Chapter 713

Their first stop was at Theresa’s Angel, a home for orphans and abandoned elderly people. The place was managed by a nun who was a firm believer in Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu. She always finds time to talk with the children and the elderly, making sure that they are properly taken care of.

Many philanthropists offer them help by sending donations and other necessities like clothes, food, and medicines. When Riley joined the entertainment industry, she also took part in a charity event where the said foundation gave all of the proceeds to Theresa’s Angel.

Riley was no longer new to them and many of the children were excited to see her again.

Meanwhile, Clarisse just got inside the car with Luiz and David when the latter looked at her with a sharp glare. She hadn’t said anything, and she didn’t know what she did to earn this treatment from David but when he raised his phone, she finally understood what was happening.

David was warning her not to say anything.

“You are quiet,” Luiz told Clarisse, which made her smile faintly.

“I’m just nervous. I am not really good with kids, but I want to be part of this event since I will become a doctor in the future. This will be good practice for me to socialize with people.”

.....

“You’ll be fine. Ethan and Jade like you so, I am sure that the children at the orphanage will also like you.”

As they spoke, David kept his mouth shut to the side. His brain was busy thinking of ways to help Stefan deal with the news. He was worried that this would blow up and Cayenne would be greatly affected. They were racing against time since Cayenne likes to browse her social media account. It was no doubt that people must be tagging her with the news already.

But don’t underestimate Stefan. His love for his wife knows no bounds. He will do anything, everything just to make sure that their relationship will not be ruined.

“I’ll be keeping your phone with me during the event,” Stefan said calmly. There’s no need to panic now because Cayenne already gave her word to fully trust him. “No matter what happens, do not listen to anyone else. Only count my words as valid. You know that I won’t do anything to hurt you.”

“Whatever it is that worries you, just keep in mind that I have my trust in you. And solve it as soon as you can.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

As soon as they arrived at the first venue, the director of Theresa’s Angel came out to greet them and there were children who gave them beautiful corsages, too. Looking around, Cayenne spotted her brother and Clarisse. They were talking to the head nurse of the place.

“Thank you so much for choosing our home.” The nun stated while leading them to the small gym where many children and elderly waited for them. “I was greatly surprised when we received the letter from you and the event organizer. You all are blessings to us.”

Hearing this from the directors, Stefan beamed proudly as he replied, “My wife likes children and since we can’t have one as of the moment, she wants to help the less fortunate.”

Cayenne didn’t miss the happiness in his words and looking at his smug expression, she wanted to laugh right this moment. He looked so arrogant just because his wife was doing something great.

As they grew closer to the gym, children’s laughter could be heard, and some elderly people were singing a song out of tune. The leading figure in the middle was none other than Riley. She was in the center of a big circle made up of children and the elderly. Others were clapping their hands as she performed and some of them were singing along with her even though they weren’t great at singing. They were just enjoying the moment with her.

“Sis Riley! Sis Riley! Brother Shein is bullying the boys there.”

“He was winning in all of their games and got all their candies.”

“Carlo and Joey are crying because of brother Shein.”

The cacophony of children’s voices was drowned by the untuned singing but Riley suddenly raised her hand and made a zipping gesture of her mouth. Everyone stopped singing and they all watched her walk to a group of boys where a handsome young man was eating a strawberry-flavored lollipop. Everyone knew what was coming.

Riley’s fist landed on Shein’s head.

“Why are you robbing them off of their candies?! You little sweet tooth. Return it to them.”

“They lost the game. We bet on it with our candies.”

“You don’t even have candies to bet.”

“Because I know I’ll win.”

Everyone was at loss for words. Shein’s confidence was on another level.

“Return it to them or I will return you to the states.” With this threat, Shein handed the candies back to the kids and hugged Riley. “Very good. I’ll buy lots of candies for you later.”

“Yay! Thank you. Mwah!”

Watching their interaction, the kids just laughed at Shein. Only Riley can do this to him.

“It’s really fun to watch these two. It’s also amazing that Riley can handle Shein.” Cayenne commented when they reached the venue.

The director smiled and her eyes showed her fondness for the quarreling lover. “Riley shared her story with the kids when she first came here. She gave hope to those children who gave up on their life. Her arrival was really on time.”

These innocent children didn’t have to know the darkness that Riley and Shein had hidden from them. It was good enough that despite going through so much in the past, they still kept a little bit of kindness in them.

“Good morning, everyone!” The event organizer greeted them out of the blue which brought everyone’s attention to her. “Today is a great day and we will be joined by great people as well. They have helped many children across the country and now, they have come to share their blessings with us all. Let’s all welcome, Mr. and Mrs. Dumrique!”

Cayenne and Stefan walked to the center stage and greeted everyone in front of them. Cayenne was the first to speak and shared her purpose for coming there. After her was Stefan who said nothing but praise for his wife and a short thank you message at the very end.

The children didn’t understand much of what he was saying about his adoration, but they could tell how much he loved her. As for the elderly, Stefan brought them back to their early days when they were still young and full of love toward their special someone.

There were many children and adults in Theresa’s Angel, and Cayenne didn’t know what the kids would like to have, and it would be unfair for those other kids who will come later to this place. She wanted to give them something that could last for a long time and something that everyone could enjoy.

After a long discussion with Stefan about this, they ended up with the solution of providing a playground for children and a recreational room for the elderly. Since many of the elderly can’t move that much and they get easily tired, it would be best for them to have a place where they can enjoy themselves as well.

Holding her bag for her while she was talking to some elders, Stefan felt the vibration of his wife’s phone. Although some couples didn’t like it when their partners use their phones or have access to their gadgets and accounts, Cayenne and Stefan weren’t the same. They both have access to their phones and their social media accounts.

Taking out her phone, he reads the messages that Cayenne received from Faith. She had already arrived with Noah, and they were currently preparing the gifts together with David, the bodyguards, and the staff.

“I’ll inform my wife about it. We’ll be there in 30 minutes.”

Getting the reply from him, Faith was no longer surprised.

Luiz prepared something for the children as well. Since they weren’t privileged to study in a school, using the money he received from his work, he bought them a lot of school supplies and reading materials. In that way, they can learn the basics with the help of the elders and the staff.

To make this day lively and memorable, the children also prepared their production numbers. After them was Riley’s performance which was followed with some games where children got so many prizes of foods, toys and clothes. The elderlies had the time of their lives when they were young so now, they want to give this moment to the children. They were just enjoying themselves on the sideline with free consultation from Clarisse.

She’s not a registered doctor yet thus; she could only help them with the basics like checking their blood pressure and talking to them about their health problems.

Around 11:30 in the morning, Cayenne told the director about the surprise and the organizer readily announced that they will go somewhere to check something after receiving the queue from Cayenne.

“Where are we going?”

“Yey! I got so many prizes.”

“I want to play with brother Luiz and brother Shein.”

“I heard they have a surprise for all of us.”

“The little doctor is so pretty like sis Riley.”

“Do you think they will give us toys like the other people?”

As they followed the director and their guests, the children chattered among themselves and tried guessing what could be awaiting them based on what the emcee stated. They were all excited.

Cayenne was happy to see the smiles on the children’s faces. As someone who went through so much when she was young, she didn’t want her children in the future to experience the same thing. However, since she has no children as of the moment, she decided to give some of her time and share her blessing to less fortunate children.

“Wow!”

“Is this all for us?”

“Can we really play here?”

“I’m going to the slides.”

“I want to go first.”

“Children.” The emcee called out using her megaphone since the microphone’s wire couldn’t reach the place they were at. “Before we go and play, let us all see the places that Mr. and Mrs. Dumrique prepared for us.”

One after another, with the surprise look on the children and the adults, they roamed around and check the surprises. The playground was the first one they found, followed by the recreational room for adults (and kids if they want to), as well as the renovated kitchen for those who wants to learn how to cook.

The director knew that something was going on with their place but she wasn’t told what would these things be.

When the workers made the playground, they whole place was restricted from everyone except the workers. They even covered the parameter with a huge tarpaulin to make sure that no one will see them. Aside from them, there are those who works on the recreational room and the renovation of the kitchen. As for the materials that Luiz brought for them, they only reorganized the mini library to make room for it.

The children were so happy when they saw the surprises for them. Even the adults got teary-eyed. They never expected that after getting abandoned, other people will come to show them love and care.

“Mr. and Mrs. Dumrique, thank you so much for all of these things that you prepared for us. I can see the overwhelming happiness in everyone’s eyes and saying thank you is an understatement to what I am really feeling right now. In behalf of everyone, thank you and thank you so much. To little Riley who always finds time to come and make the children smile, to Luiz who gave hope to the children and to the pretty soon-to-be doctor Clarisse, I am so grateful to all of you. I hope that more children will receive your blessings as well. We will continue to pray for your well-being.”

“Thank you so much, sis Yen!”

“Thank you, Mr. Big Wolf.”

“Thank you, brother Luiz.”

“Thank you...”

Amidst the chorus of ‘Thank Yous’, Cayenne burst into a fit of laughter. The words that stuck in her mind was something she referred to Stefan before. She never thought that the children will use it on him as well. “Mr. Big Wolf? Children have discerning eyes.”

“I’m only a big wolf at night.” Stefan whispered which caused her to giggle again.

The event concluded with a lunch banquet for everyone. Although they were supposed to have lunch, some of the children didn’t pay attention to the food. They were busy playing with their new toys and new playground. They couldn’t stay still on their chairs anymore.

It was really a happy event, but a loud crash stopped everyone from what they were doing. All eyes shifted to the exit door where Luiz stood in disbelief. Around him were shards of broken glass and in front of him was a woman from the organizing committee.

“You are lying. My brother-in-law would never do that.”