EMELIALayla's birthday is in two days and I'm tasked with the final planning, well not just me, Olivia, Katherine and Grace are also helping. Aurora isn't present because her sister Liana had her baby boy yesterday. Liana had been very obsessed with Layla throughout her pregnancy and Aurora is so glad it's over any chance she got, she would steal Layla away. I'm happy for Liana, she's been eager for this child since she found out she was five weeks along and she's had the easiest pregnancy. I hope I have an easy one when the time to bear mine and Ryker's children comes along.“So then it's settled right?” Katherine asks, scribbling something onto her tablet. “Princess theme for the girls and superhero for the boys yeah?”I nod my approval, and retreat to analyze the balloon colors. We picked yellow and blue, Layla's favorite colors but we are yet to decide on which shades of blue to include. Layla's birthday is not just a children's event, we the adults like to have our little celebr
AURORAI look at my phone once again, reading through Caelum's text message and every time I read it, more irritation sinks into my bones. Parking my car I pocket my phone, and put in on silent. Caelum will not be ruining my day today.“Ready Laylay?” Everleah asks, her tone filled with excitement. Layla is unbothered, simply happy to be wearing her new dress, custom made by a renowned designer and paid for by all her Auntie's. It's beautiful, so beautiful that I too would like an adult version of it.“Mommy, I'm eager.”I laugh, fixing my lipstick through my car mirror. It's still good, and it will stay good because Caelum is nowhere in sight today. “Okay big girl, all done.” I tell her.Everleah opens the car door and helps Layla out of the car too. Today is her birthday, my baby is three years old and I can't believe it, time has been swift.The moment Layla's feet hit the ground, she gushes at the venue. Everleah gushes too, sharing Layla's enthusiasm despite their age difference
SCARLETTVictory.I can already taste it and oh how sweet it is. Aurora is watching me, has been for awhile now and I've been waving, flashing her my victory smile. There's something about winning and the taste of your opponents tears, or their blood. In this case, I will settle for tears, and maybe a little depression to go with it. I don't care if this makes me a bad person but I'm going to love taking that smile off her face, I will relish in it for all the nights I've spent without my husband, the days my husband has spent touching her and not me. She's going to feel the anguish I felt when I went to bed alone knowing Caelum was with her.Xenastra approaches me, waving a huge cotton candy my way. “Do you think your husband paid for this? It sure is a lot.”“No," I sigh, taking the candy from her. I overhead Caelum offer to cover the cost but Emelia wouldn't let him chip in because it was all paid for by her and Aurora's friends.I'm on diet, but the way the cotton candy tastes is
SCARLETTKatherine is threatening the cops, they’re threatening her, and Olivia is backing her bullshit. The focus has shifted from the issue at hand, they’re ruining my plans, ruining what I’ve spent weeks and thousands on. I need to shift back to the mother who cried wolf, and I do, the moment Katherine drops the Cake knife onto the table and tried to throw hands with Estelle, I butt in.“This is ridiculous,” I laugh, strolling towards the chaos. “You're all dragging this matter, Aurora.” I turn to her, “Why don't you just show the officers and this young lady pictures of you and your daughter from the time she was born, or pregnancy pictures, that'll do it.” I suggest, knowing full well she has nothing of that sort.Aurora has no baby pictures, no birth certificate, no ultrasounds or pregnancy photos because Layla isn't her child. She belongs to Xena's recovered addict of a cousin, she's the real mother of this child. Xena kept telling me how familiar the little girl was, she would
EMELIAIt's been three days, three days of unsolicited anguish and trauma. Everyone is grim about what transpired at Layla's birthday but, Aurora got the biggest hit. She hasn't spoken more than a few words to anyone and I feel guilty for giving her daughter to that woman, but it was the best decision in that situation. Yet I do partially indict Scarlett, if we hadn't invited her and her friends then Xena's cousin would have never found out. Of course there would be suspicion because Xena was seemingly obsessed with Layla's appearance but she's not so bright. Everyone that saw Estelle knew she was Layla's mother, well her biological mother to say the least because Aurora is Layla's credible mother. She took that child in and gave her a home, she loved her, they formed a mother-daughter bond with each other. She might not have birthed her but she chose her, she chose her over everything and the other woman did nothing but put getting her hit of crack, or whatever addiction over her chi
AURORA AGE FIFTEENI'm in the kitchen helping mom monitor her desert chocolate chip was in cake, I could have left two minutes ago when I saw it was nearly ready but the smell coming from the oven makes my mouth water. I'm enjoying the smell of chocolate melting into the cake when my sister Bella walks in.“Aurie, our boyfriend called.” Arabella giggles, toying with my phone in her little hands.I don't think for a second before snatching my phone away, I don't trust kids hands, they're slippery fingered little cute occasional monsters. Even though my hands are wet, I prefer my new phone in my hands rather than those of a clumsy eight year old. “Bella, he's not our boyfriend, and stop picking my calls or you'll never play another game on this phone.”“He is our boyfriend, he bought us both birthday presents. And we share everything, siblings, parents, birthday, so why can't we have one boyfriend?”“Because Caelum is older than you, it's not appropriate.”Bella pauses, “Oh but I will g
AURORA AGE FIFTEENSeconds pass, and I'm still as ice, unmoving. I hide better, my gaze peeking behind the trash bin where I could be sought out.Another man comes into view with a girl I recognize, she was at my school last year. Hanna is her name, she is in college now, studying a course too much for her. She's dressed in a pretty white dress that's now coated in droplets of blood. Hanna is pleading when she gets dropped next to the other girl. One of the four men I saw smoking a joint from a distance drags the other girl up, pushing her ahead, he only gets a few steps away from the men and one follows him. The girl is pleading too, calling out to Hanna for help, the man that dragged her slams her up against the wall and she screams, startling me. My heart beats faster, my fight or flight instinct kicking in but not knowing how to react right now. I don't trust myself not to scream so I cover my mouth with both my hands, trembling beside the trash can, my breathing too loud for my o
AURORAI'm tired, tired of the questions, the fake assurance. I hate it, I don't want to hear another "it'll be okay" speech because it will never be okay.My baby, my Layla was taken from me and nothing will ever be okay again. I miss her so much, I don't know why life plays such dirty games with me. I'm always getting the worst of it, and this time I thought I would have something good, but no fate tore that joy from me in seconds, slow excruciatingly painful seconds.I've been kidnapped, trafficked, raped, beaten, tortured in the worst ways possible and maybe yes, I did deserve those events but never taking my child away. I don't deserve to feel this loss, I don't deserve to feel this broken, to have my child taken from me, I don't deserve to grieve a living child but here I am, mourning her loss while another celebrates the gain.Layla is everything to me, she's my will to live and someone took her. To everyone she might just be a child but to me, they took my spirit, my happiness