When the flooring was all done, the workers decided to work the kitchen of the empty restaurant. Micah was delighted that he was now able to walk through the place comfortably with Jay, Miss Anderson, and Ms.Davis. They were inspecting every room to make sure everything was in good order.

The floors radiated a reddish-brown with a shiny gloss covered on top. When he would get the lights installed then hopefully they would be even brighter.

"Okay so it looks like everything is done and now we can start with the kitchen," Jay said, flipping through his notes.

"Alright," Micah agreed with a beaming smile. He was thrilled with this new information as it indicated more progress to his end goal.

The kitchen right now had polished marble tiles that were patterned across the floor. Some counters were already being placed and some stood on top, installing a ventilation system as well as the lights. Their banging resounded in his ears and dust flew everywhere like a tornado.

Micah sat down and surveyed the whole place. The soon-to-be kitchen was quite spacious. Mr.Martin was already there, overseeing the constructors, as they walked around freely. He could imagine his future staff doing the same thing, with ovens fully installed while they were hurried eagerly around the place.

"I think the stoves should go in the middle like that." Micah instructed and pointed Jay and Ms.Davis to the center of the room. "Perfect place and then the other stuff can go alone the sides."

"Yeah I think that's best," Miss Anderson said sweetly, with her rosy lips that looked like strawberries.

"Okay, so some of the appliances should be coming around next week, and then we can start arranging them and get them working," Ms.Davis said.

"Are we still getting that stove you showed me the other day?" Micah asked ecstatically.

"Yes we are still getting it Mr.Pérez," Ms.Davis confirmed with a nod.

"Okay, because I think that stove would look perfect in this kitchen." He lifted his palms in front and panned them out, like he was experiencing the greatest vision. But the only light he could see in his eyes was the blinded one coming from the window.

When they went back to the main hall, Micah was surprised to see Mariana at the door with her friend and their kids.

"Daddy!" Elisa exclaimed as she started jumping in excitement while Mariana held her hand.

"Hi Mariana, when did you get here?" Micah asked as he picked Elisa up. She immediately clung to him and snuggled into his chest.

"Oh I just wanted to surprise you and see how everything is going," she giggled and then looked around, taking in every detail. "Wow this place is really taking shape. I see the floor is all done, isn't it?"

"Yeah the flooring is done and now we doing the kitchen."

"Aw, that's great! I hope it turns out right," Mariana said, eyeing Ms.Davis who seemed to be shaking slightly.

"It is gonna turn out right?"

"Oh definitely," Ms.Davis replied suddenly, as nervous sweat slowly steamed down the dark dots that dotted around her cheeks.

"Good." Mariana nodded with satisfaction and then smirked. "Don't worry, I'm not going to yell at you again." She chuckled.

"I know..." Ms.Davis laughed too but sounded more like a hiccup of anxiety. She then fumbled around with her IPad as she cleared her throat. "And how are you today Mrs.Pérez?"

"I'm alright." Mariana smiled and then crossed her arms. "You?" she said suddenly as she arched her back and started laughing, sending Ms.Davis' nerves into alarm.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ms.Davis muttered and wiped away imaginary sweat from her forehead. Seeing that delightful smirk of Mariana made her tremble like she's in trouble.

Micah glanced between the two women and didn't want what happened last time repeating again, even though it was kind of funny.

"I think Mariana is going to scare everyone again." He snickered.

"Why? What did I do?" Mariana asked innocently like an adorable baby.

"Mariana, the first time you came here, you said, 'if you guys don't do this the way my baby wants it then we are gonna have a problem,'" he mimicked her half-shouting, and then started jabbing his finger while bending down with one hand on his hip.

"I don't sound like that!" Mariana whined, "your so mean!"

"Yeah you do." He instantly started laughing.

"No." She crossed her arms. "I refuse to believe that."

"Oh well, whatever helps you sleep at night." Micah shook his head playfully at her.

"Anyway, I'll be going now, see you at home honey." Mariana took Elisa out of his arms and then squeezed him tightly.

"Bye Mariana, see you later." He hugged her back. "I love you mi amor," he said and squeezed her ass discreetly, giving it a slap before releasing her.

Mariana pulled away, her cheeks reddened violently, even though she enjoyed it and almost begged him to do it again. She grabbed Elisa's hand and walked away with Axel in his stroller and Mona.

"So is there anywhere you would like to go?" Mariana asked Mona. They were walking together while Elisa, Rina and Raidan were ahead holding hands and jumped along the sidewalk.

"Um I don't mind, but I would like a milkshake right now," Mona replied softly while brushing some loose strands away from her radiant face.

"Alright sure, we can do that. I haven't had a milkshake for ages, what's your favorite flavor?"

"I think strawberry." Mona smiled brightly like she was having a good time. "That's also Rina's favorite but Raidan likes blueberries."

"Yeah I like strawberry too. But I'm more of an ice cream person," Mariana said as her mouth almost watered. All she wanted now was smooth, creamy, grape ice cream. She moaned slightly as the image lingered in her mind, now she craved it even more.

They went to an ice cream parlor and ordered milkshakes for them and their sons, while Elisa and Rina got ice cream sundaes. The girls sat opposite each other and chatted while excitedly kicking their legs. Rina got out some toy ponies and placed them on the table.

Mariana smiled as they were sat on the booth near the exit. She kept a firm eye down the lane of tables because the light was dimmer and less clear.

She then picked up Axel from his seat and plopped him down on her lap. He sucked on his milkshake and held onto Mariana's finger with a bubbling smile.

"Your son is so cute," Mona smiled with her piercing peeking through.

"Thank you. Do you want to say hi Axel?"

"Hi," Axel squeaked, and Mariana flapped his little arm.

"Hi Axel!" Mona waved back and then started laughing, "You know, I'm glad you invited me out here, I don't remember the last time I went out like this." She sighed. She slowly turned the milkshake, looking at it wistfully.

"Oh, don't you go out? Or do you not have the time?" Mariana asked as she fidgeted a little. She felt someone past them by the faint passage of wind which made her flinch.

"No I do, it's just that..." she heaved out a heavy sigh. "I had fallen out with a few people when I first got into my relationship, but now he's not here and it's just my kids and me."

"Aw, how comes?"

"I don't know, but I think it's how fast our relationship went. I mean I did marry him within three months of dating," Mona said, brushing away some flyways to hide her embarrassment. The sun pathed its away through the glowing window, making her face look fresh and wet like spring.

"I really do miss him though, especially since the relationship was... pretty intense." Mona glanced at the kids who were still playing.

"But now, I haven't really been able to build proper friendships since I'm afraid of getting left again," Mona slowly but quietly admitted.

"Same, because of some things that happened to me in the past, I'm rarely able to trust anyone around my kids or even me. The only person who I can really trust is my hubby to be honest."

"Is that why you were so paranoid the first time you talked to me?" Mona said with a raised eyebrow and an amused look.

"Wait what." Mariana turned scarlet of embarrassment and tried to hide her face. She didn't think she would notice that.

Mona chuckled and sipped her milkshake. "It's okay, I don't blame you. But I just wanted a friend, that's all."

"Thanks." Mariana lifted her head up briefly and smiled.

"But, It is nice when you can trust someone that much."

"Yeah. It's kind of funny because that was the main thing we struggled with while dating," Mariana giggled.

"Oh really? Why?"

"Um, I don't really want to go into it because, it was quite insane."

"Ah okay." Mona raised her eyebrows as quick as a blink and picked up her drink. She drank more while checking on Raidan who was playing on his Nintendo switch.

"Well, I'm happy you guys are together now. Your relationship must be pretty strong."

"Yeah it is." Mariana sucked on the straw. With each passing day, her and Micah grew closer than the day before. It certainly felt like that when they first moved in together. Because of that, they learnt even more about each other and were still doing so to this day.

"But I'm happy we overcame the storm." She clutched her glowing necklace tightly, pausing its pendulum-like movement like she was pausing time to reflect.

She gazed outside, seeing the luminous clouds gradually unfold, revealing a beautiful skyline. What they experienced was like a turbulent thunderstorm, but they managed to get through the sea of troubles and see the beautiful bright light in the end.

And it was all worth it.

Suddenly, Raidan snatched one of his sister's ponies away and started dangling her above her head.

"Hey give her back! We're having a race!" Rina launched herself across the table and tried grabbing it back.

"Try and get it!" Raidan tickled her tummy and then held the pony above her head.

"Stop it!" Rina screeched and tried grabbing her pony but he dragged it along the table like it was a mouse.

"You can't get it, you can't get it." Raidan started laughing as Rina's hands tried trapping her toy. Eventually, she got fed up and cried out:

"Mommy!"

"Raidan, give your sister back her toy," Mona ordered. She watched him grumble and give it back with reluctance.

"Do you want to show Axel some of the games you have on your Switch?" she suggested.

"Alright," Raidan replied calmly.

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea," Mariana said and let Axel sit next to him.

Mona turned back to Mariana, smiling as if that little commotion didn't just happen.

"Oh yeah, guess what happened to me while I was out shopping with my friend," Mariana said.

"What happened?"

"Someone peaked into my changing room while I was trying on these jeans I brought!"

"What? Really?" Mona head sparked up like she wasn't expecting that.

"Yeah, it was so creepy, and I barely noticed because I was too busy taking pictures."

"Wow, that's really weird, I hope you were okay after that."

"Yeah I was, it still creeped me out, though." Mariana shuddered at that day. She then stretched her head out like a meerkat to see around the area. Some people were seated but not looking in their direction. She jumped when she heard the sound of the cashier and sat back down quickly.

She held her head and bent down to dissipate the noises out. She felt like crying as they rang in her ears and her heartbeat became fast. Even though no one was paying them attention, she hoped that same thing won't happen again.

A/N: Hey I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Mariana be striking fear into any women that's 1m near Micah 🤣🤣🤣. I don't even blame her tbh, like if I had a man like Micah, I wouldn't want any girl even breathing the same air as him.