"The water is clear, but your wrists are stained. Your face says happy, but your eyes say pain."

-L.A.

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Anisha's smile faltered as Andrew pulled his hand away from hers and walked away.

He wasn't even going to act like he wanted her tonight. At least, for the many years before, he would still pretend and act like he loved her. They would put on a grand show of how happy and in love they were.

But now it seemed as if she wasn't even worthy of his fake concern and care anymore.

Ryan followed pursuit, as if the thought of being anywhere near his mother for even one evening seemed unbearable.

Still, she smiled and greeted a few business associates and then made her way to a table in the far corner of the room.

She just wanted to be left alone for the evening.

These events weren't fun. Especially not when someone drained and empty like her was supposed to pretend to smile and laugh for an entire evening.

Sure they had been fun when Andrew had danced and talked alongside her but now she was all alone.

Except for her daughter who seemed to want to spend some time with her mother.

"Mommy, look my doll is wearing a blue dress. But it's not as pretty as yours. Mommy is a princess." Mira smiled shyly as she took a seat next to her mother.

Anisha smiled at her daughter and took ahold Mira's hand. How simple and easy the world was for Mira. The carefreeness and laughter that followed Mira around was living strength for Anisha. It was the only reason she was fighting to live.

It was the few moments like this that made the painful ones seem like a small occurrence for her. And for moments like this, Anisha would fight until it was no longer possible.

Mira was just an eight-year old girl, obsessed with Cinderella and jelly beans. The little girl knew nothing of the pain, anger and betrayal that surrounded her parents.

And Anisha wished she could keep Mira this happy and innocent forever. She prayed over and over that her daughter wouldn't have to go through anything close to the pain she had. She hoped Mira would have all the happiness in whole world.

Anisha hoped and hoped that Mira would never have to endure any sort of betrayal or heartbreak, like the ones she was suffering through. But those things, they were inevitable. It was going to happen.

And Anisha, she wouldn't be here to provide a shoulder for her daughter to cry on. Anisha wouldn't be there to make Mira a cup of tea and tell her that it would all be okay. Anisha wouldn't be there to mend her daughter's broken heart, to tell her that it was all going to work out for the best.

Deep down, it hurt. It hurt a lot.

No matter how much Andrew hurt her, she still wanted him and no matter how much the kids seemed to misunderstand her, she still loved them.

And the knowledge that she didn't have enough strength to fight and hold on anymore was tearing her apart.

Anisha turned back to Mira, with a small smile on her face. "Mommy isn't a princess Mira, you are. You, my baby girl, are the most beautiful princess in the whole world."

"That's not true, Mommy. Daddy said you're princess. He thinks you're beautiful." Mira spoke while she continued playing with her Cinderella doll.

And immediately all the heaviness escaped her heart. He still cared. He still fucking cared.

Her face broke into a large grin. She felt happier than a little kid eating cotton candy at the fair. And she felt free, free from all the pain that anchored her heart. She was free, soaring across the glitter sky.

He still thought she was beautiful. He noticed her. He cared. He fucking cared. He thought she was beautiful.

When did he tell the kids these things? Of course this had to be recent, especially since children tend to forget things so easily.

But why?

She smiled and bit her lip as she imagined Andrew talking to Mira and telling her that he thought their mother was beautiful, that Anisha was his princess.

"Oh no. She's here." Mira groaned.

Anisha looked up as Amanda walked into the hall, wearing a short navy dress, the color exactly similar to the shirt Andrew was wearing under his suit.

Anisha gasped as Amanda quickly spotted Andrew and made her way over to him.

The nerve of that woman. To first show up wearing a dress that was better fit for a teenage and then to publically throw herself all over a married man.

But she knew her husband was no saint. He accepted all her advances. And Anisha knew better than anyone, he too made advances on many.

Anisha found herself more concerned with what they were wearing. They had planned to match; he had coordinated what he was wearing to the color of Amanda's dress.

The sadness overpowered her. She had always wanted to be one of those couples who matched together. How cute the pictures would be!

But now, here she was wearing a green dress that heavily contrasted her husband's navy suit.

And who was she lying to? Andrew didn't know the smallest things about her. He knew nothing about the woman he had supposedly been wed to for sixteen years.

The last thing he would even be concerned about would be if they matched or not.

Nor could he be bothered to take a picture with her.

And all his affection was only for public display.

But she still wondered then, why did he tell Mira that he thought she was beautiful.

Anisha raised an eyebrow and turned to Mira who was looking at her mother wide-eyed, afraid that her mother would scold her for what she had said.

"I'm sowrry Mommy."

"Mira, what did you call her?"

"Nothwing Mommy. I just...you know. Oh come on mommy, don't look at me like that. Okay, fine I called her a bitch."

Anisha quickly stopped smiling and turned to her daughter. As much as she hated Amanda for ruining her life, her marriage and her happiness, Anisha refused to raise her daughter like that.

"Why do you say that? Wait, where did you even learn that word?"

"Because she is."

"Mira." Anisha warned.

"Okay, okay. She's always trying to kiss daddy. Why does she do that? Daddy is only supposed to kiss you. And even daddy said that she's annoying. He only likes her because she's good in bed. Whatever that means."

"Where did you hear that?"

Mira shrugged. "I heard Daddy talking on the phone one time."

Anisha sighed and closed her eyes, gathering all the courage she had in her. "Mira, baby look at me. I need to tell you something very important."

This was the most important lesson Anisha could leave behind for her daughter.

"No matter how mean, annoying and hateful a person is, you must be a good person. If someone is mean to you, that doesn't mean anything. You don't get to mean in return. You need to be a good person and be nice to them."

"But..."

"No buts Mira. I'm serious. Kindness is everything in the world and at the end of the day, you never know what a simple smile could do."

"But I hate her! Even more than I hate Aaron."

"It doesn't matter if you hate her or love her. When someone needs help, you help them. No matter what. We all have our weaknesses and we all want someone to help us."

For Anisha, raising her children wasn't about what they dressed like and how much they spent on toys and clothes. It wasn't about appearance but instead it was about character. All she really cared about what the kind of person they would turn into. Because for her, attitude and personality were a hell lot more important than physical appearances.

And all she wanted them to learn from her was to always be a good person. Despite whatever the circumstance might be.

She wanted them to see the good in people. The same way she had spent fourteen years overlooking every wrongdoing of Andrew and focusing rather on the small acts that proved he cared.

Even if he acted like he didn't.

Anisha shook away her thoughts away and turned to Mira. "Wait whose Aaron?"

The way Mira's cheeks reddened and the shyness that surrounded her didn't go unnoticed by Anisha. Her daughter had a crush!

"Stuwpid Aaron. He sits next to me in class and during reading time, he always throws erasers at me. And sometimes he steals my sparkly pens." Mira mumbled, almost afraid to admit that she liked the boy who sat next to her and teased her on a daily basis.

"Are you sure you don't like him?" Anisha teased.

"NO! I hate him."

Anisha couldn't stop smiling as her daughter told her story after story about Aaron and how such she claimed to hate him.

The evening was going far better than she had even imagined. These minutes with her daughter meant the world for her. And Anisha knew now, that at least Mira would have some sort of good memory with her mother.

"Mira, I'm going to get food for both of us. Okay?"

Mira nodded and smiled, showing her missing front tooth. "Make sure to get lots and lots of jelly beans."

"I'm not sure they have jelly beans but I'll see."

Mira and her obsession with jelly beans. Of course, they wouldn't have jelly beans but Anisha made note to buy a whole bag of them when she went grocery shopping later that weekend.

She was going to spoil her daughter as much as she could in her last days.

Anisha's mouth watered when she saw the chocolate cupcakes. Maybe Mira and her could have a sweet snack before dinner.

Someone reached for the same cupcake at the same time. Anisha looked up to apologize but instead she came face to face with a pair of bright green eyes.

The bright green eyes that belonged to the person who really knew every bit of her, every white lie and black secret, even the ones she even kept hidden from her dear husband.

The one person she had spent all evening avoiding.

Sebastian Knight.

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I'm so sorry for the super late update but school has been crazy. I only have six weeks of classes left so it's so stressful. But on a positive note, I have this Monday and Wednesday off. So maybe I can update the next chapter.

So so so who is this Sebastian Knight?

Honestly, I didn't even plan on writing this chapter but I felt like Mira needed some quality time with her mom. And Anisha deserves to smile.