Chapter 81 It was me

Chapter 81 It was me
April woke up early the next morning, stretching her arms as she sat up in bed. The previous day had been exhausting, and all she wanted was a fresh start. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand before sighing and getting out of bed. She had work to do, and her children needed to get ready for school.
As she stepped out of her room, she could already hear the sounds of Gina in the kitchen, moving around as she prepared breakfast. April smiled at the warmth of it all. Despite everything going on in her life, her children were her biggest source of joy.
“Good morning,” she greeted as she walked into the living room.
Gina looked up and smiled. “Morning, sleepyhead. You must have been really tired last night. I checked on you, and you were out like a light.”
April chuckled. “Yeah, it was a long day.”
Just then, the sound of small footsteps running filled the room. Kai and Tai came rushing toward their mother, their little faces beaming with excitement.
“Mommy!” Tai called out, jumping into April’s arms.
“Good morning, my loves,” April said, hugging both of them tightly. “Did you sleep well?”
“Yes!” Kai nodded enthusiastically. “And I had a dream about flying cars!”
April laughed and kissed his forehead. “That sounds exciting. Maybe one day, we’ll actually have flying cars.”
Tai gasped. “Really?”
Gina chuckled as she placed their breakfast plates on the table. “Alright, alright. Enough about flying cars. Let’s eat first, and then we’ll talk about the future.”
April suddenly remembered the gift Richard had given her for the kids. She turned and grabbed the wrapped boxes she had set aside last night.
“Before breakfast, I have something for you both,” she said, holding out the gifts.
Kai and Tai’s eyes widened in surprise. “What is it?” Kai asked excitedly.
“A friend of mine got these for you,” April said, carefully choosing her words. “I was going to give them to you last night, but you were already asleep when I got home.”
The kids quickly tore into the wrapping paper, eager to see what was inside. Their squeals of excitement filled the room as they unboxed the gifts—a beautiful dollhouse for Tai and a set of action figures for Kai.
“Wow! This is amazing!” Tai beamed, running her fingers over the tiny furniture inside the dollhouse.
“Mommy, I love it!” Kai hugged his set of action figures tightly.
April smiled, feeling warmth in her chest as she watched their happiness. “I’m glad you do.”
Gina, who had been scrolling through her phone while sipping her morning coffee, suddenly gasped. “April!” she called out.
April turned to her, a bit startled. “What?”
Gina held up her phone. “The pictures! They’re gone!”
April’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, the photos of you and Richard that were all over the internet yesterday—every single one of them is gone!” Gina said excitedly.
April walked over and looked at Gina’s phone. True to her words, there were no longer any photos of her and Richard online. 
The articles that had been circulating were gone, as if they had never existed in the first place.
“How is that possible?” April wondered aloud.
Gina smirked. “What if Richard was behind this?”
April blinked in surprise. “Richard?”
“Think about it, April,” Gina said. “Who else has the power to make every single article disappear overnight? He’s the only one with that kind of influence.”
April hesitated. “I don’t know… I mean, why would he go through the trouble?”
Gina scoffed. “Are you serious? He probably doesn’t want people talking about you like that. Maybe he’s trying to protect you.”
April let out a small laugh. “Protect me? That doesn’t sound like Richard at all. He’s always been the type to do whatever benefits him.”
Gina shrugged. “Well, whether you believe it or not, he’s the only person who could’ve pulled this off and you and I know he isn’t the same Richard from years ago!”
April glanced at the time and sighed. She didn’t have time to overthink this.
“I have to get to work. Can you drop the kids off at school for me?”
“Of course,” Gina said.
April turned to Kai and Tai, cupping their cheeks. “Be good at school, okay?”
“Okay, Mommy!” they said in unison.
She kissed their foreheads before grabbing her bag and heading out the door.
When she arrived at the hospital, she immediately noticed the hushed whispers of the nurses as she walked past. 
Some glanced at her before quickly looking away, as if they had been caught gossiping.
“Did you see? The pictures just vanished overnight.”
“It’s like they never existed!”
“Who could’ve done that?”
April smirked to herself as she continued walking. So it wasn’t just Gina who noticed. It was the entire hospital.
As she reached her office, her assistant greeted her with a warm smile. 
“Good morning, Dr. Harrington. Here’s your schedule for today. You have a full list of patients to see in the next few hours.”
“Thanks,” April said, taking the clipboard from her.
Just as she was about to sit down, her phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID, her heart skipping a beat when she saw Richard’s name.
She hesitated for a moment before answering. “Hello?”
“Good morning, April,” Richard’s deep voice came through the phone. “How was your night?”
“It was fine,” she replied, keeping her voice neutral. “And yours?”
“Better than expected,” he said smoothly. “Did Kai and Tai like their gifts?”
April leaned back in her chair. “They loved them.”
“I’m glad.”
A brief silence followed. April debated whether to bring up the photos, but curiosity got the best of her.
“Richard…” she started hesitantly. “Did you have anything to do with the photos disappearing?”
There was a pause before he answered. “Yes. It was me.”
April’s grip on her phone tightened slightly. “Why?”
“I didn’t like the way people were talking about you,” Richard admitted. 
“You don’t deserve to have your name dragged into something like that. And more importantly, I won’t have anyone calling you a name that isn’t yours to begin with.”
April’s breath hitched at his words. Her name. His name. What was he trying to imply?
She swallowed. “Richard, I—”
“You don’t have to thank me,” he cut in. “Just focus on your work. I’ll talk to you later.”
And with that, the line went dead.
April stared at her phone, her heart pounding. Richard had actually done it. He had erased the photos, erased the rumors—erased everything.
But why did it feel like he was making a statement? And why did it stir something deep inside her?
She wasn’t sure.