“Yep!” he quipped.
My lips twitched. “Is she prettier than me?”
He grinned and said, “Both of you are pretty!”
I inhaled deeply and snapped, “Anthony, be serious. Otherwise, I’m going to hang up on you.”
He laughed loudly and clearly had no qualms about hiding his exuberant mood.
The laughter was pleasing to the ears. I had initially assumed that he was eating with some woman. But from the way he laughed, I could tell that I knew the person he was with!
A childish voice sounded out from the phone, “Mr. Featherstone, are you talking to Mommy?”
My heart skipped a beat. It had been so long since I last heard Summer’s voice and held her in my arms.
Tears welled up in my eyes that instant.
Anthony handed the phone to Summer. “Mommy? Is that you? I’m Summer.”
My heart ached, and the lump in my throat prevented me from speaking for some time. A weight pressed down on my chest as I struggled to draw breath.
Due to my silence, Summer became anxious and said, “Can you hear me, Mommy?”
Tears started to flow down my face. Each beaded droplet of water seemed to sting me on its way down. I took in a shaky breath and replied, “I’m here, Summer. I… can hear you!”
Speaking to her brought on another tide of tears.
Summer was elated to hear my voice. She could not contain her excitement as she proceeded to fire off words, “Have you eaten, Mommy? When are you coming home? Mr. Featherstone and I have been waiting for forever. Let me tell you a secret – I’ve planted many sweet potatoes in the yard. Grandma says that when they sprout, you’ll be back. They’ve already started growing. Are you going to be home soon, Mommy?”
I choked, and for a moment, I could not breathe. Tears cascaded down my cheeks endlessly as I nodded and said, “I’m going to be home soon. Once I’m done working, I’ll go home to you. Eat well, do your best in school, and listen to what Mr. Featherstone says, okay?”
“Okay!” I could almost see Summer nodding earnestly. “I’m a very good girl, Mommy. I can recite many poems now, and I even know how to write and count. Mr. Featherstone let me take piano lessons, and I’ve learned how to play ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.’ I’ll play it for you when you’re back. I know how to draw too. I drew a beautiful picture for you, so please come home soon, Mommy. My birthday is almost here. Mr. Jackson says he’ll invite Michael and Mr. Johnson to my birthday. It’s going to be fun. So, you have to come home quickly!”
I nodded and tried to fight back the tears. “Okay. I’ll definitely be back before your birthday. I promise to spend your birthday with you.”
Anthony seemed to be talking to Summer at that moment. “Alright, that’s enough for now, Summer. Let me talk to Mommy, okay?”
Summer was reluctant, so she said, “Can I ask you for a favor, Mommy?”
I nodded as my whole body trembled with the force of my suppressed sobs. “What birthday present do you want?”
“No. I want to ask if I can talk to you every day until you come home. I want to hear your voice. Grandma and Grandpa do too. Grandma cried a while ago because she misses you as much as I do!”
Her voice was full of innocence – pure and naive. I made a sound of agreement to hide the guilt that was gnawing away at me.
I left because I knew that I would not be able to provide Summer with the best quality of life. She would have a much better life with Anthony. However, I forgot that she was just a child. To her, I was the only family she had, and she was frightened that I would leave her.
After a while, Anthony took over the call. He must have known that I was crying. Thus, he lowered his voice and said, “She’s doing well here and is very obedient. Jackson and the rest will come to see her.”
I nodded and choked out, “Thank you, Anthony.”
“You’re my wife, and Summer is my daughter. There’s no need to thank me!”
I could not help but laugh and let out a breath of relief. “When the Lavelian Village project is done, I’ll return and spend Summer’s birthday with the two of you!”
He hummed a response, and his magnetic voice drawled, “I’ll be waiting!”
I grinned. The memory of what happened at the base today surfaced, and I paused before saying, “Anthony, have you heard anything from your investigation into the stolen machines?”
He was stunned by my sudden change in topic and replied, “There hasn’t been much news for now. What’s wrong? Did you find anything?”
I nodded. “It’s one of the walls at the base. A normal cement wall won’t produce an echo when knocked – only fake walls will. However, the back wall of the base has an echo. I studied it today and noticed that the outer part was about three feet wide. Normal walls aren’t that wide.”
He was silent for a moment before replying, “You stay out of this matter from now on. Let Joseph handle it. You should just focus on the project in Lavelian Village since the Featherstone Corporation will finish it soon and arrange for a conference as soon as possible.”
I knew he was worried about my safety, so I did not say anything else. At this moment, someone knocked on my door; it was probably Nora.
I hung up the call and went to open the door. Nora was carrying several bags in her hand. When she saw me, she said, ‘I knew you would be at the hotel. I just came from exploring the food street and bought a bunch of tasty snacks. You’ll be sure to love them!”
I lowered my head and glanced at the bags. I reached out to receive them and said with a smile, “You went all on your own?”
She nodded and placed the items down. She noticed that something was off about me and asked with a frown, “Have you been crying?”
I was stunned. I flashed her and smile and said, “I called home and realized how much I miss my daughter.”
She hesitated for a moment before exclaiming dramatically, “You and Anthony have a daughter?”
I grinned and replied, “She’s five years old!”
Hearing that, she spluttered and cursed, “Holy s**t, you even have a daughter. Why did you argue with Anthony? Is something wrong with you?”
I smiled in response. It was a long story, and it was better for me to change the topic. “I didn’t think Lavelian Village would have this type of seafood mix. I’ve been craving it for some time.”
She had bought about ten different variations of it. Looking at me, she said, “My grandfather always forbade me from eating it, so I became obsessed. Now that I’m out alone, I want to try everything. I’ll call Armond over to join us. The two of us probably can’t finish all of it, and I don’t like wasting food.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Does Armond eat these?”
“Even if he doesn’t want to, he’ll have to. I carried these a long way. It’ll be a waste of my effort if he doesn’t eat them.”
I pursed my lips and kept silent. Sometimes, the dynamic between a couple could not be explained through logic and science.
After that, she turned and walked out of the room. I took the food out of the bags. There were about ten items, and they all came from the same food street.
Everything smelled so good, and steam could be seen rising from them. Soon, she came back with a sullen look on her face.
I noticed that Armond was not with her and asked, “What’s wrong? Where’s Armond?”
“I don’t know. He’s not in the room. I called for him multiple times, but he was engaged on another line. He’s probably busy working!” She plopped down on the seat and was visibly dispirited.
I smiled and looked at the warm food on the table. “Then, should we wait for him?”
She shook her head. It did not make sense for us to let the food go cold anyway.
Following that, she gestured for me to start eating. She ate a few mouthfuls of grilled scallops from one of the takeaway boxes and said contentedly, “I finally know what this tastes like. It’s so delicious. I bet that Grandpa has never tried something this yummy. What a shame!”
I smiled and ate a few pieces of roasted meat. It was extremely fresh and flavorful. Immediately, I could not help but exclaim, “This roasted meat is great. Here, have a taste!”
She nodded and placed a pan-seared chili scallop in front of me. “Try this. I’m sure it tastes better than those you had in the restaurant.”
I nodded and tried one. The spiciness and salty freshness were delectable.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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