Chapter 171
(2 years after graduation)
"Babe, are you sure you remembered to pack the sweets?" Adam asked me from the back of the car. He was in the middle of rummaging the car's trunk, his head peeking out to regard me with a quirked eyebrow.
I turned to face Adam, still trying to stuff my things into my handbag.
I strolled towards him and gave the bags littering the car's trunk a quick sweep. I spotted the red shopping bag and opened it to reveal the chocolates and lollipops I packed.
"Oh ye, of little faith," I tutted Adam with a smile playing on my lips.
"I never doubted you for a second," Adam declared jokingly, pulling me towards him by my waist and giving my temple a kiss.
I scoffed at his words, but the smile stayed on my lips as I grabbed a couple of the bags to help him.
There were at least 6 of them in there and they didn't look light.
Adam was about to argue but I turned to him and gave him a hard kiss to shut him up. It was undeniably the most effective way.
When we broke apart, I gave him the look.
"Adam, you're human. Humans have 2 hands. There are 6 bags and they weigh at least 5 kg each. I know you want to spoil me all the time but letting me carry at least 2 bags won't kill me." I stated, using my flawless logic to shut down any of his arguments.
Adam chuckled at my stubbornness and gave me another quick peck before relenting. He grabbed the rest of the bags before shutting the trunk and locking up the car.
"You would've thought that after a few years, I'd get used to your stubbornness," Adam mused as we walked towards the entrance to three-storey house's.
"You love it," I grinned cheekily and stuck my tongue out in emphasis.
Adam simply smiled and held the door open for me as we walked in. The slightly muffled shrill screams of children and the smell of baby powder invaded our senses as soon as we walked through the door.
Toys were scattered on the floor and I traced Adam's steps to make sure I didn't step on any of them. The horde of tiny humans were running around in the backyard. A glass sliding door separated the green grass and tiled floors.
The glass doors was able to block out most of the piercing screams, saving our eardrums from destruction. I loved these kids but no one could convince me that they did not sound like banshees at times.
The house was big but it wasn't anything extravagant. I made sure that it was as comfortable as possible without throwing money around carelessly.
There were several rooms in the house and each of the room consisted of 4 beds. I wanted to be efficient with the space that we had and still make the rooms spacious enough to not make the kids feel claustrophobic.
I followed Adam to where the kitchen was and we both set the bags down on the counter. I started opening the cabinets, taking out bowls and plates for the treats we brought for the children.
I was setting the bowls beside the bags when I saw Cole walking towards the kitchen with a beaming smile.
"Hey! I thought I saw you," Cole greeted, walking over to us with his arms open wide.
I returned the hug he gave me before he moved away and gave Adam a man hug.
Cole found me a year after I took over my parents' business. It was as if he got all of his marbles back together and he apologized for his mistakes.
It was hard to trust him at first, considering the things that we went through. But I figured that if he was willing to try to move on from the past, then I should give it a shot too.
He left me his contact number after apologizing. A week after his visit, I got the idea of holding a fundraising campaign to build a house for orphans. I thought that although I've cut all ties with him by giving him the prize money, Cole would be the perfect person to run the place.
With how he was willing to risk his life to fight for money he wasn't even going to spend on himself, he showed me that I could trust him to do what was best for the orphaned kids I was going to house.
His mother fell in love with the children and started helping out full-time. Not long after, I got Cole and his family to move into the house to make things easier for them and so that someone could supervise the children 24/7.
Space wasn't an issue since there were only a few kids that we were housing then, we still had several empty rooms that hasn't been used.
A year passed since we opened the orphanage and with the 20 or so kids that were staying in the house, I've hired some staff to help Cole run the place.
I made adoption available to couples who were interested but I made sure to do a strict background check on all of the couples before granting them access to choose.
I only want what was best for these children. They deserved all the good the world had to offer.
"Another round of treats?" Cole asked us as he saw the big bags on the counter.
"Yep! Are the kids still playing outside?" I asked him, tending back to the bags to start preparing the food.
"Yeah, Mom and a few of the staff are watching over them. It's lunch time soon so you came just on time." Cole informed us as he walked over to help unraveling the insides of the bags.
"This is crazy, Case! The amount of treats that you bring seem to mount every time you come around to visit." Cole whistled as he unpacked the brownies and settled them on a plate.
I laughed lightly while Adam rolled his eyes. "You have no idea, man. She almost bought the whole bakery today. I think she's got it in her head that these kids have blackholes as stomachs." Adam told Cole, making him turn to me with a look that told me he thought I've lost it.
"Oh stop it! They love the treats, I'm just being a good sister to all of them by ensuring their happiness," I reasoned.
Cole snorted, "At this rate, you'll be a goddess in their eyes and they'll start worshipping the ground you walk on."
Adam shook his head as he started arranging the cookies onto an empty plate. I shrugged at Cole and tipped the bags of chocolate and sweets into 20 bowls, making sure that I was giving them a reasonable amount.
Of course they weren't not supposed to eat all of the sweets we brought at once. It was simply delightful to see their eyes light up whenever they catch a glimpse of how many treats they were given.
After everything was ready, we stored the remaining food into the fridge and carried the bowls and plates on trays into the backyard.
I offered Lionett a smile as she waved at us from the picnic table.
The second that the kids saw us walk through the glass doors with trays of sweets, they dropped everything and ran towards us.
