Entwined Fates of the Two Daughters

Third Person's POV

All four seasons of New York City had already gone by countless times. The blooming flowers of spring, the humid weather of summer, the leaves changing their color in autumn, and the coldness of snowy winter—it all happened fast, like bliss, it was as if time was fleeting.

It had been seven long years after all the tangled events of the past.

Alina who was under the roof of the Wilson's was doing a household chore when her mother arrived from work.

"Mom!"

Almost leaping in joy, she wiped her hands and went to her mother, Cecilia, who seemed really tired. Yet, as soon as she saw her lovely daughter, a smile formed on her lips. Just a glimpse of Alina and her fatigue had already gone away.

"How is your day, love?" Cecilia asked and kissed her daughter's forehead. That made Alina giggle.

"Fine, Mom! I helped Grandpa with the household chores. When am I going with you to work?" she asked while looking up at her mother.

Although they were poor and barely making it, Alina was grateful for how her mother and uncle James were treating her. She was full of love and they made sure she could feel the warmth of a family. Their situation also made her not look at their status in life nor be greedy for money, they taught her that those things were not all that mattered in life.

"Hmm? Do you really want to come with me?" asked Cecilia who seemed worried.

"Yes, Mom! I really want to help you so you won't get tired too much," she reasoned out and pouted her lips.

Even with the poor background, the girl was filled with love from the people around her.

"Are you sure you're not doing it because you wanted to earn money this early?" Cecilia asked further.

Alina instantly shook her head. "Of course not... I always carry the lessons you taught me, Mommy. I will never be blinded by money and the most important in life is love!"

That made Cecilia smile. She was grateful enough that her lovely daughter became a good person. She became someone so reliable, that she became someone who was never greedy for more despite the situation of their life.

But there was one thing that she was sorry for, and that was making Alina work that early. Sometimes, Cecilia found herself tearing up while her daughter came with her to work. She never wanted to let Alina experience such a life, but the financial instability became a huge hinder.

Alina, however, never thought of working at that age as degrading, she was actually happy that she could help her family somehow.

"Don't worry, Mom. I just want to help you," she assured her mother.

The truth was, even at her age, she was aware of how hard their life was. Although her uncle James was a nurse, a professional at that, she knew that his earnings were just enough for her grandmother's medications. Her Grandma had high blood pressure and diabetes, so they really needed some regular medications for her.

That was the reason why Cecilia had to work double for their family, and that was why Alina also had to work at that age. Aside from their every day needs, they also needed to save up for Alina's education.

"Mom, when are we going to visit, Dad? I really want to see him... Am I allowed to go there now?" she asked with a small voice.

Her question amid their talk surprised Cecilia. She knew how eager Alina was to see her father, but for some reason, Robert did not want to get even a glimpse of their child at all.

It hurt Cecilia knowing that even their daughter, Robert could not even look and gave her the love she deserved. She was aware that her husband did not love her at all, but it was a deep kind of wound to realize that Robert was not planning to care for Alina, their daughter.

Seeing how saddened her daughter was while asking that, she puffed out a sigh and closed her eyes tightly. At that moment Cecilia had decided.

"We will visit him soon, I promise," she whispered lovingly, trying to hide the pain lingering in her soul.

True to her words, days after that, they found themselves in the visiting area of the prison where Robert was held.

Alina was so excited while waiting for Robert to come and her mother could vividly see that. It was her husband's order not to bring the kid here but Cecilia brushed it off just to make her happy.

Deep inside, the girl was delighted and she was very enthusiastic to meet her father. Even though he was away for a long time, she still loved him very much.

The moment Robert came out and walked towards their table with a frown visible on his face, Alina saw him and immediately approached her father. She ran to him and gave him a tight hug around his waist.

"Dad! I miss you!" She exclaimed in glee, but to her shock, Robert harshly removed her hug.

"Why the hell did you bring this child here?!" With full annoyance, he asked Cecilia that who was busy with Alina who almost stumbled because of his push.

Her father's actions bruised the young heart of Alina, even his words cut deep within her soul and she was shocked to witness her father treating her like she was nothing.

Cecilia eyed her husband with pain in her glaring eyes. She gritted her teeth and answered Robert.

"She came here because she wanted to see you, Robert. Can't you at least treat your daughter fairly? Is that so hard to do?!" The pain laced in her voice when she exclaimed those words.

But her husband was too stoned-hearted. "Bringing that child here will not change any-fucking-thing, Cecilia. I don't need her! What I need right now is parole! I need to get out of here as soon as possible!" Robert wailed and disgustingly looked at the child. "You bringing her here will not change anything, so better leave her home."

Hearing her father say those disheartened Alina who was hugging herself while already sitting beside her mother. She wished she could do something about her father's problem, but at the same time, her young heart could not take those words well.

Before Cecilia could somehow scold Robert for his behavior against their daughter, her husband dismissed them.

"Just go home, you just ruined my mood by bringing that child."

Without even a single goodbye, Robert stood up and let the policemen guide him inside the prison again.

While on their way home, Cecilia noticed how quiet Alina had become ever since they left the jail. She felt really bad that her daughter had to experience that from her very own father. To stop the tears from flowing, she bit her lower lip so hard that she almost tasted metal in her mouth.

"Mom... Dad doesn't want to see me?" Alina asked and she was on the edge of crying.

That threw Cecilia off guard. Faking her cough, she answered her poor daughter. "M-Maybe he is just tired? You know, love... prison life is hard. Your Dad must be having a hard time. That's why he acted like that."

Although her words assured the child, she knew very well that it was not the truth at all. Of all times she visited Robert, never did he once ask about Alina. He did not even dare to act like he cared whenever she was telling him stories about their child. Robert was always uninterested.

That was when she realized that he did not care about their daughter at all. Learning that hurt Cecilia to the core, she was so pained for Alina's sake.

"Mom, I promise," Alina suddenly spoke. "I promise that I will work hard so I can earn enough money to give Dad a good lawyer. I will work very hard to get her out of the prison... Maybe, at that time, Daddy will love me."

Shocked, Alina's mindset drove Cecilia to tears. She cried softly and as quietly as possible as she hugged her so hard so she would not see her sobbing. Never did she want to see Alina doing something just so she could receive love. For her, she deserved everything in the world.

Contrary to Alina's world, Vida, who was in her huge room in the mansion of the Millers, was embracing all the luxury she could have. Her life was lavish and there was nothing that her parents could not give her.

She was inside her dressing room, looking for a dress she could wear that day. But after realizing that her tons of dresses did not pass to her liking that day, she went down the stairs and there she saw her parents hugging each other.

"Mom, Dad," she went to them with an obvious frown on her face.

The two loosened their hug and smiled at her.

Emily caressed her face before asking, "Is there something wrong?"

Without hesitation, she told them what she really needed.

"I don't have any dresses to wear anymore, Mom. I wanna go shopping."

Her mother blinked a bit and thought for a while before she slowly nodded her head. "Alright. Just tell our driver to send you to the mall."

Vida was so happy when her mother said that that she leaped in joy and hugged them tightly. After that, she quickly went back to her room to get ready while her parents were left in the living room.

Watching their child go up the stairs, Oliver, who was quiet all those times, started speaking seriously to his wife.

"Don't you think we should not spoil Vida too much?"

Deep inside, he was really hesitant about spoiling their daughter because it might affect Vida's behavior and view on life.

"But love, didn't we work hard just to give her everything she deserved? All our hard work is for Vida... isn't just right to give her everything she wanted?" Emily pointed out, slightly caressing his jaw, and as she was trying to get him on her side with that one.

Sighing, Oliver nodded his head. "Just make sure to stop when she's already too much, alright?"

"Of course... but our daughter is a good girl, you see? Nothing's wrong," she assured and smiled sweetly at her worried husband.

They had always treated Vida like a real princess. She always got the latest bags, she always got branded shoes and clothes. Whenever the girl liked it, they would give her toys and gadgets and, of course, she ate all the delicious foods the world could offer.

However, unlike what her parents were thinking, even though Vida had all those things, she could not help but feel empty, she felt hollow deep inside.

Vida had been very jealous of her friends and classmates who always had their parents with them, while her parents, Emily and Oliver had always been busy working for their company.

In the huge mansion, instead of warmth, she felt so cold because she was always left alone with their housekeeper, Lily.

The girl wanted to feel loved, she wanted them to be physically there for her. The truth was, Vida could go on with life without those material things, all she needed was the presence of her parents.