Cristelle never overthought about her father. But she snapped as she heard about her mom, “What do you mean by violated? Say that again!”
Mrs. Barnett went deflated as she realized she had just said something she shouldn’t have said.
Mrs. Barnett used to be tiptoeing around Cristelle’s mother. She hated her past. When Cristelle mentioned it, she just completely lost her temper. What made this little bitch become so sharp?
Mrs. Barnett huffed, “Anyway, I’m just here today to warn you. If you refuse to go, I’ll resort to some special means. I won’t treat you to any meal like today by then.”
Mrs. Barnett hated Cristelle so much. She would have killed this little slut long ago if it were not for special reasons.
Cristelle knew she couldn’t get anything from this old woman anymore. And she was not that vulnerable girl five years ago. She stood up from her chair, a cold sneer on her face, “Then we’ll see. I’d like to see what your trick is. I wonder who will be the loser this time.”
With that, she walked out the door, not looking back for once.
Mrs. Barnett was so pissed off that she grabbed a glass and threw it to the ground.
“Little bitch! We’ll see! I’ll kick you out of this city one day!”
****
After the farce, it was quite late when Cristelle finally went back home. Her babies had been waiting for her for a while. Cristelle bought a cake from the bakery to apologize for coming back late.
“Mommy is back.” She called out when she stepped inside her apartment.
Cody rushed out of the kitchen, a stern look on his little face, “Mom, where have you been? I heated the food twice.”
Cristelle showed him the cake, “I’m so sorry. I went to buy some sweets for you guys. It’s your favorite.”
Candace approached Cristelle as she heard it was cake, stretching her little arms and asking for a hug. Cristelle lowered her body and picked her daughter up. Cody took the cake, sulking, “I won’t forgive you just because you brought the cake back. You can’t come back too late. At least you should call us first.”
Cristelle flushed, “I know… know… Cody is so strict.” She complained to Candace.
Candace just smiled.
Cody brought the dinner out. They started to have their meal. Looking at her babies, Cristelle suddenly thought what she had gone through was nothing. Her babies were her treasures.
“Candace, do you want to go to Dr. Drew’s place this weekend? He will still tell you stories,” Cristelle’s tone was soft.
Candace was a bit confused, staring at her brother carefully.
Cody was having his pasta, nodding, “Of course, we will go. Candace, let’s go together. I still want him to finish the story.”
Candace only nodded now, a big smile on her face.
Cristelle let out a sigh of relief. But she also felt bad for her babies. She wanted to sign her boy up for kindergarten, but Candace just seemed like she couldn’t live without her brother. She didn’t want Candace to feel helpless, but she also couldn’t spend every minute with them.
Cristelle felt she owed her babies.
Cody seemed to realize what Cristelle was thinking. He smiled at his mom, “Mom, don’t worry. I can study at home, and I’m pretty fast. Besides, I can even teach Candace.”
Nothing was sweeter than Cody’s words. Cristelle pressed a kiss on his little cheek, “Mommy loves you.”
Cody smiled, “I love you too.”
Cristelle was going to take the kids to the hospital the next day. She didn’t expect Fritzi to call her at that very moment, “Cristelle, do you mind coming to work today?”
Cristelle minded it big time. She wanted to decline it, but Fritzi added, “I’ll give you a day off if you come today.”
Cristelle thought for a second and finally said yes, “Okay then, I’m coming right now.”
“You don’t need to go to the company. I’ll send you an address later,” Fritzi added.
Cristelle didn’t think much as she said yes.
After hanging up the phone, she looked at her babies apologetically, “Sweethearts, mommy has to go to work today. I’ll take you guys to Dr. Drew tomorrow.”
Cody wasn’t happy about it, but he still sighed, “Sure, you can go if you’re busy. But you must take us there tomorrow.”
Cristelle stretched out her pinky finger, “Pinky swear.”
Candace hooked her little finger with hers. Cody didn’t like it, thinking it was too childish, “We won’t want you anymore if you fail to do it again.”
Cristelle smiled bitterly, “Sure. I promised.”
****
After dealing with the kids, Cristelle rearranged her time with Dr. Drew. Based on the address Fritzi sent her, she went to the biggest ski resort.
“You’re finally here, Cristelle. Do you know how to ski?” Fritzi asked as she saw Cristelle.
Fritzi had cut her hair short, having a strong-businesswoman vibe about her. Cristelle also saw Alfred and the other guys. She thus went a bit curious, “I thought we were gonna work?”
Fritzi sipped her coffee, “Yeah. This is our job today. Mr. Bradley said he would be here. We can also have some fun by watching them skiing. The snow is pretty. Maybe you can get some inspiration for it.”
She looked too excited to be in the audience. Cristelle suspected that she would end up being the one on the field. She would have spent the day with her babies if she had known this.
“Cristelle, do you want to have a try?” Alfred handed her the gear.
Cristelle shook her head, “I don’t really know how to ski. You guys can have fun.”
Alfred didn’t force her, walking away.
Linford cast her a stern look. Cristelle didn’t notice it and started to take pictures. At this moment, a fancy car suddenly pulled off outside of the gate. Diego and Pamela walked in, followed by a group of people. Diego was in a black coat. He was tall, giving off an intimidating vibe. Pamela was in a white dress coated by a black ski coat.
“Mr. Bradley, I’m so sorry to make you wait,” Diego smiled.