REDEMPTION (Book 1, Redemption Series)

Chapter 9: Thy will be done,Bella

Isabella's POV.

"Tell me what you think already; I'm dying to hear your reply," Amirah exclaimed from the other end, and I laughed, shifting my cell phone from one ear to the other before saying...

"Trust me when I say words cannot do justice to what you're doing, Amirah; finding a home for those kids is incredible, and I can't wait to meet with those lovely creatures in person, of course!"

She squealed loudly in delight and I can bet a horse that she's bouncing around also. You could hear the excitement in her voice.

"What do you think about flying out here before the weekends? There's a charity ball this weekend, and I need a hand with the preparations; it will also give you enough time with the kids, and you shall have time to tour the kingdom." And it was my turn to squeal after hearing her words.

"Really? I'd be honored to help with the preparations, I can't believe you would even want me to!" I said a little too loud, and she laughed before saying...

"It is settled then; I'm flying you out here first thing tomorrow morning. Are you okay with that?" The Queen asked the young woman whom she now calls friend.

"Really? Yeah! I mean...yes, I'm okay with it; thanks again for including me." I couldn't hide my excitement as we said our goodbyes; I must've been smiling like a goofball because my dad asked.

"You are going to be whisked away to the magical kingdom of Gardenia then?" It's no surprise he heard everything; my father has been watching me curiously since I picked up my cell phone and I wasn't particularly discreet about it either.

"No need to dramatize the magical kingdom, Dad. It's just Gardenia. I mean Gardenia is not just a place but you get what I mean and yes, I will be there tomorrow to help Queen Amirah with some things for her charity ball this weekend and all, but I'm also really excited to see Gardenia too," I told him while placing a plate of freshly made pancakes in front of him.

"So...it's not permanent then?" He asked while reaching out for the glass of water, and I handed it to him.

"No, Dad, it's not permanent; I'm just honoring an invitation from the Queen, that's all." He stuffed some pancakes into his mouth before saying...

"Right! The Queen, I can't believe you're gonna leave me here with your sister, again."

I giggled at his whining as the said person walked into the kitchen, fully dressed, and pecked him on the cheeks.

"Stop complaining and take your drugs, Pops. You know I love you, right?" He rolled his eyes at her while saying he loved her too as she left the house for work as he playfully said.

"See what I mean? She's bossy." We both laughed.

"You're her seventy-nine-year-old diabetic father who refuses to take his meds; of course, she will be bossy. I would have been too if I wasn't playing the good cop to her bad cop"

He scrunched his nose as I pulled out his meds from the cabinet and dropped them on the table while kissing his cheek as I excused myself from the breakfast table before going into the guest room to pack for my trip tomorrow.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Meanwhile, on the other side of the town, an older man paced from one end of his home office to the other with a tight grip on his cell phone as he breathed through his mouth before asking...

"Is this the best thing for them? Are we doing the right thing?"

His spouse sighed quietly before saying..."There is only one way to know what's best for them, and that is by letting them spend time together. We need to do this, they need this"

Bishop Snow is a proud and ambitious man, outsiders envy him, his counterparts respect him, and those who have witnessed his ruthlessness in the business world fear him because of his motto 'show no weakness' but as he stands here in this moment with his cell phone pressed to his ear and hearing the calm breathing of his wife from the other end, he can feel his walls crumbling as he suppressed a whimper.

"Jennie, please come home. I miss you" He begged his wife.

"You know I can't do that Bishop. l love you, and I will always love you, but you need to fix things with him first. We can't keep living like this, please."

He dropped on the chair with both hands on his face as the line went dead; he hadn't felt this helpless since he was called to identify his late wife's dead body two decades ago.

-- --

"Oh my gosh! I love, love, love my new room. It's so...me!" Emily squealed loudly while bouncing up and down in excitement as her brother stared at her in awe.

When Jonathan picked up his siblings from his family's house earlier without so much as a 'Hi' or 'Hello' to his father, he was still very skeptical about one thing, and that was whether his siblings would love their new rooms. But as he is standing here right now, witnessing the huge smile on his eight-year kid brother's face and the constant squealing and bouncing of his seventeen-year sister, he doesn't know how to thank Amirah for stopping him from his initial plan of putting up extravagant bedrooms in place instead of allowing them to do it themselves.

"I'm glad you like your rooms because Amirah and Isabella helped a lot." Emily stopped bouncing on the bed while PJ blankly stared at him, probably wondering who any of the people were.

"You mean Amirah the Gardenian Queen?" Emily asked with wide eyes while PJ still looked lost, and Jonathan chuckled before saying...

"Yes, that, Amirah; she's a very good friend of mine, actually," Emily squealed loudly, and I wondered if she was hurting.

"I can't believe the Queen decorated my room; wait till I tell everyone at school about it; they are going to flip a cow! But who is Isabella?" She took a break from bouncing up and down and Jonathan smiled at his sister before replying.

"Isabelle, formally known as Isabella Ridley, who is also my personal assistant's younger sister, is visiting town for a few weeks. You two should freshen up while I ask Mrs Billson to make you something to eat" They nodded eagerly as I shut the door behind me while making my way to the only place I know my cook will be.

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Author's Note

The next chapter will be Jonathan's first official time with his siblings as they share meals and get acquainted with each other.

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