“Yup. I’m fine.” Her words were crisp. The trio resumed, with one behind the camera zooming in on their expressions while the players continued to curse and play the game.

Katherine tried her best to look happy and excited, look like she was not bothered that she was sitting beside a man who was not Cage and playing the game. She also enjoyed her time. She couldn’t stand it.

When they were on the last leg of their game, Lily’s door opened. “Katherine, are you still up?” she mumbled. Katherine looked up at her friend, seeing how sleepy and rumpled she looked. Ian took a special notice of this and looked away, blushing.

“Good morning,” Laurence chirped. Katherine wanted to murder him. He had remained high energy throughout the night, providing entertainment and commentary throughout. She, on the other hand, had forced it. Apparently, she was extremely funny and had an attractive personality. If her being cranky was attractive, she didn’t know what to say.

Lily froze when she noticed Laurence and Kitty still on the sofa. She looked up at Ian who was behind the camera, sometimes checking to see if it was in focus.

“Sorry. Wasn’t expecting to see everyone awake at…” she looked at the clock. “… seven in the morning.” She looked past the trio to see Angelina slumped in the corner, leaning against the wall and sleeping. “Well, not everyone,” she sighed. She mumbled something under her breath but none of the others seemed to hear what she had said.

Katherine looked up at the clock in surprise. She hadn’t thought it would be this late… or that early.

“Oh, **,” Laurence muttered, noticing the time. “Apologies, I didn’t realize how many hours had gone by. I monopolized your whole night and didn’t even let you sleep.” For what it was worth, he looked genuinely apologetic.

“I didn’t mind,” she lied reassuringly.

“Well, it’s too early and you haven’t slept. You guys should take a nap. Don’t shy away from taking the couch,” Lily offered generously. “You can take up my bed, too. The room is clean and I am going to my boyfriend’s place after work.”

Katherine looked at her friend with a hint of irritation.

“Nah, we’ll just finish this up and head back,” Laurence countered. “We’ve already spent a lot of time here and we have other things to do on this trip, as well.” Laurence looked at Katherine and gave her a smile before standing up and stretching.

“Yeah, my shoulder feels terrible, too,” she snickered when she saw him wince. “Let’s finish this and have breakfast,” Katherine interjected in a motherly manner.

“Another meal?” Ian bounced at the prospect. Angelina, who was fast asleep woke up at the exact moment.

“Are you guys done?” she asked, her voice gravelly. “I need to call Stephen,” she moaned.

“Just a little left to go,” Katherine told her and walked over to her. She passed on a bottle of water and watched as her friend unscrewed the cap without opening her eyes and taking small sips. She let out a small noise of satisfaction before slowly opening her eyes and squinted at the lit room.

Katherine was too tired to make anything fancy, so the lot decided on cereal and cut fruits. As they were eating, someone rang the doorbell. Angelina bounced off the chair, muttering something about an important package. No one else paid any attention until Angelina screamed from the other room.

Ian and Laurence were startled at first but then they looked over at the girls. Seeing them so calm, they too went back to eating.

“Package for Katherine!” Angelina came in, all sing song and smiles.

“What is it?” she called back, looking out of the kitchen. She saw Angelina carry a big box, followed by a smaller box. She scrunched her brow as she heard the sound of the box hitting the surface. It looked heavy, too.

“Come and see!” she said, laughing now. She was reading the names of the senders and looking extremely amused. Katherine picked up her bowl of cereal and trudged to the living room. She peered at the labels and then her eyes widened comically. She made no sound as she placed the bowl on the table and fell to her knees.

The boxes were from Anna Cavanaugh, Cage’s mother. She gulped as her fingers inched forward to touch the package. She went back to pinch herself, too, just in case. Having confirmed that she was not sleepy, she jumped up to her feet and ran to the kitchen.

She opened the drawers, swiftly and pulled out a sharp knife before running back.

“She wasn’t lying about being homicidal?” Laurence asked in a fearful voice.

“No, she’s just excited,” Lily said matter-of-factly. “You should join her,” Lily told them and then picked up her bowl and placed it in the sink.

“Who was so generous with you?” Lily asked as she walked to the living room and saw Katherine precisely slicing through the packaging.

“Anna,” Katherine replied without missing a beat. She didn’t pay any of them attention as she opened the box and gasped. No, she didn’t see anything special because of the colorful pieces of packaging material. She peeled them off, one by one, not wanting to damage them and then looked at what was inside.

She pulled out a card that was on top of the goodies and sighed. Her eyes watered as she read the handwritten note.

‘Dear Katherine,

You have brought great joy in my life. You appeared when we were least expecting you and I can wholeheartedly say that I love you as my daughter. While I can’t meet you just yet, please receive my adoration for you with these small gifts. Hope you enjoy them.

Until we meet,

Anna.’

She held the paper close to her heart as she peered into the box. Putting it aside, she went to check on the other things inside.

Premium wines. Skincare products. Three tickets to a well-known spa.