Novel Square
Busy husband
—–
The Previous Day (About Thirteen Hours Ago)
Abroad.
During the time her sister and her family were in town, Yvonne made sure to visit them at their suite every day, enjoying their company as they explored together.
But their trip soon came to an end, and it was time for them to leave.
Yvonne drove the family of three to the airport in the afternoon, an hour before their flight was scheduled to take off.
When they arrived, it was time to say their goodbyes.
“I’ll miss you,” Stella’s eyes welled up with tears as she hugged her little sister.
“I’ll miss you too.” Yvonne’s voice quivered as she pulled away from the embrace.
She then embraced her brother-in-law and her nephew. “I’ll miss you guys,” she sobbed.Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.
Once they left, she would be alone again, back to her usual lonely routines in this foreign land among unfamiliar faces.
“Don’t worry, we’ll come back very soon. Once Vee finishes high school, we’ll all come here. I promise. She’ll be done soon,” Stella assured.
Hearing this, Yvonne teared up. “Thank you, Sis.”
Evans patted her shoulder gently. “Don’t worry Yvonne, we’ll be back soon.”
She nodded, wiping away her tears.
After hugging her sister one more time, Yvonne stepped back, waving as the family made their way through the security checkpoint. She would miss them dearly; the past week had been the best she’d had abroad in years.
As she turned to leave, her phone chimed in her hand. The screen lit up, revealing images sent from an unknown number. She downloaded the images and opened the first one. In an instant, her eyes widened in shock.
The image showed Shawn carrying a girl, his face filled with care and urgency.
Yvonne’s hands trembled as she zoomed in on the image. Although she couldn’t see the girl’s face clearly, she recognized her as the same girl from the previous images she had received.
She scrolled through the remaining pictures and found Shawn carrying the girl in each one. Same attires, same location.
Who was this girl? Who could she be, really? Yvonne’s curiosity and anxiety resurfaced.
Just then, her phone chimed with a message. It read, “WILL YOU REALLY ALLOW ANOTHER PERSON TO TAKE YOUR PLACE? YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO.”
A tear escaped from Yvonne’s eye as she read the message. Indeed, she knew what she had to do, even though she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
Wiping her tear-stained face, she turned off her phone screen and put it away. Staying abroad was for the greater good of everyone, and she would persevere.
—–
Back to the Present Day, R High School
As soon as Damien arrived at Veronica’s school, he stepped out of the car as usual, and leaned against it, scanning the area for someone as students trooped out of the school, heading in different directions.
Veronica’s cheerful voice broke his concentration. “Uncle Damien!”
He turned his attention to his niece, a grin spreading across his face. “Are you ready?”
Veronica nodded enthusiastically, also grinning.
“Shall we then?” He opened the car door gentlemanly.
His gesture made Veronica laugh heartily. “We shall!”
She hopped into the car.
Damien’s eyes darted around one last time before he followed suit, and they drove away from the school.
During the ride to the airport, he couldn’t help but think about that girl. It had been some time since he last saw her. Every time he came to pick up Veronica from school recently, he looked around for her but couldn’t find any trace.
Even though he had collected her phone number when they met the other day, he hesitated to reach out, uncertain about what to say. Night after night, he found himself scrolling through her contact information, pondering whether to make that call. Yet, each time, he ultimately refrained from dialing her number.
Unable to contain his curiosity, he asked, “Vee, what about that classmate of yours?”
Veronica furrowed her brows. “The one who helped you find me the other day?”
Damien nodded.
“I don’t know. I don’t really care. She hasn’t been coming to school for the past three days,” She shrugged nonchalantly.
Damien nodded again. That explained why he hadn’t been seeing her lately.
“Is something wrong with her?” He inquired.
Veronica snickered. “As if. Uncle Damien, do you know that that girl is into immoral activities?”
Damien’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. Immoral activities…
Veronica proceeded to explain how Mia’s father had come to their school and embarrassed her in front of everyone, how Mia had stolen her best friend’s boyfriend, and how she no longer stayed in the school’s dormitory or at home.
“She’s a devilish person!” Veronica concluded.
Damien fell into a thoughtful silence, carefully considering all the information.
How was it possible that the girl didn’t seem to fit the profile of someone capable of the crimes his niece had described? It left him pondering.
Was she truly not the person he had believed her to be, or was there more to her character than the eye met?
—
Meanwhile, in Mia’s room…
“Ntin!” Mia couldn’t help but scrunch up her face as she sneezed.
Someone was likely gossiping about her again. Was her reputation really that tarnished?
Huffing, she got down from the bed and went over to stand before the vanity. She looked puffy, having added some weight to her body.
For the past few days, while not attending school, she’d been spending her time at home, indulging in eating, sleeping, and watching movies. She hadn’t been doing any work at all and had become extremely lazy.
If she continued like this, she wouldn’t know when she’d become obese.
Heaving a weary sigh, Mia returned to her bed and sat in the middle.
First thing on Monday morning, she had better pick up her bag and head to school. In fact, she’d be the first person in school on Monday.
Just then, her mind wandered to Shawn Mendez. She had hardly seen him at home these past few days. He had been extremely busy at work, and with Grandpa Mendez’s birthday coming up, he was rarely at home.
Just as she was still lost deep in thoughts, her phone chimed. She picked it up and saw that Martha had left a message on the school’s platform.
Furrowing her brows, she clicked on it.
“GOOD DAY, EVERYONE. I’M TYPING THIS MESSAGE TO LET YOU KNOW THAT MAX AND I ARE NOW BACK TOGETHER. PLEASE, Y’ALL SHOULD FORGIVE AND FORGET ALL THAT HAS HAPPENED IN THE PAST. LET’S FOCUS ON THE PRESENT AND ENSURE TO BE GOOD TO ONE ANOTHER, WHILE ALWAYS LOOKING AT THE BRIGHT SIDE. THANK YOU.”
Mia read the message over and over again, and a smile spread across her face.
“Thank you, Martha,” she muttered, her eyes glistening with tears.
With this, the kids in school might become less harsh on her. Therefore, she was really thankful to her best friend for standing up for her.