Chapter 1
“Mom! Mom! We got in! We got in!!”
I was in the middle of prepping dinner when I heard both boys shouting from the study.
“Mom! Gabriel and I both got into Harvard!”
The twins came barreling out of the study and tackled me in a huge bear hug.
I looked up at my sons-now towering a full head above me-with pure pride.
“You two are absolutely incredible. I’m so proud of you both.”
Theodore had been gone for years now.
As a single mom, I’d raised these boys on my own for eighteen long years.
Seeing them get into Harvard filled me with more joy than I could have ever imagined.
Back then, when my husband and his mistress Ava both died, they left me with twin boys.
Everyone told me I was crazy, but I insisted on keeping Theodore and Ava’s illegitimate children and raising them as my own.
Eighteen years flew by, and suddenly my little boys were grown men.
And now, after all the sleepless nights and endless tutoring sessions, they’d finally made it into Harvard.
Watching them succeed like this made every sacrifice worth it.
‘Mom, we really owe it all to you. You’ve been holding us together all these years.”
‘Honestly, without your love and everything you gave up for us… we wouldn’t be here.”
Both boys had always been so thoughtful, always worried about how much I’d sacrificed for them over the years. They kept promising that once they
raduated and landed good jobs, they’d make sure I never had to worry about money again-that I could finally relax and enjoy life.
Seeing how grateful they were, I had an idea. Their birthday was coming up in a couple days.
‘d always thrown them birthday parties at nice hotel venues before.
This time, why not combine it with a graduation celebration? Make it extra special.
booked the ballroom at the finest restaurant in the city.
Then I posted the news about Gabriel and Raphael getting into Harvard in our family group chat.
The second I hit send, my phone exploded with 99+ messages.
Those boys really made something of themselves….”
“If Theodore could see how well his sons turned out, he’d be resting easy.”
I skimmed through the congratulations, then shared the venue details with everyone.
After handling all the arrangements, I silenced my phone notifications.
Now all that was left was to wait for the big celebration…
