Chapter 4: A Fragile Hope

Upon opening the door to his in-laws' home, Kelvin was instantly bombarded by Stephanie, his mother-in-law's loud and piercing voice.

"Kelvin!" she snapped, hands on her hips. "Where have you been? And what’s this nonsense about the kids going to school tomorrow? You haven’t even paid their fees yet!" Stephanie said, showing her disdain as she looked at him while telling him, "You have the audacity to come back here after you lost your only job. You worthless parasite."

Kelvin steeled himself, but before he could reply, Sheena appeared from the living room, a ray of hope shining in her eyes. "Mom, please, he said he’s got it handled. Can we just give him a chance?"

"A chance?" Stephanie’s voice rose an octave. "Sheena, are you out of your mind? He’s going to drag us all down with him. Do you want my sisters to laugh at me? At us?"

Kelvin moved ahead, speaking with confidence. "I have discovered a method to cover the school fees, Mother. I give you my word that the children will return to class by tomorrow."

Stephanie's mouth formed a malevolent grin. "Oh, is that so? And may I ask, where do you intend to find the funds since you are now unemployed?"

Kelvin was unsure and did not want to disclose the real origin of the funds. "That isn't... that isn't important. The important thing is that the fees will be covered, and the kids can go back to school."

"Is it unimportant?" Stephanie let out a rough, loud laugh. "Do you expect me to blindly trust what you're saying?"

Sheena extended her arm, placing her hand on Kelvin's arm. "Mom, have faith in Kelvin, just like I do. In fact, both of us are going to take the kids to school, and you are going to see that Kelvin can be trusted."

Kelvin felt unease; he planned on taking the twins to school himself so Sheena wouldn’t find out that the school had been bought in his name. The last thing Kelvin wanted was for Sheena to find out about his lineage. But he had no excuse to deny her from coming with him to the twins' school.

Stephanie's expression became more severe. "You fool," she said, facing directly at Sheena. "I don’t understand how you can blindly believe this stupid, jobless bum. Your husband’s incompetents are just going to give my sisters the chance to mock me even more." She turned her attention and gave Kelvin a fierce look filled with anger as she stormed off to her room.

Kelvin experienced a sinking feeling in his heart as his mother-in-law's words weighed heavily on him. However, he did not give in, especially when the future of his family was on the line.

The next morning, the house buzzed with the usual hustle and bustle of a school day. Kelvin and Sheena moved through the motions of preparing their children for school.

"Are you sure about this, Kelvin?" Sheena asked, her voice tinged with worry.

"Yes, Sheena. Trust me, the fees will be paid," Kelvin replied, trying to reassure her.

From the kitchen, Stephanie’s voice cut through the morning chaos like a knife. "I can’t believe you’re actually going through with this. Don’t you dare come back to this house after you’ve embarrassed yourselves at that school."

Kelvin sighed, straightening up after finishing with the twins' shoes. "Mother, we have to go. The kids need to go to school."

On their way out, Kelvin picked up his phone and secretly texted Gerald, the butler: "We’re on our way to the school. Please make sure the fees are paid, I don’t want any issue with the school authorities."

They called up a taxi. As they loaded the kids into the taxi, Sheena glanced at Kelvin with a mixture of hope and anxiety. "What if… what if it doesn’t work out?"

"It will," Kelvin said firmly. "I’ve got it handled."

The drive to the school was filled with the chatter of excited children. The twins were oblivious to the tension between their parents. As they approached the school, Kelvin’s phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen to see Gerald’s reply: "Consider it done, sir."

As the taxi got close to the school, Sheena looked at Kelvin nervously. "Are you sure everything’s okay?"

"Yes," Kelvin said, squeezing her hand. "Everything’s going to be fine."