Wrong Time

And So It Continues...

·Grace's POV·

"Scott William Sutcliffe, come here right now!" I shouted as soon as I saw the undeniable mess my three-year-old son had created.

"What did I do mommy?"

Ohh... I know that fake innocent voice and angelic face; it is the same one his father does whenever he's in trouble. I'm not buying it, at all.

"Can you explain me why the bathroom floor is completely soaked?"

"Mr. Brown wanted to take a bath. I was just trying to help him!"

"Scott..." I warned him with my famous you-better-tell-me-the-truth kind of face. Come on! He's a really intelligent boy, he surely can come up with another excuse that doesn't involve his favorite teddy bear in it.

"He was very dirty, mommy!" He defended.

"Hmm, how come?"

Now, I recognized his sudden expression too: Mommy had caught him. Truth in three, two, one...

"I was playing with Mr. Brown outside and I threw him down the slide, just how daddy does with me. He fell into a mud puddle and got really dirty. I was just trying to help him, I promise!"

Here it is.

"I believe you, baby boy. But next time remember what I told you about going out to the backyard after it rains, okay?"

"Okay, mommy. I'm sorry."

My maternal instinct kicked in and the sudden urge to hug him replaced my previous anger.

"I love happy endings." Archer appeared out of nowhere holding our daughter and Scott's twin sister, Violet.

"Scott is really naughty, daddy." She confessed him while playing with his hair.

My husband just laughed out loud and glanced at his son, who was trying to conceal his smirk.

"I wonder who got that attitude from..." I sighed.

Scott is definitely a mini Archer: same mischievous eyes, gestures, terrible excuses... Even the signature smirk, for God's sake! Don't get me started with how I feel when they both team up...

However, you could say that Violet is a mini me. Although she's very young, you can already notice the strong personality and the lack of filter that characterizes her. So timid around strangers, yet so blunt with the people she knows.

"Come on children, go to the playroom while I help mommy." He laid Violet down and the two little hurricanes sprinted towards their destination.

"I didn't know the naughtiness could be inherited."

"What can I say, love. It's a dominant gene."

I laughed at his horrible scientific joke attempt. What would I do without this man...

Just after we got married, I told him the big news I had been keeping from him since the previous week: I was pregnant. What I didn't expect though was to give birth to twins. As soon as we knew we were having a boy, I begged Archer to name him Scott. It is the kind of gesture my friend deserved, after all he went through. Archer knew it would be impossible to make me reconsider it, so I let him choose the girl's name. His choice surprised me in a good way, taking me aback.
Violet.
He explained that this flower symbolizes faith, the faith I brought into his life after we met and the faith he never lost during the past dark times. In that moment, it was all crystal clear.

He caught me staring at him lovingly and kissed me on the forehead, a display of affection he got used to make after all this years.

"I love you."

"I love you more." I whispered back.

"Hardly, love." Archer finished with a quick peck.

It was then when I heard Violet shout my name from the corridor, so I got up and left my husband cleaning up the bathroom.

"What's wrong, honey?" I took her between my arms after noticing the horrified look on her face as she kept her sight fixated on the end of the corridor.

"I was just going to take my doll from my bedroom and then I saw him."

"You saw who, Vee?"

"Mommy, who's that boy?" She asked me, pointing out behind my back.

But when I turned around,

there was no one to be seen.

*****

A. N: It's been a long ride, right? I'm so grateful for all the support I've received over the past few months from all of my loyal readers. So let me thank you: for the love you feel towards the characters, for the enthusiasm you show chapter after chapter and for being there until the very end.
Because it is the end.
Or is it?
Love,
M³