Anthony met her gaze through the rearview mirror and demanded, “Then, why were you jumping around in the back when Daddy was driving? You even leaned forward to disturb me while I was driving. What if you got injured? Do you think that was the right thing to do?”
Audrey shook her head blankly and said uncertainly, “No.”
“Don’t be so stern. You’re going to scare the kids,” I whispered to him.
Instead, Anthony seemed to ignore my words as he asked Audrey, “Then, what should you do?” Evidently, no one could sway him when he got down to business, not even his wife.
Audrey was not as naive and fragile as she looked, after all. She pondered his words for a moment before returning to her seat and obediently strapping herself in.
Only then did Anthony start the engine of the car and continue driving.
The rest of the drive passed by uneventfully.
I half expected my princess to throw a tantrum once we got home. She foiled my expectations by speeding into the house excitedly as if she had forgotten the unpleasant incident in the car.
When we walked into the living room, we saw Audrey coming out of the kitchen with Anthony’s bunny- shaped cake in hand, which was missing a corner. The buttercream around her mouth tipped us off about what had happened.
She walked toward the dining table as she called out to Gregory and Shaun, “Greg, Shaun, come and eat the cake! Daddy’s cake is so yummy! I love it!”
Gregory’s sweet tooth had him running toward Audrey at her invitation.
Shaun walked over to her obediently and waited for her to “fairly” distribute the cake.
Curious about how Anthony’s virgin attempt at making dessert went, I joined the trio at the dining table.
I saw Audrey passing one-thirds of the cake to Gregory and Shaun while she kept the rest for herself, a silly grin on her face.
The sight brought a wry smile to my face, and I pinched her nose lightly as I teased, “You greedy girl! You’ll wet the bed if you eat everything alone!”
“Nuh-uh!” Audrey tilted her nose in defiance and retorted, “I won’t!”
I smiled at her antics and decided to prank her by taking her share of the cake. “Won’t you let Mommy have a bite?”
With that, I pretended to swallow the cake in one go.
Audrey pouted, though she did not refuse my request. Tears welled in her eyes.
How could I bear to tease her when she seemed this upset? I immediately put the cake in her hands and coaxed her, “There, there, Mommy’s just kidding. I don’t eat desserts. Here, have your cake!”
I stroked her soft hair comfortingly until she calmed down.
Anthony tut-tutted at my somewhat incompetent way of handling our children’s emotions. From where he stood on the staircase, he tossed out. “You’re a mom now. Which mom fights with her kid over food? If you want to try it so much, I’ll make one just for you.”
“Hey, you offered to do that yourself. I didn’t ask for it!” I shamelessly took him up on his offer, my self- control hanging by a thread after watching the children gobble down the cake.
If I knew Anthony was talented at making desserts, I should’ve snuck a few bites before leaving the house!
He smiled at me lovingly before walking into the kitchen. Rolling up his sleeves, he said, “Of course, my wife didn’t ask for this, but I’d love to make dessert for her. I want to feed you and the kids the most amazing delicacies day after day. From now on, I’m going to focus on being a househusband!”
I snorted at his bold declaration, though I held myself back from playing along too much. His ego did not need that much inflating, anyway. “That’s a deal! Gregory, Audrey, did you hear that? Daddy’s going to cook a lot of good food for us every day!”
Audrey and Gregory were ecstatic. “I heard that!”
“Me too! Daddy’s the best!”
Everything seemed like it was finally falling in place, and our life would become peaceful once more.
My hopes were shattered two days later. That afternoon, Joseph entered our house with an anxious expression on his face, tipping me off that I had been too naive about our situation.
“Go on. What’s wrong?” I was not in the greatest of moods at his arrival. My frustration grew at the problems that never seemed to leave us alone.
Sometimes, I wondered why people preferred havoc and chaos over a peaceful life.
“Nora met Shaun alone.”
Surprised, I asked, “Alone?”
“Yes.” Joseph nodded before continuing, “They even made sure to keep Ms. Audrey in the dark.”
“That’s…” I trailed off, sighing at Shaun’s change of heart.
I had been relieved at his choice at the Hall residence, yet three days was all it took for Shaun to change his mind.
I guess children are less impervious to temptation.
I now realized that Anthony’s earlier concerns were not wholly unfounded. Perhaps Shaun had never forgotten how he was abused at the hands of his previous adoptive parents, and he now saw an opportunity to exact revenge for his suffering.
Anthony remained calm in the face of Joseph’s news. Rather expressionlessly, he flipped through the newspaper in his hand and sent Joseph off. “All right. You may leave now.”
I watched Joseph’s departing figure and pursed my lips in thought. Sometime later, I turned to Anthony and stated, “You don’t seem surprised by the news.”
“Should I experience a meltdown, then?” He looked as unruffled as before. The ghost of a smile appeared on his face as his eyes pored through the financial news as if it was some piece of juicy gossip. “If I were in Nora’s shoes, I wouldn’t let go of this opportunity either.”
I shrugged and offered weakly, “But Shaun said no to them in the beginning.” Frankly, I was curious to understand how Anthony viewed Nora and Shaun’s covert acquaintance.
“So?” Anthony folded his newspaper and met my gaze. “To a businessman, anything can lead to a deal. The only obstacle is price and timing. Once the stars have aligned, anything is possible. Don’t you agree?”
I grudgingly admitted the logic in his words, and I saw no point in arguing with him.
Instead, I forced a laugh and teased half-heartedly, “The people in the village are the ones scheming for profit. Shaun is just a kid, and we’ve given him a home. Things might not turn out as poorly as you expect.”
“Let’s make a bet.” Anthony shifted into a cross-legged position and placed the folded newspaper across his knees. “I bet that he’ll disappoint you in the future.”
Shrugging, I accepted his bet. “Why not? Still, we can’t really let him pass on news about our family to Nora. Isn’t there a way for us to test him?”
“We’re in no rush for that.” He lowered his gaze slightly. Suddenly, his body stiffened as if he recalled something. Anthony tossed the newspaper on the table and straightened himself. Then, he turned to face me and adjusted his expression before stating somberly, “The results came out. Marcus’ condition is critical.”
He paused for a while before adding, “I still have a lot of sway in the matter. I’ll be in full support of whatever decision you make.”
Despite Anthony’s upsetting news, I felt a lot calmer than when we were in the hospital. Perhaps it was because I was not in the presence of a thin and sallow patient.
“Is there hope?” I asked.
Anthony replied, “I’ve contacted the best experts in the world, and they’ll arrive in K City in the next couple of days.”
I nodded, confident in his abilities to handle such matters perfectly. I saw no need to question him further on the relevant details.
Camelia’s advice suddenly surfaced in my mind, and I could no longer dismiss it as an exaggeration. “Will you come to the hospital with me tonight? I think a terminal patient needs encouragement more than anything else.”
I seemed unusually serene and rational in the face of Marcus’ deteriorating health. For the briefest moment, I imagined myself to be no different from the doctors who had grown numb to matters of life and death.
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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