Chapter 5

Dylan walked toward their bed and saw the divorce papers on the headboard. He hadn’t read them yet, as there were two copies, and they had been given to him just as he was leaving Rosie’s house.

He picked up one of the divorce papers and glanced through it before placing it into his black briefcase. He closed the briefcase and headed into the bathroom to take a shower.

He decided to get ready for work, planning to read the divorce papers in his office.

Meanwhile, Jessica rushed downstairs into the living room and saw her two kids sitting on the couch, eating popcorn from the previous night, which she had used to keep herself awake while waiting for Dylan to return home.

Glancing at the living room wall clock, she noted it was already 8:35 AM, and she realized that her kids were running very late for school.

"Mummy! Mummy!" Caleb and Nina both rushed to hug her legs as soon as she stepped into the living room.

Caleb asked, "Mummy, aren’t we going to school today?"

Jessica knew her kids were late for school. She thought to herself that if their former maid were around, the maid would have helped her get the kids ready for school, bathed them before she woke up, and prepared their breakfast too.

The maid would have assisted Caleb and Nina in having their breakfast at the dining table, but now Jessica had to do it all alone since Dylan was firmly against having any maid.

Jessica had suspected that the young maid tried to seduce Dylan in her absence, but after the maid left, she didn’t receive any complaints about it from the maid's parents. The maid had even cried when being sent away, claiming she hadn’t done anything to upset Jessica.

Jessica had given the young maid extra money, telling her that she would continue to pay for the maid's schooling, even though she was no longer under her care.

The young maid, Florence Gregson, was 15 years old. Jessica had observed how Florence cared for Caleb and Nina, helping them with their homework as if she were their older sister. Yet Florence was merely a maid and not related to them.

"Time has run out for today, Caleb. Don't worry; I will wake up extra early tomorrow morning to take you and Nina to school on time. Just wait here while I prepare something for you both to eat first. After that, I'll prepare your baths," Jessica told her son, smiling as she squatted to meet his and Nina's height.

Finally standing up from squatting in front of her kids, she walked into the kitchen to prepare their breakfast.

As she entered the kitchen, Jessica wondered if Dylan was still serious about divorcing her. She opened the cupboards to see what she could make for breakfast.

Since she no longer had a maid, she resumed mopping the kitchen floor. Once she finished cleaning the floor and the countertop, she proceeded to prepare breakfast for her kids. She made noodles and fried eggs, then stepped out to the dining table to serve their meals.

The aroma of the fried eggs and delicious noodles attracted her kids, and they rushed to the dining table to take their seats.

Nina was too small to climb onto the dining chair by herself. She cried out and reached for Jessica to carry her up. After three attempts to climb onto the chair alone, she ended up falling onto the tiled floor and cried, "Mummy!"

"Wait, Nina! I'm coming!" Jessica quickly rushed to pick Nina up in her arms, dusting off her little bottom, and then sat down with her on her lap. She began feeding Nina.

Nina stretched her small hand to take the spoon from Jessica, wanting to feed herself, but Jessica continued to feed her.

Jessica knew her children were happy, and she didn’t want them to grow sad seeing their parents quarreling and no longer in love with each other.

"Mummy, why are you crying?" Caleb asked, noticing Jessica's tears rolling down her cheeks.

Nina tried looking up at her mother's face while seated on Jessica's lap, eating her noodles.

Nina looked up again to see if Jessica was really crying, and just then, Jessica heard footsteps behind her back. She quickly sniffled and plastered a fake smile on her face as she replied to Caleb, "I'm not crying; I'm just overwhelmed."

"Over what?" Caleb asked, not understanding his mother’s big words, but Dylan interrupted their conversation with his sharp voice. "That’s enough, Caleb. Eat your food. You should know that talking isn’t allowed while eating."

"Okay, Dad," Caleb said with a smile, and Dylan, with a stern expression, adjusted his black suit and tie, which he wore over a white dress shirt.

Jessica turned to see Dylan’s hardened expression.

She wanted to set Nina down so she could stand up and prepare breakfast for Dylan, but he coldly told her, "There’s no need for that. I can’t wait to eat again."

Jessica had already stood up from the table but saw that Dylan didn’t want to wait for his breakfast. After adjusting his suit and white shirt, he placed some money on the center table for them and left the house.

“Mummy…” Nina cried out, unable to reach the dining table by herself. Her little hands couldn’t grasp the spoon to feed herself.

Nina's crying snapped Jessica out of her trance. She hurried back to her daughter, who was struggling to feed herself.

Jessica lifted Nina onto her lap again and resumed feeding her at the dining table.

Jessica knew Dylan wasn’t joking about divorcing her, and she silently thought about what she could do to appease him while feeding her daughter.

After Jessica finished feeding Nina, she noticed that Caleb had also completed his meal.

Jessica remembered that Dylan only left the security guard at the gate to lock and unlock it whenever he left for the office in the morning and returned home in the evening, having fired all the maids and domestic staff.

Jessica heard the sound of Dylan's car starting in the garage as he finally drove out of their compound, and she realized he was leaving for work.

She went to the children's room downstairs to prepare their baths. After bathing them, she dressed them in fresh clothes and brought them back to the living room with their toys to play. She switched on the television to a cartoon channel so they could watch while she returned upstairs to her bedroom.