Author's note:- Some of you might get confused but please keep on reading. Don't miss out on the later fun by judging half-heartedly.

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Hello everyone. Nice to meet you all. I am Alice Kayden. I am 16 years old. I am a high school student at the Aston Private Girls academy.

Studying can be a little hard sometimes. But I am managing well. The teachers are strict and I don't have many friends, but my life is going pretty well. My grades are also improving constantly. I might be able to get to a university of my choice.

My mom had been happy nowadays. Her work is going well and we might be able to improve our lives from now on. Yeah, our lives have been pretty hectic so far. There were just problems after problems.

A few years ago, my Father left my Mother and me and ran with another woman. He took a massive debt which later on came to my Mother's head.

She was struggling very much. She started searching for a job to get by. After a few attempts, she finally landed a good job. She got a great chance as it was normally pretty difficult to find a good job at her age.

She worked very hard. Sometimes she even worked overtime to get some bonus salary. Seeing her working so hard. I also started working part-time at a family restaurant.

Cooking wasn't my forte. But with practice, I became better at it. Little by little we were able to pay off our Father's debt.

Now that our financial situation was improving. We could aim to improve our lifestyles. I was pretty happy to be with my mom. I love her and respect her.

My mother nags me about stopping working hard part-time to help her. She can do well supporting us. It is not my responsibility. I should enjoy my life.

I know, as a high school student. I should be like other girls my age enjoying their youth. But I can't do that. Being with mom and helping her is good enough for me to be happy.

How can I enjoy myself when my mom is working so hard to provide for me.

One day while returning home from school. I saw my mom with a man. I knew who that man was. As her colleague we met at some social gatherings, It was Mr. Robin.

I knew he was into my mom for a long time. But I don't know If mom also felt that way. Seeing how happy she was being with him. I wanted to support her. Finally, after all these years, she can try to change her life and find happiness. She can finally take a new step forward to a good life now.

Mr. Robin is a good guy. So I approve of him being with my Mother. But my Mother can be a handful sometimes. I am sure she will not take their relationship forward considering me. I might need to give her a little push.

I'll need to have a good talk with Mr. Robin later too. But first, I should confirm mom's feelings.

After I went home. I planned how I am a gonna confront mom and make her confess. When mom came back home. I pretended as if I didn't see them together. We continued that day as usual.

While having dinner, I asked as I planned.

"What do you think about getting remarried Mom?" By my sudden question, she choked on her food.

Cough! Cough!

I went forward and gave her water to drink.

After she gulped down the glass of water and calmed down. She looked straight into my eyes with a narrowing gaze. While trying to ask in a serious tone as she hid her surprised look.

"What are you talking about Alice? Why would I get remarried? There's no need for that. Having to get a new father after what your ex-father did. I know you don't like that. So why are you asking that now?"

Well, of course, I wouldn't want a father like that. But this time it's for my Mother's happiness and Mr. Robin is a fine man for my mom.

"So mom, you don't want to get married?" I questioned her. Already prepared for all her questions and answers.

"It's nothing like that. It's difficult for a single mother my age to get married. You know." My Mother answered while her eyes were avoiding me. Her cheeks were also red.

"Why is it difficult mom?" I titled my head and questioned. Pretending to not understand what she meant by that.

"Obviously, where do you find a guy who would marry someone like me?" My mother answered as if a matter of fact. But for some reason, her eyes were darting away.

'Got her'

I just smiled at her answer.

'Oh, my sweet mom. There's no point trying to hide it you know. Your daughter is not so easy to fool.'

"But don't you have Mr. Robin?" I asked innocently with a teasing smile on my face.

Mom's face became red like a tomato. She was shy. She couldn't hold her embarrassment. She understood her daughter knew about them.

She had feelings for Robin but she didn't talk about it. She didn't want her daughter to experience something like that again. So she was a little reluctant. She didn't want a repeat of the past.

Even though she knew Mr. Robin liked her. She had to maintain some distance and not let their relationship grow from just colleagues.

Now her daughter was asking such things with a teasing smile. Does she know about her feelings too? Is this what it feels like to get caught red-handed?

"What are you talking about? You shouldn't joke about such things." She turned her attention towards me and retorted with a serious and angry tone.

She gave me a threatening look. At least she tried to. Her face was red due to embarrassment. So her threat didn't work at all. I started laughing hard seeing her reaction.

'Hehehe. Oh, my sweet mom. You are so cute.'

Seeing me giggle she understood I was making fun of her. Her face became even redder as she got embarrassed.

"You don't like him then?" I continued to ask. As I planned to get a definite answer by today.

"You shouldn't make fun of your Mom, Alice." She said while hiding her embarrassment.

"So you do like him. Then there's no problem Mom. You should know I'll support your decisions. So you don't have to worry about me and consider him seriously. He is a good guy." I tried to be direct with her.

My mom pondered for some seconds and asked in a low timid voice.

"Are you really fine with that?"

Seeing her nervous like that. I had a smile on my face.

"Of course Mom, you should move forward too and this is a great chance for a new start. Forget about the past." I assured her.

Seeing me giving my approval. My Mom burst out in tears. Guess she was really happy. She came near me and hugged me tight while crying. I patted her while smiling.

Sob! Sob!

"I am blessed to have a daughter like you, Alice." She cried to her heart's content and continued hugging me for about 30 minutes.

"Ah-uh Mom. The dinner's cold. I'll reheat it. You clean your face while I do that." I moved her aside as she calmed down.

We again started dinner and talked happily for a long time as she told me her story. About how she met Mr. Robin. Seeing how happy she was while talking about Mr. Robin. I was glad. I thought from now on things will be fine.

But how wrong can I be? That was just a child's wish. Destiny had something different for me. Fate is so cruel sometimes, right? Those happy days for which we worked so hard for, never came. Soon my whole life messed up.

After a few days, we met at a cafe to have a proper talk with Mr. Robin. He looked a little confused and nervous as he was sweating very much.

Is he scared of me? I shook my head and explained everything.

When he heard that I approved for them to get married. His smile didn't leave his face even after a few minutes. He was on cloud nine. Seeing how happy he was to marry my mom. I was glad.

We chatted happily for a few minutes. But those moments didn't last very long. An unkept dirty old man soon came rushing towards us and grabbed my mom's arm tightly.

All of us were surprised by his actions. But what surprised us more was when we took a proper look at his face. It was my Ex-Father. He wanted to get back together with my mother.

Apparently, the woman he ran away with cheated on him and left him. When he somehow got to know we have cleared his debts. He returned wanting to apologize and get back together.

Seeing his shameless act and my mother getting uncomfortable around my Ex-Father. Both I and Mr. Robin snapped. Mr. Robin pulled my Ex-Father's hand away from my mother's arm and stood in between them.

I pulled my mother towards me and glared back at my Ex-Father.

"How dare you return back to us now?" I shouted at the top of my lungs.

"Is that how you talk to your father. Alice?" He replied trying to scold me.

"What father? Who are you talking about? Just get out of here and don't show your face anymore." I replied angrily.

I turned to look at my mother. She was trembling. I looked into Mr. Robin's eyes and nodded my head. Seeing me nod he grabbed my Ex-Father from his shoulder and got ready to throw him out.

My father kept apologizing and requesting forgiveness. We just turned our heads. Mr. Robin and my Ex-Father broke into a quarrel.

"Why are coming in between our family reunion?"

"They are mine family now. You can leave. I'll take care of them. I love Miss Kayden."

Hearing Mr. Robin's words I was happy. Mom who was trembling beside me suddenly blushed at Mr. Robin's words.

I looked at my mother weirdly. Why is she acting like a teenager in love at this age? I shook my head. But soon my attention turned outside of the cafe. I saw people screaming and running from something.

Soon my eyes widened in shock. There were monsters killing people outside and people started panicking.

That was the day. That winter afternoon when it all started. It was the beginning of the chaos. Which will destroy everything I love.