frustration wash over me. I wiped my face and signaled for the maid to watch the stove, then hurried out of the kitchen.I take back everything I
I felt a gentle tugging at my dress and looked down to see my daughters, Savia and Serenity. Serenity's eyes were brimming with tears, while Savia wore a deeply concerned expression."Mom, why are those women killing our father?" Savia asked, her voice tinged with distress."Mommy, who are they?" Serene inquired, her gaze fixed on the women."Those are your aunties, and they are beating your father up because he did something mean to them. Don't worry, he'll be…" I paused mid-sentence as I heard Rominic's agonized scream, followed by a loud splash. They had thrown him into the pool. "Fine," I added, clicking my tongue. They would never simply throw him in without breaking something first. "He'll survive," I reassured the girls.Rylee let out a mocking laugh as she stood over the pool, watching Rominic sink beneath the surface without any apparent struggle. There was no way he would actually drown — Rominic was an exceptional swimmer, a skill Serenity had inherited. Unless…"Rylee, did
As I stood before them once more, I was struck by the complete absence of the anger I had anticipated. Instead, a profound sense of delight filled my heart as I gazed upon the mature female version of my husband and our children.Her winter gray eyes expanded like those of a curious cat, and her mischievous smirk melted into a genuine, warm smile. Rylee spread her arms wide, her brows wiggling playfully, and I couldn't help but laugh as I ran into her welcoming embrace. She was still as tall as I remembered, her stature commanding and imposing.Rylee shared the same striking facial features as her brother, but there was an undeniable air of badassery about her. It was evident in the way she dressed, spoke, and carried herself — her very aura exuding a sense of unapologetic confidence. From the moment I had first met her, her hair had been messily dyed to resemble the hue of freshly spilled blood or a pint of vibrant red paint splattered across her head.Rylee's appearance was a striki