(Anj’s POV)I closed my eyes hard, waiting for my bottom to hit the hard floor, but I didn’t. Dylan must have been standing behind me because he caught me just in time before I landed on the floor. Relief flooded me, forgetting thousands of scenarios that could have happened to me.Dylan, who had always acted as our elder brother, the pacifier, and protector whenever someone didn’t treat Anya and me right and with respect, had also caught the hem of Anya’s sleeve, stopping her from her plans.“Don’t stop me, Dylan!” Anya hissed, brushing his hand off. “I’ll erase the face of this woman. No one messes with my cousin.”“I know! No one messes with my friends!” He said angrily, holding her tighter. “But I don’t want to see you hurt too.”Whether Anya stopped or not, I didn’t know because my mind went blank for a few seconds. I was just standing, and my tears were rolling endlessly on my cheeks. What woke me up were the arms of my girls wrapping around my hips, crying, and calling my name.
(Anj’s POV)With three kids to check and afraid my children would throw a fit during their checkup, the doctor decided to let us all stay in Dr. Greene’s office, where his secretary asked us to stay. Dr. Sands was hoping to have them checked in her office, but after talking with Dr. Greene on the phone, we were now here, sitting on the couch and looking at her as she attended to my kids. “Who would like to go first?” She asked my children.Sitting on Dylan’s lap, Leyanne got down and walked to her.“You’re brave,” She smiled at her. “What’s your name?”She shook her head. “Leyanne Perry. My ear hurts, but not as painful as this early morning. From a scale of one of ten, it’s only three now,” she explained.I pressed my lips when Dr. Sands raised her eyebrows, nodding at her. “How old are you, Leyanne?” she asked as she checked her ear.“We just turned six, but Aunt Anya said we’re twenty,” She answered, grinning at her Aunt Anya.Steve couldn’t help himself from laughing, but instea
(Anj’s POV)When I was little, whenever Anya and I waited for Aunt Rose or Sister Grace to pick us up at school and see our classmates’ mothers meeting them at the main entrance or gate, I always imagined my mother walking on the pavement with a sweet and gentle smile on her lips, waving at me excitedly as she comes closer to us.I imagined my mother to be beautiful. Like other moms, her eyes would sparkle when she saw me, call my name ‘Angela’ like she was singing my name as she waved her delicate hand to get my attention, or maybe show a sweet treat for me for doing a good job in school. I dreamt of her sitting beside me to see what I did for the day and kissing my cheeks.As I grew up, I realized it would never happen, and that was why I always did my best not to fail in that department when picking up my children at school. But I finally understood why mothers smiled whenever they saw their children despite being tired from their long day at work. My girls, smiling and telling me
(Sky’s POV)When Dad asked my kids what my grandchildren wanted, they all jumped for joy, asking him to treat them with ice cream. We had to stop at the ice cream parlor we all went to before when I attempted to take the kids away from Angela.The staff at the counter recognized them right away. She smiled. “I wonder who Leyanne is?”Leyanne giggled, raising her hand and walking to her. “You remember me!” Her eyes widened in surprise.“Well, not every day I get to meet beautiful girls who look exactly the same,” she chuckled, smiling at Angela, then she turned to her again. “So, what do you like for today?”Lyra Helene came closer to her, covering her mouth for us not to hear her. “My Grandpa’s paying for our ice cream.”“Oh!” She exclaimed, smiling at my father. “Then, what do you like to eat today? As long as there are no peanuts in it, right?” She winked at Lyra Helene.My girls giggled, then looked at their grandfather, who looked happier after sharing his secrets and pain with us
(Sky’s POV)My forehead creased as I entered the bedroom, and I tilted my head, thinking whether I should ask Elenita to put a trampoline in the bedroom. Three girls were jumping on the bed while singing the Five Little Monkeys song, while Nitro barked with them whenever her body would lift.Their mother glanced at me, half-smiling as she looked at our children jumping and singing happily.“Sugar rush,” She mouthed.She breathed out when Leyanne finally stopped because our eldest seemed to be their signal when the two also halted and sat, but no one ran to me.I knew their day had been exhausting, but the sugar seemed to have worked on their little bodies, giving them lots of energy for tonight. “Mommy, is it the later time with Daddy?” asked Leyanne, who was still panting from jumping.My eyebrows raised because I had no idea what it was about.Angela made a swift look at me and nodded. “He’s here now, so I guess it’s the later time,” she said, sitting on the edge of the bed.I sat
(Sky’s POV)I didn’t know if I woke up or didn’t get a wink, but when I opened my eyes, Angela and the kids were still sleeping. I couldn’t believe Angela would be such a tease that after those searing kisses, she pushed me away and hid in the bathroom with the spare key with her. When she came out, Selene was already crying, looking for her mother and wondering why it was me beside her, not her beloved mother. Before getting up, I kissed my kids, but Leyanne, perhaps a light sleeper among them, opened her eyes.“Daddy,” she whispered, maybe checking if she was dreaming or not.“Yes, baby?” I uttered in a low voice, glancing at my still sleeping family.She smiled at me. “I love you, Daddy.”Her smile, words, and eyes, same as their mother’s, melted my heart. “I love you, too, Leyanne.”My daughter closed her eyes again, rolling to her slide, her arm stretching to reach Selene’s hand. I walked slowly, not wanting to disturb their sleep.After Aunt Eden suddenly popped up the other n
(Sky’s POV)“Good morning, Anj,” greeted Frank when she entered the study room.She smiled and raised her hand, showing Frank the car key she used to drive the children to school. Despite my offer to let the driver do it, she shook her head, explaining that it would only scare the children.“Where’s Sky?” she asked.Angela raised her eyebrows when she saw the folders on my table. I almost guffawed when she peeked to see if someone was sitting on my chair. I got up from the chair and took her hands, pulling her to me and wrapping her arms to my waist.“That busy?” She was still looking at the folders.“Nope. You are, Ms. Perry,” I said, kissing her forehead and taking one folder. “Frank, leave us for a while and make sure to lock the door when you go out.”“I’m going to the office, taking more folders from Catherine,” he informed me. “Should I tell Elenita to tell the maids this is an off-limit room?” he teased Angela when she turned her head to him.“Yes, please,” I smiled and waited
(Anj’s POV)A cluster of clouds covered the perfect blue sky, and the wind kissing my skin promised a heavy rain later. As I sat on the wooden bench, facing the manmade river by the park, I realized how time had changed this place since Dylan, Anya, and I would go here after school. When Dylan told me we would talk here, only now that I had thought of bringing the kids here. They would be excited to hear stories about why we usually stay here and how our friendship bloomed like the flowers in the park.My eyebrows raised as Dylan sat beside me and gave me the paper bucket of Chinese food he had ordered for us. “And?” I asked him. He hadn’t said anything yet, but he knew what I was talking about.“You, first. How are you after yesterday? It was one hell of a day experiencing everything at once as if the ‘divine agency’ was in a hurry to end your life,” he said as he gave me chopsticks.My mouth made a downturn shape. “I guess I was too confident telling Sky I wanted the position. You