Esme heard the phone ringing and without seeing the caller, she knew who it could be. Getting out of the tent house, she washed her face quickly and changed into another set of clothes. She picked up the call and brightly smiled at the camera. "Momma!!"
Esme's smile was infectious but her swollen eyes and red nose faltered Melody's smile a bit before she recovered it. "My star." She pecked the screen. "As bright as ever. Mommy missed you a lot.
Esme whispered at the screen. " I miss you too, momma."
"How was your day?"
"Pretty good," Esme said. Her smile fell a bit as she said. "I scored 37 in maths."
"Really?" Melody's smile widened. "My star improved a lot. 33 is passing marks and you scored a whole 37 marks. Incredible. My star deserves a prize. How does the latest mic sound? Didn't you say you can't livestream perfectly as your mic was getting old?"
"Momma!"
"Yes, love?"
"I only scored 37. Estella scored 97 in mathematics. How can you give me a prize at 37? Does it even make sense?" Esma felt as if her mom was nonsense.
"How does it not make sense?" Melody asked her. "What does Estella's score have to do with yours? Estella is Estella. You are you. I love both my babies equally. But God didn't make my babies equally. Wouldn't it be cruel to ask for a fish to run a race with a rabbit? Similarly, asking you to compete with Estella would be cruel."
"Mom, I don't understand your logic most of the time" Esme said with a frown.
"What a coincidence! I don't understand either!"
…
"How was school, honey?" Melody asked Estella. Although she was away from her daughters, it didn't mean she wouldn't get time to talk to them.
"Pretty good," Estella grinned and narrated all the events of the school. She then paused and asked in concern "Momma, are you tired? Don't work too hard. Or you will get sick."
Melody's eyes teared but she nodded at her.
Estella looked at the screen and then at her hands. "Momma?"
"Hmm?" Melody could sense that she wanted to say something but was hesitating. "You know momma will try to answer all your questions. No lies with my babies."
Estella smiled. "Did you meet him?"
Her voice was almost a whisper. If Melody wasn't waiting for her to say, she might haven't been able to hear her words.
"Your papa?" Melody softly asked.
Estella nodded.
"He looks the same as he does in the pictures," Melody answered with a smile. "Estella, if you want to meet him, you just have to say. Or you can come here to meet him. I will never stop you."
"What if he doesn't want to meet us?" Estella whispered.
And Melody found herself breathless. She had no answer for her daughter's questions. He threw them out of his life once. He would throw again. And if he did it again, she might not be able to protect Estella and Esme's fragile heart.
…
On the other hand, Marilyn was trembling profusely, sitting on the couch recalling the events of tonight. She was now staying at one of Lucian's villas. She was engaged to him now. Why would she stay anywhere else? She belonged with him.
She poured a glass of wine to calm her nerves down but just as she was about to gulp down the content of the glass, a hand appeared out of nowhere and snatched the glass before it could even touch her lips.
"Are you crazy, Marilyn?" Lucian shouted at her. He was looking enraged. "Did you forget that you are still pregnant?!"
Marilyn chuckled. "I don't remember but you do." She touched his face with her index finger but he flinched at her touch. "Why are you flinching, Lucian? Tell me are you going to abandon me and my baby because she is back? Are you going to leave everything once again for her? I'm telling you can't have her while being mine. I'm telling you!!"
Lucian caught her hand and threw it away. "You are sick in the head, Marilyn. How many times have I told you that Melody and I have nothing like you have in your head?! She is my best friend not lover!"
"If you don't have anything with her then prove it to me by throwing her out of your life?!" Marilyn shouted.
"You are my fiance, not the owner of me. Since you like to flaunt being my fiance so much, then go do it! Don't give me a headache!"
Lucian had enough of this insane woman. If she thought she could control Lucian Spencer, then she had another thing coming!
Nobody could own Lucian Spencer. He was untouchable. Nobody could play him. But this damn woman did. And the child in her belly was proof that he got played by a wicked mastermind called Marilyn Hawthrone.
"That woman will ruin you!" Marilyn yelled at the top of her lungs. "She is back for revenge. I'm telling you. She will ruin all of us!"
Lucia turned to look at her. He grinned at her as he asked. "Back for revenge? On who? And for what? What has happened to her that she would now avenge herself? Hmm? Care to share, Mari?"
Marilyn found words stucking in her throat. No they didn't know. They couldn't know. It was her secret.
Lucian left her there, pondering how to save herself from the hurricane named Melody and shut the door to his study to have a moment of peace and enjoy the first victory.