Chapter 24
Lila on the other hand, had my late mother’s soft peaceful hazel eyes and sun-coloured hair which seemed to glow in the light. Her hair keeps growing longer by the day which has made me give her the nickname Rapunzel after her favourite cartoon character. She loved to play with it and would often scatter the strands all over her face after it had been freshly styled.
“You know I love you very much right?” Liam said, causing me to look at him. My cheeks grew red hot with smiles as I beamed.
“I know my darling,”
“More than anything in this world,” he pressed on, causing me to eye him with a suspicious glance while still smiling. He wore a mischievous grin on his face as if planning something clever. He has always acted smarter than his age with a way of speaking so sweetly that could charm anyone. “More than Lila does, right?”
“That’s a lie!” Lila snapped at him, fuming with rage. “You don’t love mummy more than I do. Don’t listen to him mummy,” she pulled my hand so I could focus my attention on her angry but cute angelic-looking face.
“If you claim to love mummy more than I do then what gift did you bring her on this special day?” Liam challenged, leaning in to look at her with a smug expression on his face as if knowing she had nothing. That was when I noticed his right hand was behind his back and that he was hiding something
Lila’s face twisted in exasperation. She placed her pinky finger on her bottom lip, her eyeballs rolled up as she glanced above, struggling to come up with a response.
“You see, you’ve got nothing,” Liam laughed triumphantly, his voice ringing with victory while Lila pouted, squeezing her face in a frown. “Me, I love mummy more than you which is why I brought her this!” He announced dramatically as he stepped out in front of me, bringing out his hands from his back in a cartoonish style to reveal a rose flower that was withered from too much handling. “Taalahhh…”
I couldn’t help laughing hysterically. I collected the flower from him and sniffed it deeply even though it had lost its sweet-smelling scent. “Thank you my prince charming,” I patted his hair. “That’s very thoughtful of you. It’s lovely and I like it very much.”
He jumped up, clapping his hands excitedly before making an exaggerated, romantic bow, clearly enjoying the moment.
Lila went from pulling my hand to tugging the hem of my top, doing everything she could to divert my attention from Liam. Her hazel eyes had grown large and watered with unshed tears like one who’d been treated unfairly.
“Don’t worry, Honey,” I comforted her, tucking the strands that had fallen on her face behind her ear and bringing her head closer to my side. “I love you two very much equally, okay? You don’t need to bring me gifts to show you love me, okay?”
She nodded and sniffed heavily, trying to blink away her tears. I felt like the happiest mother on earth seeing the way they yearned for my attention. It showed they loved and wanted me very much despite all the time we had been apart. Thank goodness Jane was always bringing them to visit me in prison. If not, I feared for the inevitable.
“Is that how you should treat your sister?” Jane directed at Liam scoldingly as we approached her in the car. “Have you forgotten she helped me bake the cake and decorate the house for your mummy’s return before we came here?”
Liam looked away in embarrassment, suddenly bereft of words as if remorseful of what he had done.
“Now apologize unless there will be no cake for you if we get home,” Jane continued.
Liam quickly ran to Lila, apologizing to her while Jane and I watched in quiet amusement. Lila proved stubborn and adamant at first but after much persuasion from Liam, she accepted his apology, telling him never to do it again. Liam accepted and they hugged each other tightly in affection.
Returning my attention to Jane, I gave her a long heartwarming hug too as a gesture of my gratitude for everything she had done for me and my babies while I was in prison.
“Thank you so much, Jane,” I was on the verge of another round of tears as I said that. “Words aren’t enough to express my gratitude. You have been there for me right from day one, even when I had lost all hope. I promise to pay you back a thousandfold once I get back on track…”
“No…” she pulled away from our hug, shaking her head lightly in disapproval. “That won’t be necessary at all. What are friends for? I know you’ll do the same for me,” she took my hands and pressed them gently, a tender smile curving her lips. “If given the chance again, I will do what I did over and over again because I’m never leaving you to suffer alone. Your cross is my cross, your thorns, my thorns too, your joy, my joy as well. I will always be here for you whenever you need me. Plus, my girl, Christabel was happy seeing people she can play with and my husband loves them like they’re his.” She managed a chuckle amid her onslaught of emotions.
“Thank you,” I said once more, wiping the tears that threatened to spill down my face with the back of my hand.
“Mummy! Mummy!!…” Liam and Lila called out in unison as they ran to me. They settled around me, protectively and greedily wrapping their hand around my body.
“Please stop crying,” Liam said. “We hate to see you cry.”
“Yeah…” Lila whined. “It breaks our heart.”
A smile spread across my face and I stifled a sob, doing my best to hold myself in check for them.
“This is the last time. I promise I won’t cry again,” lowering to their level, I kissed them on the forehead, making a promise I wasn’t so sure I’d keep.
They grinned happily on hearing that and hugged me.
“Do you have everything ready?” I asked Jane, rising to my feet and letting the kids play around the car.
“Yes,” she nodded. “Everything you need is in the back seat.”
“Good,” I breathed out like one about taking on a crucial challenge.
But then I noticed a sad expression on Jane’s face as she sighed heavily.
“What is it, Jay?” I asked in concern.
“Are you sure you really want to go on with this plan?” she asked, trying to prove a point. “I…I mean you can still reconsider. I don’t think this is the best idea.”
“I have already made up my mind,” I said firmly. “We talked about this countlessly. I thought you understood and respected my decision. Nothing can make me change my mind about this now. I must carry on with this plan before the end of today.”