LOGIN“No, Daddy. It’s not like that. Yaya Lyana’s pancakes don’t turn out like that.”I stopped walking when I heard Chantal complaining to her dad. My brows immediately knitted—usually I don’t catch them together like this, but now…What’s happening?“Chantal, I don’t fuc—I mean, I don’t know what to do. You said it should be like this,” Preston argued back, and I continued walking to see what they were up to. Sure enough, a tiny spat had started early in the morning.“Daddy, it’s supposed to be brown, not black!” Chantal huffed dramatically. “Jarvis, taste it, please. Taste it and tell me if it’s like Yaya Lyana’s pancakes.”I frowned harder when he mentioned Jarvis. No wonder Jarvis wasn’t by my side when I woke up earlier. Even this early, they were already together. I rolled my eyes, annoyed that Jarvis had left me in bed without waking me.Seriously? They were eating without even waking me?I immediately heard Jarvis refuse to taste what Chantal offered. “I don’t want to, Chanty. Mam
“Kneel.”Preston turned to me sharply, furrowing his brow. “What?” His question sounded almost incredulous.I took a step closer, then looked at Chantal and Jarvis, who were already kneeling and praying. Earlier, Jarvis had guided Chantal into kneeling too, since she didn’t quite know what to do. I hadn’t realized that even their dad didn’t regularly go to church.“You told me before, you’d kneel in front of me, right?”Preston nodded quickly. “Yes, of course. Babe, do you even need to ask? I’ve done it—““Well then, kneel in front of the Lord too,” I cut him off, giving him a wide smile.“What?!” His voice rose slightly, making Chantal and Jarvis pause their prayers and look toward us. I smiled and shook my head, signaling that it was fine—we were just talking.When the kids resumed praying, I turned my gaze back to Preston, giving him a stern look. “If you can kneel for me, then surely you can kneel for the Lord. Get your life together, Preston. Kneel and pray,” I commanded, droppin
“Yaya Lyana, where are you going on your day off?”I paused mid-bite when I heard Chantal’s question. I looked up at her and gave a small, careful smile.Going on a date with your Daddy.“Just around,” I replied, keeping it vague since I couldn’t exactly tell her we were going out on a date.Preston and I had been dating for almost three months, and on my days off, we usually snuck out just the two of us. Even then, sometimes we just stayed in his car for road trips or food trips, afraid someone might see us together.Preston once told me Sundays were his favorite because he got to have me all to himself without the kids around. We both looked forward to Sundays. And I liked it too—because I could actually rest while he drove, ordered food, and I just watched and ate.Of course, coming home was exhausting… well, just because. That’s all.“Mama, where’s ‘around’?”I turned to Jarvis, startled by his question. I couldn’t answer immediately because, honestly, I didn’t know exactly where
The following days went by smoothly. Chantal and I grew even closer, and I could finally say I was doing well in taking care of her. She had no complaints anymore and actually started following my instructions.Like Jarvis, she didn’t want to be away from me—not even during meals or bedtime. She always wanted to eat with us and sleep beside us. Sometimes we’d stay in her room; other times, she’d crawl into bed with Jarvis and me. That became our daily routine. Neither of them wanted to be apart from me.I was happy to be closer to both Chantal and Jarvis—but there was one person who wasn’t.“I thought you weren’t coming again.”I chuckled softly at Preston’s greeting as I entered his room. He was frowning, holding a few papers while sitting on the bed. It looked like he was still working even though it was already past one in the morning.“Why are you still working? Aren’t you tired?” I asked, sitting beside him. I lay comfortably on the bed and wrapped my arms around his waist. “You
I immediately panicked the moment I heard what Chantal said. Even without a single piece of clothing on, I jumped out of Preston’s bed, gathered my clothes scattered across the floor, and ran straight to the bathroom to hide.Just as I managed to close the bathroom door, I heard the sound of the bedroom door opening. My breath hitched, and I instinctively covered my mouth to keep from gasping.“Huh? Why isn’t she here?” Chantal’s voice echoed through the room, confusion clear in her tone.I bit my lower lip, grimacing in frustration. Why didn’t Preston lock the door when he left? Damn it!“Chanty, Mama wouldn’t come here. Remember, she and your Dad aren’t exactly on good terms?”I nearly forgot to breathe when I heard Jarvis say that. I could practically picture him shaking his head as he spoke. My anxiety spiked. What if he figured out that I was actually hiding in the bathroom?Not on good terms, huh? I rolled my eyes silently. If only you knew, Jarvis. If only you knew.“But Jarvis
After Preston had taken me several times in his room, the sun was already high by the time he finally stopped — clearly exhausted. I wasn’t even sure if he got any sleep at all, since we started at dawn and only stopped now. I, at least, had managed to rest a bit before he asked me to be his girlfriend — but after that, neither of us slept.I only rested for a few minutes before I finally decided to get up from his soft bed. Honestly, I wanted to lie back down and steal a few more minutes of sleep — my whole body still felt sore from what we did earlier — but I knew that if I stayed any longer, people in the house might start to notice something.“Where are you going?”I froze before I could even step off the bed when I heard his voice. I turned to him just as he sat up.I shrugged casually. “I’m going out. Chantal and Jarvis are probably looking for me,” I said as I tried to reach for the underwear I wore last night.“Stay here. I’ll go out instead.”I glanced at him, but before I co







