She's My Sleeping Pill

"He's dead?" Celestine, Stefan's auntie, asked in surprise over the phone. Then, she started laughing when the news dawned on her. "I can't believe that fate is siding with us. Now, we'll have an easy time getting rid of the old man."

Celestine was the only daughter of Ferdinand Dumrique. She was the sole princess of their empire if not for Clara who framed her. All pieces of evidence were pointing at her and with the lack of proof to defend herself, she was disowned by her family and was sent to Tuscany.

Julia, her daughter has one simple role, to befriend Alexander and Stefan because she knew that no matter how poor the family's treatment of Stefan, the man would still get part of the inheritance once the old man dies, and they could benefit from it if they're close with the two children.

Fortunately for them, Alexander died, and Clara didn't have that much power in the family because Magnus was still 'rumored' to be in love with his ex-girlfriend who died from a car accident. In addition, Julia was a lot closer to Stefan.

Everything was going well. They could already see the scene of them returning to City A and becoming part of the Dumrique family once again. Then, all of a sudden, this view vanished!

Cayenne came into the picture and Julia didn't expect that Stefan would be head over heels for her. She thought she could manipulate her using Sabrina. However, on the day of her wedding, when she paid someone to mess with Cayenne, Stefan claimed the woman to be his wife.

Not only that, but their relationship was also severed, and she lost important clients because they feared that Stefan would retaliate against anyone related to Julia. If not for her husband, she would probably be in the street, begging people for food.

In anger, Celestine planned her revenge. She planned to get rid of Magnus and followed by Stefan. She already paid people to kill her brother. And last would be her father who never cared about her. Who would have thought that destiny saved her from wasting so much effort and time? Now, she only had to deal with Stefan and Ferdinand.

Meanwhile, back in City A, Cayenne waited for Stefan to come home. The rain had already slowed down and she hoped to see him soon. If not for the triplets, she would have left their house to find him already.

While she was pacing back and forth inside her room, she heard her little girl crying through the connected speaker. She instantly ran to the nursery room and found Jahzara wailing for no reason. She checked her diaper, tried feeding her, and even walked her around, but she didn't stop crying.

"Shh. Shh. Daddy's coming home. My little princess, please stop crying now," Cayenne murmured while dancing with the baby in her hand. Zeki and Aziel were just watching her from the crib. "You are very spoiled, aren't you?

Your brothers don't even wail like you."

Jahzara finally stopped crying as if she understood that her mother just compared her to the boys. She touched her mother's face and silently cried like an adult who was afraid of letting anyone hear her sobs.

"Alright. I know it's not a good time for us with your grandpa gone, but we'll make it through. We'll stay strong for your daddy. We'll stay by his side always."

In the cabin, Latticia just heard the news from a flash report when she was watching the television. It was so unexpected that she was unable to say anything. She caught a glimpse of the smashed cake and the bouquet of flowers that Magnus bought and even without the reporter telling her who those things were for, she knew it was meant for her.

"Did he know?" She mumbled with no one to answer her question.

Dr. Albert was watching her from the kitchen. He couldn't muster the courage to talk to her now. This whole time that they've been together, Latticia would often say that she no longer loved Magnus, but he could tell from her eyes and expression that she still had feeling for the man. She just wouldn't admit it because of the pain she went through because of him.

"While you're hurting because you couldn't let go of your love for him, I'm also feeling the same for you. Why couldn't we have a happy ending like those other people?"

Dr. Albert may have Latticia by his side, but he never really had her heart.

***

As soon as Stefan came home, he looked for Cayenne and hugged her in silence after she placed their little princess back in the crib. There was no need for words between them. She could feel how devastated he was even if he wasn't crying like others who lost their loved ones. She could understand.

Stefan hated his father for over two decades. It was only after he married Cayenne that his relationship with his father got better. They weren't very close like other parents and children, but they were trying their best to be civil. He never expected that his father would just die like that.

"Hon," Cayenne whispered while patting his back, "I don't know how things would go from here on, but I want you to know that I'm always here for you. You have family and friends to lean on. You don't have to shoulder the burden alone."

"Yen, I'm confused. I'm really confused and afraid, right now. Dad's death might be an accident, but I know someone was plotting his death. Grandpa is currently in the hospital after a heart attack, and I am afraid that someone will attack him out of nowhere. What if...what if you will also - "

Cayenne suddenly pulled away from Stefan and cupped his face to make him look at her. "Hon, nothing bad will happen to me or the children. I'm sure of that."

"I really hope so. I really do, because wifey, if something happens to you, I'll forsake the whole world for you."

"Hon, you're just stressed because of your dad's death. Get some rest and we'll sort this out. How about you take a nap with the children? I'll just call some people."

"Don't go out of the house, will you?"

"I won't. I'll be right outside this room."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Stefan reluctantly let go of his wife to deal with his father's death. He was getting even more paranoid about her safety.