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
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
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
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 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
I scrubbed the top of the table as I hummed, scrubbing it hard to get the stains out. Some people can eat like pigs, horrible pigs. And unfortunately, it was my job to clean up after them. Okay, not exactly my job, but the person doing it before got sick so I volunteered to clean it and take her salary until she is back on her feet. I accepted the offer with open arms. The extra cash was good.I worked in a hotel as a bartender. I used to be a hotel porter, but after I complained about the male guest always finding a way to smack my ass, I was placed in the bar. The manager liked me and didn't want me to go and that is the most luck I had since I changed my name."Jamila, are you still here?" Speak of the devil. I gave the table the last finishing scrub before I stood up and placed my hands on my hips. The table was spotless."People can eat like pigs, no, in fact, people are pigs." I sneered. He laughed from behind me before I felt his hand on my shoulder."Jami, the real problem is y
"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 stand
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