Chapter 11

Zephyrus Xander’s house entrance, the second day. Zephyrus’s household was above average financially as he had a small business. He was living in a villa built on the land he owned. Monique Xander was actually reluctant. She pressed on the doorbell after some hesitation. Yvonne Xander opened the door, looking like a lady from a rich family with her delicate makeup and red dress. Yvonne was aware that Monique was going to visit that day. She squinted and looked at her with disgust. She did not expect Monique to still look this pure after having a daughter for five years. Monique’s huge sparkly eyes still looked just as lively as before. Yvonne always hated how innocent she looked. Ignoring Yvonne, Monique held Little Nomi’s hand and walked into the house. Yvonne followed angrily with her arms held around her chest, her heels making click-clack noises. Monique entered the living room. Her uncle was sitting on a chair while smoking a cigarette with an unhappy face while her aunt was reading a magazine. “Uncle! Aunt!” Monique greeted them with a smile. “You’re here !” Her uncle gave her a kind smile. Siobhan Zack sneered, “Finally. Your uncle has been waiting.” “She must be busy, she’s a white-collar worker, remember?” said Yvonne with a weird tone, a meaningful smile on her face. She recalled her conversation with her mother, Siobhan a few days ago. “Mommy, have a guess on whose ride was that!” Yvonne could not stop herself from blurting out the moment she saw Siobhan. Her lips were curved upward into a sinister smile. She wanted nothing more than letting the world know about Monique’s job as a cab driver. “Who was it? Look at how pleased you are.” Siobhan was curious as to why her daughter was so happy. “It was Monique.” Yvonne raised a brow and grinned. “Unbelievable, right?” “Monique Xander? You must’ve made a mistake! Your dad just said that she is now a successful white-collar employee in a huge company. She even has great benefits and a high salary from the job.” Siobhan stared at Yvonne, her mouth fell open with shock. Yvonne sneered with disdain. “White-collar employee my *ss, she’s driving a cab while taking care of the little scum.” “Stop calling them scum, your father’s going to lecture you again,” Siobhan criticized softly but could not contain her curiosity. “Are you sure?” “Of course! She lied to your faces. There’s no way she’d be working for a huge company. She drove me home in her cab so I’m a hundred percent sure about this. She even asked me not to tell you and dad.” Although Monique threatened Yvonne about telling her father about her drugging incident, Yvonne did not believe her at all. Back to the present, Zephyrus could not help but frown with displeasure at Yvonne’s words. It was only yesterday when Siobhan told him the truth that Monique was a cab-driver instead of an employee in a company. Monique’s eyes dimmed. She already expected that Yvonne would betray her so she pretended not to hear her. She lowered her head and turned to Little Nomi with a smile, “Little Nomi, this is your grand-uncle and grand-aunt. Say hi.” “Granduncle, grandaunt.” Little Nomi greeted with a sweet and melodious voice. Little Nomi had her hair tied into two braids that day. She looked intelligent and adorable with her flushed cheeks, rosy lips, and dark sparkly eyes. “Oh, what a smart girl. What’s your name?” Zephyrus relaxed his furrowed brows. How could he stay mad when such an adorable little girl was standing right in front of him? Monique secretly heaved a sigh of relief. She was hoping that her uncle would not be too angry at her in front of Little Nomi. “My full name is Angel Xander, mommy calls me Little Nomi. You can call me Little Nomi too,” Little Nomi blinked as she answered. “What is your mother working as?” Siobhan interrupted suddenly while looking at Little Nomi with a smile. She was extremely curious as to Monique’s actual job. “Mommy works in a café in the daytime and drives a cab at night. She works really hard.” Little Nomi answered innocently. She had a bad feeling about the smiling woman in front of her. Monique did not expect her aunt to throw the question out like that. She bit her lips in shock as the blood drained from her face. Her initial plan to explain to her uncle in private was sabotaged. Her uncle must surely be mad at her. “You’re working in a café in the daytime and driving a cab at night?” Zephyrus seemed to be getting angry, he had a bad expression on his face. ‘She would rather take up different jobs and struggle out there than come back!’ A devilish smile appeared on Yvonne’s face as she witnessed the scene like she was watching a drama. The plot was more dramatic than she thought. She was guessing that her father would give Monique another slap exactly like five years ago. “Uncle… I… I didn’t mean to lie.” Monique panicked. She wanted to explain to her uncle that she did not want him to worry about her. “What have you been doing in all these years? How can you provide your child with a healthy living?” Zephyrus glared at Monique with anger. Looking at her furious uncle, Monique was upset and scared, tears were welling up in her eyes. “You can’t scold my mommy! She is the best mom in the world!” Noticing her mother’s sadness and the woman who had a fight with her mother a few nights ago standing nearby, Little Nomi became extremely unhappy. Zephyrus and Siobhan were shocked. Both of them looked at Little Nomi in surprise. Little Nomi walked to her mother and extended her arms to protect her like an adult despite her pinkish cheeks and huge sparkly eyes. She was extremely adorable. It was cute and saddening at the same time. Monique lifted her lips, her heart filled with warmth. The little girl was indeed very lovable, but Siobhan was unhappy with how she seemed to dislike her. “What a wild child, you have no manners at all.” Siobhan sniggered. Zephyrus was furious but he softened up when he saw Little Nomi protecting her mother in an adorable way. He then thought that it must not be easy for Monique to have two jobs at the same time. “Watch your words,” Zephyrus scolded Siobhan. “Grand-uncle isn’t scolding me, he’s just concerned about me. He’s worried that I don’t have time to take care of you so he’s concerned about you too.” Monique half-crouched to hold Little Nomi’s hands and explained to her in a gentle tone. “I’m sorry, grand-uncle.” Little Nomi thought for a while and walked to her grand-uncle to apologize. Then, she stuck out her tongue to him. Zephyrus adored the little girl very much, his heart was melting because of her. “It’s fine, good girl,” he carried Little Nomi into his arms lovingly as he spoke. He then turned and instructed Yvonne, “Put the cherries we bought yesterday into the fridge, we’re giving them to Little Nomi.” “Why are you giving those cherries to the scum’s child? They cost 200 yuan a kilo! Even I was reluctant to eat them!” Yvonne roared. ‘What spell did Monique cast? How could dad not say anything although she lied big time? How could he forgive her just like that? How unexpected.’ Yvonne was extremely annoyed. “Shut your mouth. You’ve really enjoyed making up stories, haven’t you?” Zephyrus said angrily. When did she make up stories? “It’s all your fault. Why did you come back? You’ve been destroying our home and you stayed under our roof for free! Are you not satisfied yet?” Yvonne glared at Monique with hatred, unaware of her falling tears. She ran to her room and slammed the door angrily. She resented Monique. “Yvonne does have a point. You’re always taking Monique’s side.” Siobhan glared at her husband angrily. She was downhearted to see her daughter running to her room in tears. “She’s turning into a spoilt brat because you’re always protecting her,” Zephyrus disapproved. “See, you’re still protecting that wild child!” Siobhan was filled with anger whenever she looked at Monique’s face. She turned and left to comfort her daughter. “Uncle, I’m sorry for making you fight with auntie again.” Monique was aching internally. She felt really sorry. She wanted to leave right after handing the fruits and gifts to her uncle. “Here are some fruits and…” However, her uncle interrupted before she could finish, “You sit here. I’m going to rinse the fruits. Don’t mind your aunt’s bad temper.” Zephyrus went to the kitchen with Little Nomi in his arms after that. Monique understood that her uncle was hoping that she would stay for a while more. Despite the unhappy incidents, she still genuinely cherished this home. That was the reason she was worried about making her uncle and aunt angry. That was why she came all the way to explain. Her uncle returned with clean fruits and they chatted about their daily lives. Of course, Monique only talked about the good things. Her uncle tried to make her stay when it was almost time for dinner but she insisted on going back. She left after handing the gift to him. “Mommy, grand-uncle gave me a present and he said that I can only open it when I get home.” Little Nomi took out a fancy envelope from her pocket happily when they returned home. Monique thought that it was a toy. It was actually a stack of cash when they opened the envelope. Her heart was filled with warmth as she stared at the cash with her teary eyes. Her uncle genuinely loved her and it felt really good to be loved by someone.