Maya circled the main house but Kyle and Juan were nowhere to be seen. She then headed towards the pavilion.
âUncle Evan.â
To prevent him from knowing that she was his daughter and be separated from her mother, Maya greeted him after some thinking.
Her voice had pulled him back to reality. Looking over his shoulders, he asked, âYes?â
âWhere are Kyle and Juan?â
âTheyâre both at the Hillside Villa. Do you want to play with them?â
Maya nodded fervently.
Interestingly, Evan did not find this chubby little girl annoying. He curled his lips and smiled. âShould I bring you to the villa to find them?â
She nodded first before shaking her head when a thought dawned on her.
âYou donât want to go?â
âI want to be with Mommy.â She then turned her gaze to the roses. âUncle Evan, can these flowers be made into a wreath?â
Arranging flowers into a wreath.
The gleam in Evanâs eyes shimmered. It had been a while since he last made one.
Evan was lost in a daze for a split second as he looked at Mayaâs blinking eyes. The hoyden must have been as cute as Maya when she was young.
She was twelve when I met herâ¦
The thoughts flashed before his eyes once again. Evan then reached out to hold Mayaâs hand. âIâll make a wreath for you to wear on your head, okay?â
âIs it pretty?â Her clear eyes blinked in anticipation.
âYes. Itâs very pretty,â Evan answered in all seriousness.
âOkay!â
Maya nodded gleefully. She picked her favorite flowers from the rose arbor while holding Evanâs hand. He then started weaving the wreath patiently.
She watched in adoration the making of a pretty wreath. Her eyes gleamed as the wreath was miraculously made from scratch.
âWow. Uncle Evan, youâre amazing! This is so pretty! Thank you.â
The smile on his face was from the bottom of his heart. He then carefully placed the wreath on Mayaâs head.
Maya touched her wreath gently with her chubby fingers. âUncle Evan, Iâm going to show this to Mommy!â
She walked gingerly to the rear house, afraid that she would drop the wreath accidentally. It was as precious as a crown.
Upon setting foot into the rear house, Maya exclaimed, âMommy, Mommy, look at my wreath! Isnât it pretty?â
As she walked out of the kitchen and saw the wreath on Mayaâs head, Nicole grinned brightly.
âItâs really pretty.â
Maya went to her and whispered delightfully, âDaddy made this for me.â
Evan did it for her? I never knew that he could make a wreath.
Nicole was surprised.
Once upon a time, there was that someone who could make pretty wreaths too.
Looking at how happy Maya was, Nina was dejected.
Daddy is nice to Kyle and Juan. He even made a wreath for Maya now. But when it comes to me⦠It seems like Iâm the most unlikeable amongst all of my siblings.
Disheartened, she hung her head low and went to her room.
Nicole saw her lonely figure when she turned around. She felt uneasy and instructed Maya to bring the wreath and play with Nina.
Walking to their bedroom, she gave the wreath to Nina. âLetâs play together.â
She thought of how Evan treated her upon seeing the wreath. Irritated, she threw the wreath onto the floor.
âI wonât play with the things he made for you.â
Maya brimmed with tears as she witnessed this. It was the first present her father gave her. She quickly bent over and picked it up. âNina, thatâs too much!â
After snorting scornfully, she stomped out of the room, bumping into Nicole who was walking in.
âWhat happened, Maya?â
âN-Nina threw my wreath onto the ground.â
Nicole furrowed her brows.
She was bewildered by how much Nina hated Evanâ it was to the extent that she would get agitated at the sight of the wreath he made.
Are they each otherâs nemesis?
In an attempt to resolve this problem, Nicole walked to Ninaâs side, ready to talk to her. However, the latter was extremely reluctant to talk about Evan and used the excuse of being hungry to chase Nicole away.