211 Sunflower 2

Clutching her bag tightly in her arms, she bit her lip and listened intently. They were still talking, and they probably didn't think that someone would overhear them as they didn't bother to mask their words. And they surely sounded like they've had conversations like this in the past. This wasn't the first time.

"Good. When are you picking them up?" asked Herman.

"Midnight tomorrow. I've already left instructions," said the other.

"The drive will take three or four hours. I'll just stay the night here tomorrow to open the doors. What's the oldest?"

"Eight."

"That's young enough. Alright. I'll give you your cut tomorrow once you get here. Oh, by the way…"

The words that came out of Herman next made Angela feel sick. She gasped, slapping her hand to her mouth, realizing that she made a noise. Then she quickly tiptoed back towards the restroom, closing the door behind her and then leaning her back against it.

Holding her breath, she closed her eyes and waited until she heard footsteps in the hallway that told her they passed by and were probably on the way back to the activity room.

When the footsteps faded, Angela exhaled heavily. Her shoulders shook as she recalled what she just heard, her eyes misty and red—and this time, she couldn't stop the tears from flowing down her cheeks.

Not knowing what to do, she didn't move for a while as she stayed inside the restroom, snapping out of her trance only when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. 

[ Gael: Everything okay? You've been gone for a while. Need help? I won't peek. Promise ???? ]

Angela took a deep breath and released a long exhale. She composed herself, put her phone away, and fixed her makeup. Her eyes were still a bit red, but there's nothing she could do about it. If she didn't go out any minute now, they'd probably start looking for her.

With a smile on her face—contrary to the storm in her chest—she waltzed back into the activity room and faced the children who had been waiting for her return. She met Oliver's, her father's, and Gael's questioning gazes. These people knew her well that for sure, they sensed something was off with her. But she didn't say anything. Instead, she curled the corners of her mouth upward, her smile so broad, the kids wouldn't know what's wrong. She didn't plan to keep what she heard from her family, but it had to wait.

Deep inside, Angela was seething in anger towards the man who just introduced her. She wasn't a violent person, but right then, she wanted to punch and kick his face. How dare he do this to her? How dare he do this to the kids? However, despite her boiling rage, she brushed it off and decided to deal with it later. 

So she took careful steps forward, relishing the sound of claps from the little ones and also the adults around the room. She looked so pretty in the Mrs. Claus costume—a red skater dress with sleeves up to her elbows, lined with white fur. Angela pulled the hoodie of the dress up to her head, the white fur outlining her face and luscious hair.

Looking festive in her Lady Santa outfit, she stood in front and placed her hands on her hips. "The good news is… I'm your Santa for this afternoon, and I'm giving away lots of toys and art supplies. You know Santa only gives toys to the nice kids this year… So...if you want to receive your gift, you must say one good thing you did this year. Okay?"

The children got all excited as they got to their feet to line up in front of Santa Angel-la.

Everyone in the room, except the children, was confused because Angela was supposed to announce the good news about meeting the goal to fund the school project. The staff members, including Herman, exchanged looks and were trying to catch her attention as if wanting to ask why she didn't say what she planned to say, but Angela refused to look at any of them.

'They want the school project? No effin' way,' she thought, her inner self scowling at the image of Herman—and she hoped the other staff members weren't in on his dirty work. If they were, she'd make sure they get what they deserved.

Despite not knowing what was going on yet, her father squeezed her shoulder and helped out in giving the gifts. Oliver kept glancing her way while Gael stayed next to her, casting her looks of worry and curiosity. All four of them helped in distributing the gifts to the children.

"Sister Angel-la, why are you crying?" asked one little girl as she handed her a boxed gift. Her name was Rose and she was eight years old. 

Angela realized that she was staring at the girl with tears in her eyes. The men around her looked in her direction, but she kept her eyes on the kids. Then she smiled and softly laughed, wiping her eyes. "I'm just so happy. Very happy."

"You cry when you're happy?"

She nodded, her lips trembling as she lied, "I'm very happy because I get to give you these cool gifts. I hope you like them."

Technically, that wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the reason why she had tears.

"I wish you were my real sister or my mom," said the little girl. And she surprised Angela by wrapping her small arms around her neck, hugging her tightly. 

Angela's heart felt like it was being crushed into a million pieces. More tears spilled, but she wiped it as she hugged Rose back, laughing it out so that the kids wouldn't worry about her. Another child joined the hugging, and then another, and then suddenly, all the kids wanted to join the embrace. They circled her, giggling as they thought they were playing.

While these innocent souls were having fun, a dark cloud surrounded Gael as he watched Angela. He could see her smile, but her eyes were definitely not smiling. Something was not right. 

What happened while she went out to change? She left smiling, then she came back looking off. Was there a problem with the school project's funding again? She was so excited to tell the children the good news. If all she needed was twenty grand, he'd gladly fill the gap. He'd just have to find a way to make her accept it...or maybe he could donate anonymously again—like he did the first time.

Once all the kids received their gifts, they opened them together and played with one another. 

Gael walked up to her as soon as she was left alone by the kids and held her hand. "What's wrong?"

"Not here," she answered under her breath, refusing to look at him.

His jaw popped, and he was dying to get out of this place so that she'd tell him what made her this sad. He squeezed her hand as he held himself back from wanting to embrace her in front of everyone.

"Excuse me, Ms. Su?" Herman walked up to them. "Can we talk outside?"

Angela's soft gaze suddenly became sharp when it shifted at Herman. If her stare could kill, this guy, Herman, would have already bled to death. What the hell happened here? Even though Gael still didn't know what's going on, the urge to ruin the man clawed inside him. If he hurt Angela, he'd better start praying—or he'd go home in pieces. 

"Yes, Mr. Mitchell. Let's talk, shall we?" she responded, her voice calm yet full of thorns.

Herman was a bit taken aback by the hostility in her voice. He seemed as if he didn't know why Angela was mad at him all of a sudden.

She took a step, but Gael refused to let go of her, so she turned to face him, squeezing his hand as she told him, "I'll be right back."

Even though he was reluctant, Gael let go of her hand and watched as the two left the room. Charlie and Oliver came to his side, asking him what happened, but he also didn't know, so he could only shrug. "I don't know yet, but I'll go and check on her."

He then walked out of the room and searched for them outside. It took him a minute to survey where he thought they were. He found the two talking under a big tree several meters away.

Angela looked pissed while the asshole, Herman, seemed defensive. Gael looked about ready to punch the man's face, his hand curling into a fist as he walked towards the two.