Eumerriah’s Point of View“What are you doing here? You’re not the one I was expecting,” he said, flustered.“What is that? W-why do you have that? What are you doing?” I pointed at what he was holding and noticed the handcuffs on the sofa.“Leave now. Use that door,” he instructed, pointing to a small door.I scanned the entire room. There was wine and a wine glass on the center table, handcuffs on the sofa, and a small bench behind the counter.“W-what happened here?”“Don’t be nosy. I don’t owe you any explanations, unless you want to take the place of the person I’m waiting for?” he asked with a smirk.I’m not a child. I’m also not naive about what I’m seeing. I know the answer, but I’m not sure why I even bothered to ask him. I slapped him hard across the face, unsure if it was because of what he said or because of the court invitation his lawyer sent.“Leave now,” he said after recovering from the slap. He sat back down and put his mask back on. “If she catches you here and back
**Eumerriah’s Point of View**I woke up early to go to Mommy and Daddy's office. They didn't tell me to, but I decided to do it anyway. Part of my training includes waking up early, getting to know the people in the building from the lowest to the highest positions, and understanding the departments and who heads them."You're in charge of the kids, okay? Call me right away if there's any problem," I instructed Shaira."You know, we're practically like a married couple. You're the breadwinner, and I'm the wife who just takes care of the kids," Shaira joked while serving rice."Heeeh! You can't work, remember? Let me handle things for the four of us for now. Besides, you're the only one who knows how to take care of the kids," I replied.The kids suddenly came running down the stairs, yelling. I glared at Manang for letting them run like that. "... They started running first. I was still fixing their bags," Manang explained."It's fine, Manang. That's how kids are. Go ahead and get an
**Eumerriah’s Point of View**Since everyone in the building was busy, I stayed in the lobby, observing the people coming in and out of our company. Even though only two hours remained in the working day, Mommy and Daddy still hadn't arrived."Isn't that Gabrielle?" I wondered to myself as I saw him sit on the other side of the lobby. "What is he doing here?" I asked myself again. He was busy talking on the phone."Ms. Eumerriah, your parents aren’t answering their phones. They have an appointment with Mr. Sanchez. What should I do?" Daddy's secretary hurriedly approached me."Can’t it be canceled?" I asked, puzzled."Honestly, ma'am, it would be embarrassing to cancel again. This would be the fifth time if we do." She answered me sadly."What should we do?""Could you possibly attend in their place? If there's anything you can't answer, I'll be right beside you to assist." Daddy's secretary tried to convince me.I thought for a moment before deciding. "Okay, where will the meeting be
**Eumerriah’s Point of View**Several days have passed. I’ve completed my two-week training in the company. I don’t talk to Dad often, but I can tell he’s happy seeing me help them out. I haven’t yet uncovered the real reason or identified the spy within the company who’s making fake documents.“Ma’am, someone’s here to see you,” Dad’s secretary said as she entered my office. She’s been by my side constantly, teaching me various things. I have my own office to work peacefully.“Who—”“It’s me!” A well-dressed woman burst in.I took a deep breath, recognizing the voice. “You may leave us,” I said to Dad’s secretary with a smile.“You’ve got a lot of nerve spreading lies,” she started with a scowl.“Why do you need to ruin my marriage? Do you think he’ll go back to you? Do you really believe he still loves you?”“And you? Did he ever truly love you?” I must have hit a nerve because she quickly moved closer to me. “Don’t dare! You’re in my territory now!” I snapped, causing her to stop i
### Gabrielle’s Point of ViewI rushed home, skipping my next meeting after Mr. Ferrer. I couldn’t focus. I know Kristine—desperate as she was to marry me, she would never kill anyone, especially an innocent child.If what Eumerriah is saying is true, I’ll make sure Kristine pays for it. But if it’s a lie and she’s just trying to ruin us, then Eumerriah will face the consequences. She’s accused me and my family of so many things. I have my suspicions about my dad’s transactions, so I can’t fully defend him against her claims.I knew that one day, Eumerriah would come back. I thought I was prepared, but no amount of preparation can shield you from the shock of realizing you can’t trust everyone around you.I took a deep breath before entering the mansion. “Where’s Kristine?!” I demanded.“Sir, Ma’am isn’t here right now. She didn’t expect you to come home with Ms. Kim, so she didn’t prepare dinner,” Manang replied.I took my phone out of my pocket. “Where are you?”“Oh, a miracle. Afte
**Eumerriah's Point of View**I came home late, completely exhausted. I had been busy all day with work and training at Daddy's company. He had so much work for me to do, so many orders that I sometimes got irritated. But I need to learn all of this to help them. I know life hasn’t been easy for us with him. Life hasn’t been easy for me with them. But that's not a reason to turn my back on them. They are still my parents, and they need me.Before entering my room, I passed by the kids' room. I gently opened the door. They were already sound asleep, clearly tired from studying and playing. I smiled when I saw them like that.“Oh, you're home. You’re late again. Have you eaten?” Shaira suddenly said from behind me. She must have come from her room and heard me open the door to the kids' room.“I already ate earlier. I had a dinner meeting,” I replied. “A dinner meeting with one of the company executives. There’s so much work, it's exhausting.”“Well, you should get some rest. You’ll be
We all had breakfast together with the kids: me, Shaira, Dustine, and Justine.“Don’t you have work today? You don’t seem to be in a hurry,” Shaira asked.“No, it’s my rest day. What should we do? I want to make it up to you all,” I replied.“Mommy, let’s buy food, toys, and school supplies. We’re missing some stuff for school,” Justine responded.Justine, who is already 15 years old, knows exactly what’s lacking at home, his school supplies, and other things around the house.“Okay, sure. We’re going to the grocery store, alright? Get everything you need for this month. Then after that, let’s go watch a movie. Does that sound good?” I said, smiling at them.“Yay!” Dustine replied excitedly.“Alright, we’re going to have a bonding day today. Mommy will make it up to you, okay? Don’t sulk anymore,” I reassured Justine.“Mommy, I’m not the one sulking,” he said. “It’s Dustine,” he added.“It’s because, Mommy, you’re always gone. Daddy Jayson isn’t here either. Both of you are never arou
I woke up early to have time to drop off my child at school before heading to work. I’ll make up for lost time as much as I can and while I have the chance.After dropping him off in his room, I went straight to the faculty room to check on him with his teachers.When I entered my child’s classroom, I thought I could hide for a moment behind the door. It was amusing because he was sitting at his desk, chatting with his classmates. But I was shocked when I saw Gabrielle sitting beside my child’s desk, attending to him. Gabrielle looked serious, as if telling my child about something that happened to him. This scene filled me with a worry I could no longer control.“Gabrielle!” my voice echoed through the room. The children, including my child, turned to look at me, and he quickly stood up from his seat. Gabrielle’s face was hard to read—whether he was surprised or startled.“Yumi,” he replied calmly, but I knew this wasn’t the time for calmness. “I didn’t know you were coming here.”“W