“I’m taking Kevin upstairs to my room so he can sleep more comfortably. I’m sure you haven’t prepared a room for him yet.” Moira carried Kevin up the stairs. Skinner simply nodded and watched her until she disappeared from sight.   The moment she opened the door to her room, Moira saw a package lying on her bed. She remembered Angelo mentioning it. After putting Kevin down, she quickly opened the package and was pleasantly surprised by the contents. Angelo had returned her smartphone and laptop; a sticky note stuck on the phone said, Use it wisely and it was signed only with a smiley face.   Moira chuckled when she saw the note; she could not picture Angelo being so light-hearted. She wondered if it really was him who had handwritten the note and drew the funny face. Perhaps he’s just a man after all; Moira thought and let out a giggle.   Her brief jovial mood was ruined by the sight of little Kevin who

When one stands up to a tyrant and gives him a piece of one’s mind, one expects the tyrant to hit back where it really hurts; not only to set an example but also to flex his muscle. That was exactly what Moira expected following her impromptu rant in Angelo’s face. The very next morning, Angelo took Kevin away without explaining where he was taking him. Moira couldn’t even press him for an explanation for fear of making the situation even worse. She couldn’t ask Skinner about it either, considering how their discussion ended the previous day. Tension suddenly returned to the mansion with a vengeance and all week, fear induced all sorts of wild imaginations in Moira’s head. What if Angelo took Kevin away so the boy wouldn’t witness my grisly murder? What if Angelo and Skinner are planning to rape and then kill me, now that Kevin is out of the way? What if… “Boss sa

The rest of the weekend, Moira secretly scrutinised the goings on at CHANCES orphanage, particularly how Angelo and Sister Gustav related with the children. It was almost unbelievable to her that the two were genuinely into helping the kids with no hidden agenda. However, reality seemed to be proving her wrong. All she saw throughout the weekend was a bunch of happy kids who were genuinely thrilled to see a man they seemed to adore; and a nun whom they respected for taking good care of them daily. But above all, Moira fell in love with the kids and the orphanage itself, so much that when Sunday finally came and it was time to return to Angelo’s mansion, it was difficult for her to leave. “Why don’t you just stay there full time?” Moira asked as they pulled into the driveway back at the mansion. “I can’t. I have work demands during the week and I don’t want them to interfere with

It’s sometimes easy to conceal and suppress infant feelings that develop within the heart. But when a third party, or the one for whom the feelings are developing, notices what’s supposed to be hidden deep within the heart, that’s exactly when the proverbial cat is said to be out of the bag. For Moira Viscoli, this little situation affected her on both sides of the coin. Though she was shocked to learn that there were such clear signs of Angelo’s interest in her, she also became worried that her own secret feelings would also come to the fore soon. To her, entertaining even remote admiration thoughts of Angelo was like selling out her own soul. She preferred to believe that her admiration was only temporary; emanating from the shock of finding out about a few of his good deeds. But as they say, feelings have a mind of their own. And Moira, despite her dogmatic dislike for the ill-reputed Angelo Manzini, was about to f

For the days that followed Angelo’s shock opening up about how he violently lost his family, Moira could hardly concentrate on anything. On one hand, she could not get herself to fully comprehend how Angelo could carry on with an almost normal life after such a loss; and on the other, she struggled to understand how he could have just let those evil men go free. For a man of his reputation and resources, surely Angelo couldn’t have just let it slide just like that; Moira imagined.But one thing about Angelo’s story still didn’t make sense to Moira.“I asked you a question the other day; and you just brushed me off without an answer.” Moira said as she and Angelo walked up the stairs to their bedrooms after dinner.“What was the question? You sure ask a lot of questions, in case you haven’t noticed; I struggle to keep up sometimes.” Angelo grinned.“The kids and everything you do for all those people you told me about.. why do you keep it secret when you can use it to clean up your rep