CHAPTER 133
LILY’S POV
It was hard cleaning the house and fixing everything. With Nana Mae gone, the task was now twice as hard. Noah did help but cleaning was definitely not his thing though his comforting presence helped make me feel better and less moody. He left after making sure I was okay. He had wanted to stay over for the night but I didn’t think it was a good idea because I needed some time alone with my kids.
Fortunately, most of the pricey toys Robert bought for the kids didn’t shatter and were still in good condition. I stacked them in the store room and locked them away as punishment for what they did. They won’t be getting them back anytime soon. I also banned them from watching the TV and eating Pizza, their favourite food for a month.
I wasn’t the type of parent who easily grounded their children but they left me without a choice. I wanted them to know that what they did was wrong and shouldn’t be repeated, leaving school when classes were still ongoing. What if an impostor posing as Robert took them? And their teacher, Miss Hampton or whatever she’s called was dumb enough to let him take them without my informing me first. Once the academic year concludes, I’m taking them from that school and transferring them to a new one that prioritizes student safety and proper communication.
I couldn’t imagine reliving the horrors I went through after Cassandra kidnapped them. Living for three days without them was a lot worse than hell. I almost lost my mind. And today, the same thing almost happened. If I hadn’t received that call from Nana Mae, Noah and I would have blindly gone to New York, believing they were there.
Liam and Lila have worn an indignant frown on their faces ever since, locking themselves in their rooms and refusing to speak to me. But their anger won’t last forever. It never does especially when it comes to me. Everything I do is for their good. Robert lost the right to call them his nine years ago, and neither he nor the kids are allowed to change that. We’ll continue living our lives as we always have as if he never existed. It’s better that way.
I made spaghetti meatballs for dinner. I called the kids out of their room and they reluctantly came out so we could eat. However, at the dining table, five minutes went by, even ten yet they weren’t eating. I was almost done with mine but they were only picking at their food as if they weren’t hungry, clearly still sulking.
Witnessing that bothered me so much that I lost my appetite. I didn’t want them starving themselves and afterwards, looking all scrawny and malnourished like skeletons wearing skin. Everyone will point fingers at me, their mother. I have to make them eat.
“Aren’t you two going to eat that?” I asked, eyeing their untouched plates. “Don’t you like the food, or did he feed you guys too much junk and tell you not to eat Mummy’s food again…?”
“Why did you lie to us?” Liam asked, ignoring my question. It was as if he was finally releasing all that pent-up anger he had been holding back.
The question caught off guard so I was unable to give a clear answer. “I…I don’t understand… I didn’t lie to you…”
“Yes, you did!” He dropped his fork and it clanged noisily on the plate, his expression becoming very serious. “You told us our father was away on Mars, fighting off bad guys and we couldn’t contact him because the internet didn’t work there while he has been very close to us all along…”
I was stunned at the way he talked to me. He had never acted this way before, and every nerve in my body burned with anger, knowing Robert was the root cause of this problem; he was trying to turn my kids against me.
“Don’t you dare raise your voice at me!” I stood abruptly, letting him know who was in charge of the house. “I’m your mother and I know what’s best for you…”
“So keeping us away from our daddy is what’s best for us?” His tongue was laced with a heavy dose of sarcasm as he looked at me with a flicker of contempt.
“Don’t try to make me look like the villain in this story,” I said with firm disapproval. “After what that man did, he doesn’t deserve you, he doesn’t deserve us…”
“And what exactly did ‘that man’ do?” Lila cut in as if that was the perfect cue for her to join in on the conversation, her expression mirroring Liam’s.