(Anj’s POV)“This is life!” Anya exclaimed as she sat on the oversized hanging swing on the porch. She propped a pillow to the edge of the swing and lay down. I sat on the other swing, just across from her. I imagined the waves crashing into the ocean by just listening to their sound.Dylan joined us. “This place is so big, the kids could get lost,” he said, sitting beside me.Anya raised her eyebrows. “Relax, Dylan. You’re not the dad. No offense, dude!”He sighed. “Don’t dude me, Anya. I have lots of work, but you dragged me here.”She got up. “Dylan, let’s relax for a while, okay? Even if we work our asses off, we won’t get to own this place. So please…” She pouted when Dylan shook his head.“Anya’s right. Let’s just relax, okay?” I said, putting my feet up and hugging my knees. I tilted my head to check on my kids playing with Nitro. It must be Sky’s idea to give them the puppy so they won’t remember him.Maybe it was for the best.“Ohhh….” Anya moaned as she closed her eyes. “P
(Anj’s POV)After that conversation with Dylan, I knew the night would be long, and it would be difficult to stop my brain from thinking.For six years, I always settled with tea and books to calm me, but now, with all the lies, Sky and Dylan, and wanting my children to be happy, they were all confusing my brain. I stopped by the bar next to the kitchen, got the same bottle of Vodka Sky and I drank years ago, and walked to the bedroom. My children were sleeping in the most oversized bed I’ve ever seen that even if Dylan and Anya joined us in the bed, there would still be space for Sky and Finn.Sky. Why do I always think of Sky when he doesn’t even think of me?I scoffed and walked to the closet room. I opened the cabinet and saw shopping bags inside with a note. There was nothing special to it, just the scribbled message For Anj. My lips curled into a sneer, but I opened them since I had no plans to wear the same clothes, the only ones I had.A small sigh slipped my lips as I pulle
(Anj’s POV)Earthquake!The bed was shaking, moving up and down, and I could hear my three girls screaming and something whining.My eyes opened wide, and when I gazed at the unfamiliar ceiling, my heart panicked and thumped inside my chest. Fear that my children were in danger made me get up immediately, but perhaps I fought with gravity so much that my blood seemed to pool in the lower part of my body, making me feel dizzy.“Argh!” A short and hushed groan escaped my mouth as my hands held my head, throbbing in pain. I blinked, almost brushing off the little thing sitting on my lap because I was startled and had forgotten that my kids have a puppy. Nitro yawned and whined. “I know,” I almost growled and turned my head, seeing the cause of the earthquake in the bed.“Mommy! Mommy, you’re finally awake!” Leyanne beamed, already panting from jumping as if she was on a trampoline.I had to squint to see the girls better. “Girls, stop. You might hurt yourself.” I opened my arms, and they
(Anj’s POV)My three girls, plus their puppy, running in circles and giggling happily, made the beach much more colorful as if truly completing the wonderful sunny weather. As we enjoyed our smoothies, it went the same with our eyes watching the blue sea, with little waves rocking back and forth on the shore.Despite irking at the thought of being here instead of working, Dylan couldn’t deny he was enjoying himself. I wondered when the last time he relaxed or took a vacation because ever since I met him, he has always been putting his nose at work.Anya herself was happy, humming as she sipped on the straw of her pineapple smoothies. After an hour of arguing about wearing the swimsuit, I finally convinced her we wore the same spaghetti strap top; hers was red, and mine was green. Whoever prepared the clothes inside the shopping bags must have thought I wouldn’t want the colors that they put two or more colors of the same style.It was a waste of money, but Anya called it some sort of
(Sky’s POV)I watched Angela move fluidly in the family room as if she had lived here for a long time. With Anya’s and Dylan’s help, they were able to decorate the room in time for the small celebration. With Anya’s talent, being a school owner herself, she made a cut out of Happy Birthday, while Dylan helped Angela tie up the balloons almost everywhere.The most challenging job was given to me, and that was watching out for the girls. Anyone could get confused with the three of them sitting on the swing together, wearing the same clothes, shoes, and hairstyles.Angela braided the few strands of our girls’ hair the same way, making it more difficult to identify them. Anya wanted to put a name tag on them because she still gets confused with the triplets, but Dylan, perhaps like me, could identify the girls quickly.“Daddy,” Leyanne called, making me look at her. “Why did you leave last night?” She asked as she rubbed Nitro’s fur.I almost chuckled. “You saw me? I thought you were slee
(Anj’s POV)An hour on the beach with everyone exhausted me already, but my children never seemed to run out of energy. I had to sit on the mat Sky placed on the sand before we all immersed and enjoyed the water.Either one of us was a traitor for extending or recharging my kids because they never lost the energy to play in the water. Now it was already Dylan’s and Anya’s turn to play with Leyanne and Lyra Helene on the water. When I came out of the water, Selene clung to me and continued to play, digging in the sand as she tried to follow the small crab she found a while ago.Sky emerged from the water, and as he walked toward me, water was dripping off his body. Biting my bottom lip, I couldn’t stop following his every step, and though I knew he would be coming my way, I still smiled and waved at him.“How did you manage to raise these three kids?” He laughed as he sat beside me. “They seemed to have lots of energy.”I chuckled and handed him the towel. “I don’t bring them to the be
(Anj’s POV)“You and the kids, what were you talking about before their party?” I could not help asking him. They looked serious at the swing this afternoon, and my instinct told me I was part of their whispering and chatting.He shrugged. “Just sharing our secrets.” He raised his eyebrows at me, and his lips curved a wicked smile as if he expected I would be curious about their topic.“What secret?” My eyes widened as I waited, hoping he would share it with me. They are my kids, and I deserve to know about them.“Geez! Angela, have you heard him? Secrets… not meant to be shared without your kids’ permission,” Anya clucked her tongue and shook her head. She clapped her hands. “You used to do that, talking to Uncle Jesse.”I rolled my eyes at her. “Anya, you know it’s called confession, right?”She ignored me. “Okay, listen, people. I have thought of one, and we call this getting to know each other.”Dylan moved slightly away from her, furrowed his forehead, and laughed. She hit him in
(Anj’s POV)Sky and I ran excitedly like crazy drunk teenagers to the shore. This was not the night I was planning for because Anya and I wanted to play in the water so badly, but we couldn’t because our hands were tied in looking after the children. Yet this was much better. Way better.I grinned as my feet welcomed the white foam from the waves approaching me and did not mind the ripple of water rocking as my body immersed in the seawater. I held on tightly to Sky’s arm, and as the water became more profound, he caught my hands.“My feet can still touch the sand, you know,” I said, trying to sound confident, but I could already taste the salt water.Sky was taller than me, so I was sure he could still touch the ground, but he stopped moving forward. He took my hands, placed them on his shoulders, and let me decide what to do, maybe whether just to hold or move closer to him.I chose the latter, moving to him and intertwining my fingers at the back of his neck. My body shivered when