Chapter 6

Four Years Later...

"Dark! Stop running! You're going to trip!"

A loud giggle echoed across the park.

The little boy only laughed harder, his tiny legs carrying him farther across the grass as he chased a bright yellow butterfly.

"I'm gonna catch it!" Dark shouted excitedly.

Valerie could only sigh helplessly.

"Dark Luero—"

"Chavez," the little boy corrected innocently before laughing again.

Valerie pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Fine. Dark Chavez. Come back here!"

"Mommy," another calm voice interrupted.

"You should let him play."

Valerie turned toward her eldest son, who was sitting quietly on the picnic blanket with a thick children's encyclopedia resting on his lap.

"Duzzel..." she sighed.

"He knows his limits," the little boy continued without lifting his eyes from the book. "Besides, Vienna is watching him."

Valerie followed his gaze.

Sure enough—

Little Vienna was faithfully running after her older brother with tiny determined steps.

"Kuya! Wait for me!"

Dark purposely slowed down.

"Hurry, slowpoke!"

"I'm trying!"

Valerie couldn't help but laugh.

Four years.

Four long years had passed since the day her world fell apart.

Yet somehow...

Life found a way to put the broken pieces back together.

---

Giving birth to triplets had been one of the hardest battles she had ever fought.

The delivery had been difficult.

Painful.

Terrifying.

There had been moments when she thought neither she nor her babies would survive.

But they did.

Three tiny miracles entered her life.

Three reasons to keep breathing.

Three reasons to wake up every morning despite the exhaustion.

---

Duzzel.

The eldest by only three minutes.

Quiet.

Observant.

Brilliant beyond his years.

He inherited his father's striking gray eyes—cold in appearance but incredibly gentle whenever he looked at his mother.

His silky black hair was always messy no matter how often Valerie fixed it.

Unlike children his age, Duzzel rarely threw tantrums.

Instead, he watched.

He listened.

He analyzed everything.

Sometimes Valerie wondered if he had been born too mature.

Even at only four years old, he constantly reminded her to eat on time, to rest whenever she coughed, and to stop carrying heavy groceries.

"Mommy," he would always say.

"You work too much."

---

Dark.

The second-born.

The complete opposite of his older brother.

The boy was pure chaos.

His warm brown eyes sparkled with endless curiosity.

His naturally curly hair bounced every time he ran.

He climbed trees.

Collected bugs.

Asked one hundred questions before breakfast.

And somehow...

He could already operate Julia's old laptop better than most adults.

Nobody knew where he learned it.

He simply... figured things out.

"If I push this button..."

"No, Dark!"

"...oops."

Somehow, he always managed to fix whatever he accidentally broke.

---

And then...

Vienna.

The youngest.

The only girl.

The sunshine of the family.

She wasn't gifted with extraordinary intelligence like her brothers.

She often struggled to solve puzzles.

Sometimes she forgot simple things.

But Vienna possessed something even rarer.

Compassion.

She cried whenever she saw stray cats.

She shared her snacks without being asked.

She hugged people whenever she sensed they were sad.

Sometimes Valerie would be silently washing dishes when tiny arms suddenly wrapped around her waist.

"Mommy."

"Hm?"

"You look lonely."

Those simple words always shattered Valerie's heart.

Because somehow...

Vienna always knew.

---

After being thrown out of her parents' house four years ago...

Julia never left her side.

Neither did Julia's parents.

Lucina and Edgardo welcomed Valerie with open arms.

When they discovered everything that had happened...

They never judged her.

Instead...

They hugged her.

They cried with her.

And when the triplets were born...

They loved them as if they were their own grandchildren.

Eventually, they offered Valerie a small house in their hometown.

"It isn't much," Edgardo had said.

"But every child deserves a home."

Valerie had cried for hours that day.

Because for the first time...

Someone chose her.

---

Today happened to be Valerie's only day off.

Julia had driven three hours together with her parents just to spend the weekend with them.

So they decided to have a picnic at the park.

Simple food.

Simple conversations.

Simple happiness.

The kind Valerie once believed she would never deserve.

"Huhu..."

Lucina wiped the corner of her eyes dramatically.

"My grandbabies keep getting taller every single time I visit."

Edgardo chuckled.

"They're growing too fast."

"They'll be teenagers before we know it."

"No!"

Lucina protested dramatically.

"They're staying babies forever."

Everyone laughed.

Nearby—

Julia knelt beside Dark when he and Vienna get tired running around.

"Here you go, baby."

She handed him a burger she had carefully cut into smaller pieces.

"Eat slowly, okay?"

Dark accepted it politely, nothing removing his eyes on his book he got from his bag.

"Thank you, Aunt-Momma."

Without another word...

He continued reading a children's medical book while eating.

Julia blinked.

"...Why are you reading anatomy during a picnic?"

Dark looked up innocently.

"I wanna know where Mommy's headaches come from."

Julia's smile slowly disappeared.

Valerie quietly looked away.

Duzzel closed his encyclopedia.

"You'll become a doctor."

Dark shrugged.

"So Mommy won't get sick anymore."

Silence settled over the blanket.

Lucina secretly wiped another tear.

Edgardo cleared his throat.

Julia smiled sadly.

Valerie couldn't speak.

Her children...

They had become her greatest strength.

---

Later that afternoon...

Dark and Vienna chased pigeons while Duzzel patiently collected all the trash left on their picnic blanket.

"Mommy."

"Hm?"

"You forgot your medicine this morning."

Valerie blinked.

"...I did?"

The little boy silently took a bottle from his backpack.

"I packed it."

Valerie laughed through watery eyes.

"What would I ever do without you?"

"You'll forget to take care of yourself."

He answered honestly.

Everyone burst into laughter.

---

The golden sunset slowly painted the sky orange.

The children continued laughing.

Lucina and Edgardo watched them with content smiles.

Julia quietly moved beside Valerie.

"Hey, Val."

"Hm?"

Julia looked toward the children.

"Are you still planning to stay here forever?"

Valerie followed her gaze.

"I don't know."

"Next year they'll start school."

"I know."

"You can move in with me."

Valerie smiled softly.

"I appreciate it."

"But..."

She sighed.

"I don't think I'm ready to go back."

Back to the city.

Back to the memories.

Back to the place where everything changed.

Julia gently wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

The two women watched the sunset together.

After a long silence...

Valerie spoke again.

"I think we're doing well here."

Julia nodded.

"I also got accepted for a new job."

"Oh?"

Valerie smiled faintly.

"I'll be working as a janitress."

"Where?"

"Luero Corporation."

Julia froze.

"The salary is almost twice what I'm earning at the cafeteria."

"...Luero?"

Valerie frowned.

"Yeah."

Julia looked away.

"Is... something wrong?"

Julia hesitated.

"No."

"Then why are you making that face?"

"...Nothing."

Valerie narrowed her eyes.

"Julia."

"It's just..." Julia sighed. "Are you sure you want to work there?"

"Of course."

"It's a good opportunity."

"And my babies deserve a better future."

Julia forced a smile.

"If that's what you really want..."

"...then do it."

She squeezed Valerie's hand.

"But promise me something."

"What?"

"If anything feels wrong..."

"If anyone hurts you..."

"You leave immediately."

Valerie looked at her, confused.

"Juls..."

"What aren't you telling me?"

Julia smiled.

"Nothing."

She pulled Valerie into a hug.

"I'll always be here."

"No matter what."

Valerie slowly hugged her back.

Julia's words lingered in her mind long after they let go.

The breeze suddenly felt colder.

Her chest tightened with an uneasiness she couldn't explain.

She looked at her three children laughing beneath the orange sky.

Whatever awaited her...

Whatever the future had prepared...

She would face it.

For Duzzel.

For Dark.

For Vienna.

Because they were her home.

And she would fight the whole world—

if it meant protecting the only family she had left.

Far away, in the heart of the city...

The towering headquarters of Luero Corporation stood against the evening skyline.

Neither Valerie...

Nor Drugo Hawthorne...

Knew that fate was quietly preparing to cross their paths once again.