"What did you say?!"

"Ah yes, sorry ma'am, the network at school is a bit bad haha! But okay. William is not fussy asking to be picked up quickly. It just so happens that there are still some friends who haven't been picked up yet, so don't worry!"

Even though Lisa wasn't anywhere near William, she could imagine what the boy was doing. He must have been sitting on a carpet with fruit pictures on the wall of his classroom. Maybe the little guy is playing with blocks or lego with his friends. Or it could be that William is teasing a girl—

'Crazy! What are you thinking about?!' Lisa grumbled in her heart.

She chuckled, "Ah, alright, thank goodness! I'll be at school to pick up William in an hour."

The woman then hung up on the call and rushed to finish her work that day so that she could immediately pick up her baby. She wouldn't want William to become fussy, cry and wail just because nobody picked him up. 

"Oh, you're not home yet?"

Suddenly, a woman's voice was heard. Lisa turned around for a moment and then gave her an awkward smile.

"Yeah, I still have a lot of work to do." She turned her gaze back to the computer screen, "Why haven't you gone home yet?"

That afternoon, Cicilia's appearance did not look as neat as this morning. There was no blazer covering the long white shirt she was wearing. Her long wavy hair was tied into a ponytail. The color of her lipstick that used to be fiery red has now faded slightly. But even so, Cicilia still looks beautiful. Messy but beautiful.

Cicilia sighed, "Same here. But now I want to go home. I'll go first, don't be afraid, there aren't any ghosts here!"

"What are you talking about..."

About 45 minutes later, Lisa rushed down the stairs of the office building while looking at her watch. That afternoon, the elevator at the company was no longer operating, so she had to use the stairs. The atmosphere in the office is also quiet, only the cleaning services could be seen wandering the hall while carrying cleaning tools.

Inside the taxi, Lisa never stopped biting her fingernails. The woman already knew that it seemed like she would be late to pick up William according to her promise. 

Because of the scary incident yesterday, Lisa became easily worried about her only child. She was late to pick up William and the boy was kidnapped by Surya's thugs. However, she wouldn't let yesterday's incident happen again because of her carelessness!

It would be better if she died than if her son had to go through that terrifying incident again.

"Sir, can you go any faster?" Lisa asked impatiently. The look on her face was panicked and now she couldn't sit still. 

"This is the fastest, Ma'am. It's okay, the office hours are always jammed!" The taxi driver replied. 

"Oh, I'm so dead!" 

Along the way to William's school, the woman kept looking at her watch. Time seemed to go by so fast and the taxi she took was slow. She felt like driving the vehicle on her own!

When Lisa arrived at William's school gate, the woman rushed out of the taxi. From a distance, she could see a boy wearing a white and yellow uniform sitting under a tree. Beside him was a woman who was about 40 years old. She was trying to win over the boy who was pouting. 

Lisa grabbed her tote bag and stepped closer to the tall dark blue gate. There are rules from the school to forbid parents or guardians from entering the school, so if there is no school event or something important, Lisa stands frozen near the gate.

"William, Mama's here!" 

Lisa waved her hand, trying to get the attention of the boy standing not far from her.

Hearing a familiar and warm female voice made William turn his head quickly. As soon as he saw the figure of his mother standing in front of the gate, the little man got up from the plastic chair and ran to Lisa.

"Mommy, Mommy!" William ran so fast that his chubby cheeks trembled. But when they were not too far away, the boy stopped running and showed a gray face. He folded his arms in front of his chest and grumbled, "Why are you late to pick me up?"

Lisa squatted in front of the boy while spreading her arms wide. When William was in her reach, the woman immediately hugged her child's tiny body. Her chest cavity was instantly filled with the smell of baby powder, making her feel relieved.

Lisa released her arms on William's tiny body and said, "I'm sorry, honey. It's just that my work wasn't done yet so I couldn't immediately pick up my favorite child!"

"Mmph!"

That afternoon, William looked very adorable. The round hat he was wearing blocked the afternoon sun from hitting his eyes. But even so, Lisa can still see the frown on her little boy's forehead. 

"I'm sorry, okay?" Lisa kissed William's forehead, cheeks and nose. She raised her hand and tickled her son's stomach until she heard his laughter. "I promise, next time I won't be late again!"

William's lips were curled into a wide smile which made his cheeks puff up like bread. At first, he was still pouting, but when his mother didn't stop tickling his stomach, William's annoyance just disappeared.

"Promise?" William asked earnestly. 

Lisa raised her pinky finger, "Promise!"

William smiled widely and linked his little finger with his mother's. 

"Well, let's go home now. Let's visit Papa first and then we'll have dinner outside! How about it?" Lisa suggested after they hooked their pinky fingers.

William nodded his head quickly, "Okay! I really miss Papa! Since yesterday, I haven't seen Papa...."

"Yes, dear. After this, we can visit Papa in the hospital, okay?"

Lisa stood up and adjusted her skirt. The woman then took William's hand, "Say goodbye to your teacher. Don't forget to say thank you for waiting until I arrived."

Like a smart and obedient boy, William turned around and waved his hands with great enthusiasm.

"Bye bye, beautiful teacher! We'll meet again tomorrow! Don't miss me, okay!" William shouted loudly.

Suddenly, Lisa turned around, "William Petersson, who told you to say that to your teacher, huh?! That's not polite! I don't like it when you talk to your teacher like that!"