Chapter 2

[Song recommended: Image dragons - Believer]

[Story has been recently edited]

"Finally, I've found a way to get rid of those kids and it worked. Come to think of it, where would they even go? Maybe to that foolish Maria's house", Daniel rambled to himself like a madman trying to douse that tiny tinge of loneliness in his heart.

He had an empty bottle of bourbon in his hand and was incredibly high at the moment

Then something hit him, something he'd completely forgot about. It was... Marina's will.

The man had feigned love for her for twenty three solid years and expected her to have left a handsome amount of her inheritance for him.

He grinned evily as he picked up my phone to call the "family" lawyer.

"Hello Mr Vanderson, my heart felt condolences for your loss", the lawyer, Mrs Carmella Harrison said sarcastically over the phone. His smile widened as he recalled the countless times his secretary had caught them both in very compromising conditions in his office.

"Come on Carmella, don't be so formal. There's no need for formalities when I've already seen every inch of your body", his tease in a slurred speech and he welcomed her hearty laughter from the other side.

"You bastard drunkard. You wouldn't waste your time on a call if you wanted to speak to me, so...", she said in a less informal tone and Daniel too wasn't prepared for any further pleasantries.

"Come to my house tomorrow by noon, bring my late wife's will along with you", he said going straight to the point and Carmella immediately howled in laughter on the other side.

"My goodness Daniel, you showed your true colours immediately your wife died. You know you have to wait for at least one year and it has only been a few months, come on Daniel. Honestly, I'm beginning to pity poor Marina's departing soul", Carmella said in an incredulous manner pissed off Daniel.

"Just do exactly what you are told woman! Stop trying to meddle in my life!", he yelled in agitation and Carmella scoffed from the other end of the phone before hanging up without giving her response.

"Darn women!", he yelled in frustration as he stood up from his bed to the study which was situated on the first floor of the building.

As he staggered into the study, the familiar scent of lavender that he would inhale in his sleep filled the air. He reminisced the time when she was heavily pregnant seating on the chair focused on the files on the desk, occasionally adjusting the glasses on the bridge of her nose that accentuated her bright purple eyes.

"Well my dear wife, someone has to take over from where you stopped", he said with a wicked smile etched on his lips but deep down inside there was also a part of him that missed Marina. But he was also confident that just like her scent in this room would fade someday, her memories would also follow suit. He had no plans of feeling sorry for myself.

***

"Good evening Uncle Sam", Chelsea greeted politely again but this time offering him a sweet smile. Snapping back to reality, his face contoured in worry. He walked closer to them and settled beside the little girl.

"Honey, there's a serious issue that needs to be addressed immediately", Maria spoke in a serious and oddly cold tone that showed Sam just how serious the matter really was.

"Did that monster hurt you all these months, don't worry. Uncle Sam and Mother Maria will avenge you my dear", Uncle said after Mother Maria narrated the entire story Chelsea had told her to him. He spoke with tenderness that Chelsea had never seen in his eyes and she couldn't help but embrace him. Her Uncle Sam wasn't a bad person but he was occasionally strict so him and Chelsea never shared that much of a close relationship that she had with Maria, but today she felt very safe with him.

"Ria, go get them something to eat", Sam said still holding the girl in his embrace while Mother Maria scampered to the kitchen. Sophia, who she'd placed on the sofa sleeping peacefully suddenly woke up and began crying incredibly loudly.

"Sorry, I think she's hungry", she said apologetically as she moved away from him to hold Sophia.

She was expecting him to look annoyed or enraged at best, but instead he smiled as though her cries soothed all his pains and worries.

"May I carry her?", he asked tentatively while Sophia's cries only grew louder. "He is an adult and knows how to handle a child", She convinced herself internally.

"Here you go", she said slowly handing Sophia over to him and surprisingly she stopped crying, well that was because she was nibbling on his fingers but who cares.

"Can't she walk?", he asked looking at Sophia who was playing with his slender fingers.

"No, she's a late walker, we've tried our best to get her to walk. From standing her and buying her different types of walkers but she always ends up falling on her butt", Chelsea whined expressing her displeasure of having to carry Sophia around.

The man laughed at her frustrated outburst and Sophia too began to laugh, afterwards sticking out her tongue at Chelsea.

Not long after, Maria walked in with two bowls, one filled with delicious looking homemade custard and the other filled with strawberry yogurt.

"There you go darlings, eat up. Don't leave even a morsel behind", Maria said sweetly and Chelsea's mouth watered looking at the bowl.

"Give Sophie to me, you eat up'while I feed her", she offered nicely and gently picked up the chubby two year old and fed her with a tiny spoon.

"Thank you", Chelsea said happily taking a spoonful of the custard into her mouth. She sighed when the dish made contact with her tongue.

The mix of milk and pineapple melted perfectly into her mouth and it felt like heaven. There where little pieces of strawberry floating on top of the creamy dish. The sugar content was just right.

It was a dish with a delicious blend of strawberry, pineapple and coconut. The little girl chewed on a little piece of pineapple pulp, obviously meaning Maria had juiced the pineapple in a hurry. But never the less, it didn't reduce the quality of the dish but instead enhanced the dish's sweetness above normal level.

Maybe it is because she had been deprived of eating such dishes for a very long time making the dish taste extra nice. But whatever the reason might be, little Chelsea planned on enjoying every moment of this paradise while it still lasted.

--To be continued...