Chapter 17

Maxine was overjoyed when Stacey, her husband’s sister, accepted her as a member of the family once they married. She counted herself lucky because they were kind to her and accepted the bond between them.

Maxine felt more regret that they hadn’t gone to her hometown than she did about their trip to the Maldives, which was supposed to be a holiday but didn’t go according to plan. She was already homesick for both her mother and father, in addition to her other siblings.

Despite the fact that they were not Maxine’s family, Maxine never experienced any feelings of alienation from them. They showed her the same amount of love and care as if she were their own child.

When they took her in as their own, she was just four years old. She was quite innocent and easily hurt. It just so happened that Maxine’s stepfather’s brother saw her when they were out on the boat. They had traveled from a variety of islands to deliver the vegetables at that time, and they claimed that t