"I am good at two things. Murder and sex."
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Xavier Visconti expected one thing on December 3rd. And that was getting his money back from a spineless woman he had taken pity on. What he didn't expect, though, was to meet his damsel-in-distress.
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It was Christmas day.
Emma had to be dragged away from the freezing cold balcony. Not only was she getting blue lips, she was also eating the snow flakes. Currently she sulked in the far corner of the living room.
Lydia couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. Her hands shook constantly these days. It seemed like no matter what she did, something always went wrong. She wasn't a good mother. That was why she was grateful to have Esme in the apartment. The woman always knew what to do.
"Emma, I'm sorry," she said now, crouching down next to her daughter. She wore a tux, courtesy of Mr Visconti, and a reindeer headband. Lydia had no idea what the story was behind the tux. It seemed to be an inside joke. Emma loved it more than any of her other clothes which made sense. It wasn't like Lydia could buy her a lot to begin with. "It's really chilly outside. You'll get sick if I let you out and then you won't be able to enjoy Christmas. Why don't you help me decorate the cake?"
She sprang up from her crouched position and gave her mother a sly grin.
"Let me lick the spoon afterwards, mommy. Okay?"
Lydia nodded and smiled, feeling a smidgen of relief. She was back in her daughter's good graces.
"Mommy where is your green hair clip? Why are you not wearing a pretty tux like me?"
He'd taken it away at the beginning of December. The hair clip with green rhinestones.
Lydia swallowed before forcing a smile. "I lost it. I'm sorry. We'll buy more, alright? Better ones. And you know I don't have a tux."
She wore a cream sweater dress and hoped she could pass it off as festive. Now that all her money wasn't going to be used to pay Elvira's debt, she was going to make enough to start affording things. There were so much that she wanted to buy for Emma.
Emma giggled evilly, patting her mother's cheek after climbing on the kitchen counter. "I know you don't have a tux! It's okay, when I take it off you can wear it."
"Might be a bit big on me," Lydia couldn't help but reply dryly, making her daughter burst into another fit of giggles.
"I saw Elvira in my dream last night," Emma said seriously as she executed the very difficult job of making sure the chocolate truffle cake did not slip from its stand.
Lydia stiffened before relaxing. Knowing her daughter, it probably wasn't a nightmare. Still, she couldn't be too sure.
