It took a few years, and the stress I felt was enormous. But the important thing was that my sisters could continue to go to school and just push the whole sadness of losing their father aside. They had no idea about our financial situation and how at times we were close to the poverty line, but then Ivy and Felisha would turn up with all these clothes that they were getting rid of and thought we might like, but funnily enough, they still had tags on them and were all in the perfect sizes for all four of us, even though we were different shapes. Or a random grocery delivery would arrive at the apartment. And the fictitious work bonuses that I received from Kentwall Estates that just appeared in my bank account. I wanted to give them back, but to be honest, I desperately needed them to pay school fees. Just a pure coincidence they arrived about a week before the fees were due each term. Ivy constantly had a spare ticket to charity events that she insisted my mother accompany her to, which was a way of making my mum face the shame she felt of what my dad had done and to remind herself it wasn’t her who had done wrong. It helped to get her over it all quickly, because as always, it didn’t take long for the London socialite scene to move on to another scandal, and my father was then old news.

My mother Lori and Ivy became so close during these years and now are best of friends, just like their daughters. I struggle to show emotion, and I think it’s because during that time, I shut myself off to deal with the pain of betrayal and abandonment. But on one of the rare occasions that I let my walls down, I broke down and cried with Felisha, thanking her for everything she did to help my family survive all those years ago.

Pushing all these thoughts of sorrow from my mind, I get back into finishing off the work emails I need to finalize tonight so I can get out of here.

At the same time, my stomach lets me know it’s hungry after listening to Felisha talk about dinner.

Hitting the send button on the last one, it doesn’t take me long to shut down my computer, grab my bag, and head out of my office, which used to be Felisha’s before she took over her father’s position as CEO. It felt weird taking over her desk, but it hasn’t taken long for me to adapt to it, and now it feels like home. Because let’s be honest, we spend more time at work than we do at home. So, with a few of my own personal touches, it’s my new home away from home.