Sonnet met Mason around the corner near the hospital.She told him, “If you don’t want me to leak that video of yours, go back and tell your wife to calm down and stop pulling this nonsense!“I’m warning you, my patience is limited. I’ll drag you down with me if you really tick me off! I don’t have anything to lose, anyway.”Mason was confused. “What nonsense?”“Wasn’t she behind that trending news?”“What trending news?” Mason asked.Sonnet thought he looked like he really did not know, so she briefly explained the news that went viral last night.Mason immediately lost it. “If she really was the one behind it, what would she gain from destroying her husband’s business?! It can’t be her!”Sonnet fell silent. On that, at least, she agreed with Mason.Mason looked down at her and said coldly, “You must have offended someone else! You keep seducing men left and right, so it could be one of your boyfriend’s wives!”“I’ll have my friend post your video right now,” Sonnet said dar
“I hope you’ll be kind enough to ask Jessie to visit her father every so often. He didn’t raise her, but she’s still his biological daughter. Blood is thicker than water, of course. I’m sure Dad will be happy to see her more often, and maybe he’ll recover faster.”Harold nodded. “Sure, I’ll remind her.”Perhaps Harold took her request to heart. That evening, just as Sonnet was leaving work, Jessie called her in a huff. “Let’s meet up!”Sonnet went to the park she mentioned. As soon as they met up, Jessie swung a slap at her face.Sonnet was ready for her, catching her by the wrist. “What are you doing, Jessie Cole?”“What am I doing? You’re the one who told Harold about our relationship, aren’t you?! How could you badmouth me behind my back, you shameless hussy?!” Jessie screamed at her.Sonnet tossed her hand aside. “I didn’t badmouth you. It’s a matter of time before he finds out that you’re Dad’s real daughter. You’ll have to tell him eventually if you want to date him, right?
That night after bathing, Maxwell came upstairs with supper. “Why are you upset, wifey? Did a monster bully you again?”Sonnet smiled at him. “No, I’m just a little tired lately.”“I know, that little monster must be acting up again!”“Which little monster?” Sonnet asked with a laugh.“The one at your workplace, of course.”He knew that Sonnet was working as some kid’s home tutor. “If that little monster is mean to you, bring it home. I learned how to take care of little monsters from watching Ultraman!”Sonnet laughed. “Are you saying you can take care of children?”As soon as she said that, an idea occurred to her. She looked at Maxwell’s bright smile blankly.Maxwell was practically a child himself. Could he maybe get along with Lune and Jaybie?Maybe… Maybe if she told him about her children, he could accept them, and then his family would allow her children would live with them.“I want to go to the hospital tomorrow,” Maxwell continued.“Huh? No, you can’t,” Sonnet turn
Sonnet’s heart sank. It seemed they would not be able to accept her children…Marcus looked up at her curiously, and she guiltily evaded his gaze.Forget it, she decided not to tell Maxwell about her children for now. She could come clean after she earned enough money to pay back the Brooks for what she owed.Maxwell’s tests came back clean. Mrs. Wilson followed him home, while Sonnet went straight to Lux Club to work after paying her father a visit.Shay kept bugging her and asking about Jaybie, so after some thought, Sonnet called Sophia to ask if she could bring Shay over to play with Lune and Jaybie.Come to think of it, she still did not know where they lived after all this time. Whenever she was about to ask, she kept getting distracted by something else.“Mom, we’re our grocery shopping with Granny. Why don’t we meet up at the store?” Lune grabbed the phone and sent her their location after hanging up.Sonnet looked at the location and saw that it was near the Brooks hous
“Oh, it was Shay! Aunty was walking past our house with Shay, and he really wanted to play with us, so Aunty brought him in. That’s how we became friends,” Jaybie said.Maxwell clapped his hands together and beamed. “Really? That’s great!”He waved the cake box in his hand. “This cake is really tasty. Let’s eat it together!”“Yay!” Jaybie cheered and dragged Lune into the house.Lune was distracted the entire time they were eating the cake. Sonnet was almost too embarrassed to look at her children.Once they were done with the cake, she made up an excuse about lingering for too long before leaving with Shay and Maxwell.Shay refused to leave, so Maxwell picked him up. “Play with me, little monster.”“But Uncle!” Shay protested.“No, I’m your big brother!”“Uncle Brooks!” Shay added his last name to boot.Sonnet was stunned. “Shay, how do you know his last name is Brooks?”“I told him just now!” Maxwell explained hurriedly.Sonnet tilted her head and tried to remember. She c
Sonnet’s heart twisted in her chest, and she pulled her son into her arms.“No, Jaybie, that’s not it! I didn’t do it for your medical fees. Your condition is slow-acting, and your medicine doesn’t cost that much. I’m doing it because your grandfather’s treatment is more expensive than I can afford, so I have no choice.”She looked into her son’s eyes, terrified to see contempt in them. “Do you think I’m a lazy layabout who’s trying to earn money the easy way?”She was sure her son would understand what she meant.Jaybie looked at her meaningfully.Sonnet’s heart began to race. She was terrified that her boy would nod.Finally, Jaybie’s pitch-black eyes softened. “No. You’re a wonderful mother to me, Mom. You could’ve gone to the city to earn a bit more money, but you stayed in the village for Grandpa and the two of us. Now, you even chose to sacrifice your happiness to save Grandpa and me. You’re the best mother in the world!”His words shattered Sonnet’s defenses. Tears immedi
The next day when Sonnet returned to the Brooks household, Maxwell complained to her, “Lune and Jaybie called me Uncle!”Sonnet laughed. “What else should they call you?”“They used to call me Mister!”Sonnet remembered why they had changed their term of address, so she felt a little guilty. “You’re quite a bit older than them, so it’s natural for them to call you Uncle.”“I’m not that old! I’m younger than them!” Maxwell said with a pout.“But you’re taller than them, aren’t you? If you’re their Uncle, you can protect them better!” Sonnet tried to persuade him.Maxwell raised a brow in surprise. His wifey was acting a little strange today. She did not protest when he said they called him Mister before, so why was she insisting on Uncle today?Was it because she wanted him to seem more mature?In that case, he would have to act slightly more mature from now on. He could not afford to have her actually dislike him.Before bedtime that night, Lindy sent Sonnet a text. “My aun
Logan gave her a meaningful look before turning back to his room.Once in his room, he made a call. “Yeah, I asked. She took my son to visit her cousin’s kids. Shay’s really close with those two children… Their names? I didn’t ask for their whole names, but I think their nicknames are Lune and Jaybie…”After work, Sonnet visited her father at the hospital and had dinner with him before returning to the Brooks household.Maxwell had just emerged from the shower. He was not wearing his dinosaur pajamas today. Instead, he wore a set of sporty loungewear.It included a loose basketball jersey and knee-length shorts.It was fine for him to wear such casual clothes since it was early summer. Sonnet was just a little surprised by his sudden change from cute clothing to sporty clothes.She had to admit, though, the sporty clothing really showed off his toned figure.She could just about see his toned muscles, long legs, broad shoulders, and small waist! Dayum!His face was handsome and