Although we had not been actively telling our children about their relationship with the mafia, it wasn’t like we thought that we could hide it. As a result, we never bothered to hide it. We let them learn through their relationship with the boss, Harris, Luka and even other members of the senior management of the gang.
Although our family was no where close to being a standard and normal one, we were extremely happy to be together. Harvey, Amelia, the boss, and everyone else were always supportive of our family and what we wanted to do. Hayden and Harvey remained close even though Hayden no longer helped out with the gang’s business anymore.
...
If I had to choose, I would say that the family that I managed to build with Hayden is my greatest life achievement thus far. However, that didn’t mean that I didn’t have other achievements to be proud of in my life especially when it came to my career as an artist.
"We would like to award our amazing artist friend, Malissa, for her outstanding achievement in supporting the local art community especially for her work in supporting new and aspiring young artists. Please give a round of applaud for Malissa and may I invite Malissa up here to share a few words with us please," the event’s host announced.
The auditorium exploded with the sounds of people clapping and cheering. I turned to smile at Hayden and my children as they smiled and clapped for me. I kissed Hayden on the cheek softly as I whispered my words of thanks into his ear.
"Thank you...for always supporting me..." I thanked him wholeheartedly.
"Congratulations, Wife. I’m so proud of you," Hayden replied before he kissed my cheek in return.
I waved to my kids as I got up from my seat before making my way towards the stage. My legs shook a little as I struggled slightly with the stairs leading up to the stage. Honestly, I saw this award coming. That didn’t mean that I thought that I deserved or wanted this recognition to rain down on me. However, when you talk to many people, you tend to hear the rumors going around.
This award didn’t come purely as a surprise but that didn’t make me less excited about it. On top of that, giving a public speech in front of this many people wasn’t something that I was very used to.
"Definitely not. I work hard to see my dreams come true. So should you..." I replied before pulling Henry into a hug.
"Dad works hard too..." Henry muttered.
"I guess we should go on a holiday together soon. All of us..." I suggested brightly.
"Yes!" Henry quickly agreed.
"What do you think Leila?" I asked.
Leila just nodded her head while she smiled her sweet angelic smile at me. Leila’s light pink puffy dress only made her look even more like a little princess. She still held Hayden’s hand as she leaned on his arm. Just like she was attached to the boss, she was very attached to her father as well.
After arriving home, the maids helped us take care of the children. After the kids took their baths and we changed into relaxing clothes, we joined each other again in the dining room for a not-so-peaceful family dinner. I paid attention as the kids chatted excited about the event that we had just attended.
It wasn’t very often that I took the kids out to public events with many people like this due to security reasons and also because the kids were still young.
"Finish up your food," Hayden said sternly.
"Ok..." the two of them mumbled.
--To be continued...