As Lucillia hopped on the subway to work, her mind instantly started flooding with the thoughts of the twins' father. It had been back when she'd joined the military to make some money and earn some credits for college. Although ultimately that plan turned out to be a bust, she reflected bitterly. No… she shouldn't think about that, it would only bring more unhappy memories, and besides, she loved Rowen and Nolan. With a few calm breaths she began to build up the dam that blocked those memories before more useless thoughts started to flood her mind, however it was already too late.
At least I know who their father IS, she thought. As for Arlienne, well, the night she spent with her father was so hazy in her mind she doubted she'd ever know who her father was. Still, she could feel the same fear and helplessness and… burning as that night shed spent with that man whenever she thought about it, as if the emotions were burned into her soul. She wondered if that was what people meant when they said you never forget your first time. Was that night somehow imprinted on her soul? Still, it was an experience with more negative feelings attached to it than good ones, so she always hoped she'd eventually be able to forget what few remaining memories of it she had. God, what a life, Lucillia chastised herself, not even 24 and I already have three kids… Still, what could she do, one look at her three kids faces and she couldn't help but want to give them the world. As she thought about the three precious treasures she'd left at home, she instinctively fiddled with her locket that contained pictures of them.
She thought of their three smiling faces, still yet unaccustomed to the cruelty of the world and smiled a little herself before the thoughts started pouring out unconsciously again. She'd only been a little older that Arlienne when she'd first been brought to the Le'Mont mansion…when her hopes and dreams started being shattered. Lucillia tried to stop her thoughts in vain, as they continued to force their way into her mind. Her aunt, who'd raised her since her mother died giving birth to her, had just been killed in a car crash. Following that, she'd been whisked to and fro from household to household as they decided who she should stay with. No one else on her mother's side wanted to claim her… well, who could blame them, her grandfather and grandmother weren't in any shape to take care of a small child, and her uncle already had a family of his own. Besides, no one knew just which man her mother had slept with to give birth to Lucillia. The only clue they had was her bright hair that looked like Silverlight under the moon. But no man of high standing at the time was known to have hair that color, so they all assumed she was the child of a poor man. Lucillia scoffed at the situation in hindsight. Of course, their attitudes quickly changed once the butler from the Le'Mont mansion had arrived.
Apparently, her paternal grandfather had heard about her, and sent him to inquire after her, and sure enough, the hair like Silverlight was a signature look of the Le'Mont's. Although her father had dark hair, it appeared that she had inherited the recessive gene from her father and ended up with the signature hair color herself. She'd been immediately whisked away and brought before the entire Le'Mont household. As Lucillia thought about their peering, and in some cases resentful, eyes her skin crawled. The only one to greet her with a warm gaze had been her grandfather. She smiled somewhat somberly as she thought about him, and the way she'd left the Le'Mont household.
He'd been the only one to ever favor her as the successor to the Le'Mont fortune. Although it's started simply because of her hair, eventually it was because he appreciated her unique talent and ambition for fashion design. Unfortunately, the more he favored her, the more desperate and hateful her stepmother became. The more she was abused for being dirty and undeserving of the Le'Mont name and fortune. Luckily, before she could unlock even more painful memories of her past, the train reached her station and she pushed through the crowded doors and onto the platform before monotonously trekking the remainder of the way to work as she did every day.
When she reached the main doors of the building, her eyes immediately locked on to the sound and face of a woman in her mid-fifties arguing with the secretary at the front desk. Standing there was none other than Helena Le'Mont, her stepmother. No longer able to pay any attention to her surroundings, Lucillia stumbled forwards and knocked into a woman hurrying about on the first floor with a cup of coffee. The hot brown drink spilled all over the two of them, immediately scalding their skin and ruining their clothes. F***, Lucillia thought, today was truning out to be a really s***** day.