Chapter 53: Those kids are ours
Chapter 53
Brenda sat alone in her estate. The maids were taking a brief break, so the estate was silent and quiet, which was trifling. Jasmine’s laughter faintly echoed in her head—the way her eyes widened at every fascinating thing she saw in the mall and the way she bounced around excitedly. While Hanith silently nodded in affirmation, a little scrunch of his nose, and how he had softly whispered, "Thank you," after receiving that gift—even though he barely said a word the entire time.
Brenda found herself smiling at the memory. It was precious. Her brow quickly came together. She wasn’t supposed to feel this. She wasn’t supposed to care. But those kids were her grandchildren.
And yet—a bittersweet smile latched onto her face. She didn’t like their mother. She never would. But—
Brenda stared at the stuff she bought for the kids, scattered on the ground, and the picture of Aaron when he was around their age. Maybe six or five, grinning with cake frosting smudged on his face. She smiled slightly. Her fingers faintly trailed over the picture, her chest pulled with melancholy. Her son. "They really are his," she whispered to herself.
The realization hit harder than she expected.
A breath shuddered through her lungs before she straightened her back, placing the photo carefully on the table.
Brenda’s hand clenched on the teacup handle as she dropped it on the table. Her son! Her precious son that she raised with care and attention really surprised her when he came to pick the kids. How he argued with her—disagreed with her?! How he came to the estate like a stranger.
She turned to the intercom to call one of her oldest confidantes among her maids who was currently present in the estate.
"Pack all the kids’ stuff in the room," she said, her eyes zeroing in on the Iron Man toy Jasmine was playing with the previous day. "Put them in a box and you’ll see one old photo of Aaron," she massaged the bridge of her nose, "put it in the package and send it to Katherine," she finished.
"But Ma’am—"