Hello! It's been a while hehe I managed to get a day off from school and decided to begin writing the bonus chapters :)
Enjoy!
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December 30, 2029 - France
"How did you even find this place?" I asked Gabby as the two of us gazed at the house from the backyard. It held three floors, exterior walls painted in yellow that were matched with green shutters and white accents. The house blended with the trees surrounding it and I would've thought it was a normal house if it weren't for the sign by the front.
Sunrise Street
"I met a client a few months ago who wanted to auction some of her old jewelry and asked me to take some photos. She invited Max and I to the event where we found out most of the money from the auction was going to be donated to different orphanages in France. Max was eyeing a home for kids who were victims of natural calamities when he saw this one. I think it reminded him of Michael." I frowned upon hearing Michael's name, remembering the accident he went through which completely changed his life.
It hit Mick the hardest and as much as Charles and I tried to be there for him, nothing can really lessen the pain of seeing your father in a state like that. With both of their fathers being race car drivers, the two frequented the race weekends when they were younger and Max developed a father-son relationship with Michael. He was just as much as a mess as Mick when the accident happened.
"We're thinking of making it an annual thing." Gabby said as we both walked back to the house and I smiled at a group of kids who were walking and signing at one another. I remember one of them from the art class Gabby held earlier and she sent me a wave.
"Just tell us the time and place, and we'll be here."
We went around the house to look for Max, Charles, and Mick. Hazel was currently reading to the kids on the second floor, so we decided not to disturb them upon seeing how enraptured the kids were.
After about ten minutes of looking around, we found them at the rooftop where a greenhouse was built along with a few chairs and tables so that the older kids could hang around.
"How's Hazel doing?" Mick asked upon seeing us. He was wearing gardening gloves and the plain white shirt he had on was covered in dirt.
"The kids love her." Gabby smiled and Mick grinned. Out of the three of us, Hazel was the natural one when it came to children. I did fairly well because of my experience as an older sister, while Gabby was on the other side of the spectrum.
It's a good thing some of these kids could understand her humor or else we'd be nursing a few tears for the rest of the afternoon.
"Have you seen my husband?" I asked Mick, looking behind him and hoping to see a mop of brown hair.
"And mine?" Gabby smirked, knowing that whatever work the boys were doing, Max wasn't participating in any of it. Mick rolled his eyes at us and beckoned for us to follow.
We entered the greenhouse and my eyes immediately landed on Max who was sitting on top of a table along with two other kids who looked to be drawing the plant Max was holding.
"He left us because he said the kids need to be supervised, but we all know he just didn't like getting his hands dirty." Mick chuckled and I held in my laughter upon seeing Gabby raise an eyebrow in his direction. True to Mick's words, Max's clothes were squeaky clean and free of any dirt.
"Hey, Diva! What did I tell you about dumping all your work on Charles and Mick?" Gabby marched forward and Max's head snapped up, eyes widening. Beside him, the kids grinned at the obvious trouble the adult was in, and I'm sure they knew what the look in Gabby's eyes meant.
I turned to Mick and he immediately understood what I wanted as he pointed to the other side of the greenhouse. "Thanks." I said, patting his shoulder before carefully following the direction he pointed at.
My eyes were moving around, hoping to find Charles, but I heard voices instead. One of them were surely his, while the other one was much smaller and softer.
Quietly, I turned the corner to see his back turned to me as he knelt on the ground, a bucket and spade sat on his left. On his other side, a little girl watching him in amazement, hands linked together as she stood beside Charles, lips parted. Her dark brown hair was falling down her back save for two thin braids that formed a small crown by the top of her head. Green eyes were focused on Charles and her cheeks puffed before she blew out some air when Charles lifted his enclosed fist by her face, as if asking her to make a wish.
"Will my wish come true?" She asked him, watching as he dropped some seeds into the soil and covered them up.
"If you put your mind to it, yeah." Charles smiled, giving the little girl a soft look. "Do you want to plant some tulips in a different color?"
"Yes, please." I smiled at the politeness in her tone, knowing that it was rare for a child her age to know when to say please.
"Alright." Charles chuckled, grabbing a few more seed packets from his pocket. "Do you want mango tulips or grape tulips?"
"Grape, please!" She cheered, pointing at the one on the left as she showed him a toothy grin.
"Grape tulips, it is." I watched in confusion as Charles opened the package of grape tulips, whatever that is.
I stepped out from where I was hiding and the little girl immediately saw me, her eyes widening before she poked Charles' shoulder. "Wait, I have to dig a hole first." The little girl didn't speak and poked Charles once again. "What—" He turned around to follow her gaze and smiled when he saw me. "Oh, hey, Nova." Charles stood up and kissed my cheek when I stopped in front of the two of them, my eyes moving to the adorable little girl who was watching us with curios eyes.
"Nova?" She whispered, tilting her head to the side and I found myself doing the same thing, making her laugh when I winked at her.
"Amelia, this is my wife." Charles said, crouching down once again so that he was eye-level with her.
I grinned upon seeing how she scrunched up her nose upon being called Amelia and she gave Charles a look. The sweetness she showed earlier had completely changed into one of judgement, reminding me so much of Esma. She was the baby of the family, but as soon as you got on her bad side, her personality rivalled mine.
"I'm Mia." The little girl said, poking Charles before turning to me again. "Nice to meet you, Nova." My eyebrows shot up in surprise as she held her hand out and I gladly accepted, not bothering to correct her and say my real name.
"It's nice to meet you, too." I said, shaking her hand. "Now, what are grape tulips?" I asked, kneeling and not caring if dirt was clutching onto my cream pants.
"This!" Mia's eyes brightened and I watched as she picked up the pack of seeds that were for purple tulips.
"How about you dig a small hole for the grape tulips, huh?" Charles said, passing her the shovel. Mia smiled and gave a short okay before grabbing the gardening tool. "She loved eating fruits as a kid, so her mum used to associate it with colors."
"Used to?"
Charles gave me a sad smile, linking my hand with his as he pulled me in the direction of Mia. She looked adorable as she held the small shovel which looked quite big compared to her tiny hands. She was obviously having a hard time with digging out the soil, but you could see the look of determination in her face as she pouted for a second, glared at the patch of land, and continued. "She and her parents got into a car accident last year and she's the only one who survived. She's been in the orphanage for a year which is long for her age, partly because every time someone chooses her and it's time to leave, she backs out upon seeing a car."
I felt my heart clench, not being able to understand how something so traumatic could be placed upon a little girl. Looking at Mia, you wouldn't expect that kind of story to be the cause of her stay in the orphanage.
We spent the remaining of our day with Mia. Charles and I stood on either side of her when we caught the end of Hazel's story telling and even more so when one of the guardians toured us around the place. Mia momentarily joined the other kids to play outside, but she rejoined us when she noticed Charles and I walking around the garden.
When it was finally time to leave, the boys talked to the handlers of the orphanage while I spent my last few minutes sitting with Mia. She kept asking me a bunch of questions like what do I do, what's my favorite color, and if I liked to eat gummies. It was surprising to see her nod in agreement when I said I wasn't a fan of the sweet candy and she said she liked chocolate more.
"Nova?" She asked, fingers playing with the hem of my top.
"Yes?"
"I like Charles." She shyly said, and I smiled, patting her head.
"I like him, too." She bit her lip and nodded her head. A few seconds later, she called my name again. "Yeah?"
Mia's green eyes looked up at me and I couldn't help but notice that they were almost the same shade as Charles', but hers had a cooler shade compared to the latter's warm ones. "I like you, too."
I couldn't help myself as I leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "I like you too, Mia."
That wasn't the last time we saw her. The orphanage was half an hour away from where my therapy was, so every time Charles and I went, we'd drop by the orphanage afterwards. There were times where Estelle offered online sessions for me, but I'd decline. I'd make an excuse that the face-to-face sessions were better, but the real reason was so that I'd have an excuse to visit Mia afterwards. When Charles wasn't away for race weekends, we'd both spend the afternoon with her either reading books or watching movies with the other kids. When it was just me, Mia and I would be in the kitchen the entire time. The third time we visited, I brought some brownies with me which she devoured in minutes. I made a mental note to bring some the following week and ended up looking for other recipes to make so that it wasn't always brownies. I thought it'd be nice for us to bake them together and I found myself in the kitchen satisfactory enough not to burn the food.
February 04, 2030 - Monaco
Today, Charles and I visited Mia again and every goodbye was getting harder. We'd say goodbye inside the house to keep her from freaking out at the sight of a car.
Charles took a nap when we got home while I cleaned up my office after tackling a busy case. The only sign that he had woken up was the sound of plates coming from the kitchen. His nutrionist had left some meals that were good for two days and Charles was leaning against the counter as he watched the food heat up in the microwave.
"Hey." I said, standing beside him and leaning my head on his shoulder. He was obviously still sleepy and the lack of words on his part confirmed that as he planted a kiss on the side of my head. A few minutes passed and he pulled out the food, getting ready to set the table. I didn't move from my place and this got his attention.
"Everything okay?" He asked and I bit my lip in apprehension.
"We have a problem."
"Care to expand on that?" He asked and I chuckled, seeing him relax at my light aura.
"I think I've grown attached to Mia."
"You think?" Charles smirked and I rolled my eyes at him.
"Shut up." I glared at him and he laughed, moving to stand in front of me. "She's just— I just— every time— I can't—"
"Wow. Who would've thought a three year old would be the one to render you speechless?" I slapped his chest and he tightened his hold on my hips. "Use complete sentences, Nova."
I sighed and placed my hands on his chest. "I am absolutely enamored of that little girl. She's perfect and I think I love her as much as I love you." I waited for his response, and when a smile formed on Charles face, I knew he felt the same.
"Are we ready for this?" He asked and I bit my lip, nodding my head.
"I think so."
Charles pulled me into his arms and breathed against my hair. "Thank god. Because she's got me wrapped around her finger. I love kids, but Mia feels different." I squeezed him and pulled away. "How fast can we fix the adoption papers?"
"I'll have Sara do it which I'm sure won't take that long."
We agreed to talk to Mia first before pushing through with the papers. I knew that with orphanages, you get picked and you go with the family, but we wanted to hear her thoughts. We have no intention of ever replacing her parents, only wanting to be a second set that she could have.
If it were up to me, I would give that little girl the whole world.
The two of us spoke about what would happen if the plan pushes through. The guest bedroom would be converted into Mia's room and we'd have to move all of Charles' trophies to the bottom shelf since having them at the top was dangerous in case they fell on her. Next was the issue of going from Nice to Monaco. We already knew Mia wouldn't be able to get inside a car, much less Charles' Pista since we might need to slowly get her accustomed for that. There were no issues when it came to Monaco, since we could just use a bike or ride the bus. In the end, we decided on borrowing Max's vespa and attaching the required seat for kids. Charles would be the one riding with her while I drove the Pista home.
February 09, 2030 - France
"Hi, Nova!" Mia smiled as soon as she saw me from the second floor of the house. I watched as the little girl ran down the stairs and came to a stop in front of me, arms wrapping around my legs.
"Hi, little one." I softly said, fixing her hair that had moved about from her running. She was wearing braids again and I made a note to myself to learn how to do them if ever things go our way. "How are you?"
"Lola let me pick a recipe for today. Can we make cupcakes? There's one with tulips on them! Just like the grape tulips Charles and I made." She rambled on, only taking a deep breath to continue describing the cupcakes. The two of us moved until we were both sitting by the foot of the stairs, Mia sitting beside me as she unconsciously played with the ends of my hair. I stretched my legs out in front of me and she copied my position, placing her legs on top of mine.
That was how Charles found us after he went straight to the orphange's office. He smiled upon seeing Mia and when his eyes met mine, he subtly nodded his head. I couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief and the sound brought Mia out from her rambling, noticing Charles.
"Hey, Mi." Charles greeted, stopping when Mia grinned and stood up to meet him, arms going up as she reached for him. He chuckled, knowing what she wanted, and quickly picked her up. "Any plans for today?"
"Grape tulip cupcakes!" She cheered and Charles curiously turned to me.
"We're making chocolate cupcakes with tulips designed on them." I clarified for him and he nodded his head in understanding.
"Before you make your cupcakes, there's something Nova and I wanted to talk about with you." He said, taking the seat Mia previously took.
We were both surprised when the little girl frowned, green eyes moving from me to Charles. "Are you leaving, too?" She asked quietly and Charles' lips parted in surprise, not expecting that question from her.
"What?" He whispered.
"Mommy and daddy left me. Are you leaving me, too?"
If Mia wasn't in front of me, I think I could have cried upon seeing the pain in her face. "My love," I said, cupping her small cheeks with mine and fighting the tears that were threatening to fall. "we are never leaving you."
"Never?" She asked, green eyes looking up at me.
"Never." Charles said after clearing his throat. His eyes were a bit glassy too and I think a tear slid down his cheek because he looked away and leaned his head against Mia's.
"We actually wanted to ask if you'd like to come with us. Charles and I live in Monaco and we can make all the chocolate pastries you'd like." I went on about all the things we could do together, emphasizing that it would be outside of the orphanage. I don't think a toddler would know what being adopted was and it might be easier to ease her into it.
"Can we read, too?" She asked, playing with her fingers.
"I'll buy you all the books you want, Mi." Charles smiled, kissing her cheek, and the two of us looked adoringly as she finally giggled.
"Do I still call you Nova?" She asked, eyes looking at Charles as well to see him smirking. That nickname definitely stuck. "Or mama?"
My heart lept upon hearing the four letters escape her lips and I found myself thinking that I'm going to spend the rest of my life giving Mia all the love she deserves and more. I let out a small laugh and leaned forward to give her a kiss on her nose, rubbing it with mine before pulling away. "You can still call me Nova, but mama is good, too."
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✧Reese✧