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Giselle reached at her home at 10:30 PM, entering the late night.

She stopped in between her ride to get some desserts for Lia. When she arrived at her apartment, it was locked, and she rang the doorbell. There was no response for a moment, but then she heard little footsteps advancing towards the door.

...

"Who is it?" Lia asked in her sweet voice.

"It's the Pizza delivery Mam," Giselle reduced her voice to impersonate a delivery guy.

"I'm your child. It doesn't work on me, mother."

Even in her sleeping state, Lia knew her mother voice and how it sounds. No matter what Giselle tries, Lia can always end up spotting her without spending her energy.

"It's the Pizza delivery Mam," Giselle is not giving up either.

"..."

"I'm never opening the door," Lia announced and ran off to her room. Giselle had to give in because the time isn't perfect for playing such pranks.

"Alright. Alright. Lia, please open the door. It's your mother."

...

"Come back, Lia. Open the door."

...

There was no response until now. Giselle knew that she has a bribe to get her daughter open the door.

Smirking on her own, Giselle tried one more time.

"I bought pastries from one of the best bakeries in the town. You can have it if you open the door immediately. Plus, it's a new type of dessert and- as far as I see, it is melting now. So…"

Before she could finish, Lia came back racing and opened the door. She welcomed her mother with a sweet, warm smile. She then immediately snatched the dessert from her mom and opened them eagerly.

They were fresh cakes with different flavors such as blueberry, chocolate, strawberry, mango, and pineapple. Seeing them was like being in paradise for Lia. She quickly took the mango flavored cake, her favorite flavor. It was soft and spongy; The cream was too perfect and smooth. She took a bite and felt ecstatic from the flavoring and softness. The fragrance filled their house.

"Only one for now," Giselle ordered as she seized the opened box.

"not mkay," Lia answered with her mouthful of cake.

Giselle had to snatch away the dessert box from Lia to avoid any tantrum.

"You can have them tomorrow. Now, go brush your teeth after eating and sleep."

Lia finished her cake and went to brush her teeth obediently.

Giselle changed into her nightwear and entered the bathroom. Lia was almost done with her brushing and was washing her face now.

"My boss said he knew someone who's the principal for a very reputed school in here."

Giselle shared some of the details from the meeting to Lia.

"Wow. I get to attend a pretty cool school, Huh!"

"Oh, mom by the way, why don't I attend your school?" Lia casually said while learning about the school talk.

"I'm afraid that I can never do that."

Giselle did not like the idea.

"Why?"

Enraged Lia made a sarcastic remark at her mother.

"Afraid?"

Giselle felt bitter now.

"I'm afraid that the school doesn't exist anymore."

Her sharp response agitated the little girl.

So far, they have been communicating via only voices. However, the information Lia heard, shocked her. She quickly dried her face while Giselle entered Lia's room and arranged her bed neatly for Lia to sneak under the blanket cozily.

"What?"

"How?"

"Man, it is so bad."

Lia went to her room finally.

"So, I cannot attend your school?" Lia pouted.

Unable to escape her child's cute expression, Giselle tried to console Lia. She tucked her in nice and warm and kissed her goodnight and turned the lights out.

Giselle then went to the kitchen and washed the dishes. There were some leftover noodles in the fridge. She heated them in the oven and ate it. The time was around midnight.

Returning to her room, Giselle took out the laptop and started to research about Jayce.

All of his achievements and reviews from the critics, various news about his accomplishment at a very young age appeared.

Giselle calmly went through every article, reading them in detail.

...

"Seems like a big shot to me,"

"Of course, he is-" Giselle murmured.

"How can I handle it without disturbing Lia?"

"She was already fussing about me coming home late and not spending enough time with her."

Giselle got worried. She spent the night reading a lot of comments and opinions about the author, Jayce.

About 80% of the people agreed with the author's perspective and loved his books. His writing style and story flow were popular among a lot of literature students. Only 10% of the people didn't like his work and just commented online. However, the sales were always on top.

All of these made Giselle feel at ease.

Jayce doesn't accept a lot of interviews or attends any functions. It made him look like a meticulous person. However, Jayce was a rock star amongst the critics. Not a lot of them hated his extrovert attitude, and his works will speak for itself.

"I guess I won't be bothered too much. I might give it a try and gain more experience."

Giselle resolved after a lot of consideration.

"Alright. I better send Mr. Ricardo a message about my decision."