Sandy tapped away at her keyboard, her fingers moving with purpose as she focused on her writing. Her brows furrowed, eyes locked on the screen. She sighed, backspacing a sentence before rewriting it.
She was covering a piece on Hans and Hannah, the celebrity couple whose messy public breakup took over the internet last weekend. The scandal had gone viral, and it was on all social media platforms. Her boss had assigned her the article, trusting her to handle it well.
A small smile played on her lips. She had turned her love for writing into something real.
Five years ago, writing had just been a hobby that her father hated. But when Selene got pregnant, Sandy had used her writing job as an excuse to support her sister, much to their father's disapproval.
"Writing is a hobby, not something you can make a living off of," he had told her.
His words had hurt back then, but Michael—her then-boyfriend and now ex—had encouraged her to follow her dreams. So, she had thrown herself into writing and never looked back.
At the thought of Michael, her fingers faltered on the keys. Her stomach tightened.
Michael.
Her ex.
Her fingers trembled slightly, but she quickly snapped out of it, pushing those thoughts away.
She focused on the sound of her fingers hitting the keyboard, letting it drown out the memories of him—of that jerk.
Just then, a small voice cut through the silence.
"Aunty Sandy!"
Sandy lifted her gaze from her laptop, and her expression instantly softened when she saw Cyrus standing there.
A smile spread across her lips. "Yes, sweetie?"
She tapped her lap, signaling him to come over. Without hesitation, he jumped up and settled comfortably. Her heart swelled. Cyrus had been an incredible source of joy for her and Selene over the years.
Although She wasn't happy that Selene had chosen to keep him a servant from their father, but it wasn't her decision to make. Cyrus was Selene's child, and her choice was final.
Looking down at him,Sandy studied his little face. His beautiful hazel green eyes, which she had figured he had gotten from his father, shined at her in a puppy-dog way, indicating that he needed something from her.
"What do you want, sweetie?" she asked, still smiling at him.
"I'm hungry," he said, his lips curled pouting.
Sandy laughed. "You just had lunch an hour ago."
"But I'm still hungry." He lifted his shirt to reveal half of his small stomach—a trick he had been using since he was little, indicating that he was hungry.
Sandy sighed in defeat, shaking her head. There was no way she could ever say no to her favorite little human whose face glittered with freckles just like hers.
"Alright, fine. How about a snack?" She lifted him into her arms as she stood.
"Yay!" Cyrus cheered, clapping his hands.
Sandy smiled as she carried him to the kitchen, his weight pressing against her shoulders. He was growing so fast.
A few years ago, he was just a little kid, but now he has grown into a little man.
"You're all grown up now," she murmured, smiling as she watched him nod proudly as they made their way to the kitchen.
She placed him on the kitchen island, away from the edge, close to her. Pulling out bread and peanut butter from the fridge, she quickly made a sandwich for him.
She handed the sandwich to Cyrus, who muttered, "Thank you, Aunty Sandy. " His smile was cute and wide.
"You're welcome, troublemaker."
He immediately ran off to play, and just as Sandy turned to clean up, her phone buzzed.
She frowned when she saw the caller ID.
Dad.
She felt a pit swell up in her stomach.
Letting out a slow breath to steady her voice. she picked up the call.
"Where are you?" His voice was as stern as ever.
Sandy peeked into the living room, looked around, and made sure Cyrus wasn't close by.
"I'm at a café," she lied."Working on an article. I needed to get out of the house."
She hated lying to him, but what choice did she have? Ever since he had kicked Selene out, honesty had only led to more fights. Besides, it wasn't a complete lie. She did need to leave the house.
Her father sighed. "Sandy, why are you still wasting time on this?" his voice dripping with disapproval.
"Writing is a hobby, not a career," he continued. "When are you going to take your life seriously?"
Sandy's grip on the phone tightened. She had expected this talk from him; it was all he had been raving about for over five years since she decided to leave business school, but hearing him say the words still made her inside turned
Forcing her voice to stay calm, "It's not a hobby, Dad. This is my job." Her voice was firm, but she knew it wouldn't change the old man's mind.
"We've been over this," he said, ignoring her. "You can't expect to live off that forever."
Sandy clenched her jaw. "I can, and I will." Her tone left no room for argument.
Not wanting to keep arguing, she quickly changed the subject. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes." Then came the real reason for his call. "We're having dinner with the Clints tonight. Be there on time."
Sandy's heart dropped.
The Clints. Ivy's parents.
Before she could say anything, he ended the call.
Sandy exhaled sharply. She was relieved he hadn't dragged the conversation, but now she had something else to worry about.
Dinner with the Clints meant seeing Ivy.
Ever since that incident five years ago, Sandy had never felt comfortable around Ivy. After everything that happened, Selene warned her to stay away from Ivy but never told her why.
She had tried to ask so many times. But Selene always shut her down.
"I don't want to relive those painful memories."
Sandy still didn't know the full story.
Should she warn Selene about tonight's dinner?
She was still deciding whether or not to inform her sister when she heard the front door creaked open.
"Mommy!" Cyrus's excited voice echoed through the house.
Selene was home.
Sandy grabbed the remaining sandwiches along with her into the living room.
"Welcome back, big sist," she said as she sank into the sofa close to Selene, who was clinging to a sleepy Cyrus close to her chest. Rocking him to sleep, she seemed lost in thoughts.
Something felt… off.
Selene looked lost in thought, her expression distant.
Sandy frowned. "Are you okay?"
Selene's head snapped towards her. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just exhausted."
But Sandy wasn't convinced. There was something in her eyes. Something unreadable.
"Are you sure?" she pressed, studying her closely.
"Yes, I just—" Selene hesitated. "I just really missed him."
Her grip on Cyrus tightened.
Sandy shifted closer, lowering her voice. "Why don't I take Cyrus? You can go change and take a hot bath."
"NO!"
Selene's snapped, withdrawing from the sofa as she stood up.
Sandy stared at her sister, her eyes widened in shock.
"What's wrong, Selene?" she asked, her voice laced with worry.
"You're not okay. Did something happen at work? Talk to me."
Selene's lips trembled. "Nothing. I'm fine."
She was lying.
"Selene—"
"I just really want to be alone with my son."she stuttered.
"Thank you for looking after him. Go home before Dad gets worried," she said without looking back at her as she turned and walked upstairs.
Sandy froze, her heart beating frantically.
What just happened
Something was wrong.
Terribly wrong.
And for the first time in years, she had a gut feeling—
Selene was hiding something.