I relieved myself from the hug as I began protesting over her unavailability. “How can you say that you miss me?” I questioned, taking a step back away from her, “I don’t hear from you because you don’t call, text, or even find a way to reach out to me; it doesn’t matter how; the only time I get to hear that you exist is when Brianna speaks to you."“I have been busy,” Vanessa claimed.“With what! What exactly have you been busy with that is not just going from places to places? That is not an excuse, Vanessa. That is not an excuse."I retorted at her lame excuse; anyone could have come up with that, and I could have come up with that.“Going from places to places is my job; I don’t just sit around and expect manners to fall from heaven; I work! I am not as privileged as you."Vanessa accused me, and I was baffled. When have I been privileged? When?“There is no way you are saying that when Mother has always supported you with whatever nonsense that you do, while I get to be the perfect

“He stays there?” Michael questioned me as he stopped walking. He stared at me, seeking answers. I knew it was time to at least let him know; there was no way I could hide the special treatment I was about to give Seth.“Yes, he does.” I replied without hesitation. Michael was disoriented as he asked back, wanting more context to get rid of his confusion. “I thought he quit? He did quit."“Michael, I brought him back. With Ralph gone and you with David, I had no one with me; I absolutely couldn’t handle things alone. You know I can’t drive, and you have chosen not to get extra drivers and more security because you want to maintain modesty,” I responded in an attempt to put the blame on him.“You speak like I am the one who sent away five drivers in a span of a month; besides, I am not even angry that you brought him back. Seth is a great kid, and I like him.” Michael said, and he pulled me closer. “I have no problem with you doing anything that you want to; I am only in shock because

I knocked on Leo’s room door, and when I didn’t get a response, I opened it myself. He had his earpods on and had his head bent deep into what he was doing, of which he wasn’t aware of my presence.He was studying, I thought.I hovered around his study desk to take a look at what he was doing, and to my surprise, Leo was drawing. I quickly grabbed the notepad he was scribbling on to take a good look.“Mom!” Leo reacted. “Give it back,” he demanded. Leo’s voice rose, which came as a shock to me.“Leo, I just want to see what you are up to. I don’t care if you scribble all over your paper for as long as you are reading, and at the end of the day, this is just a silly hobby to you; it is not like you will be doing this all your life." I dropped the notepad on his desk and said, "Anyways, I heard that you called Rocky and told him you were sick and that he shouldn’t come."“I did,” Leo answered as he straightened out the page that had been roughed out. “I am not ready to see his face,”“T

I looked over at Michael as he dashed out of the car. I was confused as to why he had decided to return when he said he had something urgent to do.“Good afternoon, sir,” Bella greeted politely as Michael came up to us.Michael nodded his head in acceptance. He turned to me and asked, “What is going on?”"Nothing; the important question is why you are here. I thought you had an important meeting." I asked in a hushed tone, more like a whisper.“Change of plans; you are more important, and I blew it... All the plans I had and I just ruined them, please forgive me,” Michael said. Not to make things even more awkward than they already were with Seth's fiancée looking at us so lovingly and going on to ask Seth quietly if Michael and I were a couple.It didn’t seem like Seth wanted to respond, especially since we could hear them.I sighed. I was no longer feeling ecstatic about today, as it started great and has since gone downhill, and things just keep getting worse and worse.“Can we all

I went to bed right away after that disaster of a dinner that I caused. When I finally woke up, I felt relief and regret flush over me as I thought deeply about everything that I had done yesterday. Maybe I am in that time of the month.I was unexpectedly served coffee in the morning in my room. I could hear the shower sounds from the bathroom and knew it was Michael. I lazily got off the bed and stood on the terrace, where I saw Seth speaking to David. They both seemed to be discussing something serious.“Seth, Seth,” Bella's voice came on, and I scanned around to see where the voice came from. I only caught sight of her when she came into view as she approached Seth. She had on a black short and an oversized shirt, which I concluded belonged to Seth.Bella quickened her steps as she jumped on Seth, who was ready to receive her. Seth lifted her weight, placed both of Bella’s legs properly around his waist, and began kissing her. He left her lips and hugged her tightly.He whispered s