c34

One hour earlier

In the car

"This is strange..." Cassandra said quietly as she looked at Harmonie.

"What's strange?" said Harmonie as she took a quick look at Cassandra with her peripheral vision and continued to stare straight ahead.

"Seeing you drive a car," Cassandra replied as she continued to look at her.

Harmonie grinned and said, "I'm sexy, aren't I?"

Cassandra tapped her lightly on the shoulder so as not to break her concentration.

"Stop talking and concentrate," Cassandra said quietly as she turned her head to the window.

"Oh... I thought you found my driving responsible and sexy at the same time," Harmonie said, frowning slightly and feigning disappointment.

Cassandra, who had turned her head to look at her, saw this and her face colored slightly. She pursed her lips, bit them, and said softly in an almost inaudible voice.

"I didn't say you weren't." Then she turned her head back to look out the window.

Harmonie had heard her sentence, of course, and smiled, having gotten what she wanted to hear.

...

12:50

"Thank you, gentlemen, and goodbye," Harmonie said as she left the office of the person who had welcomed her after completing the inspection of the premises.

Still holding her document holder, she made her way to the exit of the building.

She wanted to send the documents Hazel had given her.

After Harmonie had finally sent the documents for Anna-Marie, she left the building and unbuttoned her jacket.

Inspecting the premises was no reason for her to dress more formally than usual, but when it came to work, even sending documents, she preferred to dress more seriously.

She walked to the parking lot, walked to where she had parked, took the key from her pocket, pressed the unlock button, and opened the door.

She got in, put the briefcase in the glove compartment, and started the car.

...

On the road

Harmonie had her eyes on the road when she heard her phone ring.

Using the call answer button on the steering wheel, she answered it.

"Hello."

"Hello, miss," a woman's voice said through the speakers.

"Oh! Anna-Marie, are you okay? I just sent the documents," she said with a slight smile.

"Thank you, and yes, I'm fine, miss. But..." Anna-Marie paused and Harmonie frowned slightly.

"What is it?"

"Miss, we have a meeting with some investors tomorrow."

"What about that? " Harmonie said, sensing that there was more to what she wasn't saying.

"We have all the certificates for the new restaurant, and we already have a loyal customer base for the other one."

"Anna-Marie..." Harmonie said with a sigh and turned her wheel. She knew she still hadn't gotten to the point.

"Sorry, miss. Your grandfather has decided that we'll be moving to another building."

She frowned, "What does that mean, Anna-Marie? We haven't even started to settle in that he wants us to change buildings."

"He heard about the restaurant you opened as soon as you arrived in Milee. And its success. And the one you just started. So he decided to send more people to Milee and change the location of the headquarters."

Harmonie found a place to stop, grabbed her tablet from the glove compartment, and began to look at what Anna-Marie had sent her.

"Does he know what I want to do?"

"Yes."

"Well, tell him I don't need any more employees, I can recruit them just fine. I especially don't want any people we forced to come here. And I just told him about starting my own business, how he found out about the restaurant, and what I want to do."

"I don't know, miss. Your grandfather has many contacts."

Harmonie sighed, then asked, "Are the files on the reunion ready on your end?"

"Yes, miss."

"And even after the meeting, try to clear my schedule for the following weeks. I have to help a friend with something."

"All right, miss."

"By the way, Anna-Marie, ask my grandfather to send me the necessary regarding his company in Lieme that needs my approval. The transport of the gems has already arrived?"

"The documents, I have already sent them to you and yes, we have received the new stones, they are in the hands of the lapidaries and then the jewelers".

"I want a portfolio of each design first."

"Very well. Is there anything else, miss?" asked Anna.

"Yes, tell my sister that at some point she'll have to take over these responsibilities and at least handle some business regarding each company, let her at least do her job as general manager. I can't do everything while I'm in Milee," Harmonie said as she stroked her earlobe.

"Anyway, don't forget to clear my schedule for two weeks and tell my sister to take care of the problem if there is an emergency during my break."

"All right, Miss. I'll take care of it. And I'll let you know as soon as I can."

"Okay. Thank you, assistant, Anna-Marie."

"You're welcome, President, Miss. And goodbye," Anna said in a serious tone before ending the call, but Harmonie knew her assistant was being playful with her.

...

One hour earlier

At Chloe's side

After getting into her car

"Can you put your address on the phone for me, please?" said Chloe as she adjusted her seat, then put on her seatbelt and started the car.

Sylvia did as Chloe asked and when she was done, she turned back to Chloe.

Chloe noticed her look and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Aren't you usually the one that drives this car?"

Chloe concentrated on getting out of her parking spot and finally exited the underground garage.

"No, it's not me. Most of the time it's Mark who drives us where we want to go. And I think Gratia was the last one to drive it."

"Gracia?" said Sylvia, frowning slightly.

"Tia, the one you saw earlier with Lucrecia, or Lucy if you prefer. There is a 't' in her name, it's written Gra-Tia but we pronounce it Gra-Cia, which is why her nickname is Tia. "

"Oh," said Sylvia while nodding.

Chloe waited until the gate to the estate was open before driving out of the estate.

"And by the way, your pancakes were extremely delicious."

Sylvia blushed and said quietly, "Thank you."

"You should try to eat more in the morning," she then added.

"I see Grace didn't keep her tongue in her pocket," Chloe said with a laugh. "Did she mention anything else?"

"She also said that Harmonie has the same bad habit as you," she said, looking at Chloe, who was still smiling.

"We just have trouble eating anything in the morning and when we try, we eat very little. If you hadn't brought me the strawberry milk, I wouldn't have been able to eat your pancakes. I don't know, it's a little weird to explain."

Sylvia nodded in understanding and finally understood the reason Harmonie had asked her to bring the strawberry milk, even though she thought it was strange at first.

Chloe, who had her eyes on the road, had a look of hesitation on her face, but eventually, her gaze hardened, her hands tightened on the wheel, then relaxed after releasing a sigh.

"I need to tell you something, Sylvia," she began quietly, and Sylvia turned back to her.

"Hm?"

Chloe saw a place to park and did so.

"Why did we stop here?" asked Sylvia as she looked around, and then her eyes fell back on Chloe who had just unbuckled her seatbelt.

"Because we need to talk, well, it's mostly me who has something to tell you," Chloe said, looking straight into her eyes to show that she meant it.

"What is it?"

Chloe turned her body to face Sylvia, trying to find her words while avoiding Sylvia's gaze, then composed herself and said,

"You know I'm interested in you, right?"

Sylvia froze at Chloe's abrupt question, her eyes wide open. Her mouth opened, but no words came out. Suddenly she looked away from Chloe.

Hiding her disappointment, Chloe continued, "I promised myself that I would wait until the end of the year to confess my feelings. But unfortunately, I can no longer keep that promise. And what happened this morning confirms that."

Sylvia looked at her quizzically now, knowing there was more to it than that.

"I'm going to quit school."

"Why?" Sylvia said quietly in shock. Chloe smiled at her reaction and reached out to stroke her cheek.

"I told you, it's because I like you," Chloe said simply. Sylvia started to shake her head and said,

"I don't want to be the reason you drop out of school."

"Don't worry-"

"What do you mean, I don't have to worry? I don't want you to leave your studies for me and if you do, I don't want to see you again," Sylvia interrupted.

Chloe looked at Sylvia with a sad expression, "Don't tell me that, please."

Chloe moved closer to Sylvia, but Sylvia turned her head away and Chloe's lips met Sylvia's cheek.

This did not displease Chloe, who continued to kiss Sylvia on the cheek. Just as Sylvia was about to push Chloe away, she heard Chloe say.

" I'm not leaving my studies though, because I finished them in Lieme with Harmonie. We've already completed our final year."

"What do you mean?" whispered Sylvia, Chloe resting her fingers on her chin and turning her towards her.

"What I mean is that we've already graduated. We decided to repeat our year at a new school here, just for fun and to keep us busy. But since I've been handed my family's business, I have to stop because I already have a full schedule and I should stop making my assistant suffer by making her do everything," Chloe said, her lips just inches from Sylvia's.

"And I wanted to hold on until the end, but who would have thought that I would fall under the spell of your beautiful eyes at first sight? Wait for me, okay? From the moment that I leave the school, I will come to taste these magnificent lips that are yours," she said all gently, giving her a kiss on the forehead, then on both cheeks, and finally on her eyes.

And Sylvia, her face all red, nodded. Chloe smiled, settled into her seat, fastened her seatbelt, and started the car.

"Well, let's go."

...

At the side of Cassidy and Corine

"Tell me, am I the only one who feels like something is going on between Harmonie and your sister?" asked Chloe in the car. Mark was the one driving, Grace was at his side and Cassidy and Corine were in the back.

"I thought about it, especially after what happened earlier, but then it went away really quickly," Cassidy replied with a shrug.

"Why?"

"My sister is already seeing someone."

"Oh really? Who?"

"A guy I know who is also her best friend."

"But the way she is with Harmonie looks very intimate like we don't exist. Like they're alone in their world. And the way they look at each other is very intense."

"They had that from day one. I wanted my sister to see that they still had feelings for each other, but she told me she was with Thomas. I thought their relationship wouldn't last, but you should see the smile on her face every time she talks to him via text or phone. She seems to be blossoming, and I don't want to ruin this newfound joy she has."

Corine nodded, disappointed because she knew Harmonie and Cassandra were soul mates.

"One day I wanted to see who she was talking about because I thought there was a small possibility that it was Harmonie. Because I remembered that she had named Harmonie, 'H' with lots of different little hearts. So I went to her email to see who she was talking to the most. I won't lie, I read one or two messages and stopped. I'm a sensitive soul in the face of so much love."

"What was the registered name of the contact?"

"Tiger, a name that starts with a T, which is also the first letter of her boyfriend's name, Thomas. And I thought, 'Seriously, let it go'. "

"Still, you don't seem thrilled with the situation," Corine said, looking at her.

"Of course, I'm not thrilled. Especially since I did something that was not right for Harmonie. Even though I apologized later, it doesn't alter the fact that I hurt her that day. I shouldn't have done that, and I regret it very much," Cassidy said, lost in thought, "The situation was very hard for her too. She trusted me and told me about it and I treated her like that".

"It's a miracle that she still wants to talk to me after what happened, and that she told me she wasn't angry with me. But I can't really forgive myself. So I wish they were back together because I know that's where they're happiest." Cassidy turned back to Corine.

"So yeah, I'm not thrilled, but I don't want to destroy my sister's happiness after everything she's been through in her life."

Corine nodded in understanding.

Noticing that the surrounding atmosphere was strange, Grace and Mark stopped talking. Mark looked up at them through the rearview mirror and Grace turned to them.

"Say, you each have a bathing suit, right?" asked Grace to the two girls to change the depressed atmosphere that had set in.

"I have one, but it is too small for me now," Cassidy replied.

"And I don't have a bathing suit and I can't swim."

Grace smiled, "We'll take a trip to the store, buy your swimsuits, and use the time to buy the rest of what's missing. And we'll get extra floaties for you too, Corine."

...

From Valerie and Hazel's side

"Your nieces seem upset with you," Valerie joked, hiding her smile.

"Really?" replied Hazel, Valerie turned her head to her and said,

"Yes, with what you did yesterday, knowing they had to do it," she said with a sigh, stopping herself from smiling.

Hazel smiled slightly, "I don't think they're mad at me. Normally they would have reacted more extremely if they were, especially Chloe. Harmonie, you don't really know when she's angry. She can be difficult to read sometimes. But I can assure you that they don't hold it against me," she said, laughing at the end.

"I think they had a great time and so did you."

Valerie smiled and turned her head to the window to watch the scenery pass by.

A few seconds later

"Did you notify the bodyguards?" asked Hazel with a slight frown.

"Yes, I have. They're following the three cars and our car. A team is ahead of us to check the area before we arrive."

Hazel nodded and then as if she had just remembered something, she asked Valerie to unlock her phone, dial a number, and put it on speaker.

After the first ring, the phone finally connected and a woman's voice came through.

"Hello?"

"Hi Nifah, how are you?" said Hazel with a smile.

"Oh, it's you, Hazel! Did you change your number?"

....

After removing her suit jacket, Harmonie sat on the sofa in Cassandra's living room, reading the messages the others had sent her, and then noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned off her phone and looked up.

Adelaide had come closer, standing between her legs, and Harmonie had one hand on her cheek and the other on her small back.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Harmonie asked quietly when she realized that something was wrong.

Adelaide leaned on her hand, "Dada..." she said in a small trembling voice.

Harmonie's eyes filled with concern for a moment, then she controlled herself so as not to upset her daughter.

"Hmm..." she hummed softly, encouraging her to continue.

Adelaide looked up, and her eyes began to fill with tears. Harmonie was in full panic mode, but still controlling her emotions as best she could.

She put her other hand to her cheek, "Dada's here. What is it, my love? Hmm? Dis-moi, mon amour ?" (Tell me, my love?), she said with a very soft tone and a very loving expression.

A tear escaped Adelaide's eye, and she wiped it away with a shaking hand. Her panic grew. And to see her daughter's devastated eyes and her tears flowing was like a knife being stabbed into her heart and the weapon being twisted over and over again.

In her panic, her brain began to spin rapidly, searching every corner of her memory for a time when she had experienced the same situation, all the while watching her daughter intently.

Suddenly, an idea came to her and to confirm it, she put her hand on her daughter's bottom and understood while patting her diaper.

And without realizing it, she let out a soft sigh of relief. The situation was not as bad as she thought, but she had to act quickly before more tears fell from her daughter's eyes.

Understanding that Harmonie knew, Adelaide raised her head, tears still threatening to escape. But she froze for a moment when she saw the smile on Harmonie's face and her expression full of love and tenderness for her.

She moved closer to her, her forehead against her dada's belly, and whispered softly in an almost inaudible voice, "Dada..."

"Dada is here, my dear child." And she began to caress her back as she felt her body shake, Adelaide crying against her.

Harmonie looked up and blinked her eyes several times to keep the tears from escaping and making her daughter even sadder.

"It's nothing, sweetheart. " She began softly as she stroked her back and kissed her head.

"We said we would take it one step at a time. Remember?"

A few seconds later she felt Adelaide nod softly.

"So take your time, sweetheart, don't rush. You know Dada will always be there for you, right?"

"Hm..." came the trembling sound of the crying child.

"Tu sais que je t'aime énormément, n'est-ce pas ?" ( You know I love you very much, don't you?)

Adelaide nodded again and Harmonie smiled, "Je t'aime tellement mon coeur. Tu es la prunelle de mes yeux," (I love you so much, sweetheart. You're the apple of my eye) she said as she continued to kiss her head, stroking her to calm her down.

A few minutes later, the child had finally calmed down, lying on a small blanket on the sofa. Harmonie quickly changed her diaper, with no difficulty, buttoned her onesie - which Cassandra had put on her when they arrived at the apartment because she thought Adelaide looked cute in it - and put her socks back on.

"There you go. It's done," she said as she finished, continuously kissing her, but this time all over her face. This made the child smile.

"Say you love me if you want me to stop," Harmonie said in a strange, funny, evil voice.

Adelaide burst out laughing and shook her head, so Harmonie started tickling her.

"Say it or I won't stop. Say you love me."

Harmonica paused to let her daughter catch her breath, "Wov yous, dada," she said softly after she had caught her breath.

"I love you too, sweetheart. How about we color in your coloring book?" she asked as she looked at Adelaide's bag on the couch.

Adelaide nodded and Harmonie helped her to sit up and put her back on her feet on the floor. She took the bag and took out Adelaide's coloring book and crayons, then sat down on the carpet with Adelaide lying next to her.

They opened the coloring book, some drawings were already colored. Some parts of the coloring were well done and others were all over the place.

Adelaide finally chose a page of cartoon cars to color.

Harmonie took a pencil and with the tacit understanding that they had formed between them, they colored in a very calm and reassuring silence. Harmonie loved this little moment of relaxation with her daughter and cherished every second of it.

What Harmonie and Adelaide had not understood, or rather had not noticed, was that Cassandra had participated in their little interaction and had been able to film it. She had unofficially become the kind of mother who filmed every moment of her daughter's life, and she was well aware of it.

Of course, she hadn't understood Adelaide's reaction and was also in a panic, but before she could say anything, Harmonie had already moved on.

She could see their beautiful interaction. What she noticed about Adelaide and Harmonie was that they had more of a touch-based relationship than a verbal one. It was as if they could tell each other everything with their eyes alone, and she found it fascinating and wanted to capture it all, so she didn't realize that she and Harmonie often had this kind of exchange.

She came closer to Harmonie and the baby. She leaned forward, her mouth close to Harmonie's ears, "We need to talk," she said in a low voice.

Harmonie, who had felt her presence behind her, was not surprised but turned her head to look at her and nodded. Cassandra moved closer to Adelaide and handed her the milk bottle, Adelaide smiled and said sweetly, "T'ank you, Mommy."

And Cassandra smiled back at her daughter's politeness and cuteness and kissed her on the cheek.

"You're welcome, baby."

"Baby, Mommy and I need to talk. Call us if you need anything, okay?" Harmonie said looking at Adelaide, and the little one nodded.

"Otay," she said softly, the nipple of the bottle in her mouth, and lowered her head, continuing to color.

Harmonie and Cassandra went into the kitchen, since it was an open kitchen, they could see Adelaide from where they were.

Cassandra, sitting on the counter, reached out and wrapped her arms around Harmonie's waist, gently pulling her closer, Harmonie found herself between her legs, then Cassandra put her chin over Harmonie's head.

"Why did she react like that?" she asked softly.

Harmonie brought her face closer to her neck and said nothing. But Cassandra didn't seem to mind she seemed to be getting used to it and had a smile on her face.

"You're still smelling me," she said with a slight laugh, feeling Harmonie's smile, "I don't even know why you like to do that, and I didn't put on my usual perfume."

"It's not your perfume I like to smell, it's the smell of your body," Harmonie said, Cassandra started to laugh.

"It's kind of dirty the way you said it," she joked as she looked at Harmonie after separating from her.

Harmonie scrunched her face slightly, "Hm... It's not like that was a lie. I just like the way you smell," she said with a shrug.

Seeing that she had taken that seriously, Cassandra smiled, moved closer, and gave her a light kiss.

Harmonie wrapped her hands around her waist, "She reacted like that because she started potty training with Chloe even though we still had her in diapers. And since this is an unfamiliar place for her, she was a little disappointed that she couldn't tell me in advance."

Cassandra looked at Adelaide, who was drinking her bottle and nodded in understanding.

" Well, that's just my hypothesis, we'll talk to her about it tonight. Well, we have to get ready. Go put on your swimsuit," she said with a smile at the end.

Cassandra rolled her eyes and smiled, then gave her a kiss and went to change.

...

While Cassandra was changing, Harmonie received a phone call from her mother.

"Yes, Mummy. Everything is settled on my end, I've seen the premises, I just have to confirm a few details."

"Very well, don't forget to tell your sister, sweetheart." Comes the very soft, loving voice of Harmonie's mother.

"Grandma and Grandpa keep asking her to run the business? And she still doesn't want to take responsibility?"

"Yes, but she wants to go to college and follow what she wants to do."

"Oh! To me, she just wants to run away from her responsibilities, but hey, let her do what she wants. But on your side, Mummy, you can run the businesses just fine, right? I remember you said you were trained to do that."

"Yes, I can, but my parents are stubborn. Ever since what happened with Damien, even though they're talking to me again."

" Mummy," Harmonie began softly in a sad tone.

"No, Harmonie," her mother interrupted, "It's not your fault, sweetheart. And you know that if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have even talked to them again. Honey, I love you so much, don't ever forget that."

"I love you too, Mummy," Harmonie said softly, smiling slightly.

"Now, is my darling little girl there? I would like to talk to her. Come to think of it, yesterday you didn't let me talk to her, even though you said you would call me back, I waited for your call and nothing."

"Sorry, Mummy, something happened yesterday. I'll talk to you about it later. And yes, she's here. I'll put her on."

Harmonie looked up and saw that Adelaide was already looking at her. She smiled and then said, "Come talk to your Nana, sweetheart."

"Nana!" exclaimed Adelaide as she smiled, then stood up and took the phone Harmonie handed her.

As Adelaide spoke to her mother, Harmonie got up from the couch and began unbuttoning her black shirt after removing her tie.

She heard movement nearby, looked up, and saw that it was Cassandra.

She froze for a moment and then began to look at her. Cassandra was wearing a light white lace dress that showed a little of what she was wearing inside. Underneath she was wearing a black two-piece swimsuit.

Very attractive.

Harmonie didn't know where to look, so she lowered her head, rubbed her eyebrows, and pursed her lips.

Cassandra saw that her reaction was not the one she expected, her eyebrows furrowed.

"You don't like it?" she asked in a small, uncertain voice.

Harmonie stopped her movement, raised her head, and approached Cassandra.

"No," she said shaking her head slightly, seeing her expression change, Harmonie smiled slightly, "It's just the opposite, it suits you too well."

Hearing this, Cassandra looked at her and Harmonie continued, "I was just wondering how I was going to keep my jealousy from getting the better of me when others look at you," she said thoughtfully.

Cassandra smiled, "Jealousy?"

Harmonie nodded as she looked at her as if it was a matter of course.

"Do you want me to change?" asked Cassandra.

"I have nothing against your outfit, put on whatever you want," she said quietly, looking at her.

Cassandra smiled, kissed her, and went to change without saying anything to her.

Harmonie raised an eyebrow and shook her head, smiling slightly. Then she went on to unbutton her shirt and took it off. She folded it and placed it on the arm of the couch. And began to take off her belt.

"Dada!" Adelaide's voice called softly, she looked up.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?"

Adelaide approached her and handed her the phone. Harmonie took it and stroked her head, watching her daughter return to her coloring.

Then she put the phone to her ear, "Yes?"

"Big sister, it's me," a voice said. Harmonie recognized the voice and her face hardened when she heard what was said.

"Okay, we'll talk about it later. Bye." And she quickly ended the call.

She felt a sudden anger, such a great anger, but she controlled herself, when her eyes landed on her daughter, a great calm came over her. And without realizing it, she unconsciously patted herself on the thighs, which was a sign of great stress on her part.

She told herself that she was going to enjoy the day for the moment and everything else she would worry about later.