*Kiara*
“You both are so identical. If Amelia weren't here, then I would have mistaken you for her,” the lady who led Desmond and me into the house kept talking on and on. However, I could only smile in return as we ascended the staircase one after the other.
In a split second, we arrived inside a room, where a woman who I presumed to be the wicked foster mother lay on the bed with Amelia sitting so close to her and her back was facing us.
Grinning, “Look who we have here, mom” the lady spoke up as she strolled toward the bed. This time, Amelia looked back, and her lips curved into a big grin upon seeing us.
Desmond entered wholly into the room and hinted at me to also come inside, and I did. I watched as Amelia and the lady, who I assumed to be one of her foster sisters, helped the woman to sit right, and her gaze fell on my face in an instant.
I looked away from her face directly and went to sit right next to Desmond on the double sofa in the room.
“What a surprise visit, Kiara,” Amelia said with a beam, looking from my face to the plate she was now holding.
“Just came to check on your foster mom. How's she doing?” I asked, trying not to sound nonchalant,
“She's doing great day by day. I'm so pleased, Kiara” she responded with a glossy smile, scooping the spoon into the woman's mouth.
“Open your mouth, mom. It's your favorite soup, I prepared it myself” Amelia exhorted, outstretching the spoon for her to take, but she isn't collecting it as she continued to stare at Amelia's face.
“Mom, do you want something else?” Amelia's foster sister questioned, a hint of concern could be traced in her voice.
However, she was only staring intensely into Amelia's face without uttering any word or blinking her eyes.
“Why is she staring like that?” I asked Desmond quietly, “Do you think she's about to die?” I put in, provoking Desmond to look over at my face with a playful glare.
“Come on, Kiara. Don't be nasty”
I twitched my lips and roll my eyeballs, “She treated my sister horribly. Do you expect me to like her?” I asked with resentment through clenched teeth while I glared at her on the bed.
“That was in the past now, you need to learn how to forgive your neighbor, Kiara” Desmond tutored, making me think back to Alexander's words from earlier. I only scoffed in disdain and remained silent.
“Amelia,” she finally pronounced a word, her voice was extremely low and had a crying tone.
“Yes, mom. It's me. Do you want me to get you something?” asked Amelia frantically, moving closer to her on the bed.
Instead of replying, she slowly turned her gaze to look in my direction, looking so pale. I lifted my brows and asked, “Are you sure she's okay, Amelia?”
“Can you please come closer?” she requested, still looking at my face.
Huh?
I looked at Desmond, who nodded with a reassuring smile. I stood up and ambled to the bed, standing beside Amelia. But her sister had got on her feet and hinted at me to sit on the stool.
After I sat down, she still gave a signal for me to come forward. I pulled the stool closer and there was only a tiny space left between us. Slowly, she reached over and held my hand in hers.
Stunned, I stole a glance at Amelia's face as I thought, in my heart, maybe she happened to read what I had wished for her earlier.
Oh, no.
“You look so adorable, just like Amelia,” she began with a wry smile, her eyes filling with tears. I just stared at her face in silence, hoping she would tell me the reason we had to be in this position before she could talk.
“Can you please do me a favor?” she continued, still holding my hand firmly in hers. “What's it, ma'am?” I asked impatiently, but smiling in a polite manner.
“I need you to assist me in earning Amelia's forgiveness,” as she said this, the tears that have assembled in her eyes rolled down uncontrollably from her eyes and I couldn't help but shifted with discomfort.
“I've wronged her in many ways. I treated her awfully in a way that I don't deserve to be called a mother”
“Stop it, mom, what are you saying?” Amelia bellowed in tears, holding her other hand in an attempt to stop her from talking further.
“I deserve to die,” hearing this, the room filled with a gasp from everyone's mouth, and even Desmond too was now standing on his feet.
“What are you saying, Auntie? No matter how awful you might have treated Amelia in the past, you don't vouch for death” Desmond advised, amounting his steps closer.
She put on a smile. Her weak smile was beautiful but full of bitterness as she gazed at the ceiling.
“Despite being a terrible mother to her, she still saved me from dying and treated me like her own mother, she treated me with love and respect. Tell me, why don't I deserve death as a sentence?”
During this time, my eyes were now swimming in tears. It turned out that my heart was not as strong as I predicted.
“You don't deserve death, Aunt. Please get well soon. And I'm sure Amelia has forgiven you,” I expressed my short sentence, sniffing back my pending tears.
“Please, mom, don't speak of death again. You're not going to die, and you still remain my mother. If you had not picked me up when my worthless mother had dumped me, who knows what would be my fate now?” her words choked on sobs as she spoke, and I couldn't help mine too. She was right. Only if our mother didn't abandon us, then our life would have been more greater.
***
The car pulled up to a halt in front of the mansion. I got down from the car first, carrying Aiden in my arms. By the time, we left Amelia's foster parents' home, it was already his closing hour. So, we all went there to pick him up from school.
“Thanks so much for today, Desmond. See you on the weekend,” after I said that, I left them and entered the house.
“Do you want to visit the beach, baby?” I asked Aiden while I sauntered into the building.
“What's the meaning of beach, mommy?” he asked curiously while batting his eyelashes.
I chuckled softly, “A beach is a sandy shore, especially by the sea between high- and low-water marks” I explained, but he seemed not to understand it with his wrinkled expression.
“Don't worry, dear. You'll see for yourself very soon”
In a matter of moments, Aiden has changed into casual wear after I helped him take a bath and was now sitting on the dining table while I sit on the chair, feeding him his lunch.
“Mother and son,” I looked up to see Amelia walking into the dining room.
“I thought you were not coming back,” I teased, and she just laughed as she took her seat beside me.
“What happened to your lips, second mommy?” asked Aiden while gazing at Amelia's lips. It was then I noticed Amelia's lips were swollen.
Amelia touched her lips briefly, the heat of shame could be seen blooming across her ears. Understanding what it means within a second, I just shook my head with a smile and continued to feed Aiden; however, he refused his meal.
“Mom, what happened to her lips?” he asked me, pointing to Amelia's lips.
“Why don't you answer him already?” I directed my question at Amelia with a playful eye roll.
“How do you expect me to tell this lad that Desmond and I kissed for a long time in the car, which caused my lips to swell up?” she asked back in a grumbled voice, not liking Aiden to understand the meaning behind her words.
I laughed out shortly at her funny mood.
“You see, Aiden, Uncle Desmond and I fought in the car. That's why I've got risen lips” she said carefully, looking at my face to confirm if she sounded reasonable enough, and I nodded quickly.
“Do you mean Uncle Desmond punched your lips?” he continued, with a quizzical expression.
“Yes, he did, but with his lips,” with that, Amelia got on her feet and scuttled out of the place. Escaping from Aiden's inquiry segment.
It was on the weekend.
We all came down from the car one after the other. Amelia and I wore a matching mint green strapless floral dress. A large beach hat on our heads and a round oversized sunglass on our faces.
Desmond, who was holding Aiden in his chest, was clad in navy-blue shorts and a white armless shirt. Same as Alexander, the only difference was that he was wearing a loosened shirt over his.
And they had their sunglasses over their heads.
Amelia and I carried two different picnic baskets while Alexander was holding up the blankets.
After long strides into the beach, we found a desirable area and lay our blankets on the golden sands. The beach wasn't crowded and the wind that blew occasionally was cold and pleasant.
“Daddy, I want to swim,” Aiden said with a giddy grin as soon as we both settled down on the blankets. Desmond and Amelia were sitting on one while me, Alexander and Aiden occupied the other.
“Of course, we'll go swim, my boy. But first, let's have something,” Alexander assured and pulled him to sit between his legs.
“No, Alexander. You can't take him into the ocean,” I said worriedly, looking at his face.
“Worry less baby. Remember, he's also my son,” he retorted with a broad wink while he removed his glasses from his head.
“So, what do we have for lunch?” he asked, wearing the glasses over Aiden's face.
Amelia put forward the basket, opened it, and began to bring out all the beverages, plates, cups, utensils, corkscrew, and napkins.
“And I've got this,” I said, while I unwrapped the basket in my captive and emptied it.
“We have pasta salads, sandwiches and cured meats, vinegar-based potato salads, and many more,”
“Yeah. We also have, brownie bites, cookies, pies and bars, and so on. And of course, as you can see them” Amelia added as we both arranged them carefully on a separate dishcloth.
“Whoa,” Both Alexander and Desmond muttered simultaneously, and we just chuckled.
Several moments later, we were done with the variety of dishes and drinks and were now playing a game.
“That's a blatant lie, Desmond. You fall in love with me first,” Amelia argued, after slapping Desmond's chest twice. Desmond laughed out of his control and lay sprawled on the blanket.
“Believe me, Kiara, this man is a liar” she enhanced with a pout.
“Okay, Amelia.” Desmond regained his balance and sat right again, “If I had fallen in love first, then explain to me why you reciprocated the kiss expertly back then as if you've been waiting for that moment,” he taunted. This time, Amelia stood up and jumped on his back.
“You liar, I didn't even kiss back,” she yelled, strangling his neck.
“I want to pee, mommy,” Aiden suddenly announced out of the blues, tossing away the beach ball he has been playing with it. “Okay dear” before I could get on my feet, Amelia had bent and picked up Aiden in her arms.
“I'll take him to the restroom,” after saying that, she ran off, obviously shying away from the conversation.
“Do you all see that?” Desmond asked amidst laughter. Directly, Alexander and I also erupted in a burst of hearty laughter.
Minutes had passed, but Amelia was yet to return. “I should go check on them,” I notified and evacuated the place.
After a brief direction, I arrived at the lavatory and found only Aiden at the entrance. “Aiden, where's second mommy?” I crouched and asked him.
He didn't reply immediately but gazed in a path, “Someone took her, mommy” he answered slowly, and I felt my heart tremble In my chest. What?