Chapter Five

Cassie's pov

I felt tiny hands on my face making me jerk up from bed. To my surprise, it was Josh

“Mummy,” his blue eyes peered into mine; he looked at me like I was a God or something. The admiration in the eyes of my very own son is something that keeps me strong every day.

“You're awake already, what about Karin?”

“Mum Karin took my milk” he suddenly started whining

“Then take hers” I squinted

“No….eww”

The way his face went when he said those words seriously cracked me up. I climbed down my bed, assisted him down then we both went to the living room.

“Mummy good morning!” Karin jumped off her chair to hug me.

“Sweetie pie, you look so bright this morning. After drinking your brother's glass of milk” I fixed my eyes on the glass in her tiny hands.

She shyly turned away, ran behind a chair, and dropped the glass on the table before coming back to me

“Mom, I have nothing with me…see” she opened her hands

“You naughty girl” I gently pinched her cheek

“Come on, we're late for school.”

I left them to go prepare their bath water and bathed them; I dressed them up, and then we went down for a quick breakfast.

“Mummy, Elsa's father came to pick her up from school today,” Karin said amid a spoonful of scrambled eggs in her mouth.

The Elsa in question is her classmate, a friend of hers, and usually, when they bring up topics about their classmates ' fathers, I know what comes up next;

“Mummy, when are we going to meet our father? When is he going to pick us up from school too?” Josh added.

My heart aches each time I get this question. It's as if I've failed my kids and they're suffering because of my mistakes.

Ethan was the biggest mistake of my life but I was going to fix that, at least for the sake of my beautiful kids.

“Don't worry warriors, we're meeting with Daddy soon!”

“But you've said that a million times now, mummy,” Karin whined, her eyes fixed on her plate, but I could sense the sadness and tension in the air.

“Look, babies, I'll bring Daddy home soon” I paused, trying to weigh my words. How am I even supposed to bring Daddy home when I don't even have a man in my life now?

I hope I'm not promising what I can't fulfill.

“I'm being honest, warriors; we're going to see Daddy soon. When we do, we'll all go out for dinner, we'll visit the movies and go play games”

“Yeah!” They bounced on their chairs

“I bet I took after his handsomeness”

“If you took after him then I guess he's not even handsome at all,” Karin said, carefully maintaining the composure she had even after dropping a bomb.

“You!” Josh packed a handful of eggs and was going to throw it at Karin but I quickly held his wrist.

“Stop it” he recoiled but not without glaring at his sister.

I rolled my eyes at their drama. Sometimes when I look at these kids, I wonder if they're five or fifty. They're so witty, loud, and composed (well, that's when they're outside. Whenever we're indoors, they're very chaotic), making me realize I did a good job as a mother…I'm so proud of them.

Beep! Beep!

“Oh, the school bus is here already, let's go.” I carried Karin down. Helped both of them clean their mouths before taking them to the bus.

“Bye, mama,” They chorused.

I waved at them until the bus was out of view. I went back into the house, dressed up, arranged my documents, and drove off to work.

****

As I entered the company, all the staff lined up at both sides bowing as they chorused their usual greetings. Sometimes, I just get tired of this routine of theirs, but if they choose to do it, who am I to stop them?

“Ma'am, the paperwork from Liltech arrived this morning,” Katherine scurried behind me as I entered the elevator. She briefed ongoing situations in the business sector, and I noted some events that I'll have to do further research on.

“Ma'am the shareholders called for an impromptu meeting with the board of directors”

“Did they point out the reason for that?”

She shook her head negatively.

I was already wondering why the shareholders would suddenly call for a meeting with the board instead of telling me first so I could at least permit it. Could something have happened with our market price?

I entered the board room to see them seated respectfully waiting for me. Woah! I never knew it was this serious.

“A responsible leader doesn't take a year to attend a simple meeting” one of the shareholders threw at me as I took my seat.

“I'm sorry Mr Clinton, I had to take care of my family. Family comes first” I tried my best to keep a smile on

“Oh, is that so? So our company is second on your list, right? Our money is second on your list, Cassie?!” Clinton added.

I rolled my eyes at his annoying words, as much as I wanted to keep my cool. Doesn't he know how to filter his words?

“Mr Clinton, I'll say it again just in case you didn't hear me at first, my family comes first on my list. Anytime, any day, I'll choose my family over you and your money because money can always be recovered but a family's love and bond is what you need to walk through any storm and come out stronger.” Clinton gasped at my response.

Well, Clinton is someone who doesn't value his family. From the news I've heard, he forced his daughter into a loveless marriage because of money and his second daughter is currently in exile for not listening to his orders. His wife feared him and his family was disgusted by his mere sight. I can't take his path not in this life.

“So she's now tutoring us on how to place our priorities” he looked at the other board members as he giggled like the maniac that he is

“Well since family gives you strength, you might as well know that without money, you can't keep your family together” he sat down, his eyes locked on mine

“There's a petition to overthrow you”

“What?”