Lina had woken up from the most luxurious bed she had ever slept in her life — king sized bed with a crisp sheet and soft fluffy pillows that called for cuddling, but she was restless.
Restless, not because of the unfortunate event of last night, because by God! she'd rather not remember it, but rather because she missed home. Or more precisely, she missed the people she had left at home.
"Mummy!" A sweet, beautiful, and cheery voice which always made her heart flutter echoed through the phone and Lina's face lit up with a radiant smile the moment she heard it.
"Hey! peanut, miss mummy?" She asked, and her smile tipped even wider when a vibrant response came from the other end of the phone.
"Yes! I miss mummy a lot." Serena echoed with a fluttering wave of her voice, which told Lina she was jumping on the sofa again, and the chiding call she heard from the other side confirmed her suspicion.
"Ena, get down." A stern voice called out to her, and she instantly stopped.
"Sorry, Aunt Cassie. I love you." She said in her cute baby voice, which wielded immense power over everyone that encountered her, and her aunt Cassie was no exception.
Cassie was Sharon's aunt, who had been generous with taking care of Serena while Sharon dragged her on this unwanted trip.
Lina smiled when she heard Cassie's reply, "I love you too, peanut, but no jumping on the sofa." She said and mouthed a kiss.
Lina shook her head amusedly, understanding her daughter's little antics of dashing out sweet words to get her out of trouble. Serena and her charms, she mused.
"Mummy?" Serena called, returning her attention to the call after subtly dismissing her aunt and requesting privacy.
"You aren't bothering aunt Cassie, are you?" Lina calmly questioned, even though she already knew the answer to that.
"No." The girl cutely refuted. "I've been a good girl. I gave aunt Cassie a foot massage last night, and I shared my cookies with her." Serena proudly reported, making Lina smile and nod.
She was certain aunt Cassie would never see Serena as a bother as the girl had everyone illusioned with her childish tricks of sweetness. Cassie was utterly taken by the girl, so much she indulged her in everything.
"That's my baby." Lina praised with a smile, and without a doubt, she knew the girl had her smile and dimple in full reveal.
"I miss you, mummy. When are you coming back?" Serena eagerly asked. Her voice made Lina wistful.
"In two days, peanuts, and mummy misses you the most." She emphasized how much she missed her, while Serena giggled.
"Aunt Sharon says you're going to wear a princess dress and nice shoes, and you're going to look pretty."
"Really? Aunt Sharon did?" Lina looked over to Sharon, who was busy typing away on her laptop, with a knowing glare.
Of course, she would.
Sharon arched a brow at the mention of her name and puckered her brows in confusion when she saw the glare in Lina's eyes.
"What?" Sharon mouthed out to her, but Lina rolled her eyes and ignored her, and returning her attention to the call.
"Mummy, you're going to look like a princess." The girl chirped in a dreamy tone, which had Lina beaming and already considering, even though she'd rather not fall for one of Sharon's trick.
"Like you?" She asked.
"Yes, like me." Serena echoed. "Prettier than me." She added.
"No one can be prettier than you, cupcake, not even mummy." Lina proudly declared because there was no other truth than that.
She conversed with her little angel a bit more, and the more she spoke to her and listened to her voice, the more she longed for home.
Setting down her phone, she turned to Sharon, who was head deep work, probably responding to numerous work mails.
"What?" Sharon asked, lifting her head and cocking a brow.
"This is your handiwork, isn't it?" A suspicious glare gleamed in her eyes. She was certain it was.
Sharon gave a non-committal shrug and glanced at the screen of her laptop. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"I'm sure you do." She pressed.
"Uh uh, I honestly don't." She shook her head, but Lina could tell it was a lie.
"Sharon!" Lina sharply called, and Sharon rolled her eyes. Closing her laptop, she set it down and gazed at Lina.
"Fine, I spoke to her, but she's my goddaughter, and where you're concerned, I can make such a request."
"But you didn't have to."
"I know I didn't have to, but I needed to. You only listen to Ena." Sharon said matter of factly.
Lina was set to rebut that, but she knew Sharon was right.Another thing she'd hate to admit, especially to Sharon.
"So you admit to using a three-year-old child to get me to wear a dress?"
"Well, I'll do whatever it takes." She unrepentantly shrugged. Lina gazed at her.
"Shameless. That's what you are, Sharon."
"I love you too, but just so you know, my god daughter is almost four, and I'll do anything to put you out there, Lina. Even if it means writing a letter to Santa."
Letter to Santa? Lina chuckled at that. She silently peered at Sharon for a while and defeatedly sighed.
"Where's this so-called dress?" She hated to do this, but Sharon had her hands tied. With a joyful squeal, Sharon leaped out of the bed, slightly startling Lina, who couldn't hold back a smile.
"And if it's anything like that piece of rag from last night, you better forget about it." She warned, feeling suspicious of Sharon's happy display.
She could never be trusted, especially on issues like this, and Sharon had proved that far too many times.
Scuttling over, Sharon pelted her cheek with a kiss, before hustling towards the wardrobe. "You're not going to love it, darling, but you'll look lovely in it, and you're definitely going to attract a lot of eyes." She opened the wardrobe and reached for a black dress bag. "Good eyes, I suppose, and perhaps even Pete's."
'Pete?' Lina frowned, wondering what that name had to do with anything. The mention of that name quickly reeled in the memories of last night, which she badly wanted to forget, and she didn't appreciate Sharon for the brutal reminder.
Sharon observed her countenance as Lina suspicious watched the bag in her hand.
"So, aren't you going to tell me anything about it?" Sharon suddenly asked, and Lina glanced at her.
"Tell you anything about what?"
"Pete Hudson and what happened last night?"
Sharon caught the quick shift of Lina's eyes before she darted it away, and she knew there was nothing ordinary about that.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Lina replied flatly and dismissively, but Sharon could hear the guilt in her voice. The shame.
With brows closely puckered, she peered at her friend. "You know that's not true, Lina. You have to tell me something. Were his lips nice and soft? Did he say anything to you?" Sharon pressed in her full gossipy tone and Lina could only glare at her.
There was nothing to talk about and nothing soft and nice about his lips. As a matter of fact, she couldn't remember anything, not his face and definitely not her stupidity that had been on full display last night, and most certainly, she hoped he didn't remember her.
Though that was some wishful thinking, Lina hoped nonetheless.
"If you don't want to be late for the wedding, bring out that dress of yours, or I'm going to wear what I brought." She flatly said in hopes of distracting Sharon's attention, and gladly it did.
She watched as Sharon slowly unzipped the bag and brought out the dress, and one look at it had Lina scowling.
"Most definitely not! There's no way in hell I'm wearing that."