Gina greeted the girls with a warm smile, "Hey Annie, Tanya, I'm Gina, Lizzie's mom."
"Hi, thanks for having us," both girls greeted back politely.
Gina was aware that her family owed much to Anthea's help, so she took a longer look at her, admiration shining in her eyes.
The young girl wasn't just pretty; she carried a poise that was rare among her peers, devoid of their usual restlessness.
No wonder she handled things so smoothly.
Standing before her, Gina, a grown woman, felt a tinge of embarrassment.
"Annie, Tanya, make yourselves at home, okay? I've got to run some errands. Lizzie, make sure you take good care of Annie and Tanya for me," Gina instructed.
She knew that the kids would feel more at ease without an adult hovering around.
Lizzie nodded, "Got it, Mom."
Once Gina left, Tanya asked with curiosity, "Lizzie, have your parents finalized their divorce?"
"Yeah, Mom's meeting with the lawyer today to settle it."
"And your dad?"
"He's probably with his mistress, Cindy. He hasn't come back since the big blow-up with Mom. She's planning to send the court summons directly to Cindy's place."
Tanya advised, "Don't you go soft on him if he comes back crying and begging for forgiveness."
"Don't worry, we won't," Lizzie said with determination in her eyes.
The second Malcolm laid a hand on her and her mom, he stopped being a father in Lizzie's life.
Malcolm stayed away for days, trying to intimidate Gina, thinking she'd come crawling back to him. But what he didn't expect was a court summons instead of Gina.
Reason for summons: Divorce dispute.
Malcolm was in disbelief, clutching the paper. Gina loved him, why would she want a divorce?
But the summons was real, and even worse, she was trying to leave him with nothing.
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