Shonee's POV

Frustrated, I rubbed the sore spot on my head as I walked down the hallway, trying to ignore Avril's words that currently plagued my mind.

What if she's right? What if Vincent's parents push him to get rid of me? Would he actually do it?

The night we spent together did a replay in my head. I could see the honesty in his eyes, hear the sincerity in his voice. Vincent meant every word he said that night, he truly did. But now that I thought about it, the dynamics of our relationship wasn't up to him. It was more about what his parents wanted and rebuilding his family's image now that everything was in shambles. No matter how hard I tried to deny it, a part of me couldn't help but acknowledge that Avril's words held some molecule of truth. I was expired goods, just waiting to be disposed of.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice the figure ahead of me until I bumped right into him.

"Shonee?" Vincent called out and I soon felt his wide hands on my arms. "Hey, are you ok?"

I shook my head in an attempt to clear it up, and managed to give him a small smile. "Yeah, yeah...I just hit my head a little, but I'm fine."

His eyebrows immediately dipped low. "Are you sure? Cuz I can get you some aspirin."

"No, Vincent. I'm fine. Seriously." I brushed away his concern, and not long after, a young lady approached us.

"Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Beckham, but the family is waiting on you in the lounge to begin the introduction."

"Oh, right." Vincent gave her a nod then gestured for me to follow him. "C'mon."

Sucking in a deep breath, I trailed him down the hallway, entering a large room with exquisite interior design. Looking at the number of people present; I guessed the entire Beckham family was here with some of Nancy's relatives too.

I couldn't help but huff and cross my arms. To me, this was irrelevant. It was just a short meeting to reunite Mirasol with her mum. Did they really need to invite everyone in the family?

Leaving my side, Vincent walked over to talk to his mum and that was when I noticed a few glances in my direction. I knew what they were thinking, and since I didn't want to draw anymore attention to myself, I receded to the back of the room, hoping to stay out of the limelight.

Oblivious little Mirasol, sat in a chair in the center of the room, her feet dangling.

Mrs. Beckham moved towards her. Not far of stood Vincent, his dad, and Nancy's mother, Alice.

The room grew silent as Mrs. Beckham took a seat next to her. "Mirasol dear, there's something very special we need to talk about today."

Mirasol looked up, eyes wide and curious. "Ok."

"You know," Mrs. Beckham cleared her throat. "A long time ago, we thought we lost someone very dear to us. Your mother. You remember her, right?"

The little girl gave her a soft, unsure nod. "Daddy said she went to heaven."

"Yes, well...that's what we all thought," the elderly woman clarified. "We thought she had an accident, sweetheart. A car accident, and we thought that she wouldn't come back to us. But...we were wrong. She wasn't gone after all."

Mirasol's eyes grew even wider. "So...Mama is not in heaven?"

"She's not in heaven, sweetie." Mrs. Beckham cupped her cheek. "She was just...lost for some time, but now she's here. She found her way back to us and she's so happy to see you."

Mirasol blinked, eyes darting over to her dad before coming back to her grandmother to ask another question. "Is...is she nice?"

"Oh very," Mrs. Beckham chuckled softly, glancing over at Nancy who was approaching from behind Mirasol. It was as if they had rehearsed the whole thing. "She's very nice, darling. And she loves you so much."

"Hi, Mirasol," Nancy called out and Mirasol turned in her seat. She then knelt down in front of her daughter. "Do you remember me?"

The little girl shook her head no, and it made Nancy pause. You could tell that she wasn't expecting that response, but Mrs. Beckham gave her a nod to continue.

"I'm your Mama, Mirasol. And I've missed you so much."

I watched Mirasol's face steadily. Her expression was mostly filled with curiosity and uncertainty as she gazed at Nancy in wonder. "Mama?"

"Yes, honey," Nancy chuckled, eyes brimming with what I guessed were tears of joy. "I'm your Mama."

Mirasol frowned. "But where were you?"

Nancy hesitated, searching for words. "I was away...because I didn't know how to come back. But I'm here now. And I promise, I'm not going anywhere again."

It was a heartwarming scene to be honest. But the gut-wrenching pain I felt in my chest made it hard for me to appreciate its happiness. And who could blame me? The little girl I'd been taking care of, become attached to, and grown to love as my own wasn't mine. I mean, I knew she wasn't mine from the beginning, but now that the reality of it all was right in my face...it was hard. It was hard to accept that I was about to lose her...for good.

Mirasol's gaze drifted down to the little boy by Nancy's side. "Who's he?"

"Oh this?" Despite the tears, her smile broadened. "This is Ben. He's your baby brother."

"Brother?" At the mention of that word, her little lips curled into a smile as she titled her head, staring at him. "Hi, Ben." Mirasol gave him a shy wave and Ben blinked back, half-hiding behind Nancy.

His mum laughed, then reached out, hesitantly lifting her free hand to embrace Mirasol. "I'd love to give you a hug if that's ok, Mirasol?"

But just as Nancy moved closer, Mirasol shrank back slightly glancing uncertainly between Nancy and the room full of watching faces. A little overwhelmed, she turned her head and her gaze landed on me.

Without a hint of hesitation, Mirasol hopped off her chair, run in my direction and wrapped her arms around my legs, burying her face in my thigh.

Caught off guard, I froze, awkwardly patting her back as I looked up to see every eye in the room fixated on us. Vincent's eyebrows had dipped into a frown of worry. Mrs. Beckham was off her chair, shooting me that laser-cutting glare she gave me earlier when she warned me to stay out of this. And Nancy? Nancy stood at her side, all the hope and happiness in her eyes, melting away.

Oh crap.

In this moment, I wished for anything that could make me disappear into thin air.

******
Heya! Thank you so much for 500+ reads, everyone. I really appreciate the support.

I'd also love to get your thoughts on how things are going to play out now that Nancy is back. Do you think she's gonna get along with Shonee or will she make things worse for her?
Share your thoughts in the comment section!
I look forward to reading them.♥️♥️♥️