The Billionaire’s Secret Quartet novel Chapter 62

So, she aged pretty quickly.

"I'm fine, just a bit under the weather," Astrid said with a grin plastered across her face as they returned.

"Astrid, we're back!" Elowen, lively as a bunny, hopped over to Astrid's bedside. Her round face was lit up with a sweet smile.

"Elowen, you're back. Let me take a look at you. Wow, you're growing up to be quite the heartbreaker," Astrid said, her face filled with love as she gently caressed Elowen's soft cheeks.

"Hi, Astrid," Dorian chimed in, moving closer to greet Astrid.

"Astrid," Atticus added.

"Hello, Astrid." Sophia came forward to greet her too.

Astrid was grinning from ear to ear. "I've got loads of sweets. Let me fetch them for you."

She got off the bed and pulled out a handful of beautifully wrapped candies from her cupboard, distributing them among the four children.

These candies were gifts from the villagers during festivals. She'd saved them for when the kids came around.

The kids were thrilled with the candies and started munching on them, their faces beaming with delight.

"Thanks, Astrid!" they chorused in their cute little voices.

Astrid's face wrinkled with laughter. "Ah, don't mention it."

Then the four kids scampered off to play.

Watching their small figures disappear, Astrid's laughter turned into tears. Her heart ached so much that it felt suffocating.

Her own daughter was about their age when she drowned.

If she were still alive, her child would be as old as them now.

Seeing Astrid in tears, Thalassa quickly handed her a tissue. "Astrid, it's all in the past. I believe Celia must have been reborn somewhere else by now, living a happy life in some other corner of the world."

Astrid nodded through her sobs and said, "It's been many years now. What's hard to accept is for us, the living."