It was a sombre day at the orphanage. One that had begun on a happy note and ended so unexpectedly, but that was life. If there was anything to learn in life, it was the fact that nothing could be known beforehand, and we must be prepared for anything!
The life lost was so young, and nothing had prepared the adults for this. The younger kids did not understand what was going on and went about their play day. The slightly older ones could and did not feel much for the loss because they hardly knew Sara.
Ruby was feeling rather guilty, but it was surprising that she was feeling more guilty towards Shelby than the poor child who had lost her life! Ruby did try to treat everyone equally, but even though Shelby was never an official child of her orphanage, Ruby felt a sense of responsibility and motherhood towards Shelby.
’If only I had taken better care of her .... How could I let Shelby go through this again? Just look at how scared her little girl is.... *sigh!* I am glad that Ian Thornston takes this much care of her. He even left his work and came in just to help her today. That gives me some comfort!’ Ruby’s thoughts cascaded in everything and nothing at the same time.
Satisfied that all was well, Detective Leon and his team quickly rounded up everything. Sara’s cause of death was ruled as an unfortunate accident, and her body was carried off to be cremated.
This time, he did not try to take any statement from Ian himself. The man looked so imposing even from the distance that Leon could not bring himself to do anything of such. Besides, he got all the info he could possibly need from Currey, and he had no reason whatsoever to demand anything from Ian and his wife. Like a stain on his very person, he still remembered making a fool of himself back in the Thornston home.
’Never would I ever do that! Ever again!’
Leon could not help but sneak a couple of glances at the couple when they walked by him.
Upon seeing Ian’s attention and care towards his wife, Leon couldn’t help but think,
’It takes such a beauty to bring down such a powerful man! Yes! Beauty can only be the weakness of men!’
It was so much of a random thought that it even surprised him. However, Ian’s sharp gaze at him nearly caused Leon to stumble.
’That was so random. It was as if Ian could read my thoughts. Or did I say that loud? No... no... I did not. Maybe it was just a coincidence? Yes, yes.... That could be! How scary the world would be if the most powerful man on T-Vino Island could read people’s minds.... Whoosh! That would be a cold day in hell!’
Little did he know....
Ian did not bother to look at Leon again and guided Shelby and Ingrid out of the building.
"Ouch! Suzie! You are hurting me!"
Gabriel tried to snatch his small arms out of Suzie’s painful grasp to no avail.
"Oh! Sorry! Sorry! Young master Gabriel, I didn’t mean that.... "
Currey shook his head as his attention got drawn there. He walked up to them and took the boy from the still-shocked Suzie.
Suzie was still half expecting Ruby to demand where Ian and his assistant had come from, but nothing like what she was thinking happened, and Murray had disappeared once more right in front of her. What was puzzling was that even Gabriel did not react much.
"Currey, what is wrong with Suzie? She is acting weird."
"She just misses her mama...."
"Really? Suzie too? But she has Mama Shelby? I am sure Mama Shelby would not mind having a big girl as her daughter, too. She said that she has a big heart that is enough for all of us!"
Currey smirked and turned to look at Suzie.
"Well, I guess you got yourself a new mum!"
’Currey can still joke at this time?’ Suzie asked herself in disbelief.
Somehow, an extra car miraculously appeared, and the two cars transported the whole team back to the estate. Gabriel was not too sure of what had happened and he could sense that something was wrong.
"Suzie, why is Ingrid behaving like that? She is stuck on Mama Shelby. Ingrid never does that."
At that time, Suzie had managed to gather herself and could somewhat function.
"Her new friend went up to be with the stars."
Gabriel’s eyes grew wide.
"Like Mum Aliya did?"
"Oh! If I knew that she was about to go, I would have given her a message for Mum Aliya that I am happy with Mama Shelby...."
This got the people in the car perked up. That was so random that they had never expected those words.
"Is that what you want to tell your Mum?"
"Yes, I don’t want Mum Aliya to worry, so I wanted to tell her that." Gabriel’s little voice pulled the heartstrings of those who heard it. It could have been because Shelby was not there, and that was why he was at ease talking like that ... or not. No one knew.
"I’m sure that she knows, Gabriel. You do not have to worry about that."
"Really?" Gabriel’s perkiness and how his face brightened up were too much.
Suzie added, "Ingrid will be okay after a good night’s sleep, but for now, she needs the comfort of your Mama."
"Okay... I understand."
Back at the estate, Ian followed Shelby to the children’s room.
He felt a little awkward when he went on his knees and handed a small package to Ingrid.
Even Shelby had no idea when that had been purchased. It was Ingrid’s replacement glasses, and it came with a full set of replaceable colourful frames. It was a pretty little set.
Ingrid lit up a little at that.
"Thank you." Ingrid whispered.
With a signal, Suzie guided Gabriel into his own room and Ian sat on Ingrid’s bed.
Because of his size, he made the child’s bed look like a play-bed for a doll.
"Tell me about what happened, Ingrid."
"Ian? Not now. She is-"
"It’s okay, Mama Shelby," Ingrid whispered.
She went ahead and re-iterated everything again. The more Ian heard, the grimmer he got.
"You did well." He said it to Ingrid for the second time that day.
"However, we cannot let anyone know that you can breathe underwater."
"People do not like it when others are different."
"Is that really bad?"
Ian nodded. Unconsciously, this experience had brought him closer to the child. Ingrid was also not wary of Ian even though she kept herself closer to Shelby than her dad.
".... but I liked swimming like that...." Ingrid said as her voice got smaller. Just from saying that, they could hear the longing in her voice.
"Have you ever used the pool at school?"
"No, Mama. I was scared, but now I want to try."
Shelby went on her knees in front of the bed and took Ingrid’s arms. "You can’t do that, Ingrid. As your dad said, it’s best that you do not let anyone know about this."
"For now, let’s not let anyone know ... okay?"
Ingrid’s face fell. She loved that feeling under the weather and wanted to return there and feel that again.
"Let’s do it this way. We’ll use my private beach for you to swim once in a while, or we can even go to the clubhouse and use the pool there. There is a spot for my exclusive use."
Ian smiled and ruffled Ingrid’s hair.
"Go take a warm shower, Ingrid."
"Will you come with me, Mama Shelby?"
"Sure," Shelby said, standing up, carrying Ingrid, and walking into her bathroom.
’I’ll be right back.’ Shelby thought in her head and turned to see Ian nod.
’This is really handy though.’ She smiled.
’I can talk to him without opening my mouth. It’s like our own secret code!’ Shelby quickly helped Ingrid with that and put her to bed even though it was still daytime. After a warm glass of milk, Ingrid lay down and held onto Shelby firmly. It was only when she fell asleep that she let go.
Ian hovered around like a strong, sturdy pillar, watching the way that Shelby handled her.
’She’ll be so good with our children.’ This caused Shelby to glare at him and blush. Suzie re-entered the room then.
"He also fell asleep, Miss." Suzie whispered. A closer look showed that she was still keeping on a brave front. If Suzie had been just wary of her mistress’s husband before, now she looked like she wanted to bolt from the room. She looked so scared yet determined to stay with her mistress. It made her look a bit cute in a way. However, her professionalism could be commended. It was top-notch!
"Ok, thanks, Suzie," Shelby whispered, ensuring she did not awaken the sleeping girl. Shelby leaned down and pecked Ingrid’s soft cheeks.
Shelby then turned and gave her full attention to her handmaid,
"Do you have anything to ask me, Suzie?"
This question startled Suzie out of her thoughts. She sneaked a glance at the imposing Ian in the room, opened her mouth, but closed it.
’How do I even ask anything?’
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