Rose was uncomfortable with Margaret's question, not because of Catherine, but because it was Margaret who took her to work in Steve's house when Don was born.

"Tell me the truth, Rose. Don't be afraid, I just want the truth. I want to know why my grandson doesn't want to go back to his house, I need to know what she did bad with Don, and I also want to know how she treats the girls."

"Well, if Don told you that Catherine mistreated him, that's a lie. He hasn't given her a chance. The girls like her, especially Lyla and Caroline comes to her when she has a problem and that's good for Caroline. She also helps me take care of the house, is kind and polite and gave me a very nice dress as a gift."

"It seems you have only good things to say about her," Margaret said.

"Yes, and her presence here in this house is doing her boss a lot of good, too. He was in need of love and care, and also of someone to help him with the children. He has been living very stressed since the death of your daughter. Don shouldn't be so ungrateful to his father."

"I understand...it is very hard for me to see my daughter replaced by another woman, but I am reassured to know that she has been treating the girls well. I worry about them a lot, I worry about the progress of Lyla's illness."

"She takes very good care of Lyla and we can see that she really cares for the girls, it's not pretense," Rose replied.

"Okay. Thank you for telling me, Rose. I will talk to Don about him lying to me. He shouldn't have done that."

"I'm glad you're being understanding too," Rose told her.

"I can't blame Steve for wanting to rebuild his life. We both know what my daughter did to him and it makes me very sad to this day. She would not have died that day if she had not been cheating on Steve. She destroyed her own children's lives..." Margaret wiped away a few tears.

"Don't be like that, Margaret, it's already happened and it can't be changed. You need to move on, and in my humble opinion, your only reason to worry is Don, because the girls are fine."

"I will talk to my husband and we will both talk to Don. He can't stay away from his father and sisters. Steve didn't call him on New Year's Eve."

"The boss is very upset about the way Don left. He didn't even let him know his uncle was coming to get him. He treats his father with a lot of contempt," Rose told her.

"Sometimes I think about telling Don and Caroline the truth, but I'm afraid of making things worse, do you understand me?"

"I understand, Margaret."

"I wanted to see the girls, but it looks like they'll be a while to get back," Margaret said.

"I heard the boss say that they would be going to your house this weekend."

"Oh, that's great," Margaret stood up and said goodbye to Rose. "Have a good day, Rose, and tell Steve I was here."

"I will, Margaret. Have a good day yourself, too."

"Don't forget to invite me to your wedding," Margaret said when she was already on the porch.

"Will you come? It will be a very simple ceremony."

"I'd make a point of going. You've been helping my family for a long time, and I'm grateful for that, Rose.

"I love those children, Margaret. And I'm going to miss them very much when I retire."

Steve took Caroline to see a school far away from the school where she was studying. "I like it, Dad."

"Okay. Let's see what we need to do to get you to come and study here."

Catherine was in the supermarket and Lyla was standing in the shopping cart while Catherine was picking out some things from the shelf. Lyla was staring at her. "What is it, honey? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I love you, Mommy," Lyla said and Catherine was thrilled to hear that from Lyla. She kissed the girl's forehead . "You're very special, you know that? I love you too."

Two hours later, Steve was leaving Caroline's old school. He had gone to get the paperwork the new school had requested and had left Caroline in the car so she wouldn't have to see any of the people who had mocked her. He saw Don on the school's soccer field and hesitated to go talk to him, but his heart spoke louder.

"Don!" Steve called out to him and Don approached him.

"Hi, son. How are you?" Steve asked him.

"I'm pretty good, Dad. And what are you doing here? Why didn't Caroline come to class today?"

"Caroline doesn't study here anymore and I think you already know why. I came to get her papers."

"She told you?" and you're going to pretend she didn't do anything?" Don said in a wry tone.

"Yes, she did. She made a mistake, but I am her father and I will protect her from bad people like the ones who exposed her."

"Has your mistress left yet?"

"Catherine is not my mistress, she is my girlfriend and she is not leaving. In fact, she's pregnant and you're going to have another little brother, or a little sister."

"That's ridiculous!" Don replied and walked away without saying goodbye.

"Bye! I love you too!" Steve shouted and the other boys laughed and annoyed Don.

Steve returned to the car and Caroline asked if he had gotten the paperwork needed for her transfer.

"They asked me to come back the day after tomorrow. I guess you won't start at the new school until next Monday, Carol."

"I'll miss a week of school, Dad," Caroline complained.

"You're a smart girl, you'll make up that lost week quickly." Steve sighed as he started the car. "I talked to your brother."

"And how is he?" Caroline asked.

"He said he's fine, he wanted me to punish you instead of getting you out of school, he didn't ask about Lyla and he said the fact that I will have a baby with Catherine is ridiculous."

"You told him about the baby? That's only going to make things worse, Dad."

"And what am I supposed to do, Carol? Isn't Catherine's belly going to grow? And after the baby is born, what am I going to do? Hide it? That baby has a right to be born just as much as you and Don."

"I didn't mean that the baby doesn't have the right to be born," Carol replied.

"I know you're not happy about the baby coming either. You said it was cool, but I know that's not true."

"Now you want to guess what I think, Dad? I am neither happy nor sad that Catherine is pregnant. In fact, I don't even think about it that much.

"There's so much going on that I haven't given her and the baby the attention they deserve. That must be making her upset," Steve said as if he were thinking out loud.

His phone rang and it was Catherine calling. "Hi, Cath. Are you guys home yet?"

"No, Steve. We're still at the supermarket and I'm feeling sick, I think my blood pressure is too low. I haven't paid for the groceries yet and I'm sitting here with Lyla."

"I'm on my way, Cath. I'll be there in five minutes," Steve said in a concerned tone.

"What happened, Dad?" Caroline asked.

"Catherine is feeling sick."

Caroline felt bad for telling him that she was indifferent to the baby. "She'll be fine, Dad. Don't worry."

PS: Thanks for your review in the previous chapter. For you who said you like to reread the older stories, I really want to edit and improve them, but I haven't had time yet. But I'm going to do it one day