(Sky’s POV)“Sky,” Elenita called, and when I didn’t move from the window, she walked toward me and peeked at what I was looking at. “Mrs. Johnsons already left, but your mom’s staying for the night. She’s in the guest room.”I was not interested in where my mother would stay or whether Eden had left already. My sole concern now was the woman sitting near the fountain. She was hugging her knees and looking blankly at the water.“What are you doing to that poor child, Sky?” Elenita asked. She smirked when I didn’t answer and continued, “I remembered the first time she was with us, and I told myself that child is crazy. When I brought her clothes to the hospital and asked her what she needed, she said a red pen.” She scoffed and shook her head. “Just a red pen.”“She’s stupid to ask for a red pen. She could have asked for something else,” I growled.Elenita glanced at me. “She did. She wanted to go home, and then she changed her mind… after that, she wanted to leave again.” She laughed.

(Anj’s POV)I closed my eyes hard, waiting for my bottom to hit the hard floor, but I didn’t. Dylan must have been standing behind me because he caught me just in time before I landed on the floor. Relief flooded me, forgetting thousands of scenarios that could have happened to me.Dylan, who had always acted as our elder brother, the pacifier, and protector whenever someone didn’t treat Anya and me right and with respect, had also caught the hem of Anya’s sleeve, stopping her from her plans.“Don’t stop me, Dylan!” Anya hissed, brushing his hand off. “I’ll erase the face of this woman. No one messes with my cousin.”“I know! No one messes with my friends!” He said angrily, holding her tighter. “But I don’t want to see you hurt too.”Whether Anya stopped or not, I didn’t know because my mind went blank for a few seconds. I was just standing, and my tears were rolling endlessly on my cheeks. What woke me up were the arms of my girls wrapping around my hips, crying, and calling my name.

(Anj’s POV)When I was little, whenever Anya and I waited for Aunt Rose or Sister Grace to pick us up at school and see our classmates’ mothers meeting them at the main entrance or gate, I always imagined my mother walking on the pavement with a sweet and gentle smile on her lips, waving at me excitedly as she comes closer to us.I imagined my mother to be beautiful. Like other moms, her eyes would sparkle when she saw me, call my name ‘Angela’ like she was singing my name as she waved her delicate hand to get my attention, or maybe show a sweet treat for me for doing a good job in school. I dreamt of her sitting beside me to see what I did for the day and kissing my cheeks.As I grew up, I realized it would never happen, and that was why I always did my best not to fail in that department when picking up my children at school. But I finally understood why mothers smiled whenever they saw their children despite being tired from their long day at work. My girls, smiling and telling me

(Sky’s POV)My forehead creased as I entered the bedroom, and I tilted my head, thinking whether I should ask Elenita to put a trampoline in the bedroom. Three girls were jumping on the bed while singing the Five Little Monkeys song, while Nitro barked with them whenever her body would lift.Their mother glanced at me, half-smiling as she looked at our children jumping and singing happily.“Sugar rush,” She mouthed.She breathed out when Leyanne finally stopped because our eldest seemed to be their signal when the two also halted and sat, but no one ran to me.I knew their day had been exhausting, but the sugar seemed to have worked on their little bodies, giving them lots of energy for tonight. “Mommy, is it the later time with Daddy?” asked Leyanne, who was still panting from jumping.My eyebrows raised because I had no idea what it was about.Angela made a swift look at me and nodded. “He’s here now, so I guess it’s the later time,” she said, sitting on the edge of the bed.I sat

(Sky’s POV)“Good morning, Anj,” greeted Frank when she entered the study room.She smiled and raised her hand, showing Frank the car key she used to drive the children to school. Despite my offer to let the driver do it, she shook her head, explaining that it would only scare the children.“Where’s Sky?” she asked.Angela raised her eyebrows when she saw the folders on my table. I almost guffawed when she peeked to see if someone was sitting on my chair. I got up from the chair and took her hands, pulling her to me and wrapping her arms to my waist.“That busy?” She was still looking at the folders.“Nope. You are, Ms. Perry,” I said, kissing her forehead and taking one folder. “Frank, leave us for a while and make sure to lock the door when you go out.”“I’m going to the office, taking more folders from Catherine,” he informed me. “Should I tell Elenita to tell the maids this is an off-limit room?” he teased Angela when she turned her head to him.“Yes, please,” I smiled and waited