Chapter 6

The following day, Willow slowly came to her senses when the warm sunlight shone on her face through the curtain. Her adorable children were lying all around the bed as soon as she opened her eyes. Her eldest son—Tristan, was a little distant; he was properly lying on the bed with his small hands crossed under the pillow. Julian, her second son, was an active child; he lay sideways with his meaty legs on Tristan’s body. One of his feet was even covering Tristan’s nose. Tristan was frowning, probably because he felt uncomfortable even in his dreams due to his brother’s leg on him. He was breathing through his mouth with quite an unhappy expression. Willow burst out laughing before lightly moving Julian’s legs away. Julian’s handsome lips twitched slightly after sensing some sort of disturbance. That said, he only changed his sleeping position without actually waking up. Willow turned to the side before seeing Lilith lying face-first on the bed. She had short hair like a boy; her plump face was completely smothered by the blanket when her cheeks poked out like smooth and tender eggs. Willow smiled brightly. Lilith was the youngest one in the house, and she was also a girl… It was said that the family's youngest child would know how to act cute the best. She was nothing like that—out of the two daughters, Hailey, her third child, was the cute one. Lilith was a tomboy—she loved to act cool, and she never liked braids; she wanted to have short hair and wear baseball caps like her brothers. Willow’s heart skipped the beat. ‘Huh? Why are there only three of them? ‘Where’s the last one?’ She worryingly got off the bed before a small and round body caught her eyes. ‘That’s got to be Hailey…’ She fell out of bed wrapped in the blanket; she was sleeping soundly while cushioning her head with her chubby arms. Her saliva was all over the wooden floor when she occasionally smacked her lips together. Hailey was a massive foodie; nobody knew what kind of good food she was dreaming about then… Willow shook her head while she chuckled uncontrollably. She walked over before lightly picking up Hailey, then carefully put her in bed. Hailey rolled to the side before continuing to have her sweet dream. The children all had glowing skin with soft and plump faces; they were absolutely adorable. Willow wanted to smooch every single one of them so badly. She couldn’t hold back; she wanted to give the meanest kisses to her children, but she was afraid of waking them up. She ended up lightly tapping her lips on their faces. The children’s tender skin and their milky smell would always make anyone’s head spin. ‘Hah… Seeing their cute sleeping positions and giving them kisses every single day… What a blessing.’ Anyone would be able to overcome any difficulty while living in constant bliss. Willow smiled brightly while giving herself a thumbs-up in front of the sun! ‘What a wonderful life! Another day to put all my energy into!’ After she was done washing up, she went to make breakfast in the kitchen. “That smells so good! I can’t wait to eat! What are you making today, Willow?” Lara entered the house before peeking into the kitchen. She went in to help after seeing Willow ladling pasta. “Beef pasta! No wonder it smells great!” Lara grinned. She loved the smell of beef the most. Willow looked over before seeing the dark circles under Lara’s eyes. She clearly didn’t sleep the entire night. “Where have you been the entire night, Mom? You shouldn’t be doing this. You’re getting old now. If you keep staying up like this, what will happen when your body eventually collapses on you?” she said worryingly. “Alright already. You’re young but nagging enough to seem like my nanny or something.” Lara impatiently averted her gaze but naturally felt a little guilty. She then grabbed the pasta before walking to the dining table. “Grandma, Mommy, I’m hungry…” The sound of Hailey’s sleepy voice came from the doorway of the room as she shuffled out in her pajamas. As soon as Willow left the kitchen, she saw Hailey standing on her short, stubby legs with her diaper on. She raised her meaty hand before rubbing her drowsy eyes. Willow’s motherly love was overflowing after seeing such a sight. ‘She’s so adorable! How can there be such an adorable kid like her?!’ “Food’s ready, Hailey,” Lara said before she started eating herself. Willow put her bowl down before rushing to Hailey and lifting her up. “You can eat after you’re done changing and washing up!” “You made beef pasta, Mommy? The smell was too nice that I couldn’t even sleep anymore…” Hailey’s bright and innocent-looking eyes were fixed on Willow. Willow didn’t know how to feel; Hailey was extremely passionate about food. She could tell what she was about to have just by the smell alone. Willow lightly pinched Hailey’s small cheeks. “What a sharp nose! You’re spot on!” “I want to wear clothes, Mommy! I want to eat!” Hailey went to wear her clothes herself. The others woke up soon after. Willow grabbed their clothes for them to change as well. The four children sat neatly around the table while eating their pasta. Hailey devoured her portion extremely quickly. “Seconds, please, Mommy!” Willow smiled brightly as she went to the kitchen again. The family happily ate breakfast, and Willow looked at the children’s thin coats before speaking up. “Transfer five thousand dollars to me later, Mom. I’ll take the kids to the Garment City. It’s almost late autumn, so it's about to get colder. They need some thicker coats.” “We have clothes from last year, right?” Lara quickly skimped past the subject without raising her head. “We bought them the year before that. The kids could barely wear them, but not this year.” Willow knew that her mother was quite frugal, but there were some things that she needed to spend money on no matter what. “Well… it’s still hasn’t gotten colder. You’ll still be able to buy the clothes after getting a better job,” Lara replied, stuttering slightly. Willow realized something after seeing Lara’s guilty look on her face. She quickly put her utensils down before showing a stern expression. “Have you been playing poker last night?” Lara kept eating her pasta without saying a word. Willow started to panic. “Did you lose all the money I earned?” Even though she asked, she already knew the answer. ‘That has to be it!’ “I’m sorry, Willow. With your eleven thousand dollars, I wanted to earn more since the family’s in such a bad state; I wanted you to work less, but I lost all the money instead…” ‘All of it?!’ Willow’s heart dropped like a boulder; she felt as if she couldn’t even breathe then. She had planned to use the money for the children’s clothes and milk powder! But it was all gone in just a single night! What was she to do then? The kids were going to starve! Just when Willow felt helpless, she received a call. “Hello. This is the Hughes Corporation’s personnel department. Do you have time for an interview today?” said a woman from the other end of the phone.