Roger gently tucked little Oriel in a fluffy bed, set the room's temperature to her comfort and let her sleep in peace after a long time. She had sunk into a serene slumber when she fell weak on the soft and bouncy mattress.
Collin didn't leave her side the entire time she was sleeping. He rested his head on her bed and gazed at her, reflecting on his incapability to protect her. He slowly moved his hand and lifted his pinky finger and crossed it with hers to make a promise while she slept calmly. "I know I have failed once but I promise I won't let anything bad happen to you again."
Roger came downstairs to attend to the little guests from the Orphanage, and to proceed with the event. "You all look so beautiful today." He went to the adorable children, who rejoiced at the event that was solely held for them.
"Let's have fun today, all of you are the stars of this party."
They were served delicacies that most of them had never seen before, let alone having tasted them. "You don't eat it like that, dear." Bella corrected their ways of dining.
She was unusually active and eager to serve the kids and talking to them. Roger knew that she didn't mean her actions and she was only pretending being friendly with them because the town mayor's wife was also present there.
"You must really like children, Mrs Bella?" commented Mayor's wife. She was impressed heavily by her. "All of us like children but not many have the kind of heart as you; I heard that it was your idea to celebrate your son's birthday with all these children. I must say that you are an Angel."
"It is not something that I will accept appreciation for. I just felt sorry for these innocent children, who are not even privileged to have a birthday party of their own. So I didn't think anymore and discussed it with my husband," she pretentiously stroked the head of a little boy passing by, with a piece of cheesecake in his hands. "There he is, my husband. What a coincidence, though? He has been trying really hard to fix a meeting with our Mayor. Would I be troubling you if I ask you to help him a bit."
Bella's main concern was to get an appointment with the mayor, and she used those children to make a good impression on his wife, which was to become helpful since Roger was bidding for a property in that town and getting the mayor's favor was essential. "I will be glad to help. I will invite you both on a dinner tomorrow night," consented Mayor's wife.
After receiving an invite from her, Bella wasn't seen anywhere near the children who were creating a ruckus inside their Villa.
"Honey!" she called to Roger. "You're gonna have to thank me for this. I have just got invited to the Mayor's house for a dinner."
Roger was still expecting to hear an answer from her about the situation with Oriel. "Do you think you can avoid this issue?" he brusquely asked.
"Oh, come on. How would I know how she ended up there? Her relatives must have abandoned her. Is it easy to raise someone else's child?" she asked folding her arms, unyielding.
"Just know that you've hurt your own son with such childish actions. You may end up losing his trust forever." Roger criticized her.
"He is my son. He is the most precious in this world and whatever I did was to keep them apart. They can't be together. Their fate is too cruel for them to live under one roof."
"I am sorry, but this is the first time when I don't agree with you. I want to keep Oriel here. I will raise her as my own daughter and she shall never trouble you or your son."
Bella clicked her tongue in bafflement. Roger had never differed his words from her. "Are you sure that you won't regret it later?" she asked, seeing the wavering eyes of Roger.
The room that she was sleeping in, became hers forever. Roger and Collin made her feel like it was her own family, and she never had to leave them again. Eight years flashed by their eyes and time had taken and given so much to their lives. What it added was that Oriel and Collin were now in high school, together pursuing their dreams. Oriel dreamed of becoming an artist. She always had a dexterous hand when it came to paintings and crafting, rather than her academics. Although she had improved herself in many ways, she could now read and write, getting brighter every day.
Collin didn't have a particular ambition, and he only wanted to succeed as a responsible adult in order to support his family, which was not doing well at that point in time. The prosperity that Bella once hailed, left her side and she was living in misery in her belief. She no longer had left the money to erratically spend on every other desire. "For the second time in my life, I have gone broke. When I married my husband, giving my life another chance, I never thought that it is my fate which loves to see me starving for money," she cried.
It all happened when the land her husband had bid for, took all their fortune into the drain after a heavy drop in the land worth in the town. She was also considering the idea of having a divorce, she could get hefty alimony that way. "I will only wait until Roger is trying to have an investment signed by Blaire Group of industries." It was the last hope that she saw in her husband's failing business.
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Oriel was now a pretty high school girl, the prettiest in the entire school. Even in the middle of sitting in her class as the teacher present was reading from a book, she was getting stared at by the melting eyes of the boys. However, she was secretly making a sketch of the entire classroom using the back of the girl sitting ahead of her as a cover to avoid the eyes of the teacher.
She was calmly immersed in sketching and was a delight to the boys' eyes, her focused expressions. She slightly bit her lips while using more pressure on the pencil for a darker shade. She constantly had to remove her falling hair from her face and tilted her head in several directions, showing her every impeccable profiles. Collin was also in the same class as hers. He saw the boys ogling something. He followed the direction that their eyes were stuck at and found the source of attraction to be his precious Oriel. He scoffed in displeasure and glared at the boys. "Is there something on her face? that you can't ignore but keep looking at her," he blurted, furious.
"Why? Is that a problem for you?" they retorted, mocking him. "Is she your girlfriend?"
'She means so much more to me than just a girlfriend, you...' He could only state in his head, while his mouth conveyed, "Do you want me to tell the teacher?" he threatened the boys.
"Go ahead, man. Do as you wish."
Collin had had enough, he abruptly rose from her seat, attracting the attention of the entire class. The boys who were continuously staring at Oriel had suddenly veered their sights away, intimidated by the teacher's scowl.
"Sir, Oriel is making a sketch under her book, not listening to the chapter," he told the teacher. Causing Oriel to get kicked out of the class. No more staring at her!