Maria's eyes landed on the clock in the living room and she immediately sat up "Would you look at the time? I almost forgot about the kids" she said
"I'll drop you" Mark said while standing up and heading towards the door "Grab what you need. I'll be waiting outside"
"Thank you" Maria said as she ran up the stairs and Mark left the house
When she passed by Helen's room, she noticed the door was open and Helen was sitting on her bed while hugging a pillow tightly. Maria walked up to the door and poked her head in
"Are you okay?" Maria asked
"I'm sorry" Helen said as she tossed the pillow aside and got out of bed "I'm sorry for bringing that up in front of them. When you're trying to forget it. I must have made you worry" she bent down and began to pick up some of her designs from the floor
"Helen, no matter what, it's me and you against the world. That's how it's always been" Maria said with a smile "We're sisters. A family that looks out for each other. I'll never abandon you so, stop worrying too much about me"
"Maria" Mark shouted from outside
"Sorry, coming" Maria shouted back as she ran into her room and grabbed her phone but just as she was about to leave, Helen called out to her
"Maria, take care" she said
"Sure thing" Maria shouted as she ran out the house
"Now that she's gone, I can finally get to work" Helen said "After I threatened Mr Ice, I'm sure things are gonna be hard from now on"
******
Page Mansion
Mark's car stopped at the gates and Maria instantly got down
"There's no need for you to drop me inside" Maria said "You can head back to the office"
"Maria, I'm not heading back to the office"
"What?"
"Vivian and I are going on a two week trip. The whole staff might come along too" Mark said seriously "Something popped up. I'm going to need you to stay with the children, especially Kali, in the mansion during that time"
'It's probably a mission' Maria thought "I understand....Safe trip"
"Thanks" Mark said as he drove off
Maria stared at the zooming car before turning around and passing through the gates. She continued walking further inside the compound but her mind wasn't on her surroundings
'No wonder they always need a nanny. The maids and butlers will be dispatched on missions every now and then. The ones that aren't, would be too busy running errands and other stuff' Maria thought
"Miss Maria?" someone called out to her
'It's too bad that Mark's siblings are dead. I wouldn't be here if not for that' Maria still thought
"Miss Maria!!!" the person shouted and when she looked up, she was a step away from falling into the fountain. She turned her head to the side and saw Maid Alina holding a pastry box and staring at her with worry
"Maid Alina" Maria said as she moved away from the fountain
"Are you alright?" Maid Alina asked "You seem a little...out of it"
"Mark and Vivian are going on an emergency two week trip. I was just thinking how am I going to do this stuff with the kids and what am I going to do about my friend. I don't like leaving her all alone in the house" Maria explained
"Did you confirm with your friend?" Maid Alina asked "You and her seemed so close when you brought her on Saturday. Do you believe she wouldn't understand you?"
Maria was surprised at first before she smiled "You're right" she sighed as the two continued heading towards the mansion "Just when I told Helen not to worry about me. I'll call her later and inform her I won't be coming home for a while"
When Maria's focus was back on the road, she noticed the Bugatti La Voiture Noire parked in front of the house
"That isn't Mark's car" Maria said with a frown as she ran inside the house
"Miss Maria, wait" Maid Alina said but Maria was already gone. She stared at the Bugatti and sighed 'The Master had told the Sir not to come to the mansion for a while. Him and the Miss aren't meant to meet. Why is he here?' she headed inside too.
******
On entering inside, Maria could hear the sound of the kids as they complained while Kali was crying. Worry filled her heart and she dashed into the living room. To her surprise, Gabriel was sitting in the living room while trying to carry Kali. She was crying her heart out, probably trying to tell him she was uncomfortable.
When Gabriel saw Maria walk in, he sighed and asked "Can you do something about this?"
Maria smiled as she tried to hold back her laughter "Do something about it. You're the one that made her cry" she said as she walked over and moved behind the sofa "She's uncomfortable and you're too tense. That's why she's crying"
Maria held Gabriel's hands and adjusted them a bit to make Kali more comfortable in his arms. Kali's cries reduced but she was still whining and moving her arms about.
"That's how you hold a baby" Maria said "All that's left is for you to relax a bit" she added and Gabriel slowly rested his body on the sofa but Kali was still whining
Maria reached out her finger and poked Kali's cheek. Kali slowly opened her eyes and gripped on Maria's finger, and stopped whining.
"It's finally quiet" Dan said
"Aunty Maria saved the day once again" Cia said as she glommed Maria from behind
"Hey. Wait a second. That's not safe" Maria said as she slowly removed her finger from Kali's grasp and grabbed Cia "I could have fallen over"
"Cia, stop acting like a kid" Dan said "Let go of Aunty Maria"
"You know, if you just want a hug, you can just say it" Maria said as she hugged Dan "You're still a kid too"
Dan pouted as turned his face away from hers "I'm going to grow into a fine man one day" he mumbled
'Good thing you said one day' Gabriel thought as he looked down at Kali in his arms. She was staring back at him with a pair of blue eyes as she moved her mouth. 'But, this is rare. Usually, she's meant to either inherit Mark or Vivian's eyes. That's the highest possibility with the greatest outcome. However...' he glanced at Maria 'She had gotten eyes just like Maria's. It's rare for a child with green eyed and amber eyed parents to be born with blue eyes'
"Sir Gabriel" Maid Alina called out to him as she entered the living room with the pastry box
"Alina? I was beginning to wonder where you were" Gabriel said as Alina set the pastry box down
"You know you were told not to come to the house. What are you doing here?" Maid Alina said and he sighed
"Visiting my godchildren" Gabriel replied briefly "Mark probably knows I'm already here. I left all my work with Janet as punishment for an embarrassing incident that happened at the office. As such, I had free time"
"Miss Maria... this is..."
"Mark already introduced us at my house" Maria interrupted Maid Alina "I'm fine with it. You're busy and I could use the extra help since he came to spend time with his godchildren and not observe me like a hawk"
'Very observant' Gabriel thought
"Understood" Maid Alina said "Anyways, the mistress ordered some pastries for you and Miss Helen. She said they're the best in town"
"I'll have to call and thank her later" Maria said
"I'll be taking the baby and putting her to bed, Sir Gabriel" Maid Alina said as she walked towards him and Gabriel looked down only to notice Kali had already fallen asleep
"Sure" Gabriel let out as he handed Kali to Maid Alina who immediately left the living room with her
"Aunty Maria, I'm hungry" Cia said
"How come?" Maria asked
"Same here" Dan said
"When I got here, you two said you'd already eaten" Gabriel said
"We lied" the twins said in unison
"We were waiting for Aunty Maria to come and cook something for us" Cia said
"The chef mum and dad hired deserves to be fired" Dan said "Recently, it seems like his mind isn't on what he's preparing. The beef last time, was overcooked"
"And Maid Alina keeps yelling at him every now and then" Cia said
"Why hasn't Mark fired him yet?" Gabriel asked
"He's the only one in the mansion who can cook something decent when Butler Frank isn't around" Dan said
"On Saturdays and Sundays when Butler Frank isn't around, our parents don't even bother to eat at home" Cia complained
"Why didn't you just tell me that from the beginning?" Gabriel asked
"Just leave it" Maria said as she took the twins to the dining room and Gabriel followed her "I'll have a word with the chef"
******
After they entered the dining room, the twins sat at the dining table and rested their heads on the table
"Where is the chef?" Maria asked
"Kitchen" the twins replied as Gabriel sat at the table and continued to observe Maria
"Come to think of it, this is the first time I'll see the chef" Maria said as reached into her pocket and pulled out a scrunchy. She used it to pull her hair into a ponytail before entering the kitchen. It wasn't even up to a minute and Gabriel could already hear the shouting of the chef.
"I'll go check out what's going on in there" Gabriel said as he got up and headed towards the kitchen door "Stay here"
As his hand landed on the kitchen door and he slowly opened it, he suddenly heard the chef say
"At first I thought you were too good for me but now I know you're just to arrogant" he said furiously "I might have been a thug back then, but I've changed. I even serve my country as a law official"
"Listen, I don't care" Maria said "Whether we knew each other in highschool or not, I don't care. Can you please stop yelling at me, because I don't even know you" she took deep breaths as the kitchen finally calmed down "I'm only asking why the children weren't fed this afternoon"
Gabriel opened the door and walked in
"What is going on in here?" he asked and the chef was spooked "I thought Mark told you that when he and Vivian aren't around, she's the lady of the house. Is that how you speak to your superior?"
"N-No Sir" the chef said as Maria rested on the kitchen island
"Are you alright?" Gabriel asked
"I'm fine. I just hate yelling" Maria said
"I see what's going on here. You're actually a whore" the chef said and that was the last straw
"What did you say?" Maria asked
"The truth" the chef said "There's a rumor that went around in highschool. You slept with someone to pay for..."
"Do you really think I'd sleep with the first idiot who promises me the world?" Maria asked "I have dignity. Something that is barely common in the world today. You say we went to the same highschool however, had you ever seen me mingle with an guy?"
"Well..."
"Exactly my point. I don't do relationships of any kind because I know I can never make anyone happy" Maria said "That's why I've kept myself single and untouched. Next time this happens, I'll report it to either Mark or Vivian. I don't need to explain myself to anyone whether I know them or not"
As the chef was about to leave, Gabriel whispered to him "You know what's coming up next, right?"
"Yes, sir" the chef murmured as he left