The living room was soaked in silence, the air heavy with Rain's tears that had refused to stop falling since morning. He sat curled up on the couch, his arms hugging a pillow close to his chest, eyes red and puffy from the weight of emotions that had long been bottled up. The television was on but muted, flickering light across the still space.
Frances had been sitting with him quietly for most of the day, watching, waiting for the right moment to bring a little light into his darkness.
Finally, she stood up and disappeared into the kitchen. The sound of clinking plates, a soft hum from her, and the shuffle of her slippers followed. A few minutes later, she returned with a small plate in her hand, balancing a slice of chocolate cake decorated with rainbow sprinkles and a single unlit candle.
She placed it gently on the table in front of him, her eyes sparkling despite the heaviness of the day.
"Happy 18th birthday baby!" she screamed suddenly, her hands clapping together with infectious cheer.
Rain blinked in surprise, the corners of his mouth twitching. Then, a small, warm smile broke through his tear-worn face.
"Happy 17th birthday baby!" he replied, a chuckle bubbling up softly from his chest.
Her smile faltered a little, surprise flickering in her eyes.
"How did you know it's my birthday? No one knows my real birthday"
"I saw it in your school file, we share the same birthday"
Her lips parted in amazement. The coincidence made her chest tighten.
"I don't celebrate my birthdays though"
"I don't celebrate mine too, but since the cake and wishes is from you I definitely have to take it"
A pang of guilt flashed across Frances's face.
"Oh my! I'm so sorry I don't know that you don't used to celebrate your birthdays"
Rain lowered his gaze, his fingers brushing the edge of the cake plate.
"I don't celebrate my birthdays because my mum died after giving birth to me but I was so genuinely happy yesterday when I heard that my dad was coming home. I thought he would celebrate my coming of age with me but he messed that up also"
Frances didn't respond immediately. She reached across the table without hesitation and wrapped her fingers around his, squeezing his hand tightly. Her grip was firm anchoring. She stared into his eyes with silent intensity.
"Don't be sad baby! Even though you were never celebrated it doesn't matter, everything that happened is not your fault. From today on I will always celebrate you"
His lashes fluttered slightly, and a new set of tears shimmered in his eyes not of pain, but of gratitude.
"Thank you so much Cici, you are so good to me"
"Stop looking so serious!" she said with a teasing grin, and slapped his hand playfully.
Rain burst into soft laughter, the mood slightly lifted. Her light-heartedness was contagious warmth chasing away the coldness clinging to him.
They laughed together, the laughter echoing like a healing balm in the quiet room.
Then, his gaze grew more reflective.
"You already know why I don't want to celebrate my birthdays now tell me yours. Why don't you celebrate yourself?"
Frances leaned back slightly, her smile dimming. Her fingers tensed in her lap.
"What's there to celebrate? My existence itself was just a pure mistake"
Rain straightened up, the laughter gone from his eyes. His brows furrowed in disbelief.
"What are you talking about? How can your existence be a mistake"
She inhaled slowly, the weight of her truth visibly pressing down on her shoulders.
"Rain there's so many things you don't know about me"
His voice turned urgent, his hands reaching for hers.
"Then tell me! You haven't told me a thing about you before please tell me now I wanna know everything about you"
Frances hesitated for a second just a breath then stood up and tugged his hand.
Without a word, she led him up the stairs, her steps slow and heavy with something sacred. Rain followed, his heart thudding as if preparing to cross a threshold into something deeper.
They entered her room, a space untouched by clutter but full of hidden emotion. Plush furniture sat against lavender colored walls, and childhood memories lingered in the soft hum of the ceiling fan. The curtains fluttered gently from the breeze outside.
Frances lowered herself gently to the floor, crossing her legs beneath her. She tapped the space beside her, and Rain followed, sitting close, shoulder to shoulder. The intimacy of the moment swirled around them.
She reached down, ran her fingers across the floor as if connecting with the past itself.
"This room of mine, I have been using it since I was one month old. This is where I grew up. I had a grandfather who loved me endlessly he took care of me until I was almost 10 years old that was when I lost him"
Her voice had just trailed off when he exclaimed:
"Oh my God! I'm so sorry!"
His expression was twisted with guilt and sympathy, as if the pain she'd buried for so long had just become real to him.
Frances smiled faintly, waving her hand dismissively.
"It's fine! He was already so sick anyways, keeping him here will just make me a selfish person"
She stared at the ceiling for a second, her voice calm, but her fingers gripped her own wrist tightly, as if to steady herself.
Rain tilted his head, frowning in concern.
"Why didn't any family take care of you after he left you? You were just 10 years old"
Frances turned to him, her gaze cold and steady now, as if she'd long accepted this truth.
"We do not have a family. My grandfather was an orphan who rose to prominence on his own, he never got married nor did he involve himself with anyone. He was just working and earning money so apparently there's no one to look after me. Infact, he doesn't want anyone. He just left me in his lawyer's care, Jasper Fox."
Rain blinked, stunned. He slowly leaned back on his hands, processing every word.
"Does he own a lot of money?"
She gave a small shrug, her tone nonchalant as if it didn't matter.
"He did! And I inherited them all. He has a trust fund that he left in my name, a lot of real estate so along the way I built C Foundation"
Rain's head snapped toward her, eyes squinting in shock.
"C Foundation was yours?"
Frances smiled like it was no big deal.
"It has always been mine, though he built it himself but the money was too much so I decided to do something fun with it, I upgraded C foundations"
He leaned in, incredulous.
"The money was too much? Hundreds of millions?"
She met his gaze evenly, calm and matter-of-fact.
"Yes! Should be $800–900 or something."
Rain's jaw dropped.
"Are you kidding me Frances??! You inherited that much money casually?"
He threw his hands into the air, eyes wild, his voice teetering between disbelief and awe.
Frances burst into laughter, tossing her hair over her shoulder.
"If I weren't here he would have probably willed it to his favorite dog!" she said, grinning wide.
"My grandfather do not like people so he never trusted anyone. He gave me the money so I wouldn't have to need anyone for anything"
Rain shook his head slowly, still dazed.
"How do you manage all that funds?"
"I have Jasper Fox and some financial advisors, they help me manage the money. Moreover, I don't have access to all the money until I get married. I only take out a large sum to sponsor C Foundation. My living expenses isn't that much either"
Rain whistled under his breath.
"The money isn't depreciating at all?"
Frances chuckled softly, brushing invisible lint from her thigh.
"No! What I inherited was around $800m now it's almost a billion so it's getting more and more. Moreover it's not everything that's liquid, it's mostly real estate. The money will double in two years more"
Rain stared at her, wide-eyed.
"That's crazy! You have some filthy money right there! Don't you find it tiring? Having to be in charge of that much money?"
Frances tilted her head, lips quirking.
"Why would I? I haven't even been to any of the companies more than twice, I don't worry about the revenue or building more businesses. I'm still young and can't burden myself with all that I might go crazy! Jasper Fox is there to attend to them"
Rain nodded slowly, leaning closer.
"Oh true! He is a very good lawyer. I would also try and help you out sometime so nothing will go amiss"
Her eyes softened, and she gave him a rare, sincere smile.
"I will really appreciate your help!"
Then, Rain straightened slightly, brows drawing together.
"Frances? Are we not missing something important in this conversation?"
She blinked.
"My parents?"
"Yes! You didn't say anything about them at all"
Frances looked down at her fingers, now fidgeting with the hem of her sleeve.
"As I said earlier, my grandfather never got married or had a family so he was not my family at all"
Rain sat up straighter, confused.
"He was not your family? Then were you adopted after your parents died?"
Frances's voice dropped, low and steady.
"Actually my parents are not dead"
His entire body froze.
"Are you kidding me Frances? Your parents are still alive? Then why were you left all alone in here to live like an orphan?"
She didn't answer at first. The silence between them stretched and She exhaled slowly.
"I'm everything but an orphan, Rain, but I had to consider myself one since my grandfather died! He was my only family, he named me after himself, Frances Holland"
Rain's eyes clouded with pain as he reached for her hand again.
"Your parents didn't even give you a name? And you have been here since you were one month old?"
Frances didn't reply immediately. Her eyes welled up, but the tears didn't fall. She just looked down at their entwined fingers, small, real comfort in the mess of everything else.
"Yes! My parents were a very loving couple who loved themselves more than anything. After they got married they decided not to have kids. Not because they can't afford it but because they don't want an intruder in their marriage. Unfortunately that woman conceived immediately after getting married, all the plans to do an abortion proved futile. I have been very stubborn right from pregnancy you see!"
She said nonchalantly and laughed bitterly, the sound hollow as her fingers toyed with the edge of her sleeve.
"Till the pregnancy became big she couldn't get rid of me, it was affecting the marriage as well. After many failed attempts she finally gave birth to me, I was so ill because of many abortion attempts. The hospital thought that I wasn't gonna make it. Those two already made plans to give me up for adoption after they had me but I was sick and this infuriated them more, they wanted the hospital to cut off my life support so I can die."
Rain's jaw dropped. His voice cracked in disbelief, "What?!!"
Frances gave a soft nod, her expression unreadable.
"Yes! But fortunately my grandfather was at the hospital then as well. He came for his surgery then he heard the rumor at the hospital about the couple who doesn't want their child. Right then he was close to his deathbed and he wanted to know what it feels like to have his own family so he asked for consent to adopt me. They signed an agreement as well. My grandfather took care of me all by himself and loved me endlessly. I grew up so well, he made me train to protect myself since a young age. He lectured me about life, crying means letting go of your rage so I cried my eyes out until I couldn't cry anymore."
Rain clutched a pillow to his chest, stunned, watching her with misted eyes as she calmly revealed her past.
"When my grandfather died I had limited information about my birth parents so I thought there would be possibilities that I would be accepted by them. So when I turned 13 I went to find them. I got their information at the hospital and went to their house hoping that I would be welcomed with open arms. But my hopes was shattered. Either dead or alive I'm really unwanted. They said they never prayed for me or wanted me. It was me who wanted to come forcefully so they're not obligated to take care of me."
Rain shook his head slowly, like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. His voice trembled as he muttered, "What the hell! What kind of parent is this? I have never heard of this in my whole life. The child she carried for nine months she wouldn't even look at her twice."
Frances gave a bitter smile, her eyes distant.
"The whole nine month she was trying all her possible best to get rid of me."
"The mother is cruel and the father is inconsiderate."
"But I'm more crazier! I had the guards beat them up to relieve my anger."
They both burst into laughter. Rain's came through teary eyes.
"You didn't just do that Frances!"
"Trust me I did! They were beaten to stupor until I feel good enough. I told the woman to remove her womb if she doesn't need it."
Rain gasped and laughed through the tears. "You beating up your birth parents is crazy! But they deserve it. How can they let go of a precious jewel like you? They're so inhuman!"
His laughter faded as tears spilled down his cheeks. Frances quietly reached for a tissue and passed it to him, her touch gentle.
"They're really bad people. How can someone abandon their own child?"
"Stop crying baby! They don't deserve me anyway."
She smiled and patted his back comfortingly. Rain paused and looked at her with awe.
"While talking about all these you didn't even cry."
"Trust me! I have been behind this wall alone for 6 years, hiding everywhere to cry. I'm unwanted and unloved, no family at the age of 10. I have cried more than I should. I have gone for days without eating that I ended up at the hospital several times. When I was 13 I even attempted suicide."
Rain's breath hitched. He stared at her, horrified. "Oh my, Frances!"
"A lot has happened! But I have always believed that I'm strong. I'm crazier than what the world is throwing at my feet. My life is more important than anything because I only have this one life to live. The 10 years of genuine love from my grandfather is enough to last me a lifetime! Even though I do not have a family at least I got friends. So instead of ending my life or lamenting about my situation why not disturb the world and let them feel my presence."
Rain's hands balled into fists as he tried to contain the storm of emotions crashing inside him.
"And you really did! You did so well Cici! I always thought that I have a bad situation but you have gone through more. You're so strong Frances. But I'm here for you now. I will be your family. I will always stay with you. They have so many kids in the family, me leaving wouldn't affect them anyway."
Frances tilted her head with a small smile, her voice soft.
"Rain, you can say the words easily but it's hard to fulfill. You have a whole family that you will always put first over everybody else."
"No! That was before but not anymore! I will always put you first Frances. I gave my dad many chances but he messed it up. Now I don't care anymore. No matter what happens I will always put you first. I will never betray you."
Frances stared at him, eyes shimmering. "Thank you so much babe! You are so good to me."
Rain took her hand and pressed it to his chest, his voice low but full of sincerity.
"You have always done the same for me and I really appreciate it a lot. I appreciate everything you've done. I appreciate your presence in my life."
"I love you baby."
"I love you too boo. I love you more than you can imagine."
Rain dragged her close and hugged her tightly, like he was trying to protect her from every pain she'd ever endured. Frances melted into the embrace, her face buried in the crook of his neck, holding on just as fiercely.