CHAPTER THREE

I hate Saturdays like these because l have to be separated from my love bug for two whole days. The thought of running with my child so that her grandparents wont have a connection to me has always crossed my mind, especially after they tried to run away with her but that would be very selfish of me because Akai deserves grandparents who love her wholeheartedly and will spoil her rotten. As much as l hate to admit it, they aren't model citizens but they always protect family.

After Akai was born, l quit my job so that l could dedicate all my time and energy into raising her because l did not want to miss out on anything. I had everything planned out accordingly finance wise because l did not want to find myself in a situation that would involve me losing my home but unfortunately things didn't go as planned. I lost most of my savings during the custody battle with Akai's grandparents and that resulted in us being homeless but luckily my parents were more than welcoming and provided us with shelter.

Knowing my nature, they gave me a period of a year to get myself together. This meant l had to start looking for a job as that is the first step of getting my life together. Thus far, there aren't many job vacancies especially in my field of expertise but at this point, l am open to anything. Because of my current employment status, l am basically the unpaid house help. My parents own a small family oriented restaurant in the heart of town and a lot of the time people who come to know of my current unemployment status always ask why l don't work for the family business and one of the only reasons is that l don't believe that family should work together because most of the time it ruins relationships. My parents treat me like a delicate flower but the moment l start working for them, that will all change because then l become an employee. They are very strict law abiding citizens who do not believe in preferential treatment in the work place regardless of who you are or what value you bring to the business.

My usual everyday routine is to get up at eight in the morning right after my parents leave for work and clean the whole house, then after cleaning l make food for Akai and l. She is a very happy baby, all she ever does is eat, play and sleep. The waterworks only come when l leave her with anyone other than myself because she does not like people, not even the Keys. Making my way to her cot, the mere sight of her sleeping form makes my heart swell with joy, a huge smile plastered on her face. I begin to plant kisses all over her face causing her big brown eyes, like my own to slowly open. She simply stares at me, as if analysing who l am before the corners of her lips tug upward into a mostly toothless smile. I blow kisses on her belly making her erupt into a fit of giggles. She opens her arms as wide as she can signalling for me to pick her up, and we make our way downstairs to the kitchen.

Seating her on her high chair, l warm up the pumpkin soup l prepared for her breakfast and feed it to her. She eats her food while doing happy dances and clapping her hands saying 'mama'. Her calling me her mother still brings tears to my eyes and as being the loving baby she is , she wraps her arms around me as a way to comfort me. After Keira passed away, l never tried to put myself out in the world and make new friends because l felt as though l would be betraying her memory as the title of my friend belonged to her. As long as l had my parents and my baby by my side l was content.

The sound of my phone ringing brought me back to reality and the mere sight of the caller ID had me rolling my eyes in annoyance.

"Aurora" came Mrs Keys voice through the phone and l could not help but cringe at the way she said my name. After years of trying to get her to say my name correctly, l have finally reached a point where l don't care anymore because l know she is doing it deliberately.

"Mrs Keys" l spoke, holding back my tongue from saying a snarky remark.

" I have warned you time and time again of your tardiness. YOU made sure that we only have two days in a two week period to spend time with our grandchild and now you are deliberately late to drop her off. Don't make us take you back to court. Bring my granddaughter." And with that she hung up on me. This woman will be the cause of my insanity.

Bathing and dressing Akai is always an adventure. The little sucker is always on play mode and makes the simple act of bathing and dressing her an impossible mission and today is no different. An hour later, l had finally managed to bath, dress and pack her weekend bag. The Key's estate was a good 45 minutes drive from my parents house and the fastest route was to drive through downtown but traffic was always a problem. It's as if the universe had heard the call between Mrs Keys and l because there was no traffic or cops.

Arriving at the Keys estate, thankfully they had given me gate access or else l would have had to go through the hassle of giving my identification and getting approval to enter, l parked the car outside the mansion they called home. Mrs Keys made her way towards us. She is a very gorgeous woman especially for her age, with her perfect anti-aging porcelain skin, big blue eyes and perfectly straightened blonde hair, not a strand out of place. Dressed in a baby blue pant suit and white kitten heels. A true woman of stature and elegance