New Life : A Second Chance

Fleur came soon after Kyle left.

The little princess took after Sam in terms of mannerisms but had Betty's features. Thus, she was a rather serious looking princess.

Quite a contrast indeed.

Still, though her expression may be serious, her looks were not.

Betty's daughter had a mass of curly hair on her head, almost as if she had springs in them. The soft, brown curls reached up to her shoulders though when wet, it would be halfway down her back. At the moment, those soft curls were tied up in two cute ponytails, with pink ribbons tied around it.

She was wearing a pink frilly dress, which wasn't too fancy but it wasn't casual either. She liked dressing up in such dresses, feeling really special and pretty. She loved dressing up, and would follow her mother everywhere.

Fleur came out first, going over to the other kids as she demanded of Alex, "Do I look pretty?"

Alex, having learned his lesson the last time, answered, "Yes, very pretty."

Fleur's face brightened up and she nodded, "You have good taste."

With the four of them together, they went off on their own, playing as kids do.

In the meantime, Sam had a big sling bag over his back. It was full of diapers, spare baby clothes, and formula. Betty was carrying their newborn son, and she came out carefully.

Sam opened the back car door and peered inside, "Are you coming out or not, Jared?"

The little boy of 1 and a half years old looked up at his father, then he looked back down. Jared was a very shy boy and found difficulty mixing around. Sam hoped the playdate would bring him out of his shell but unfortunately, the bond between the FF ostracised him.

It wasn't that they ignored him, but Jared, himself, felt left out. They were much older than him (to him at the current moment, that is) and he couldn't keep up with them.

Betty went to the back as well, giving him a bright smile and held out her hand, "Come on, Jared. Let's meet Uncle Ali and Auntie Sofiya, okay?"

He didn't say a word but he scooted over and took her hand.

Sam sighed inwardly at his son.

He was a mixture of both Sam and Betty. He had Sam's hair and eyes, but Betty's curls and chubby cheeks. His lips were naturally red as well, making it look like he was wearing cherry lipstick.

Anyone who saw him couldn't help but touch his hair and pinch his cheeks.

Causing him to be even more withdrawn.

Earlier, his sister tried to get him to come out with her but he refused. Fleur, being impatient and excited at meeting her friends, didn't insist and ran out the moment they had stopped the car.

Ali and Sofiya smiled as Betty and Sam reached them.

Truly, a bunny couple indeed.

They have three children now, one child every two years.

If it wasn't for the fact that it wasn't good for the body, Sam would not have minded having one child every year. Being an only child, he had always dreamed of a big family.

Seeing them coming, Ali asked softly, "Are you okay, Habibi?"

Sofiya smiled, leaning onto Ali, replying, "I'm okay, my love."

Habibi meant 'my love' as well, but Sofiya wasn't used to the term so for her, saying 'my love' was more meaningful. Which was not to say that she didn't go all soft inside when Ali said it to her. 𝗳𝔯𝙚e𝒘e𝚋𝘯𝚘ν𝙚l.𝑐o𝙢

It was apparent how much the term meant to him for she could feel his love within those words, in the way he said it and the way he looked at her as he said it. As she could not invoke that same feeling by saying it in his language, she would use her language.

The words didn't matter.

The heart did.

They have tried to have more children after Ziad, but it always ended up in miscarriages. In the end, Ali couldn't handle the pain it gave to Sofiya so he decided that they should not tax her any longer.

It took a long time for Sofiya to agree to it, but in the end, she felt he was right.

Ali's love for her never waned and she knew that a marriage was not dependent on having children. It was based on their love for each other, commitment and understanding. It took her a long time to be able to share things with Ali, but the more she did, the stronger the bond.

"Though I may not be able to have more children, I am already so truly blessed with Ziad," Sofiya replied and then added, "And I also have the other Elite Five children that I'm the godmother to."

Ali smiled, content.

Yes, they didn't just have Ziad. They had the other Elite Five children. Being part of the Elite Five was truly a wondrous thing indeed.

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While the kids were playing in the garden, Jared was playing by himself on the patio, sitting beside his baby brother, Quill. Quill was swaddled tightly and asleep, with two tiny bolsters beside him.

Betty and Sofiya were talking up a storm, as what women would do, when they got together. Sam was busy at his laptop doing his work (as usual) though he would occasionally glance up to look at his wife.

Ali watched Alex carefully from the patio. From his experience, approaching Alex to talk about Kyle would not do any good. The kid would just shut down, refusing to listen.

Alex may still be young, but that did not excuse his behaviour. Things learned at this age shaped the person's character. Before Alex became too set in his ways, Ali had to have him see the light.

He prayed for guidance; that he would be able to say the right words and that Alex would listen.