Five

Kamille

The dark, gloomy clouds were the hallmark feature of London's weather.

If anything else, that sent a cold chill down my spine, solidifying my split second decision to return to London, after seeing grandma's will in my mail. I was so shocked that I had suffered all of this isolation and mistreatment for years, when I was never supposed to.

So, I made the life-changing decision to return to London with my kids, to deal with everyone who hurt me, and also find the stranger that had literally saved my life, and that of my kids. It was easy to make a few calls with my American friends, and next thing I knew, I was on a one-way flight with my kids.

I had made living and transport reservations to get us settled in smoothly, but the pit of my stomach still churned with uneasiness.

“Mommy, my coat!” Torin whined as we got off the plane after touch-down.

“Let me help you.” Reon was at his side in a second, fixing up the buttons.

“Thank you, Reon.” I patted his hair and pulled Tyris and Royer closer. That was when the clouds finally gave way to rain.

Exclamations resounded around us, even if none seemed particularly surprised. London's weather had always been erratic, and experiencing this again brought a thick wave of nostalgia over me.

“Okay, let's hurry to cover, can't let any of you catch a cold!” I ushered my kids forward, as we all ran for cover.

After baggage claim, the rain was still pouring with vengeance outside, and didn't seem like it would stop anytime soon. It was so stressful walking around with luggages, and four kids trailing after me, with all the stares we were attracting. I was used to all the attention, after all, quadruplets were insanely rare to find.

We were all just tired from the journey and the rain was making it worse. To make things even more worse, I couldn't find the ride I had booked.

I adjusted my scarf and took one look at my babies, and immediately felt bad for putting them through all of this without as much as an explanation.

I had just told them we were going to visit mommy's real city, and it would be fun. Fun, I could not guarantee, as I was here for messy and potentially dangerous matters, but my kids had to know their roots.

“Alright, here's what we'll do.” I crouched down in front of them. “Mommy will go get us a nice, warm ride, and some pretty umbrellas, while you four stay put until I get back, okay?”

I pointed to the security woman standing close by, “I'll ask her to watch over you, mommy won't take long, okay?”

They slowly nodded. Straightening back up, we moved to the security, and I explained to her, and asked for her help in keeping an eye on the kids. She gave me a nod, and although I had expected a much more engaging response, I had to make do with that.

“Okay, come sit here.” I plopped them up on the cold hard seats and adjusted their coats. I moved our luggages beside the seats and placed kisses on their foreheads.

“I'll be right back, okay?”

“I'll keep watch.” Reon said.

I sighed, “Baby, don't worry. The security will do that, okay? Be a good boy and rest with your siblings, hm?”

Pulling my coat closer, I turned and walked in the other direction. My steps were incredibly hurried, because I definitely did not want to spend any second longer than necessary away from my precious jewels.

Zeke

Even granite wasn't as stony as my expression as I ended the fucking call.

It was my chauffeur. He had called to inform me that he was stuck in traffic miles away from the darn airport, and running late. I had just arrived, after a fucking ten-hour flight, and the last thing I needed was a damn delay, combined with one of London's insufferable rains.

Cursing under my breath, I shoved my phone into my pocket and strode into the airport lounge. Half of my attention was on my surroundings, and the other half wondered if I could get a fucking Taxi.

I hated Taxis.

They were nearly always in bad condition, never to my taste, and sprayed with some sort of cheap fragrance. The heating was always slightly off for some reason as well, too high, or too low but never perfect. And not even the most expensive of them all could never come close to the comfort of my vehicles.

Or maybe I was just an arrogant, spoiled jerk. Fuck, if I cared. Damn, I was starving as well. The shit served on the plane was inedible, and it was supposed to be a first-class service, for goodness's sakes. Only their champagne and sparkling water was satisfactory, got me wondering if I should sue them for the inconvenience.

In the midsts of my musings, my peripheral vision snagged on something. I looked, and there, a few feet away, sat four little kids in colorful coats.

Yeah, a bunch of kids in the airport. That was a pretty common sight, one would think. But this…wasn't a common sight.

They were quadruplets, three boys and a girl. But the strangest reason i fucking froze in my tracks at the sight of them… was because the boys… looked like miniature versions of me. The resemblance was so uncanny, that it felt like I was looking into old childhood pictures of mine in three versions.

I was already moving towards them before I thought any better of it. A strange man approaching little kids definitely didn't sound right. But that was the last thing on my mind as their bright blue eyes lifted to watch me approach.

Eyes exactly the same shade of blue as mine.

There was no adult around them who I could assume they were with, and they were too young to be sitting in such a large airport by themselves. So I lowered myself to the seat beside them, watching as they curiously took me in.

“Where are your parents?” I asked gently, not wanting to scare them.

“Our mommy will be right back. She went to get us umbrellas because of the rain.” One of the boys answered in a calm tone, not one bit fazed by my presence.

Even so young, he had the demeanor of a leader and protector. I assumed he was the oldest. And he only mentioned his mother, meaning they were here with only one parent.

Another one of the boys continued, “Our mommy is a weather forecaster, she only has to look at the sky to know if it will rain! Isn't that cool?”

I laughed, and it caught me off-guard, how at ease I felt around these little kids. I looked down at the girl, and those big chestnut brown eyes were gazing up at me intently. I flashed her a smile, but that smile slowly faded, when I realized she looked familiar.

Not familiar as in looking like me, but familiar like I had seen her features somewhere else… on someone else…

“I can tell if it will rain like mommy too!” The last boy said to the other boy, and they started bickering, but I wasn't listening.

Because I suddenly realized I knew someone who could predict the weather so well. She merely looked at the sky each time, to decide if she had to pack an umbrella for me. I was cold, uncaring and callous to her, but she never stopped caring for me.

My heart ached so hard I lowered my head at the onslaught of memories.

Fuck, she had loved me unconditionally. All these years I spent cursing myself for everything I put her through. I didn't deserve what she gave me. I just wished she had also given me the truth. About how she was barren since her teenage years. It was a secret I would never have known about if my family didn't tell me.

That realization had made me treat her even worse. I let Ellen feed me poison and destroy her image further, and I had divorced her.

I thought I still had feelings for Ellen, but my heart had been beating all along, for a different woman. My ex-wife.The same woman I thought I despised.

“Mommy's here! Yay!”

My gaze snapped up, only to meet see a face I never thought I'd see again. For a second, I thought my regretful and painful thoughts caused her to materialize, until I realized this was real.

It was my ex-wife, Kamille.

And she was the mother of these kids.