In the side hall of the house, Randall was fumbling with a gold ornament that he took from the cupboard.
The sound of the door opening resounded behind him, and without looking back, he questioned, “Julia, since when do you have this gold ornament? I didn’t see it the last time I came here. Why do you always hide such precious valuables from me?”
The incoming person was indeed Julia, who had no choice but to leave her daughter and come to him in case of any emergency upon receiving the news from a maid. “What brings you here? Why didn’t you inform me earlier about your visit?”
He frowned and placed the ornament back in the cupboard before facing her. “Why? Do I have to do that first whenever I wanna come?”
“I don’t mean it like that. Sandra’s here.”
His eyes glistened when he heard that. “You should’ve told me earlier. It’s been years since I last met her. I should see her.”
“Hold on.” She stopped him. “Stay.”
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s not like you don’t know how stubborn she is. She behaves no less differently in front of me.”
Only then did Randall regain his senses. “It’s been years, though. Is she behaving the same?”
“You’re telling me. I meet her less and less as years pass. You’re not the only one who hasn’t seen her for a long time. I can use my hands to count the amount of her visits during the last two years. She came to me today because her grandmother has fallen sick.
“Dorothy’s sick? Is she alright? Should I find someone to check on her?”
“It’s fine. It’s the usual ailments that come with age. It’ll be alright as long as we watch her diet and routine.” Julia sighed. “The problem is. Sandra. She doesn’t listen to anyone except her grandmother.”
The rage in her flared up at the mention of that. “That old hag must’ve spoken ill of me to Sandra all these years.”
“Don’t stress about it. You share the same blood and she will be your daughter forever. I bet she will acknowledge you as her mother someday.”
“That’s kinda hard to tell. Dorothy is Sandra’s biological grandmother, but her words work better than mine.”
“How much time does Dorothy have left?” The man wore an impassive expression. “If you wanna let your daughter stay by your side, it’s not like there’s no way to do it. Once Dorothy is gone, she will have no one to depend on except you.”
Her brows knitted together. “Don’t interfere with this. Dorothy is super important to Sandra, so we can’t do anything to her just yet.”
“Are you not going to take Sandra away with you?”
His words reminded her of the reason for his arrival as she inquired, “Why do you wanna see me today?”
“It’s about the Carter Family.”
“What about them?”
“It’s confirmed that Miss Jolly is going to have a wedding with that celebrity. The Carter Family are in the middle of selecting the invitation cards. They have the first batch printed too.”
“Is that true?” Julia’s eyes brightened. “When and where will the wedding be held?”
“It’ll be a month later in Tahiti.”
“Tahiti? Isn’t that-
“That’s right. It’s the area with the least reach by the international regime, as well as the closest to the sketchiest border.”
No one spoke as they reveled in the good news in silence. Hence, neither of them noticed the silhouette that was hiding by the window of the side hall. The figure outside clenched her fists the moment Julia and Randall held hands.
After sending Randall off, Julia returned to the dining room, but Sandra was nowhere to be seen.
“Where’s Sandra?”
The maid, who was serving soup on the table was equally confused. “She was still here a while ago. I went away to bring some soup, so I don’t know where she has been.”
Then, she called the security guard that was on duty at the entrance to find out that Sandra had left the place.
“What’s the point of hiring you guys? You can’t even keep an eye on a person!” Julia glowered at the maids in fury. “It’s going to rain soon and there’s no cab around the area. She doesn’t even have money. Where can a little girl like her go? Find her at this instant!”
“Y-Yes.”
The sky was completely dark when Rachel made two bowls of instant noodles. Justin washed the plates and cutleries once he was done eating I will do it.”
“It’s okay. Take a rest. He lightly shoved her. away with his elbow before marching toward the apron that was hung on the wall. He also put on dishwashing gloves.
In addition to the small kitchen, only a pot and a few bowls were used to make the meal, so she could not help with anything even if she wanted to. Thus, she leaned against the counter while watching him wash the dishes.
She teased, “You’re definitely more reliable than Miss Jolly. She doesn’t wash her plates after meals.”
“So, you were the one washing them when you were overseas?”
“I would do it when I had the time, but not when I was away for business trips. I remember that one time when I returned from a two-week business trip, the sink was filled to the brim with pots and plates. She used up every cutlery we had before calling deliveries to settle her meals.”
“Why didn’t you hire a nanny?”
“We did. It all happened when we didn’t hire another one in time after the nanny was fired.” Speaking of that, Rachel felt that it was hilarious despite having the urge to grumble about it.
When she returned from her business trip, Jolly was feeding Samuel food with messy hair. As soon as Jolly heard the sound of the door opening, she rushed out of the house barefooted and hugged Rachel with a tear- stained face.
“Chris, you’re finally home. I thought I was going to die soon.”
“What happened?”
“It’s so hard to look after a kid. I’d rather go to the laboratory in the hospital and watch people dissecting a frog.”
“You’re exaggerating, girl. However, the moment Rachel placed her bag aside and saw the mess in the house, as though it was the aftermath of an explosion, she realized that Jolly was not joking at all.
It was because Jolly was the explosion herself; without Rachel and a nanny, Jolly was so incapable that she had turned the house into a dumping ground for her and Samuel.
“What about you?” Rachel crossed her arms as she questioned Justin about the days he babysat Charlotte. “How did you look after Charlotte during my absence back then? Was it difficult?”
“No.” He held a plate that was covered by soap: while walking down the memory lane. “But it was hectic at the beginning.”
It was his first time becoming a father, not to mention that it was the time he lost his memory after the car accident. He had been clueless of the child’s origin, yet Gloria consigned the baby. to him, saying that she was his daughter.
Back then, he could not afford a good night’s sleep because of the sudden crying in the middle of the night. Even after Charlotte was able to sleep through the night without any trouble, he woke up a few times at night out of habit. The sound of the baby crying kept ringing. in his ears, and he always went to check on her in the baby room.
“Ria didn’t help you either?”
“She was pursuing her studies for piano at the time. Charlotte was with me until she turned two. That was when Jolly helped me out a little bit, but Charlotte became closer with her in the end.”
Rachel chuckled upon hearing that. “I think Ria was doing it on purpose.”
