(Sky’s POV)The glass door to my private office opened, and I smiled when I saw a tall, slender woman walking into the office. Her beautiful smile curved her lips as she came to me, with no greetings but sitting right away on my lap, taking the pen in my hand and placing my hands around her waist.Lalaine claimed my mouth, kissing me passionately for a few seconds before moving away. “I hope I’m not marching the altar alone, Sky,” she smiled as she trailed my necktie. “You’re nowhere to be found last weekend, and when you finally appeared, you were a beast in the office again.”“Beast?” I laughed, taking the pen from her. “I was just busy, that’s all.”She stood up and sat on the couch near my table. “I’m free this weekend. Want to travel with me?” When I didn’t answer, she walked in front of my table and propped her elbows, adorably blinking her round brown eyes at me. “Just the two of us.” “Tempting,” I said, glancing at her cleavage.“I knew you would say that, darling,” She said,
(Anj’s POV)“Are you sure you’ll be fine here with the kids?” I asked Anya as she massaged her legs. She complained about her muscles feeling stiff and her feet sore after walking for almost two hours. Well, at most times, we walked, but sometimes it was more like running after my kids, being their first time in the amusement park.“Yeah! Go!” She winced as she looked up at the Ferris Wheel. I knew how much she liked riding it, loved seeing everything on the ground from the top, but something seemed to stop her.Sitting on the wooden bench, my three girls enjoyed their cotton candy, not minding if their mother was riding the Ferris Wheel.“If I have to walk again, I’ll die early, Anj,” She chuckled. “Enjoy the ride.” She smiled, glancing at Dylan as he bought tickets for us.“That’ll be a few minutes,” I said worriedly, looking at the kids.“They’ll be fine with me, Anj. Don’t worry, and please, don’t kill the romance up there,” She reminded me, moaning as she leaned on the bench’s ba
(Anj’s POV)“What did you do to Angela?” Anya growled at him, hitting Dylan again in his arm, maybe harder this time because I saw him cringe. “You were supposed to have a good time, not scare her.”“Stop it, Anya,” I said as my eyes looked at the doctor putting a bandage on my sprained ankle. Good thing, it was only mild, but the bad side of it was I ruined Dylan’s plans and ended the fun for my children.Their eyelashes were still wet after wailing almost endlessly when they saw me fall and cry in pain. “He didn’t do anything to scare me. I just missed that step, that’s all,” I lied, opening my arms so my kids would come to me. Only Lyra Helene and Selene came to me, but Leyanne remained at the foot of the bed, watching the doctor and asking him many questions.“You have one future doctor here,” The old doctor smiled gently at me as he finished wrapping an elastic bandage to my foot.I smiled back, seeing myself in Leyanne, but that upward shape on my lips disappeared when I saw S
(Sky’s POV)I wish I knew what was going on in Angela’s mind.She was quiet the entire drive from the amusement park to the nursing home. With three girls at the back telling me how their day went, I could imagine the fun but the horror of seeing their mother falling and getting hurt.“Uncle Dylan kept saying I’m sorry to Mommy,” Selene said.“But Mommy was just crying, and then Uncle Dylan carried her to the clinic.” Lyra Helene continued.“Then Aunt Anya cried too because Mommy was hurt,” Leyanne added.“What did Uncle Dylan do to Mommy?” My hand gripped the car steering wheel, but I could not dare look at her or the kids in the rearview mirror.“We don’t know,” Selene answered. “Maybe he took back the candy because Mommy ate his candy.”“Interesting.” I sighed, hating that I was getting angry as I imagined Dylan kissing Angela.We reached the nursing home, and like the first time I came here, I stopped in the same spot Angela parked the car and watched my kids unfasten their seatbe
(Sky’s POV)I walked Angela to the dresser and helped her dry her hair.“You used to have long hair,” I glanced at the picture. “Why did you cut your hair?”She scoffed. “With three girls to tend to, even drying my hair is a luxury for me.” She looked at our reflection in the mirror after I turned off the hairdryer. I took the hairbrush from the table, but she shook her head as I was about to pull her hair in a ponytail, her usual hairstyle. She took her hairclip from the box and put it in her hair, making her look more like a teenager than a mother of three.“Sister Grace was looking for this. She thought I lost this,” Angela widened her eyes as she moved her head from side to side, checking on her hair.“It must be precious for her,” I said.“Maybe,” she chuckled as she raised her head to look at me. “She has been putting this in my hair since I was two? Maybe…” She squinted her eyes. “Anya said she has been putting this in my hair since my head started growing hair.”I only nodded,
(Anj’s POV)Sky left an hour ago after he successfully resisted my children’s pleading to stay for the night. He promised to return on Saturday and looked at the calendar on the wall, and we will all have to wait for two days.My forehead creased.Not we… They! They needed two forty-winks before that day to come. I lifted the cup and sipped coffee. After Sky’s conversation with Sister Grace, he was quiet that I was afraid he would just flee the nursing home without saying goodbye to me, but after staying alone in the garden for more than fifteen minutes talking to someone on the phone, he went back inside, surprised me with a searing kiss that I almost beg him to make love to me in the small office.“Dinner!” Dylan raised the paper bags in his hands, smiling at me.I smiled at him and put down the cup on the table. “Did you have to catch the chicken yourself?” I joked, hoping it would help us all lighten the mood after what happened today.“No. Anya and I had to argue for long minutes
(Anj’s POV)My eyes were glued to my children as they packed their own backpacks with their toys and books, the things they wanted to bring to the island. If only I could tell them I hadn’t heard of him since he left the nursing home.This is what I wanted, for him not to show up and for us not to see each other anymore, but this would be the first time I wished I didn’t have to say something terrible or morbid to my girls.“Mommy, what time will Daddy come?” Selene turned to me.I blinked.If my daughter asked what chemicals made up the sky, I could answer her right away, but as to what time or whether Sky would come, I do not know the answer.“Daddy said to ask Aunt Anya and Uncle Dylan to come, and we should bring only our favorite toys,” Leyanne said. “But Mommy, we also bring some books.”I smiled nervously. “You can bring anything you want, baby.”Lyra Helene went to the window, propped her elbows, and pressed her cheeks in her arms. “Why aren’t you preparing, Mommy?” she asked
(Anj’s POV)Finn was drinking champagne as he sat comfortably in his seat.Anya was busy taking pictures, and maybe before we reached our destination, she would be done covering all parts of the plane, with different poses in her camera except sitting on the pilot’s seat while we were still on the flight. Dylan pretended to be busy reading a magazine he found on the seat but constantly stole glances and checked on me. After that kiss on the Ferris Wheel, we never got the chance to talk again because, first off, I made sure I never stayed in one place alone with him, and second, I hardly went home to Aunt Rose’s home.My kids were on the bed, playing with Nitro, short for nitrogen, the name they gave the puppy. The dog was a ‘she’, and the entire drive to the airport, they argued many times about what her name should be. In the end, they settled on the largest chemical composition of the sky. When they finally had the name, there was a bit of argy-bargy on how she should be called. Si
(Anj’s POV) Two years later… I glanced at Anya as she rubbed her baby bump. She hissed as she continued to touch her belly. “Dylan was so ecstatic about having a boy that I wanted him to carry our baby. This little one seemed to practice taekwondo inside my belly,” she complained. “I’m not sure if he’s practicing for the Olympics too early.” I chuckled, looking at my girls as they listened to Olivia playing the violin in the pavilion, and then my eyes went back to the three children playing on the sand. “Dayana!” yelled Anya at her daughter, startling me. “Good lord, don’t eat that!” “Relax, Anya. She was only smelling the shell,” I laughed. “Cloud, Rain,” I called my boys, shaking my head at my twins. They giggled and stood up, walking toward their sisters, leaving Dayana as she continued to play with sand. It has become our tradition to visit the Angela Island every year. Although this year was different without Steve, leaving us all last year just before his birthday. “I onl
(Sky’s POV)“I want to marry the Mighty Sky,” I remembered Angela saying dreamily.I looked at Frank, and as he smiled, I recalled telling him that night, ‘I’ll marry this lovely angel today.’“Are you ready?” Father Jesse asked, his eyes wandering at the small chapel I asked to build for this celebration before looking at me.I turned my gaze to him. “Yes, but Father Jesse, I have a question.” Not giving him a chance to talk, I asked him, “I came to you and asked for Angela, but you said you didn’t know her.”He chuckled softly. “You were looking for an Angela with red spots on her face, and you were describing her to me as if she was ugly. I didn’t know any ugly Angela. I only realized she was the same person you were looking for when I opened the envelope.”“My bad,” I smiled nervously, and Father Jesse patted me on my shoulder before entering the chapel.Olivia sat in front of the piano organ and began playing. The wedding organizer smiled at me, giving us the cue, and I walked on
(Anj’s POV)“Aren’t you scared of being on the plane with me?” Sky asked when his new private plane took off.I shook my head.“Then why do you have that long face?” he asked me again, pulling me to him.I placed one arm on his waist and rested my head on his shoulder. I felt him kissing my hair. “I convinced Anya and Dylan to go with us, but I guess she was having difficulty with her pregnancy.”“Have you experienced that with the girls?” he tilted his head to see my face.I craned my neck to look at him. “In my first trimester. It was hell,” I chuckled. “I couldn’t even make my own perfume, but after that, I could study and work again.”He heaved a deep sigh. “I should have been there. You shouldn’t have carried them alone.”I raised my head and reached for his lips, kissing him. “What would you do? Get one baby and put her inside your belly?” I teased him.“I wonder if men will like that,” he laughed at me, then he pouted, looking so cute. “I’m still mad at you. Why didn’t you want
(Sky’s POV)The luminance of the glow-in-dark stickers in the bedroom still shone vividly when Angela and I collapsed on the bed, panting and catching our breath as I pulled her closer to my body. The thought of dying in the plane crash still made me shiver, and I couldn’t imagine leaving Angela alone, raising our kids, and hating me for the rest of her life for not coming back to her. I kissed her again, not wanting to stop, but I knew she wanted to know what had happened.“I hate you, Sky,” she whispered as her fingers traced my cheeks down to the hollow of my throat. Her hand slid down, stopping her palm on my heart and closing her eyes as if to make sure my heart was still beating. “What happened to you?”“Frank and I didn’t expect it to happen. I was about to enter the cockpit when Leo called and reported someone saw Leonard escaping to Macau. I didn’t need a plane to catch him, so Frank and I got out of the plane but gave my pilot and his co-pilot a go when he asked me if he c
(Anj’s POV)Don’t blink!Don’t disappear!Sky claimed my mouth before I could say his name again. If this were a dream, I would probably hurt anymore who would dare wake me up. It was an intense kiss and hungry as if there was no tomorrow.I could feel the tears rolling on my cheeks, and I cried when Sky stopped kissing me and moved slightly away from me, pressing our foreheads together. It was one long second that I thought my heart had stopped beating again.“I love you, Angela!” He whispered, his lips reaching mine and planting a quick kiss.My mouth opened, hoping to utter words, but no sound came out except my sobs. The mixed emotions stirring in my heart and mind made me dizzy, and all I wanted was to be in his arms. Slowly, I raised my hand, placing my palm on his chest, feeling his beating heart.“Say something, pumpkin,” he sounded begging, but I was more afraid to speak.If only Sky knew the news almost killed me and broke my heart. If he only knew that the days without info
(Anj’s POV)“Angela!”My hand stopped from opening the door, and I turned to the female voice I rarely hear in this place. I saw Jocelyn smiling shyly at me, and behind that curve in her lips, there was tenderness in how she looked at me.“Yes, Jocelyn?” I asked, wondering what she wanted from me.“I wondered if our granddaughters could sleep in our room tonight,” she asked.Our room? My eyebrows raised. With Olivia? With Finn? With Steve?“Steve -” She heaved a deep sigh, blushing like a teenager. “Umm… He wanted to ask if the kids could sleep with us tonight.”“Ah!” I exclaimed, opening the door and finding my children, now in their pajamas, jumping on the bed as Anya read them a book.“Mommy! Mommy!” Lyra Helene called me.“Please, girls, stop jumping. You’re making me dizzy,” I smiled softly at them, stopping at the edge of the bed.The girls stopped jumping and ran to me.“Yes, baby?” I asked, brushing their hair with my fingers, starting with Leyanne, then Selene.“Mommy, Aunt A
(Anj’s POV)The large clusters of clouds had been hiding the beautiful and perfect blue sky for two days now. As I leaned my back facing the garden, I noticed that even the flowers were gloomy about the weather, and sadness loomed in the mansion.Elenita shared with me that it has never been this busy in Mars’ residence except when Freya died. In the kitchen, as she claimed her kingdom, the maids seemed to have never stopped cooking. It was only yesterday when Jocelyn came, hysterical with the news about his son was missing and could be dead somewhere. Steve, though looking tired, remained the strong head here at home, but when he saw his ex-wife, I saw him break into tears for the first time.After seeing Steve cry, I understood what he meant when he told me not to break down because when everyone saw him and Jocelyn crying, it was like looking at the top of the tower falling to the ground. All I wanted was to sit in the corner and wept, wanting to scream for Sky.Finn and Leo have n
(Anj’s POV)“Sky is alive!”It was what I wanted my heart to believe.After Sister Grace left, Aunt Rose came, giving me her warmest hug, and for a while, she cried with me. She sniffed as she moved away from me, her palms on my face as her thumb softly touched my cheeks, wiping the tears.“Have you eaten already?” She asked, and when I shook my head, she forced a chuckle. “I’m not asking you, Angela. I’m asking that little Sky in there,” she took my hand and placed my palm on my belly. “He might be hungry and tired. Or should I say, they might be hungry?”“They?” I released a brief laugh, tears rolling again. “Aunt Rose!”She smirked. “What? You’re a Mars now. You should have known the rumors about them.”“Rumors?” My eyebrows raised at her.Aunt Rose grinned at me. “They were wealthy because someone in the family always produced double. Steve has twin brothers, and you knew he has twins, too, right?” She pursed her lips. “I guess you broke the tradition of producing only two. They s
(Anj’s POV)After giving birth to two babies, the doctor asked me to push again. I remembered glancing at my sun and bright star before nodding to her. She was expecting another girl to come out, but she said it was as if my moon goddess helped me push her brother, but despite that, he still didn’t survive, and Selene almost didn’t make it.When I heard Selene’s first cry, I sobbed, wishing Sky was here. With three babies on top of my chest, I told my children that the sky was almost complete. My heart ached for Cloud, but with three babies, I had to live and wake up. They needed me, and with the thought of me being an orphan, I swore to my children that they would not lose a mother.“Mooommmmyyyyy!” My children wailed, crying as they tried to get into the bedroom. Nina has been stopping them because she thought I needed the time alone.I blinked, and my head turned, following the cry of my girls. My lips curved a sad smile as I opened my arms to them. I saw Nina wiping her tears, ste