(Anj’s POV) Two years later… I glanced at Anya as she rubbed her baby bump. She hissed as she continued to touch her belly. “Dylan was so ecstatic about having a boy that I wanted him to carry our baby. This little one seemed to practice taekwondo inside my belly,” she complained. “I’m not sure if he’s practicing for the Olympics too early.” I chuckled, looking at my girls as they listened to Olivia playing the violin in the pavilion, and then my eyes went back to the three children playing on the sand. “Dayana!” yelled Anya at her daughter, startling me. “Good lord, don’t eat that!” “Relax, Anya. She was only smelling the shell,” I laughed. “Cloud, Rain,” I called my boys, shaking my head at my twins. They giggled and stood up, walking toward their sisters, leaving Dayana as she continued to play with sand. It has become our tradition to visit the Angela Island every year. Although this year was different without Steve, leaving us all last year just before his birthday. “I onl
(Anj’s POV)I need a miracle.I looked heavenward, closing my eyes and praying as the heat of sunlight kissed my face. I could not help myself from wincing as I covered my face with my hand and lowered my head right away. I hissed as my fingers grazed my cheeks lightly, wanting to cry as I felt the red spots, looking like pimples invading my face.My lips pouted, wanting to hate Mrs. Antonetta for insisting on sharing her meal last night with me, unaware there was crab meat in it. When I woke up this morning, I could hardly see, and I bet Aunt Rose would confess at the church after cursing under her breath seeing my face puffy and red. She and Anya, her daughter, panicked that they had to apply a cold compress to the swollen area of my face before Sister Grace could see me.Sister Grace is my legal guardian, but I lived in Aunt Rose’s home, her biological sister, for as long as I can remember. I was not related to any of them, but they were the only family I knew in my sixteen years o
(Sky’s POV)I need a miracle.As to where or how the miracle will happen, I do not know because I was still raging in annoyance when I got home. One of our drivers, Frank, panicked, seeing me leaving my car in the middle of the driveway, and as he approached me, I tossed the key to him, my nostrils flaring in anger as I walked into the house.The maid must have known I was coming because she had already opened the main door before I could hold the knob. She lowered her gaze as I walked past her, and I doubt if any of the female servants would want to look me directly in the eyes except for Elenita, our housekeeper, the one who managed the house and the household maids after Mom divorced my father two years ago.Elenita was only twenty when she was hired as my nanny when I was born, and now that I am twenty-four years old, she is still here, focusing on taking care of my eight-year-old sister and managing the house since Mom left and Dad got sick.“Sky!” I heard Elenita’s voice calling
(Anj’s POV)“You should have taken medicine, Angela,” Sister Grace said, her index finger holding my chin as if balancing my face. As of my count, she sighed three times already just from studying my face.Dylan and I had to hurry to take the blankets from the clothesline outside because the cluster of clouds covered the perfect blue sky, hiding the sun and promising a thunderstorm. We reached the porch just in time for clouds to shower their tears on the ground, but before I could hide from Sister Grace, she had already opened the door and seen us.“I’m fine,” I whispered, glancing at Dylan, suppressing a smile on his pressed lips. My eyes narrowed as I watched him continue our work. “Does my hideous face bother you, Sister?” I asked, showing a playful smile at her.She scoffed at me, placing her hand on my hair, brushing off the strands on my puffy face to the side, and putting on my blue peacock hair clip.“Yes and no. Yes, I am bothered, but you’re not hideous,” she said as she pl
(Anj’s POV)Go straight to the hallway, and then turn right…I heaved a deep sigh as I carried the elegant arrangement of sunflowers, anthurium, hydrangea, and heliconia for the offering Mrs. Wilbur ordered from Sister Grace. She usually donates at the nursing home, but I seldom see her because she is mostly out of town, joining her husband on his business trips.The housekeeper had other flowers to bring, so here I am, forced to look for that room where Mrs. Wilbur expected the offering should be. I didn’t have the time to memorize the direction because I was also in a hurry to go back.Anya said that instead of meeting me, Claire was friendly enough, offering to pick me up outside the gate of Wilbur’s mansion because Aunt Rose asked her to run an errand before going to the party.“It’s a black SUV,” she told me. “When you get there, let’s meet in the lobby.” She has repeated those words many times, worried that I would wander and get stuck in a room called the library or study room.
(Sky’s POV)Leo and Jake must be kidding me bringing a kid to a party. The freckles or maybe red spots on her face could not hide the fact that she looked minor and had not been to this kind of party. I could not help myself feeling angry at Jake because she looked drunk already with a glass of appletini in her hand.“Are you kidding me, Jake? Why did you bring-” Before I could add ‘a minor’ to my words, she advanced toward me, pouring liquid onto my lap. I growled, screaming at her. “Are you crazy?” I said angrily, grabbing her arm and dragging her to the room.I banged the door, but I didn’t feel guilty when her body jerked, startled by what I did. I walked past her and went straight to the bathroom, taking a towel to dry my pants. My head peeked at the ajar door to see her, and I was right that she was trying to open the door.She could be fifteen or sixteen, but thinking about it, I must have just overreacted because Jake would never do such a thing. He knew that the fraternity ha
(Sky’s POV)Tempting…My hands which grip her hips, want to pull her inside the room again, but when my lips touch her nape, her baby sweet scent woke me up. If I were right that she lied to me about her age, I would be in big trouble.“How about we get out of here together, get that appletini you want, and call whoever Anya is?” I placed my hand on her head to protect her from the window frame.She squinted her eyes for a brief second and then smiled, nodding as she agreed with me, jumping at the short distance from the window stool to the landing area of the staircase. I took the bottle of liquor and glasses.“Hold this,” I said, and she took it, opening the lid and smelling the alcohol. Before I could stop her, she drank from the bottle. I had to snatch it away from her before she could finish the whole content.“This taste better,” she giggled, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.“Move,” It was an order. Her slow steps were making quiet thuds as she went down. I followed h
(Anj’s POV) My brain must be on haywire. Like taking my medicine, after drinking Appletini, I feel dizzy but in a really good way. I felt lighter and free and had the courage to do everything I wanted. This gorgeous Greek god must have used his magic spell on me that I just kept on following everything he said. I heard he told Frank to bring us to the nearest coffee shop, but I didn’t want to get sane yet. He was driving us somewhere when my eyes caught a glimpse of a place I had never been to before. The seashore. “Woah! Is that…? Stop the car, Frank.” I gasped and tugged him in his arm, but when he didn’t stop, I cried again. “Stop the car! Please…” When the driver finally listened to me and stopped the car, I didn’t wait for him. I unfastened my seatbelt and got out of the car, dashing toward the beach, ignoring the handsome man running after me. I could hear Mrs. Antonetta’s voice telling me to do something crazy once in a while. I was not up for it but seeing the full moon