Chapter 12

Harleen picked her nails nervously. She had seen the change in Arthur since the day he met her. She had seen the change in Lucy when she met her. Arthur had stopped looking at her entirely. Lucy stopped talking to her to all. It hurt. It hurt that her lover and father of her child didn't even care that he existed.

At least he had acknowledged that she existed before. Now, she was just dirt for him. Frankly, it also hurt that her daughter, whom she had birthed and raised, no longer even thought of her as her mother. She had sacrificed everything for that girl and this is how Lucy repaid her. This is how the both of them repaid her.

They left her to rot, alone. They left her.

Harley shifted in her vanity chair. She rolled her eyes up so that he could see her reflection. Her dishevelled appearance repulsed her and she honestly couldn't believe this was what had become of her.

She gave herself a watery smile in a poor effort to cheer herself up. She let laughed a broken laugh and wiped her tear away with the heel of her palm which smudged her eyeliner and mascara. She broke down in tears when she looked at herself again.

She looked like the hookers off the streets.

It was her fault: Aashi. The bane of her life. She shakily got to her feet and started towards the bathroom. She sniffled and wiped her mucus on her forearm. Stumbling, she entered the dingy bathroom and sat on the edge of the tub. She started the bath and waited for the tub to fill.

Harley practically fell into tub when it began to overflow. It was like dropping in a pool of all of her whirlpool of emotions: grief, rage, and anxiety. A poisonous combination if left untreated, and for Harley her medicine was long overdue.

Her grief. Well, even a blind man could see that she was completely infatuated with Arthur and for so many years she tried to make it work but he just lost interest. The only love of his life was Lucy. Lucy, since the day she was born, she had been estranged by her. Perhaps, it had been the fact that she favoured Arthur to hold her, or that she had stolen Harley's love without putting any effort into receiving it or maybe even it was because she hadn't cried immediately the moment she was born and only showed signs of life a minute later. Lucy made Harley grieve for her since she was born because in Harley's eyes she never lived since the moment she came out of her body.

Her rage. Naturally, for all her efforts she got nothing and that sowed the first seeds of hate. She moved in with her high school sweetheart at a young age despite her parent's wishes and suffered their anger. They disowned her. Unsurprisingly, she quickly found that her sweetheart was always preoccupied with something other than her, and didn't return her affections as passionately as she did. Always obsessed with the unconventional he was. Soon after, she found out she was pregnant and much to her horror, he wanted her to keep the child. Deep down she had always knew she shouldn't have had the child; she was too young and she didn't even know what she wanted with her future. It was a miracle she even got to go to university. Estranged, Arthur became distant from Harley and his inner conflict began to rise after Lucy's birth. Then by sheer dumb chance he was diagnosed at eighteen thus alienating him even further from Harley and society: her dream of living happily ever after was flushed down the loo. He only showed affection to Lucy and Bob. She desperately made herself believe that she still held a place I his heart but it was an eye-opener when she noticed that his affections stretched over to Aashi. She destroyed her entire world within a few months.

Her anxiety. What was to become of her future? Aashi had shaken the foundations of her world so Harley's fragile plan for her future quickly met its cataclysm. Harley no longer had the best bargaining chip: Lucy. She could not negotiate anything with Arthur and by all means he had no use for her either. Whatever it was he felt for Harley when he was younger, it was evidently dead or shrivelled to the size of his heart anyway. In fact, it was as if he couldn't stand the sight of her anymore. As if he couldn't wait to get rid of her. A memory flashed in Harley's mind which made her violently flinch.

'You just couldn't let it go, could you?'

The way he looked at her was as if he wanted to… kill her.

And for what? Because she was going to tell him what he didn't want to hear about Aashi. She couldn't begin to understand what he saw in Aashi. That woman was a menace. She used intimidation to get her way. Her body looked like it belonged to a wrestler and her fashion sense was horrible; so dark and gloomy. Then a thought struck Harley.

She glared at the ceiling, her brown brows creasing with anger, "It's her fault."

She sat up in the tub and gripped her hair, "That woman. That… fag. She's the problem, that poof."

An animalistic sound clawed its way through her throat as Harley struggled to get out of the tub. She limped to the mirror and frowned at her image and growled to herself, "I need ta do somethin'. I need to get rid of that woman. If she's outta the picture then Puddin' will come back to me."

She then tilted her head, still staring blankly in the mirror like she was in a daze, "But… I hav ta get a feel of how things are first."

;-;-;-;-;

Arthur grumbled furiously as he finally reached the top of the stairs, however, much to his revulsion Harley was bobbing on the heels of her feet waiting for him, no doubt.

However, his mind quickly changed when he recalled Aashi's deal, "Harleen".

"Puddin'!" she skipped over to him, her now natural brown hair bouncing as she got closer.

She froze when he stood his ground like an ogre getting ready to charge. "Harley, it's over. I don't want you."

Her eyes widened in fear, "Wha- what are you sayin' Puddin'?"

An ugly scowl crossed Arthur's face, "What I'm saying is that I'm leaving you!" he grabbed her shoulders and shook her like it could go through thick skull, "I don't care about you anymore. I don't want to see your face anymore. You don't love Lucy and if you can't accept her then you can't accept me!"

"No! Puddin'! I can learn ta love her-"

"It's been six, nearly seven years! You haven't learnt to even be civil with my daughter!" his black eyes narrowed at her.

Harley smiled weakly and her voice cracked, "But our daughter-"

"NO!" Arthur's demonic voice reverberated in the hall, "She's not your daughter!"

Harley shook her head, "I'm her mother-"

"No! No, no, no. You" he stepped back and pointed a her, "You're not Lucy's mother. You never were! Never! I'm a fool to have believed you could ever be her mother! I've seen the way you look at her! Her mother is Aashi – that woman, who you hate so much, took her in even when she didn't have to. She didn't even know who Lucy was, damn it! She had more of a heart than you ever did."

Harley babbled something unintelligible before she stepped forward bravely, "No! You can't do that! She is my daughter, not hers! She came from me!" she poked his chest with her forefinger, "You're just with that-"

Harley started screaming when Arthur grabbed her finger roughly and twisted it the opposite way. Arthur released her finger when she fell to her knees and began to beg.

As Arthur stalked away he growled at her, "You'll never be on the same level as Aashi."

When Arthur entered he heard Lucy grunting like she was grunting in pain.

"Again" Aashi instructed in an authoritative tone.

Arthur removed his coat and shoes hurriedly and curiously barged into the living room. The sofa was pushed to the side and Lucy was standing in the middle with Aashi standing a few feet away. Lucy was in a pair of pink shorts and a white vest which was probably done for the best as she was pouring sweat from every pore. Whereas Aashi was in a pair of black harem pants and a black vest. She was barely breaking a sweat.

"Mom, could you how me that last one again?" the two hadn't noticed Arthur yet.

"Alright, come at me." Aashi unfolded her arms and took on a defensive stance. Lucy shifted her weight from one foot to the other, and then swallowed before she charged at Aashi. She tried to punch Aashi's stomach but Aashi grabbed it and pulled her forward as she shifted her torso sideways, hence Lucy fell forward and tripped as Aashi's foot stuck out and Lucy no longer could control her momentum.

"Wah!" Lucy fell face first and coughed when she sat up.

"You need to move your trunk swiftly and use your opponent's momentum to fling them aside." Aashi's eyes railed up from Lucy's body on the floor to Arthur who was leaning against the door frame.

"Oh good, we have another partner to practice with." Aashi calmly grabbed Arthur's wrist and brought him over to Lucy.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Arthur asked puzzled, but instead of answering him Aashi nodded at Lucy who nodded back.

Lucy had recovered from Aashi's move and was now racing towards Arthur. She jumped and grabbed his neck in a choke hold. Arthur genuinely was taken by surprise and fell to his knees. He coughed when Lucy let go. Aashi rubbed his back soothing him, "Alright, I didn't think you would be so unprepared. Why don't you go fill your belly, Artie? There's already a plate ready."

"Yeah, yeah" Arthur waved her off, still rubbing his throat, "Just make sure you don't make our daughter into another you."

Aashi raised a brow in challenge, "What was that? Here I thought you wanted me-"

"Ai!" Arthur scolded her quickly, "Not in front of Lucy."

Aashi smiled and began to rub his shoulders when he sat down. He groaned as he destressed, "Right there, baby."

Aashi continued to massage his shoulders, "Who would've thought pain would help relieve pain."

Arthur chuckled and rubbed Aashi's hands to let her know it was enough. She left to go train with Lucy some more while he ate and watched them to entertain them. Lucy had gotten so far thanks to Aashi. He watched Lucy with a critical eye.

Her body had become stronger because of the diet Aashi had introduced whereas her small lean muscles had become taut. She was more aware of how the world worked. He also noticed that she was becoming more self-assured and independent of them both in things which she usually needed help with.

Lucy whooped in victory, "Yes, I did it! Dad, look!" she pointed at Aashi who was on the floor with a small smile.

Arthur smiled, "course you did! You're my little girl!" he knew Aashi had gone easy on her.

"Alright, off you go to the shower, Bandar" Aashi clapped her hands and Lucy ran off giggling.

Aashi pushed the sofa back and slumped down and was followed by Arthur who slung an arm around her shoulder. Aashi groaned to him, "She has a lot of energy in her. That'll be useful for her."

"Oh yeah? What about you, Tiger? How much energy do you have left in ya?" Arthur nudged his nose with hers.

Aashi sighed, "Not much, to be honest."

"C'mere" Arthur took her by the shoulders and tried to carry her bridal style but Aashi quickly went to her feet, "No, no. You need the special treatment. You went to work today."

Arthur squawked because of the abruptness of Aashi's actions. She picked him up bridal style and took him to her room.

Arthur pretended to sigh dreamily, "Oh you're so strong, Ai"

Aashi smiled, "I should be with my workout".

They shared a laugh but were interrupted when Lucy cleared her throat, "Um, mummy what are you doing?"

"Carrying your father to bed. He's tired. What are you doing? Have you taken your shower?" Aashi put Arthur on his feet.

"Yeah, I only took ten minutes, just like you said. Can you dry my hair?" she pulled a dripping strand out to show her point.

"Ok, child. Let's hurry. It looks like you just climbed out of a river."

As Aashi left the room with Lucy, Arthur turned to the bedside table to drop his gun and knife in the draws but the top draw already held Aashi's belongings like her wallet and keys. Before he closed it, something caught his eye, something was sticking out of Aashi's wallet lightly. He would have missed it like any other person but he rarely saw Aashi with her wallet and his curiosity got the best of him.

He found a small rectangular photo like the ones on passports. He held it closely to his face and inspected it: the woman was beautiful, he would give her that, but who was she and why did Aashi have a photo of her?

The African woman had a large afro, large brown eyes, a Nubian nose and full lips above a small chin. She was smiling like there was no tomorrow which revealed her pearly white teeth. However, it was the look in her eyes that he recognised.

It was the same look in Aashi's eyes when she let her mind wander on private matters, or when she gazed off in the sunset: the same look Arthur wished she would direct at him with.

Was this woman her lover?

;-;-;-;-;

Harley watched them all leave from a distance outside. Arthur kissed Lucy on the forehead and then waved goodbye as he went left. Aashi ruffled Lucy's hair and she heard her call Lucy 'child'. She then went the opposite way and Lucy went straight.

It was a spring's morning. Dew made the sparse grass glisten. There hung a curtain of thin mist over the horizon which made the continuously flowing canals look eerie like a scene from a murder scene. The thick trees that lined the path that led to Lucy's school allowed a few rays of yawning sunlight to filter through. It wasn't long now. She just had to exit the forest and go a few yards left.

Lucy liked to think that the mist was actually caused by a giant water serpent that would wake up and breathe the mist out after a long map. She came up with fantastic theories for other things too. Like the forest was actually a hiding a beautiful city that's why the trees were so thick so they could block anyone's way. You just had to find the hidden gateway. The dew was caused by water fairies who visited the little colonies in the grass.

Lucy sauntered down the pot holed path with care but the child within her urged her to play hop-scotch. Her shining brown hair was pulled in a double Dutch braid thanks to Aashi and she watched in wonder every time she jumped her hair would flick her face. She could actually start seeing the bridge that crossed the canal. Unfortunately, she did not notice Harley following her.

"Lucy!"

Lucy froze in her tracks. She turned sharply and gripped her bag straps to the point where her knuckles turned white. Her blood turned cold and she glared at the woman before her.

Too late it was though. Harley charged at her and held her hands out. Lucy's mind panicked and fear paralysed her body to the spot. Had she remembered her training she could've easily taken Harley down, however, her mind wasn't ready for a situation where she had to make decisions in an instant.

Harley shoved Lucy, hard, and the breath escaped her lungs instantly. The world spun at a dizzyingly rate and an icy feeling encompassed her entire body from head to toe. It was when her eyes stung and the water filled her lungs did she realise that Harley had pushed her into the canal. The ice cold water froze her body and she instinctively screamed.

This didn't help as the water rushed into her lungs faster. Her arms reflexively flapped. Her chest became painfully tight and Lucy feared her ribcage would shatter from the rapid beats of her heart. She thought she saw the blurry outline of Harley watching her sink to the bottom of the murky canal before she looked to her left and ran off to the right.

Lucy's vision began to blacken and her body no longer responded. She could feel the pressure getting to her head. Oddly, as her vision blackened she thought she saw a flash plash above her.

A last thought came to her, "Mommy, Daddy, I wanna see you."

;-;-;-;-;

Arthur held his side as a stitch formed but he didn't stop for anything. He banged his body against the door as he skidded to a stop. His hands fumbled for his keys and he cursed mentally when the keys fell to the ground. As he bent over to pick up the keys, he heard a door open and footsteps approaching him.

When he stood with the keys, he absent-mindedly looked to his left and growled when he saw Harley saunter over to him.

She wisely chose not to touch him, which was for the best, for Arthur would have smashed her face in.

"Puddin'! I heard about what that woman did to Lucy!" her voice wavered when Arthur gave her a dark glare.

"What do you mean, Harley? What woman?!"

Harley gulped loudly, "Tha- that woman!"

Arthur took a slow step towards Harley, "You're telling me… that Aashi tried to hurt my Lou?"

Harley gave him weak nod and squirmed underneath his hateful gaze. He stepped in the apartment without another look.

"Dis moi quelque chose!" Aashi was ordering someone furiously on the phone. She was in the hall, outside her room and quickly ended the phone call when she heard the door close.

She waited for Arthur to approach her before she spoke solemnly, "She's unconscious and has a very high fever."

Arthur stiffly turned his head to peer through the ajar door to get a glimpse of Lucy under the thick covers. Pain shot through his head and a hand rubbed his temple in an effort to ease the pain. He turned back to Aashi, "what happened?"

"One of my guys pulled her out of the canal near her school." She paused and her fists began to tremble, "He managed to resuscitate her in time. I took her to a doctor who examined her and said that the cold water saved her from the effects of oxygen deprivation but… it has also caused mild hypothermia. We just need to keep her warm and give her warm liquids."

Arthur looked at Lucy one more time and almost burst into tears, "How- how-"

Aashi gently put a hand to his shoulder, "Breathe."

Arthur quivered and exhaled like it took too much effort. Aashi grabbed his elbow softly and lead him to the living room and sat him down on the sofa. She proceeded to take his shoes and coat off, and then brought him a glass of water. Arthur struggled to down it but Aashi dried his face of the spilt water and his tears.

When he composed himself, Arthur abruptly made for Aashi's room and sat in the lime cotton bergère chair on the right side of the bed. It was warm: Aashi had watchfully sat her for hours before he arrived, no doubt. Aashi silently pulled another arm chair on the other side of her bed and sat down.

It could have been hours maybe before Lucy awoke. Nevertheless, they both stayed vigilant and whenever Lucy whimpered in pain they were on their toes ready to accommodate her. When Lucy woke up hazily she managed to mutter one thing hoarsely, "Wa..ter."

Aashi was out the door before he even turned his head to her. She returned in haste and with Arthurs help (with cradling Lucy's head), they gently fed her. He gently laid her head back down and sat back with a deep frown.

"How long till she gets better?" he asked, gruffly.

Aashi paused, and then sighed, "I don't know. Her fever is really high, until it goes down there won't be any change." Abruptly, she stood and made for the door.

Arthur panicked, "where are you going?"

Aashi paused at the door. She held the doorframe with her left hand and looked over her shoulder, "I'm going to get the bastard that did this. Lucy's in good care, just make sure you don't leave her unattended."

Aashi left shortly and didn't return for a whole day.

;-;-;-;-;

It was in the early hours when Arthur got an urgent phone call himself. A deal had gone wrong and like always they called the bogeyman, so he stalked off, begrudgingly leaving his delirious Lucy and his bone-weary Aashi.

Fortunately, and by pure coincidence, it was this time that Asilia decided to visit. When the door swung open though, she was not expecting to be confronted by the enervated form of Aashi – she rarely showed any signs of fatigue.

Asilia stepped in and immediately cupped Aashi's face, "Ma chère, what happened to you?"

Her clothes were crumpled, there was a strange smell being emitted by her, Aashi's hair was greasy and her face looked slightly sunken.

Aashi took her wrists in her calloused hands and lowered them gently. "I'm just-" she sighed, "I'm worried about Lucy."

Asilia bit her tongue. It was the very reason she was here: Lucy's condition. When she had received the small call from Aashi about Lucy, she felt her own heart plummet into her stomach at the thought of Aashi's bubbly daughter fighting for her life.

Asilia leaned forward and pecked Aashi on the lips. "Ma chère, I know you've taken care of Lucy very well, but you need to take care of yourself too"

Aashi's sharp eyes caught hers when their foreheads connected. Aashi stared her down but Aashi could never say 'no' to Asilia and conceded, "Very well. Keep watch while I…"

Asilia couldn't hear the rest of Aashi's sentence because she had walked off to the bathroom and because it seemed as though Asilia's hearing failed her when her eyes landed on Lucy's prone body on Aashi's large bed.

Asilia made herself home and took a seat in one of the arm chairs. It was warm and it smelled like Aashi. Another pang hit her heart when it dawned on Asilia that Aashi had most probably stationed herself beside Lucy and hadn't moved at all.

It felt like mere moments but it had been a good half an hour since Asilia had taken her seat. She had, at one point, even nudged a few mouse brown stands out of Lucy's face and yet she did not stir. Aashi returned but said not a word. She only took the other armchair.

Asilia snapped out of her daze and started towards Aashi, "What did you have to eat just now?"

When Asilia's hand came on Aashi's shoulder, Aashi didn't take her eyes off of Lucy but turned her head towards Asilia. "A bit of fruit."

Asilia winced, "You need more."

Aashi finally looked at her with an expressionless face, "Jaan, I can't stomach anything."

"Please" Asilia implored, she was deeply concerned by Aashi's drowsy movements.

Again, Aashi conceded but it took her a while to follow Asilia out of the room. Aashi started to make herself a tortilla but Asilia calmly took over for her. Aashi's eyes bored into the side of her face which made Asilia flush a little.

Asilia focused on the task at hand but almost dropped he items in her hands with a loud gasp when she felt Aashi pepper kisses on her neck. "Thank you, Jaan" Aashi's deep voice reverberated in her mind.

Asilia said nothing when she felt two steel like arms wrap around her waist and Aashi's lean torso met her soft back. Aashi didn't need words right now, though not that she particularly minded, but what she needed was comfort something which Arthur could not provide at that moment.

"I'm here, ma chère. I always will be."

A tremor shook through Aashi's chest, indicating to Asilia that Aashi was holding back a laugh, "I would like to think that's a fact."

Asilia knew that Aashi didn't mean anything negative per se by it, however, the pessimist and nihilist within Aashi kept poking holes through Asilia's idealism. Aashi never believed anything was set in stone (other than the notion that humanity was a plague on this earth) and so Asilia's dream that they would be together forever seemed somewhat absurd and childish.

Aashi would probably call it 'rubbish' or a load of 'tosh wash'.

Anything could happen that might threaten their relationship: one of them could die due to natural or unnatural causes, they could be separated due to societal norms, they may even go their separate ways due to a conflict of views. Truth be told though, the last one seemed highly unlikely. A near impossibility.

Asilia had decided to make herself a bit of grub to eat and Aashi, being the gentlewoman as usual, took the plates into her own hands and led the way. Asilia heard Aashi mutter under her breath "What a load of rubbish."

Despite it all, Asilia hid a big smile, satisfied that she could predict the very words Aashi would say. They ate in a comfortable silence, and once Aashi had some food in her she reverted back to her usual self.

As Aashi cleaned up by herself (because she insisted) she turned her full attention to Asilia. "How was your day yesterday?"

Offhandedly, Asilia replied, "Oh you know. It was the same as always, ma chère. My co-workers were bitches and my boss was an ass. He thought he was complementing me when he said I made a surprisingly good secretary and he had half a mind of giving me a pay rise. He almost sounded genuine but then I saw the look he gave to the other secretaries."

Her tone turned sarcastic, "Who would have thought a black woman would be so good at being a secretary? Speaking of which, that stupid white boy made me stand on feet all day because he wanted to display the 'diversity' in his company to some of the board members of that Wayne company that came over. My feet still ache."

"You mean Wayne Enterprises?" Aashi added nonchalantly.

"Yes, that one. And it was just so degrading, you know-"

It took a while for Asilia to spew out the stress of the day, but Aashi quietly and patiently listened to it all. Finally, when they retired back to Aashi's room to watch over Lucy, Asilia was baffled when Aashi sat near her feet instead of sitting in the opposite armchair.

Aashi kindly took Ailia's small foot in her hand and began to massage them. She did such an excellent job that by the time she was done Asilia felt like her feet were a completely new set. Asilia left soon after but not before she gave her farewell. As Asilia was about to step outside the threshold, she hesitated and looked back to Aashi who was pouting like a child. "You could stay longer, Jaan."

Asilia speedily embraced Aashi's waist and was pleasantly satisfied when Aashi gave her a large warm bear hug. Asilia nudged Aashi's chin with her nose and when Aashi's calm face came into her view, Asilia couldn't resist but give her another passionate kiss. "I wouldn't want to impose, ma chère."

;-;-;-;-;

Lucy felt the sweat drip from her brow and down to her ear. She twitched as the few shreds of consciousness began to liven her again. She inhaled deeply feeling as though it was the first breath for the first time in her life.

She struggled to open her eyes: it burned! She blinked spastically but her eyes just hurt too much so she had to squint. She groaned loudly, and turned her head to the right. There was an empty chair next to the bed but on the top of the chair was her father's gloves that her mother gave him for Christmas.

Struggling, she lulled her head to the left and found Aashi with her eyes half-closed, "Mummy". Lucy barely recognised her hoarse voice. It was disturbing to say the least, but thankfully it didn't last as Aashi's eyelids flapped open and her pupils shrunk instantly. Her eyes locked on Lucy's face and Lucy thought she saw her eyes widen in relief.

Lucy felt something twist in her stomach. Something bad must have happened for Aashi to show so much concern: Aashi didn't show emotion so openly, it just didn't happen.

Aashi came forward and moved a few small strands off of her forehead, she put the back of her palm on her head.

"Your fever has finally gone down, but you're still a bit under. Here", Aashi reached for something on the bedside table and sat on the bed. "Eat, they're good for you."

An apple slice was put in her mouth.

"Be sure to chew properly. You haven't had solid food in a few days."

Lucy would've choked if she had the energy, "Few… days?"

Aashi twisted around without giving an answer. Lucy couldn't see what she was doing but she heard her shuffle a lot of things. Aashi turned back and began to clean her forehead with a cold we towel, "The first day you didn't even stir, and then the next two days you would wake up to ask for water and spoke gibberish."

She swallowed the last piece of apple and froze. Three days. She had been out for three days. Lucy felt her lips tremble as she sobbed. She couldn't remember exactly how she got here and her scattered memory wasn't going to help her situation. She felt so useless. She felt so sick and weak.

"Don't worry. We kept you hydrated and fed you a liquid diet. I also stretched your limbs so they wouldn't be stiff."

Aashi wiped her tears, "Don't worry, child. I'll take care of everything, ok. You just focus on getting better." Aashi paused like the words got stuck in her throat. Her eyes sparkled as she spoke, "If you have any worries, you tell me and I'll take care of it, ok?" she stroked Lucy's cheek.

"Mhm" Lucy nodded, the tears going down her cheeks and wetting her nighty. "I need to pee", Lucy suddenly told her. Aashi gently cradled her to her torso and carried her to the bathroom. Lucy hugged her tightly and laid her head on Aashi's shoulder.

When she set Lucy down in front of the toilet, Lucy gasped as the tiles were so cold. She struggled to stand by herself.

"Actually, mom. Can you help me take a shower too? I feel really icky."

Aashi ruffled her bed head hair, "Anything, child."

Arthur returned shortly after Lucy awoke.

He had been in the middle of hanging up his coat when Aashi stepped into the hall. She was smiling amiably at him and had her arms folded. Her hair, that was open and damp, was slowly sliding over her shoulders towards her chest. He noticed the oddest things about her, the little things normal people wouldn't notice, or maybe they did? He doubted it though.

"What's wrong, baby?" he asked tiredly.

"Sleeping beauty woke up today"

Lucy stepped out from behind Aashi, "Daddy!" she waved at him.

Arthur's shoulders slumped and he practically ran to her with open arms. He hugged her tiny body and continuously kissed her head, "Thank God you're alright!" he murmured to himself. He rubbed his head on her head which made her giggle, "Daddy!" she whined. "Now my hair is all fuzy even when mummy made it look like hers."

Arthur laughed heartily, "Why do you want your hair to be like Ai's?"

"Because it's beautiful."

Arthur sat back and chuckled breathlessly, "Oh, babydoll. Mummy sure is pretty but…" Arthur saw Aashi give him a pleased smile knowing where he was going with this, "You're so much more beautiful."

Lucy flushed, "You really mean it, daddy?"

"Would I ever lie to you?"

"No"

Arthur hugged her again and Lucy hugged him back happily. Arthur looked up from the hug and smirked, "C'mere Ai"

Aashi rose both of her brows and in a bored tone said, "No."

Lucy pulled out and said with puppy dog eyes, "Come on Mummy!"

Aashi looked to the ceiling before giving in, "Fine."

She knelt to the ground and held her arms out but before she could even shuffle forward, Arthur had pulled her to their group hug, and Aashi despite her huffing, was quite happy to be included in the group hug to the point where a small smile graced her lips.

"I see that" Arthur taunted.

"And I see that" Aashi referred to his tears.

"No shame in it" Arthur remarked.

"Never aid there was" Aashi patted him on the back.

"Daddy, Mummy, I can't breathe."

Aashi and Arthur quickly retracted and Lucy stumbled back with a giggle, "I love you guys".

;-;-;-;-;

Harley fell to her knees as a hissy fit started to build up. She had failed. Not for one minute did Arthur even believe that Aashi was the one who caused Lucy's 'accident'.

Her hopes of getting back at Aashi was slowly but surely dwindling. Tears of frustration began to well up in her closed eyes and they spilled down her face. She cried her heart out.

"Why don' you want me, Puddin'?" she rolled on her bedroom floor, wallowing in self-pity. "I's do anythin' Puddin'!"

As she rolled around she hid her head on the foot of her bed which furthered her frustration. She held her head as it throbbed but as her cried died down, something caught her eye, there under the bed. There was something lying there gathering dust.

Hesitantly, she reached for it. The cool metal was unpleasant to her hands, but she pulled it out: it was Arthur's .99 calibre. Clearly, Arthur had forgotten to repossess a few things.

She held it in her hands like it was going to explode but as she gained confidence she weighed it in her hand. She examined it and tinkered with the safety. She stood with the gun tucked in her palm and aimed at the vanity mirror. A smirk stretched on her face.

A cruel plan had just hatched in her deranged mind.

Quite unfortunately, Lucy had no yet seen the end of Harley's psychotic ways.

To be continued…