Chapter 19

I cannot... put into words... How much I want to pull my hair out right now. Not only do I want to pull my hair out, but I also want to pull my heart out of my chest. From horribly rude people to people with heartbreaking stories, I've had enough. I don't understand why some people are so rude; I feel like I'm in customer service right now.

There is already a pile of applications a mile thick of people requesting to go to Alium. A lot of these people have heartbreaking stories but don't qualify. Then you have the pushy people who call every five minutes demanding their application be accepted.

"Sir, you are a forty-year-old werewolf with no soulmate and no kids. You do not qualify. Now, I'm sorry, but goodbye." As soon as I hung up the phone, it started ringing again.

"Your phone is ringing off the hook too?" I looked up and have never felt so relieved to see Lance in my life.

"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes? Yes, it's been non-stop. Have you got calls from shitty people yet? Because I have. Pretty much every damn phone call." He sat down in the chair in front of my desk and casually put his leg up.

"Oh yeah, plenty of those. I muted my phone." I practically shot out of my seat.

"You can do that?" He laughed and got up, heading to my phone. Then pressed a button muting it.

"Finally, peace and quiet." I sighed out in relief.

"I should probably head back now and try to make a dent in those applications." He started walking toward the door but suddenly stopped. "Hey, before I forget. What time is the grand opening for Mila's new work building?" I picked up and went to my reminders.

"It's at seven tonight." He smiled.

"Perfect gives us plenty of time to make it there. I'll see you later, Em. I'll come by and get you around 5:30-6:00" Thank god because I am horrible at keeping track of time. The last thing I need is to be late to Mila's grand opening and be in the dog house.

"Okay, sounds good to me. Have fun." He groaned out.

"Yeah... Right, fun. Don't have too much fun yourself." He shot back at me with an equal amount of sarcasm. Alright, time to dive into these applications.

Mila's POV:

"It's coming together perfectly. Don't you think so?" I looked at Lori, who had just as big of a smile on her face as I did.

"It really is. Between your photographs and Emma's paintings, it looks beautiful." I clapped my hands together and did a small happy dance. I stopped and looked over to Lori, who gave me a weird look, but then she started doing it with me.

"I also love how you're going to hold events for up and coming artists. I feel like a lot of people never give them a chance." I nodded.

"That's how I feel too, which is why I'm doing it. I'm not doing fees to where I get a cut of some of the money they make either; everything will just go back to them." I leaned in towards her. "And just between you and me. No matter what, every piece of art will be bought, even if I have to do it myself." She leaned back with a smile. "I want them to feel like they are truly artists. Selling your first piece is a huge deal." I said this more aloud.

"I like that idea. You're always so sweet, thinking of others and helping others. You have such a big heart, Mila." She put her hand on my shoulder and gave me a little bit of a solemn look. "It's your double-edged sword." I looked at her, a little confused. "It's one of your best traits, but it also is one of your biggest weaknesses. You've definitely been taken advantage of a lot. So make sure to take care of yourself too, okay? You shouldn't be bending over backward till you break for people who won't even bend for you." I never really thought of it like that.

"Okay, I'll make sure to watch out for myself. You're right. I have definitely been burned before by people taking advantage of my kindness." She pulled me into a hug.

"Now, come on. Let's get back to our houses so we can get ready, yeah?" I felt the excitement well up in me once again—no sign of that conversation dampening my mood.

"Race to our cars?" She looked at me like I was absolutely crazy.

"Girl, I am wearing heels." I looked down.

"The person who wins is the one who has to buy doughnuts from that shop you really like." Her eyes lit up.

"Oh, it's on." She put her hand on my shoulder, steadying herself as she took off her heels.

"Alright. Ready... Set..." She cut me off with a devious smile on her face.

"Go!" She then bolted towards the front door towards the parking lot. I just shook my head and laughed. If she only knew she wasn't anywhere close to being as fast as me.

I took off toward the parking lot after her. I was really considering using my enhanced speed to win, so close to doing it too. But I ultimately decided against it. So instead, I caught up to her, and she looked over at me, scared for a second, but then I held back just enough to where just in the knick of time, her hand touched her car first.

"No fair. Your car is clearly closer." She started throwing her fists into the air.

"Fuck yes!" She was cheering out victoriously, then started doing a little jig.

"Ahh.." She sucked in a deep breath, smoothed down her dress, and put her heels back on. "I look forward to having those doughnuts tomorrow." She winked at me and casually got into her car with a smirk plastered on her face. I just shook my head, amused; such a fucking dork.

My mom had picked up the kids from school today for me. So, they should already be home by now. I'm excited to see them and ask how their days went. I always feel weird when I don't pick up the kids. It's so ingrained in my daily routine; I feel like I forget something.

I guess that's just one of the things about being a mother: you're always thinking about your kids; What they're doing, how their day is going. You also find yourself worrying a lot, too, like if someone is mean to them or if they're hurt. I still remember back to their first day of preschool. Oh my god, was I a nervous wreck? I was pacing around the whole day, trying to hold myself back from going and checking on them every five seconds. I called their preschool teacher five times that day.

I looked up and realized I was already parked in my driveway. Shit, I was auto-driving again. I wonder how long I've been parked out here. I looked down at my watch and was doing the math of how long I could have possibly been out here. It turns out it was only ten minutes. Granted, ten minutes is a very long time to stay parked out in your driveway, but the way my thoughts were running wild and falling deeper down the rabbit hole, it could have been a lot longer.

I made my way inside, and the house was eerily quiet. So quiet you could probably hear a pin drop. I guess if you have enhanced hearing like the rest of supernatural beings, then you'd be able to hear it regardless, but from a human standpoint, I mean. I made my way into the kitchen and found that my mom wasn't in there. I looked to the table, and the kids weren't sitting there doing their homework.

I decided to go back to the window to double-check that I had seen my mom's car parked out front. I peeked through the blinds; Yeah, it's out there. Where the hell are they? I then used my speed to zip all around the house. I stopped back at the base of the stairs feeling the panic rising within me. I looked down at my phone and remembered I could just call my mom.

I dialed her number and was listening to the rings. Come on, mom, pick up. She usually always picks up on the first ring. By the fourth or fifth one, she finally picked up.

"Where are all of you?" The panic in my voice was clear as day.

"Calm down, Mija. We all just went for a walk. The kids didn't have any homework, and I didn't have any work leftover from today. The kids seemed a little bored and a little restless. We are about to come upon the driveway; we'll see you soon." With that, she hung up. Not too much longer after she hung up, they all walked through the door. I zipped over to my kids and brought them into a huge hug. Relief instantly washed over me from having them in my arms. I stood back up and looked at my mom.

"Mom, you had me so worried that something happened to all of you. Please let me know where you're going next time." I chided her.

"Sorry to worry you, Mija. I'll let you know next time." She brought me into a hug, and we kissed each others' cheeks. Then, I heard a ding go off on my phone and looked down to see a message from Emma.

"Okay, mommy is headed home from work now. So let's all go and start getting ready for tonight." The feelings of panic and fear I had just been feeling not even moments ago were now replaced with excitement.

Emma got home just before 6 o'clock. She immediately brought me into her arms and gave me a quick kiss.

"Sorry for cutting it so close, love. Today has been so hectic. I'm going to wash my body really quick, and I promise I'll be ready no later than 6:30." She gave me another quick kiss and then zipped into the bathroom. At least she's not late. If she were to be late, she so would have been in the dog house.

True to her word Emma was done getting ready no later than 6:30. In fact, she was ready to go ten minutes before that. Which I'm very grateful for because that solidifies me being there way before most people start showing up. Lori said a lot of people confirmed they were going. I started thinking about all those people coming, and as we were getting closer, I was growing more and more nervous by the second. Emma reached over and grabbed my hand, giving it a heartbeat squeeze. I sighed a little in relief and gave her a thankful smile. I'm so lucky to have her as a soulmate. I know everyone says their significant other is the best, but no, mine is.

I was pulled completely out of my thoughts when I felt the car come to a complete stop. I looked up and found we were parked in my reserved parking spot already. I am so glad that Emma drove because I definitely would have been struggling not to auto-drive. Emma reached over and patted my thigh gently.

"Are you ready, my love?" I gave a nervous, excited smile and nodded my head. With that, we all got out of the car and made our way inside. Once we were inside, I had us all head upstairs.

"Okay, family meeting before we go back down." We were basically all huddled up at this point. "First, kids, you are to stay with mommy, Mimi, or me at all times. Do not go wandering off on your own. Also, you are limited to two pastries." I said this in a very serious tone, so they knew I meant business. The last part I said about the pastries had them groaning slightly, but they reluctantly agreed. "Last thing and the most important one. Have the best time you can and watch out for each other. If you see any suspicious activity, alert the security guards immediately." Everyone nodded. With that, we broke the family huddle. The kids and my mom made their way downstairs. I'm sure no doubt the kids' first stop would be where the pastries are.

"I still don't understand why you hired security. We could easily take care of the situation ourselves. Hell, even the kids could." I sighed at Emma's comment.

"Don't you think I know that? It's for show, and it helps make humans feel safe." I snapped at her a bit, and I felt bad. "I'm sorry for snapping at you. I'm just starting to feel overwhelmed and nervous." I made my way over to the big window and looked at the packed parking lot, and gulped. All that excitement was now teetering towards just anxiousness. I soon felt arms wrap around my midsection from behind me. I just took that moment and melted back into Emma's embrace.

"Everything will be fine, my love. I promise. It's almost seven, and we should start heading down to greet all the guests as they come in." She pulled back a bit and spun me around. This caught me by surprise and made me gasp. The gasp was short-lived as her lips met mine. She released my lips from that loving, reassuring kiss. "We are going to get through this... Together." She held out her hand, and I reached out with mine, interlacing our fingers.

"Together." We exchanged smiles and made our way downstairs.

The grand opening was phenomenal. As I was making my rounds, I heard nothing but great reviews and comments. I gained a significant amount of new clients. Not even an hour in, Lori kept having people come up inquiring about my availability. She warmly responded to each one and handed them our card to get a hold of our booking department. It's safe to say that I will most likely be booked out at least a few months from now.

"I think that went pretty well," I said to Lori, looking around at the now empty room. Even the walls were empty; every single piece had been bought.

"It went a lot better than pretty well." She slung her arm around my shoulders and brought our heads close together. "You did it, Mila." I smiled at this, and a wholesome feeling bubbled up in my chest.

"Nah, Lori. We did it." I turned towards her. "I couldn't have done it without you. Miss V.P." She brought me into a hug with a tight grip, and I reciprocated it.

"And I couldn't have done it without you." She pulled back with tears in her eyes. I grew a little concerned at this. "Don't worry; they are happy tears." She grabbed a napkin off the table behind her and carefully patted the tears away to avoid smudging her eye makeup.

"I'll see you tomorrow with those doughnuts. Be careful getting home." I said to Lori right before she got into her car.

"Can't wait." She then got into her car and drove off.

"They are getting heavier." Both of us had carried the kids out to the car because they were completely knocked out. Unfortunately, that sugar rush was short-lived, and they crashed hard.

"Couldn't agree more. I don't like it. I need them to stop growing." I held Alyx a little longer than what Emma did because I had to wait for my mom to slide into the middle seat. No way are my babies sitting in the middle seat, at least not anytime soon.

"Now you know how I felt when you were growing up." My mom said this in a bit of a hushed voice as she slid into the car. I put Alyx down in the seat and buckled her in.

"And I sincerely apologize for putting you through that." She just waved me off.

"No need to be sorry. It's a part of being a mother. I can't say you'll ever not feel this way, but you will get better at handling it. Just wait till they move out." I felt like I had paled.

"Yeah, let's not think about that right now." Emma shot my mom a look through the rearview mirror. She grabbed my hand and gave it a heartbeat squeeze. "That's a long way away from now. Just focus and be present now. We'll cross that bridge when we get there. Besides, you won't be crossing that bridge alone. We'll be doing it together." She then kissed my knuckles before putting her hand on the wheel and backed out of the parking space.

"Together," I whispered this out more to myself, but I knew Emma could hear it.