Chapter 154: Thoughts on Hades’s ex.
The children stayed up late after the birthday because they had to help Ariel open his presents. He was already wearing one of the shirts that Sunshine had given him as a present. Castiel had been pouting for an hour at least because he did not have a shirt with his mommy’s face.
Ariel did not even bother to coax his brother as he was feeling special. He had always thought that Sunshine was partial to Castiel. The shirt proved she liked him too and he was not just another bonus child to her.
Ariel was about to open Lisha’s gift when a balloon popped, startling them.
"Earl!" Hades bellowed his son’s name.
This was the tenth balloon he was popping, and the sound was not pleasant.
Earl buried his head in the confetti on the carpet, giggling silly.
Sunshine rose to her feet. "Time for bed."
Hades had never been so glad to hear those words. He picked up Earl gladly while she picked up Castiel and took Ariel’s hand.
All the boys had already bathed and changed into pajamas. They got into bed and Sunshine laid down beside Ariel, to Castiel’s greatest irritation.
"Bedtime story?" Sunshine asked them.
Ariel already had a book in mind, and he got to choose because it was his birthday. Before Sunshine could begin reading, he took it from her.
"You worked hard today mom..." he looked at Hades, "And you dad. I will read to them, both of you should go and rest."
"Are you sure?" Sunshine asked him.
He nodded.
She hugged him and gave him a loud kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for being so kind baby."
Ariel blushed.
Sunshine gave Castiel and Earl goodnight kisses too. Then, Hades did the same thing, and they dimmed the lights before stepping out of the children’s bedroom.
She was reluctant to leave them awake and showing no signs of sleep.
Hades sighed and went back to the room. He turned on the lullabies which were used to calm the mutated sheep.
When he stepped out of the bedroom, he noticed Sunshine’s curious look and he said, "If they work on the sheep, they will definitely work on our boys."
In fact, they worked on all the animals on the base. The people that worked in the animal husbandry section claimed they rested better during the day as long as they were within listening distance of the speakers.
She sighed and stretched.
"Are you ready for bed?" he asked her.
She groaned and yawned. "I don’t know how one kids birthday party has managed to tire me out more than a fight with mutated wolves."
He stepped closer to her and slipped his hands around her waist. Slowly, her pushed her to walk forward and they went to the bedroom like that.
"Do you want to shower together?" Hades asked her.
Sunshine was mid yawn, and she paused.
Hades let go of her go of her waist and stepped around her so that he could face her directly. "It is nothing sexual, just to save time and water."
Sunshine raised her brows and smiled mischievously. "Really, nothing sexual!"
Hades nodded.
She grinned and placed a hand on his chest. As one of her fingers playfully made their way up his neck she smiled in a more seductive way and whispered, "So will you be undressing me or will I be undressing you."
Hades gulped and pushed her away. "I think I will be showering alone." He declared.
As he hurried off to the bathroom, she laughed and fell back on the bed. "Nothing sexual my ass." she mumbled.
Suddenly, he returned, clearing his throat. His shirt had been discarded of already. She sat up but leaned back on her hands.
He raised his hand opened his mouth and said, "Thank you."
It was not what she was expecting to hear from him.
"Thank you for giving Ariel a memorable birthday and gift. I don’t think that I have seen him so happy to receive shirts as birthday gift." He added.
She yawned, shaking her head. "I am your wife and that makes me his mother."
His right hand clenched and he said in a low voice. "Not every mother is as thoughtful as you." He turned and walked back into the bathroom.
Sunshine fell back on the bed, thinking of his words. It was undoubted that his ex-wife Amber was the one in mind when he said those words.
There was a time when Sunshine and other servants attended Ariel, Earl or Castiel’s birthdays. They had to serve guests first before standing on the side lines much later when it was time for cake cutting or opening presents.
They [servants] were the ones that opened the gifts for the children. They were all the kind of gifts you would expect wealthy people to give each other.
Amber had never been around for Castiel’s birthdays but for some of Ariel and Earl’s birthdays she had been there. She never participated in the planning and sometimes forgot to give her children gifts. When she did, her gifts were always picked out by an assistant. They were never personal or what her children wanted. It was always something that made her happy.
She gifted herself a three-month vacation on a yacht on Ariel’s fifth birthday. She even went ahead to thank him for his thoughtful gift. Sunshine would never forget the look of horror on the faces of the guests and family.
But that was nothing compared to the way she got drunk on Earl’s third birthday and accidentally pushed his cake into the swimming pool. Then, she undressed and jumped in the pool, laughing like it was the funniest thing she had ever seen.
That was the end of the party.
Now that Sunshine thought about it, all these events had contributed to the loud fights between Hades and Amber because he could not stand how she was acting.
There was a rumor that he had asked her for a divorce, but she was pregnant, so he stuck with her for the sake of the children.
As soon as she gave birth to Castiel, she signed divorce papers, emptied one of their bank accounts and left. That was the story Sunshine heard.
"Tch! he had poor taste in women." She mumbled.
Amber was beautiful, no doubt. But, other than her beauty, fame and family name, was there anything else brought to the marriage? She made her husband and children miserable.
Sunshine continued to think about Amber until Hades came out of the bathroom. She thought about Amber as she showered, and she continued to think about the woman as she went to sleep.
She wondered where the woman was and what she was up to. Sunshine also wondered when Amber when would be showing up, which Moon had said would happen.
What would happen to their peaceful family of five when Amber returned hoping to reclaim them? Would the children choose their biological mother?
Would she give them and Hades back to Amber without a fight?
Sunshine sighed and looked at the ceiling. "What are you doing?" she asked herself. "This was a marriage of convenience. You were not supposed to become attached." She reminded herself.
But that right there was the problem. She was already attached!