(Aya’s POV)I swam to the other side of the swimming pool when my cell phone made a noise, ringing the familiar tone, telling me it was Addie calling. I reached for the pool coping and groped my phone, swiping the screen to answer her call.“Hi there, lovely cousin,” I greeted, glancing at the pool handrail, but instead of swimming there, I decided to stay. “It’s eleven. What’s up?”“Just checking on you,” Addie laughed.“Me?” I chuckled. “The kids are now sleeping in the tent. Thank you for coming to the rescue.”“And where are you?” She asked. There was something in her voice that I could not quite understand. Was Addie teasing me?“In the swimming pool. Don’t worry, Addie, if any of the kids sleepwalk, I can see them from here.”Red seemed to value their privacy, not placing a camera inside the villa, not even in the garden, but for today, the security guard had set a CCTV in the area to ensure they were safe throughout the night. From what I had heard, it was Ariana’s order.“And
(Aya’s POV)I didn’t know how long I was sitting in the pool lounger, but when my cell phone’s alarm made a noise, I realized I had already been here for more than five hours. This was the first time I did not dream of Scarlett because I did not sleep. I could not even snatch forty winks after what happened between Red and me last night.Sighing, I reached for my phone and turned off the alarm to help prepare breakfast. When I checked on the kids in their tents, still sleeping like babies, I decided to go upstairs to our bedroom to change. I didn’t want to startle Wilma or scare the maids if I came into the kitchen in a two-piece swimsuit.As I walked past Red’s office, it was dark, so I assumed he was still in our bedroom. I opened the door quietly and tiptoed as I stepped toward the walk-in closet when I found him sleeping in the new bed. When he rolled to his other side, facing away from me, my heart stopped beating as I halted, realizing he was not alone. In bed, I saw the picture
(Red’s POV)“Where is everybody?” I asked Wilma when I entered the dining room.My heart hammered in my chest, afraid that my kids had found out about my petty quarrel with Aya. She must have told them she was leaving me or… Argh! Why was I even thinking about it? I turned to Wilma when she didn’t answer, but she didn’t look bothered at all.“They’re in my area. I don’t think any of those kids will eat breakfast here because they ate anything they could find in the kitchen while waiting for their carrot cake. Violet and her friends are now decorating their masterpiece. Coffee?” She asked after sharing with me where my family had gone.Instead of the maid, she prepared my coffee.“You didn’t tell me Aya has excellent talent, Red,” she smiled, giving me the cup.I raised my head and looked at her. “You’re not really here to tell me that, Wilma. What do you want to tell me? What’s the problem?”She would not be here to serve breakfast unless there was a problem at home relating to managi
(Red’s POV)“How dare you tell Lucy I’m not returning to work anymore!” She growled, clutching the collar of my shirt.I heaved a sigh, ignoring her anger and taking her hands off me. Her lips trembled as she gripped my shirt, but I was stronger, not caring if she would break the fabric of my clothes. I hissed angrily, grabbing her hands and gripping them hard, but the stoic look on her face told me she would not back away.“I need my job there!” She growled. “I need to earn money.”“You don’t need that job!” I snarled, not realizing I was still gripping her hands hard. “What do you need the money for when I have given you more than you can earn in your lifetime compared to that place.”“I need that job, Red,” she whimpered. “Lucy promised me a promotion after my graduation.”“Isn’t this a promotion already to you?” I gritted my teeth, hating her for crying in front of me. “Have you forgotten, Aya? I married you, remember? Can’t that be a promotion to you? This is your job now. Your l
(Aya’s POV)“Cry, Aya!”Leslie and Addie walked back to the dining area after taking tissue rolls and coffee from the kitchen. I thought it was my inner self encouraging me to do that, but the words were from Leslie, who placed five tissue rolls in front of me after I shared with them what Red did. Of course, I omitted the part about sleeping with him earlier, and I believed this was the reason my heart was not beating and felt beaten, sharded into million pieces, and would never be whole again. “Yeah, why aren’t you crying?” Addie asked, not looking worried but amused as she gave me another cup of coffee.“Should I?” I scoffed, smiling bitterly. I could not help raising my eyebrows at her.“I don’t know,” My cousin shrugged and stared at me. “Because if it were me, I wouldn’t care if he was my husband. I’ll hit him in the face.”I should cry after Red insulted me, daydreaming of his deceased wife instead of me. Yet, how could it be different whenever I slept with Ryan, thinking of a
(Aya’s POV)I picked up the cup and sipped coffee, thinking of Red and me. I honored Red as my husband, and as his wife, I wished to fulfill my duties, make him happy and become a good mother to our children. However, he should have remembered that it was not always about him and that I also had a say in everything involving my life and career.Last night, as I waited for him on the porch, I thought of coming clean, telling him everything from the Gino-to-Ryan story and why I got stuck with him. But when I saw him, the brave Mariel Aida Sophia lost its power to be honest; instead, I escaped from him and went to the kids.“If you see Gino again, what would you do?” Addie asked, stupefying me with her shocking question.My eyebrows knitted, thinking about what I would do if I saw him. I shook my head and shrugged my shoulders, not because I did not know the answer but because I was praying not to cross his path again. My cousin knew very well that the reason why my heart was paralyzed,
(Red’s POV)Sorry We’re CloseThe signage reminded me that Lucy’s Kitchen would not open until ten in the morning. I glanced at my wristwatch, realizing I was fifteen minutes early. I took my cell phone from my pants pocket, hoping to call Lucy to inform her I was here, but the door opened before I could press her number.“Mr. Carlington,” The receptionist smiled, recognizing me from last Saturday.Thinking of it, I realized I proposed last Saturday, got married on Sunday, and after a week, warning signs flashed, telling me we might divorce before we even celebrated our first week as a married couple. She opened the door wide and smiled gently but glanced at an empty ground, probably waiting for Aya to appear.“Aya’s… at home,” I lied and entered the restaurant.Her face turned crimson as her lips curved into a sheepish smile. “Umm… this way.” She led me to the table near the window, overlooking the garden. “I’ll tell Lucy you’re here.”She left when I was seated, and not long before
(Red’s POV)“Ryan Lopez, I’m her boyfriend,” he again said as if the receptionist was deaf.“Ah!” The receptionist’s mouth opened in surprise, nodding at him and then glancing at me.“Is she here?” Ryan knitted his brows when she slowly shook her head. “That’s odd. Aya never absent, unless…” he breathed out as he pressed a number on his phone, calling her. “Did she, by any chance, call Lucy and tell her…”His forehead creased as he looked at the screen, murmuring his worries. I pressed my lips, suppressing a displeased smile, wanting to tell him she would not answer his call because she had turned off her cell phone. I knew her whereabouts because her own bodyguard reported to me where she went, and right now, she had probably shared with Addie and Leslie what had happened between us. My eyelids were half-closed for a second because it would be another topic that Aya would irk about, as she did not know about the security personnel following her discreetly.“She’s not answering,” he
(Aya’s POV) Three months later... I raised my hand, my fingers trailing my little one’s soft skin as she had her milk from my breast. I smiled when she stopped, a habit she seemed to have whenever she heard something familiar. “You heard daddy’s voice, Athena?” I asked lovingly. When I raised my head, my lips curved into a sweet smile seeing Red stopping and leaning on the doorframe. He kept his cell phone inside his pocket and gazed at us. “Cora left already?” I asked as I fixed my nursing bra and thought to pump milk later. I could not believe I was blessed with lots of milk. He shook his head. “She’s hiking with Ariana tomorrow. Can you believe it?” He chuckled. “Or should I call a rescuer in advance?” I chuckled, shaking my head. “Don’t say that in front of your sister. She might think of something else, like camping there for the night. So, please...” As Roman promised, his two children, Ariana and Red, stayed until I gave birth, and they seemed to have changed their mind
(Red’s POV)“Are you sure?” Mike asked me as Emmet and Scarlett went to the playroom to talk to Rosie.“You said it yourself, Mike, that even if I don’t press charges, she will still go to jail,” I muttered, sighing as I eyed Aya sitting in the living room, murmuring words to our little one as she caressed her belly.I hoped it was still because of her pregnancy that she was soft-hearted, sobbing over the story she heard from Scarlett. She lived poorly with Emmet, who worked as a security guard in a warehouse in the province he mentioned, but she never looked sad, not even regretting marrying him. If asked, she said she wanted to stay dead in her family’s eyes rather than go back, but Sherrilyn found her again, threatening her of hurting Emmet and Rosie if she didn’t help her with money. Sherrilyn must have forgotten that even her daughter signed a prenuptial agreement before our marriage, and the few gifts I gave her as a gift would take time to repossess because of her death. “But
(Aya’s POV)Almost eight months ago, when I first came here to the Carlington Residence, I believed I was born a selfless person with no ‘me’ time in my system. I had never expected to be part of this family when all I wanted at that time was to get a job and replace the parure Ryan gave me. I was not qualified for the job, but I had to lie to Red. The pieces of jewelry, the need for money, and the hope of finishing my studies and getting a good job for my father and Katie were the forces that pushed me to pretend to be someone else. Who knew I would meet Red, the man who had told me many times I was not qualified, had given me a chance because of his love for his children? It was not even a year, but a lot of things had happened in my life. I turned my head and gazed lovingly at my husband. He didn’t have to say it, but I knew deep inside he was hurting. I might not have witnessed their long years of marriage before the plane crash, but I saw how he tried to cope, live for his chil
(Aya’s POV)“Think, Sherrilyn,” I chuckled nervously. “The restroom is small for me to trip. And wait! Are you threatening me?”I thought of different ways to run toward the door, but Sherrilyn’s plan of possibly pushing me would be more realistic than the one in the restroom. I took a deep breath to calm myself and hoped Red would come on time. If I weren’t pregnant, I would care less about what she planned to do, but my sole concern now is my child.“Mom, will you please stop!” Scarlett grabbed her mother’s arm, stopping her.“Stop?” Sherrilyn hissed at her daughter. “As long as she’s here, she’s going to be the end of you.”“What do you plan to do with her, huh?” She asked annoyingly. “We’ll only make Red furious. Mom, all my life, I did what you wanted. Will you listen to me once? Let Aya go.”“What’s happening with you?” Sherrilyn brushed off her hand and gave her daughter a dagger look. “Have you gone mad?”“No!” Scarlett stood before her, blocking Sherrilyn from coming to me. “
(Aya’s POV)“Did you bring everything you needed?” Addie chuckled, asking me jokingly the same question she had the first time I got here in the villa in Rose Hills.I laughed as I get off the car, hating that I had to feel like my bladder was about to explode if I didn’t find a toilet right this minute. I had no intention of getting inside the villa, but Dante stopped the car in the driveway. I already had the chills, my tiny hair standing up, and my baby seemed to feel my need as it moved and kicked. I almost rolled my hair, seeing Scarlett standing in the doorway, waiting for her family.“I’m not sure I need them now, Addie,” I growled on the phone, thinking quickly about where the nearest restroom would be. “What I want now is to pee, and if I don’t, I’ll leak in Gino’s car… or worse, here in the porch!”“Then leak there first. I’m sure Scarlett won’t mind,” she advised. “Got to go, cous. We have a guest. Take care, okay?” she said, ending the call.“Why don’t you use the one nea
(Aya’s POV)“Will I get a discount if I give referrals?” Miles smiled as he picked up his cup of coffee. His eyes wandered around the common room.“Even if you don’t give referrals, Miles. I’ll still give you a discount... or maybe have your accommodation for free,” I promised him.Miles chuckled. “I’ll call you when I have the time to hike,” he sipped his coffee and then put his cup back on the center table. “But before my hiking plans, I should close this case first.”He must be working overtime; his wide-set eyes looked tired but still focused on our discussion. I wondered if he had ever slept or had time to eat. When Red called Mike and asked them to come, they arrived in less than three hours at the lodge.It was almost midnight.“You should go home, Red,” Miles said, surprising us with his advice. “Bring the kids back to the villa and pretend for a while, at least for the kids, that everything’s normal between you and Scarlett.”“I think it’s too late for that,” I cut in and smi
(Red’s POV)“Did we do something wrong?” Blue blinked his adorable eyes at me. “I’m okay having a baby sister, I swear!” He said, raising his right hand. “It’s okay we lost the bet.”We were in the main bedroom, looking like having a story-telling class, when I asked them to sit on the bed while Aya and I sat, almost leaning on the bed’s headboard, facing the children.“No,” Violet answered without breaking her gaze at me. “Mom and Dad are going to talk to us about Emmet and Rosie... and mom... the Scarlett mom,” she muttered, emphasizing her mother’s name.Katie pursed her lips as she played with her slime toy. “Why is your mom also Rosie’s mom?” she asked, leaning forward to look at Violet and her round eyes blinking curiously at her sister.She leaned back when my eldest daughter pursed her lips. Katie’s eyebrows knitted as she thought, then she shrugged her shoulders and continued playing with her toy.Violet sighed. “I hope I know the answer to that question, Katie,” she muttered
(Red’s POV)“You... know that I am Scarlett’s...” I gritted my teeth, clenching my fists but trying to control myself from hitting Emmet’s face.Emmet met my eyes and slowly shook his head. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. When he opened his eyes, he looked at his sister.“Emily, why don’t you take Rosie home?” He begged and smiled sadly at his daughter.“I don’t want to go home yet,” Rosie pouted her lips, her eyes pleading with him to let her stay.“You should listen to your daddy. Go home, Rosie,” Blue said as he got off his chair. “I’ll play outside. Triplets, do you like to play with me?”This was the first time I saw my children push away another child. Ariana always said that my kids could be awarded for amiableness and friendliness, which she sometimes disliked because it sometimes ended up trouble for her wallet when my kids also wanted to treat others with ice cream or any treats. My twins, even Katie, the sweetest of our daughters, said nothing about Rosie. She got
(Aya’s POV) “Can we name our baby sister now,” Green muttered excitedly as he ate his cake. Red turned his head to me, raising his eyebrows and asking me in silence if it was okay. I nodded, also excited about their suggestions. “Oh…kay…” He nodded slowly to them. “We’re open to suggestions,” he said, emphasizing the last word and glancing at the open main door when a familiar girl peered from the outside. “Can we do that later? We have guests.” Emily showed up at the door, smiling apologetically at us and glancing at the little girl she was with. For Rosie’s sake, I begged Red not to file a case against Emmet because on the day he ran toward me, he was not attacking; he was also trying to catch me. Violet smiled at Rosie, walking toward her and extending her hand to the child. “Hi, Rosie. Do you like cupcakes?” She nodded, her eyes wide as she looked interestingly at the balloons. She grabbed Violet’s hand and followed her toward the table. Red and I walked toward Emily, who st