Lilac's POV
Seventeen Years Ago
Voices. The first one belonged to my mother. The second voice, well, I had no idea who it belonged to. I peered my head around the corner, tucking my red hair behind my back so that no one would notice me. My mother stood with her arms crossed over her chest while a blonde, curly-haired woman stood crying and speaking very frantically. A little boy and girl stood behind the crying blonde woman, clinging to her as she spoke. The girl looked about my age, around seven or eight while the boy looked much older, like he was about eleven or twelve.
"Ella, please. I'm desperate. The officials, they want to take them away and send them to some orphanage. I-I can't let that happen to them." The woman spoke through tears.
My mother looked unmoved by her words and still maintained her cross-armed position. "What have you done with the baby?"
"S-she is in a safe place. I can not tell you where. The officials will come looking for her and I don't want you to have to lie about where she is. It's safer this way."
"None of this would be necessary if you could just get clean, Rosemary. You can send your children to the moon, but they will never be safe as long as they have you in their lives. You are a bomb, and when you explode, you destroy everything in your path."
I expected this to make the woman cry harder, but instead, it looked like it was doing the opposite.
"That's why I need you, Ella. I know that I am putting you in a very tough position, but please, will you help me?"
My mother gave no answer right away so I assumed that she was considering the woman's plea.
"I can't take them both. I just don't have enough room or money to take care of two more children. I'm barely scraping by with just Lilac." The woman nodded her head, obviously willing to take whatever she could get. "How old is the girl?"
"Eight," the woman replied.
"The same age as Lilac. I can't handle two small children. What about the boy?"
"Samuel is eleven. Please, I really need this. If not for me, then for them. They deserve a good life."
My mother finally uncrossed her arms and her stern gaze turned into an almost compassionate one. "I'll take Samuel. What will you do with the girl?"
The blonde woman ran her fingers through her unruly curls. "I can figure something out, but I'll be damned if I let the officials take her."
"And are you sure that your baby is safe?"
"Safer than she'll ever be with me." The woman replied.
"Does your husband know about any of this?" My mother questioned.
"Of course not. I haven't been replying to his letters. It's killing me. As soon as I get clean, I will fix this."
My mother nodded in understanding. "Alright Rosemary, say goodbye to Samuel."
The blonde woman knelt down to be at level height with the boy who had already started to shake his head.
"I don't want to stay here, Mom. I want to go with you." He told her.
"I know sweetheart, but I have some things that I need to take care of. You will be safe here until I get back, okay?"
He shook his head. "No, I don't want to go."
"I'm sorry, honey." The woman and the little girl had tears pouring in buckets down their cheeks at this point.
My mother grabbed the boy's hand and tried pulling him away from the blonde woman, but he wasn't having it.
YOU ARE READING
Royale (Book #1 Royale Series) {Under Revision}
RomanceIt's not about telling the truth...it's knowing which lies to tell Juliana Renée Clairborne has always known that she doesn't belong to the parents that she was raised by. She came to terms with that a long time ago. But sometimes, she can't help bu...
