The warm breeze touched Oliver’s skin as soon as he got off the car. After recovering from a fever, he decided to take a break from work for a month. It was the first time he voluntarily asked for a break, which surprised everyone, including his friend, Frank. Oliver planned to visit Sherly’s grave with the latter. Usually, Oliver would resort to overworking whenever he had something in mind, but this time, he wanted to try a different approach, especially when he might be the father of Sherly’s baby.“Did we get to the right place?” Frank asked, looking around. “This town looked lifeless…”Oliver roamed his gaze around and couldn’t agree more. It felt like the place was abandoned. “There was a huge fire that killed almost a hundred people a few months ago. It’s going to be more suspicious if people living here would look lively after the incident.”Frank nodded his head. “Lots of people died, but I don’t think they ever reported it to the public. Did you find out the cause of the fir
“I can’t believe you’re going without me!” Astrid cried on the other line. While she was ordered to stay in the house for a month after she kicked Mason Bennett in the jaw, Sierra and the kids invited Caleb to join their picnic. “Won’t you at least help me get out of here just for today?” “You’re only making your situation worse if you do that, Missy.” “But I want to come! It’s not fair. I watched over those kids when the two of you went on a date. Let me talk to the kids. They’ll surely want me to come too!” Sierra sighed. She wanted to invite Astrid as well, but Caleb told her not to. When she asked him why, he said that Astrid was being punished. Although Sierra wanted to know the details, she didn’t pry so much about it. She could tell from Caleb’s voice that something huge must have happened and Astrid was involved. It was not surprising for her to know how Astrid attracts trouble for herself ever since they met and became friends. “You can come next time but sorry, today’s no
Oliver wore his coat before knocking on his Dad’s office. He had never seen his old man for a while, and coming to him on his own was a big shock to the latter."You’re here. What do you want?" Dr. Lewis asked without lifting his gaze to his son.Oliver sat on the chair in front of him and knocked on the table to get his attention."I don’t want to repeat the question, Oliver." His father finally looked at him with a sigh. "I have many things to do, so I appreciate it if you speak right away."Nodding his head, Oliver clenched his fists on his lap. "I want to become a father," he blurted out. "You don’t have to arrange for me to marry anyone. I already have a successor in mind.""So, what did you eat today?" Dr. Lewis asked instead, taking his words lightly. "Or did you watch a movie with that guy? What’s his name? Ah, Frank. Yeah. Did he force you to do something again, resulting in... this?""I see that you’re not interested." Oliver stood up and fixed his tie. "I’m still going to do
“I’m sorry, Sierra. Let’s end it all here,” he said, looking at the young woman sitting in front of him. He watched as her face turned pale and her brown eyes got watery. “I had fun. It’s just that… We can’t. I’m afraid I can’t continue this relationship with you,” he added. “You’re kidding, right?” She tried to brush it off but he shook his head as a response. “No way. Stop it. This isn’t a funny joke.” Sierra held back her sobs. She thought he was the one for her. They were fine so why all of a sudden he was saying those things to her? They just even finished making love for Pete's sake and he wanted to break up with her? “All this time… What am I to you?” Sierra blurted out, pursing her lips. “How could you discard me like this when I trusted you? I gave you my all!” She cried, failing to keep the tears to herself. “You always made me feel safe until now,” she mumbled in between sobs. “Can you at least tell me why?” He cupped her face and looked at her face with the same gentle
The dawn of the new day came far too quickly for Sierra. In a daze, she woke up to the sound of Gabby's cries at 4 in the morning. She was half-asleep as she prepared the baby bottle to feed him. As she took the bottle from the box, Sierra could feel her heart sink. ‘Not again,’ she thought. She had miscalculated her stock of baby formula and now there was not enough left to feed Gabby for the day.Panicking, Sierra quickly dressed and grabbed her wallet, rushing out of the apartment with Gabby wrapped up in her arms. She hailed a cab and sped through the deserted streets toward their nearby grocery store.Upon arriving at the store, Sierra rushed inside. The bright lights woke her up fully and, in a flurry, she gathered what few supplies were still stocked at this early hour. She found two tins of baby formula hidden away on an otherwise barren shelf and snatched them up with relief. “Lucky!” She muttered, clutching the baby and the tins as if they were her lifeline.Finally making i
It had been a month since Sierra moved in with the kids in their new apartment. They were doing pretty well, especially with their finances when Sierra started accepting a commission job.Sierra was amazing at designing clothes and making them. She had a natural knack for it, which she honed with practice over the years. She bought a sewing machine with her saved-up money and posted her designs online where one could see and request a customized design from her.Her business idea started better than she imagined. In a week, she received three requests and all of them offered her a good amount of pay which made Sierra ecstatic. With each job, Sierra got more confident in her work, slowly building up an array of clients who sought out her services to make their unique garment wishes come true.Each design came out better than expected; the colors that Sierra chose were vibrant, the cuts intricate yet simple, and the shapes flattering on any body type. The fabric selection was always spo
After leaving the twin’s bedroom, Sierra went to the sink to wash her face. She felt like exploding at any moment when hearing that name again. “How did he know? She said the man was dead… That bastard sounded like he knew that she was pregnant and they had children,” she mumbled, reminiscing the past.“So, who’s the father?” Sherly, the second of the triplet asked the eldest, Stella. “You’re not going to tell us that you got pregnant by yourself, are you?” She glared at her while waiting for her response.Stella clenched her fists but said nothing, making Sherly more frustrated. “Come on, Sis! It’s not like we’re going to kick you out of the house now that you’re pregnant just right before graduation,” Sherly said in a sarcastic tone. They were all shocked when Stella announce that she was pregnant. She had hidden her baby bump for quite a while and none of them noticed until she told them about it.“Sherly, that’s enough. You’re scaring her,” Sierra joined in, scolding her sister wh
“Why not, Mom? Mr. Bennett fulfilled his promise so why won’t you use it?” London asked. The boy was delighted when Mr. Bennett kept his word about making a website for Sierra’s online business but the latter didn’t want to use it. Sierra had no plans to be involved with Mr. Bennett and she wished London feel the same but the boy was more than just interested in the man she doubted he even met in person. “I’ve checked it. It’s really good. He said the themes can be changed whenever you wanted,” he added. “Shall we try it out for a week at least?”Sierra sighed. “Honey, I don’t think it’s okay. What if he got access to it too and tampered with our business?” Although that wasn’t Sierra’s main concern, she just felt uncomfortable getting help from someone who accused her— her sister rather, of using the child to sponge off him. “You don’t have to worry about the website. I think I can manage to make one on my own. I mean, he wouldn’t do it for free, would he?”London’s face dropped. “He
Oliver wore his coat before knocking on his Dad’s office. He had never seen his old man for a while, and coming to him on his own was a big shock to the latter."You’re here. What do you want?" Dr. Lewis asked without lifting his gaze to his son.Oliver sat on the chair in front of him and knocked on the table to get his attention."I don’t want to repeat the question, Oliver." His father finally looked at him with a sigh. "I have many things to do, so I appreciate it if you speak right away."Nodding his head, Oliver clenched his fists on his lap. "I want to become a father," he blurted out. "You don’t have to arrange for me to marry anyone. I already have a successor in mind.""So, what did you eat today?" Dr. Lewis asked instead, taking his words lightly. "Or did you watch a movie with that guy? What’s his name? Ah, Frank. Yeah. Did he force you to do something again, resulting in... this?""I see that you’re not interested." Oliver stood up and fixed his tie. "I’m still going to do
“I can’t believe you’re going without me!” Astrid cried on the other line. While she was ordered to stay in the house for a month after she kicked Mason Bennett in the jaw, Sierra and the kids invited Caleb to join their picnic. “Won’t you at least help me get out of here just for today?” “You’re only making your situation worse if you do that, Missy.” “But I want to come! It’s not fair. I watched over those kids when the two of you went on a date. Let me talk to the kids. They’ll surely want me to come too!” Sierra sighed. She wanted to invite Astrid as well, but Caleb told her not to. When she asked him why, he said that Astrid was being punished. Although Sierra wanted to know the details, she didn’t pry so much about it. She could tell from Caleb’s voice that something huge must have happened and Astrid was involved. It was not surprising for her to know how Astrid attracts trouble for herself ever since they met and became friends. “You can come next time but sorry, today’s no
The warm breeze touched Oliver’s skin as soon as he got off the car. After recovering from a fever, he decided to take a break from work for a month. It was the first time he voluntarily asked for a break, which surprised everyone, including his friend, Frank. Oliver planned to visit Sherly’s grave with the latter. Usually, Oliver would resort to overworking whenever he had something in mind, but this time, he wanted to try a different approach, especially when he might be the father of Sherly’s baby.“Did we get to the right place?” Frank asked, looking around. “This town looked lifeless…”Oliver roamed his gaze around and couldn’t agree more. It felt like the place was abandoned. “There was a huge fire that killed almost a hundred people a few months ago. It’s going to be more suspicious if people living here would look lively after the incident.”Frank nodded his head. “Lots of people died, but I don’t think they ever reported it to the public. Did you find out the cause of the fir
Mason groaned as soon as his eyes met Astrid’s. He was not happy to see her at all. After what she had done to him, he wished her to go die somewhere and never appear in front of him again.“What’s this? I thought you were recovering well. You look like a mess,” Astrid commented, throwing stony gazes at him lying on the bed. There was no hint of either guilt or regret in her voice as she continued speaking. “So, did you tell them your plan to cancel our engagement? You’re not waiting until your injury heals, are you?”Mason clenched his fists. He knew something was wrong with Astrid, but he didn’t expect her to be a total maniac. “Evil witch!” He mumbled, though his words turned out muffled, which was hard for Astrid to understand.“Why do you have to kick me so hard?”Astrid looked at him blankly. “I don’t know what you’re saying, but if you’re wondering why I did that, then I have two reasons.” She pulled a chair and sat next to his bed and smiled. “First, because you’re annoying. S
Sierra handed the boxes with dresses she made for her clients. Although the men looked scary, she couldn’t just let them stand outside. With the help of her landlady, who was amused by her reaction, Sierra entertained the clients one by one.“Thank you for your order. I hope your wife will like it,” she said as she handed the box. Sierra turned around to find more boxes were still waiting to be claimed.“Thanks, Miss. We’re very sorry for scaring you earlier.”Sierra smiled slightly with a red face. She didn’t want to hear it again in embarrassment. “Haha! That was really unexpected. Thanks for your understanding.” Sierra nodded at the man and watched him exit the door. A few moments later, another man came in.“Please have a seat. May I know under what name your order is?” Sierra checked the list while waiting for the man to reply.“It’s for Celia—”A loud thud interrupted the man’s response. Sierra frowned as she turned to see what had happened. Her eyes softened when she saw Caleb.
Sierra threw her arms overhead and stretched as she yawned. She checked the time on the clock. Her eyes glistened with joy. “I’m finally done!”It took her longer than she expected to finish the orders she received. She was not only excited to get paid for them but also to have a few days’ breaks and be with the children.‘It’s only 1 in the afternoon. I should inform the clients about their orders. They said they’d come to pick them up so…’ Sierra left her seat and went to the kitchen for a glass of water.“Ah! That was nice,” she mumbled before washing the glass and letting it dry.Sierra went back to the living room to get her phone. She grabbed the small notebook on the side where she wrote down the client’s contact number. She started calling them one after another, informing them they could pick up their order anytime now.“Thank you! Please drop by at the address given anytime to pick up your dress. Have a nice day,” Sierra said to the last client she called. When the call ende
The weather outside was so nice enough to make Astrid feel bad for not being allowed to leave. She sighed as she leaned her chin on her palm placed by the window. She had been thinking of a way to get out and her only option was to ask Caleb for help. After all, Caleb was the only one in the family who had the guts to go against her parents.However, Astrid was worried Sierra was still not in the mood to hang out. When she was watching over the kids for her the other day, she noticed the unfinished dresses in the corner where Sierra worked. Coming to visit her again might not be the best option she could do to help her. On the other hand, she could volunteer to watch over the kids while Sierra was working, although this option may not be available, given that Caleb recently became Sierra’s neighbor.“Hah! How obsessed. He could have to bring her in his place instead,” Astrid mumbled to herself, referring to Caleb’s unexpected actions and decisions when it comes to Sierra. “To think I’
Caleb opened the door to Sierra’s apartment. It’s been a few minutes, but Sierra has said nothing ever since he fetched her from the hospital along with the kids.Caleb was in a meeting with his subordinates when he received a call from Austin. The latter informed him about a man visiting Sierra. Austin said it was not Mason Bennett, so Caleb became more worried. After all, he knew he wasn’t the only one who was fascinated by Sierra’s face, especially when there used to be three of them with the same. Without further ado, he ended the meeting and went back to the apartment, only for Sierra to ask him to watch the kids while she ran outside in the rain with an umbrella.After what happened the night Mason came to Sierra’s place unannounced, Caleb ordered Austin to keep watch 24/7. Thanks to that, he could make sure Sierra and the kids were safe if he wasn’t around. After all, Austin was one of his most reliable men. “Austin, what happened?” Caleb asked as soon as the other answered th
Oliver stopped on his track. He stared blankly at the road while waiting for the green light before crossing the street. He just came back from Sierra’s apartment. After investigating, he found out what happened to Sherly. He couldn’t believe it, so he rushed to Sierra’s place. His world crumbled when the latter confirmed the news.Clenching his fists, Oliver shut his eyes as he tilted his head up. He was trying to calm himself down when droplets of water hit his face. It started slow and eventually; the rain poured hard. Oliver didn’t mind the rain. In fact, he needed it to bind himself to reality. The news about Sherly’s death was something he didn’t expect. All this time, he thought she was just living fine somewhere. Knowing that she was already gone and would never come back, Oliver found it hard to believe.“Why?” He mumbled. Warm liquid coming from his eyes streamed down his face. Oliver felt his heart clench as he desperately remembered the last conversation he had with Sherl