Jacob's POV

Confusion.

I am confused at what I am doing here in this car with this woman that hasn't left my mind in the past few hours and with her 2 little kids. I don't even know them and yet here I am.

I look around at them trying to figure out what the woman said as she passed her phone to the young boy at the back whom I now know is Nick. He's very intimidating even for his age.

Alethea seems a little nervous and I doubt it's because of me but I'm sure as hell nervous being this close to her. My heartbeat is racing and beating loudly that I'm sure that Alethea and the kids can hear it.

What the heck?!! I sound like a teenage boy having an overdrive of hormones.

"Thee- Thee na cava iko kauti koya kina tu mai. What's he going to do?" I heard Nicky asked although I can't really seem to understand what he said.

"Nicky?!!!" Maddy exclaimed slapping Nicky's arm repeatedly earning several 'ows' from Nicky.

"Be nice?!!" Maddy says as she stops slapping her brother turning to me and smiling that sweet smile of hers.

With that happening, I have come to a conclusion…. I like Maddy, but then I thought of something else.

"What are your full names?" I curiously asked them trying to get to Nicky's good side.

Maddy looked at Alethea for a bit no doubt asking for permission to talk to a stranger which is me. I saw Alethea give a small nod with a smile and Maddy looking back at me with a wide smile.

"My name is Maria Madeline Lutunavonu but everyone calls me Maddy. I am 6 years old and I'm a fairy. I love butterflies!!" she exclaimed as she giggled.

I laughed and glanced at Alethea only to see her smiling.

Damn!!

She looks breathtaking when she smiles.

Then she looked at me and I swear the world froze and it was just me and her.

"Really?? Jake or Jason whatever your name is…. Stop looking at my sister like that" Nicky shouted as he waved his hands between our faces like a person signaling a flight into the runaway.

"Actually, my name is Jacob. Jacob Sto—"

"Thee- Thee its green" Maddy cuts me off as she pointed at the traffic lights.

Since when did we stop on a traffic light?

Wait!!

Where are we going?

"Uhm Aleth----" Nicky cut me off.

"My name is Manulevu Nickolai Lutunavonu. I am 6 years old and I am watching you, pretty boy" Nicky cut me off as he looked at me with an intimidating look.

"Everyone calls me Nicky; you can call me Nickolai" he simply said before he puts his attention towards his tablet again.

"Thee- Thee, Ben is asking if you're going to need somethings from the grocery store?" Nicky asks as he continues looking at his tablet.

I swear this kid pushes my buttons and he enjoys doing it on purpose.

"No, I don't need anything from the store. Just tell them to get there, I got everything covered." Alethea said as she pulls up to an apartment complex.

"Annnddd we're already here and I don't see them anywhere" Alethea says looking around.

"Ben says that they're getting ice-cream and that we should head in first" Nicky says.

"Of course, he's getting ice-cream" I heard Alethea mumble out as she exits out of the car and started taking here bags out of the trunk of her car.

All I am doing right now is looking around like a lost puppy because I am indeed lost. I don't know where I am? Who I am with? And where we are going?

"Are you coming in or are you just going to sit there the whole day?" Alethea asked me as she stood next to the side of the car where I'm at.

I really don't understand women. One minute they tell you to get in, the next they tell you to get out. Although this is a different scenario of how I wanted to get out of the car but still...understanding women is something I would never understand.

After much waiting in the elevator and a few minutes in we headed into their apartment. I start looking around the place....'hmmm it feels cozy. Just like how a home should feel' I thought then I start looking at the pictures up on the wall.

I saw a picture of 2 adults and 2 teenagers holding toddlers each. One of the teenage kids looks like Alethea…. well, the younger version of her. I then notice other recent pictures but the two adults nowhere to be seen. I look at the other pictures to try and find them in the any of the recent photos but they're only in the old pictures. I was about to ask out loud when Maddy interrupted me….

"We don't really remember much about our parents. Thee- Thee tells us stories for us to remember them by but we were really young when they died" she mumbled in a low voice.

I was at a loss for words. 'How the hell did they survive without their parents? Who helped them? And where is their other brother?'

"Thee- Thee has been looking after us since then…. ever since I can remember. I don't blame my parents for dying, I know it was an accident but to me and Nicky, Thee- Thee is both our Mom and Dad." Maddy continues and she looked at me with small smile but then with a playful glint on her eyes as she curled up in a huge smile.

She ran over and hugged me tightly. "Pweef don fell Tee- Tee fhat I tod yo" she mumbled but I couldn't really understand what she said because her faced were squashed into my jacket on the abdomen part.

"Maddy, I don't understand what you're saying" I kneeled down so I could face her.

"Please don't tell Thee- Thee that I told you. She gets all emotional and then she's going to cry…. she hasn't cried since Mom and Dad went to heaven and I don't want to make her cry" she asked me with pleading eyes.

I was about to promise her that I won't tell anyone but then she started dragging me to the kitchen yelling 'ice-cream' all over on our way there.

"Alethea, you have to be there for my wedding. Its at Nadi and plus, Mom and Dad wants to see you and the kids. Everything is taken care of…. all you have to do is be on time for your flight" Ben said no doubt trying to convince Alethea to go but…. when did they get here? That was way too fast for some ice- cream shopping.

I was about to cut in and make my presence known when Alethea started laughing at something before speaking a foreign language...no doubt Fijian.

And then Ben started laughing at what she said and then both Maddy and Nicky wanted to know what was funny and Ben told them…. still in Fijian and they all laughed. I was confused, I looked over at Hazel to see her laughing also…. okay she understands what they're saying but I'm still hella confused.

I wanted to let them know that I'm still confused when Alethea's phone rang…her expression changed from fun- loving to serious in a matter of seconds.

That was the hottest thing I have seen the whole of today.

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I apologize for the late one :)

It has been a hectic few weeks but i hope y'all enjoyed this one :)

Stay safe :)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year :)