“Nicole, I understand. I do.”
Davin, who usually did not have a care in the world, looked dejected. He lit a cigarette and took a puff.
He puffed out rings of smoke, shrouding himself in it. For some reason, the smoke looked like a barrier between him and the world, isolating him and making him look lonely.
Davin was no longer the jovial and cheeky guy. All of a sudden, he turned into a serious man who looked like he had experienced all the pains in the world.
“Truth be told, I fell in love with a girl once. She got pregnant as well at that time.”
Nicole frowned and listened attentively. She did not expect to see this side of him but was convinced that every person had a painful past he or she would never want to recall.
“One day, I got drunk, fought with someone, and caused her to suffer a miscarriage. She almost lost her life because of it.”
As he spoke, flashes of memory starting to pop up in his mind like a film.
“After that, she…”
Davin found it difficult to continue with the story when all the gruesome details began to haunt him. Just when he was trying to phrase his sentence, he heard a loud bang.
The bedroom door was pushed open and Nina stormed into the room with a makeup box. Anger was written all over her face.
“Mommy, Maya is too much!”
She then slammed the makeup box on the table.
Davin took this opportunity to pull himself together and hid away his emotions. In the blink of an eye, he reverted back to his usual jovial self.
“What’s wrong?”
Nina took all the figurines out of the makeup box and arranged them on the table.
“Mommy, look!”
Nicole knitted her brows upon seeing all the figurines.
Maya walked into the room, looking abashed. She looked at Nicole and stuck out her tongue.
“Mommy, I feel bad for them because Nina uses them for practice every day. I just want to be nice to them.”
“Is this the proper way to treat them? They all looked bloated! Their faces and tummies are as round as yours.”
“I fed them because I’m afraid they’re hungry,” Maya lowered her head to avoid Nina’s angry stare.
“You’re too much!”
Nina mumbled and removed all the items from the figurines’ stomachs and mouths.
Chips, chocolate, lollipop, candied fruit…
“Mommy, look at it! They’re all like this. How can I use them?”
Like an angry little cub, she roared and blamed Maya for what she had done.
“Maya, say sorry to your sister.”
Maya kept mum and refused to say anything.
“These are her things. You shouldn’t have touched them without her permission.”
Nicole looked at Maya and tried to talk some sense into her.
Maya fidgeted her little hands and paused for a moment. She then turned around and looked at Nina, “I’m sorry.”
“That’s it? You have to get me new ones!”
“Alright, Nina. Maya has already apologized. Mommy will buy new ones for you, okay?”
“No! She has to pay the price! She needs to buy me new ones with her snack allowance!”
Maya tilted her head, looked at Nina, and said pitifully, “I don’t have money. Why don’t I give you some of my snacks?”
“Nobody wants your disgusting snacks! I want my figurines!”
Upon noticing Nina’s condescending attitude and Maya’s remorseful expression, Davin took out a card, “I’ll pay for Maya. Just tell me what you want to buy, okay?”
“I don’t want your money. I’d rather die of hunger than take money from the Seets!” In a fit of anger, Nina then stormed right out of the room.
Davin and Nicole were both dumbstruck by her words.
Why does this little girl hate the Seets so much?
“I’m so sorry for her behavior. I didn’t teach her well.”
“Please don’t say that. After all, it’s not easy for you to raise three children on your own.”
“So… can you keep this a secret from your brother?”
Davin was at a loss for words. He knew what kind of person his brother was. Since he had misunderstood Nicole, there was a high chance he would not allow her to take care of the children.
