The Billionaire's Five

Chapter 17

"Love the one that blooms in your presence."

The sudden contact of a hand on her shoulder made Maureen jump, surprising her more than it should have. Finn looked at her in confusion.

"Are you okay?" he signed, worried eyes looking down at her, their height difference visible. Maureen replied with a nod, keeping a small smile on her face as she continued to cut the vegetables in front of her. 

Finnegan continued to stare at her, worried about his sister. It's been a day since she's been like this, her weekend off was spent with her spacing out and her brows furrowed. Usually, she'd be up and excited about it. Especially because today was their mom's birthday.

But it seemed that she was preoccupied with something else.

"Did something happen?" he asked, staying beside her and helping with the cooking as he waited for her to answer.

It was rare to see his sister this way. The last time was when their daycare closed because of the new owner.

"Is there a problem with work?" he asked again, seeing as his sister didn't plan on answering. He wasn't planning on giving up either. He'd pester her the whole day if he had to.

A few minutes passed before Maureen answered, knowing that her brother won't stop until she does.

"Nothing's wrong, Finn. Everything's okay..." she ended with a smile in an attempt to console his worries. Finnegan had always been so observant. He was quiet, but he always knew what's happening around him.

His brows furrowed, not believing her, but didn't say anything more. 

He was only giving her permanent peace.

It's only been a day and half since the incident, and even though Maureen was adamant on not taking her weekend off, Tobias assured her that they would be okay and that she should take her time resting. He didn't want to take up her personal time with their mess, he said.

Maureen didn't agree with him, but couldn't do anything as he was pretty determined about it. 

"Happy birthday, mom." they greeted after singing the birthday song, clapping their hands as she held the cake in front of her mom for her to blow the candle. 

"Thank you, honey." her mom replied, kissing her and her brother's cheeks before leaning over to kiss her husband who greeted her with a soft voice. 

"Happy birthday, my sweetheart."

Maureen smiled as she looked at them. Their love was so sweet and so genuine. She was so lucky to see her parents this way, so in love.

They continued their dinner celebration, chatting around the table while talking about their week. 

Finnegan was almost done with his academic year, and all that's left is two years in college and he'd graduate. It was a long journey, but they were proud of him, achieving all he did.

Her mother Lily was a nurse at the hospital, while her dad was a soon-to-retire lawyer. Their jobs are in no way easy, but they enjoyed it. And as the time would come that they needed to retire, they'd always say that every year and moment of their hard work was worth it.

She feels the same way about her work.

"How's work, Maui?" her dad asked, looking over at her while he ate and waited for answer.

She couldn't find any to give, and she was pretty sure her lie was obvious.

"Fine, pa. Everything's fine." she said, trying to smile as she ate although she didn't have any appetite.