Araceli POV
The kids and I moved to the place Veronica had arranged for us to live the next day. I also sent them to Brizela Daycare at Eliezer's suggestion. I saw Essel again today when I took them to go through the admission procedures, but we just said hello to her before a staff member called us into the office.
Essel was so cute. No wonder I felt happy every time I saw her.
Towards the end of the afternoon, I went to pick up Valeria and Krish from Brizela Daycare.
Today was their first day of daycare. There were ups and downs, but it all worked out perfectly. Both kids seemed to be doing just fine.
I hurried over and greeted Mayra with a smile, "Ms. Scott, thanks. Is everything okay today?"
"Ms. Chancey, don't worry. Krish and Valeria are very cute and smart. They are friendly to everyone. All the kids in the class want to be friends with them."
Mayra Scott was the class teacher, and she looked elegant.
Mayra squatted down and said, "Krish, Valeria, you guys can go back today and perform the dance you learned today with your mom, okay? I'll see you guys tomorrow."
She stroked Valeria's head. I wanted to stop her, but it was too late. Surprisingly, though, Valeria didn't resist.
Krish smiled and waved. "Thanks, Ms. Scott. Bye!"
I also said bye to Mayra and took the two kids to the car.
Slightly surprised, I said, "Krish, does Valeria like Ms. Scott?"
Krish nodded. "Ms. Scott is very nice to Valeria, and Valeria doesn't reject Ms. Scott holding her hand."
I was relieved. When I saw Mayra touch Valeria's head, I was worried that Valeria would be angry, but she accepted it calmly.
This was great.
I drove to the market to buy some fresh ingredients and then came home.
Although Valeria had autism, she had always been very independent and did not like to depend on others. Once she arrived home, she sat on the carpet and played with dolls, very quietly.
Krish followed me into the kitchen and helped me cook.
He was only five years old, but he could do basically any chore. Usually, when I was busy, he would make Valeria's lunch.
While I was cooking, I was talking to Krish and finding out what had happened at daycare today.
At that moment, my phone suddenly rang.
I had registered a new cell phone number upon my return to America, and not many people knew it. I was a little confused and picked up the phone.
"Araceli, is that you?"
As soon as I heard the raspy man's voice on the phone, I frowned.
It was my father, Zackary Chancey.
I sneered, "Mr. Chancey, how have you been?"
Zackary took a deep breath and said, "Araceli, I know you hate me, but if you put yourself in my shoes, you'll understand why I did that. Back then, you burned down the warehouse in one big fire and escaped away. Now as soon as you return to the country, you make a mess. I'm really disappointed in you."
I said impatiently, "Mr. Chancey, I'm not as important to you as your bullshit company, right? If that's the case, why did you call me?"
"Araceli, I don't want to fall out with you." Zackary struggled to soften his tone. "Araceli, you are my biological daughter, my first child. I care and worry about you. Now that you are back, why did you go to Silver Fang? You do not belong to their pack anymore. I'm sending someone to get you back now."
I smiled coldly.
Why did he suddenly show me kindness? There was something fishy about it.
Once I returned to Eclipse, he and Melany would have countless opportunities to kill me again.
I wasn't that stupid.
I said coldly, "No. I'm not going back to Eclipse."
Zackary didn't say anything, but his breathing was heavy. I could feel his anger through the phone.
He'd called me and that was the bottom line for him. Maybe he didn't expect me to reject him without hesitation.
I used to be an obedient and well-behaved daughter who never contradicted him, but now I was a completely different person. He must have been annoyed.
Holding back his anger, he said, "We're throwing a party to celebrate your aunt, Yoselin, being discharged from the hospital. Aren't you going to come back and see her? We'll have a big banquet at Eclipse's villa to celebrate it for her."
I froze.
When I was little, in Eclipse, the person who loved me the most was my aunt, Yoselin Chancey.
I still remembered that in order to oppose my father's marriage with my current stepmother, Carina Cornell, Yoselin and the family had a lot of conflicts.
Later, Carina became pregnant out of wedlock and secretly gave birth to Melany. Then Carina married my father.
After Carina moved in, Yoselin lived at Eclipse for a long time to protect me.
However, Carina was very good at disguising herself. Instead of going against me, she was very nice to me.
After I left Eclipse, I slowly recalled the events of my childhood and realized that Carina was pretending to be my loving mother. In fact, she was making everyone at Eclipse start to hate me.
My father's love for me was also all fake.
However, Melany didn't see through it and was so jealous of me that she went crazy. She thought she had nothing, and I had everything, but in fact, everything I had was all fake.
Zackary said, "Back then, your aunt thought you were dead. She had a heart attack and was in the hospital for over four years. Now that she knew you were back alive, she asked me to hold a banquet to celebrate it. In fact, she just wanted to see you again."
I hesitated and didn't say anything.
Zackary's voice rang out again. "Araceli, I will not force you to come back to Eclipse, but before you make a decision, I hope to think more about your aunt. She loves you so much."
I hung up the phone and sighed.
It was reasonable for me to meet Yoselin, and I had to give her an explanation after five years of disappearance.
However, I didn't know if Yoselin would be as protective of me as before.
"Mommy, the toast is getting burnt."
Krish's sweet voice made me come back to my senses.
I hurriedly put the phone down and continued cooking.
Half an hour later, dinner was ready.
Valeria smelled the aroma and sat down at the table, looking very hungry. I smile gently and gesture to Krish to get her a sandwich first.
Krish smiled, "Mommy, Valeria is so cute."
I gave Valeria a small bowl of soup and said with a smile, "Valeria, here."
Valeria frowned slightly, thought for a moment, picked up her sandwich and took a big bite.
I smiled, sat down and ate with them.