I do want my memories back, but reality can be so harsh.
“Fine. I got happy for nothing. Very well then, I’ll be going to my meeting. I’ll see you later.”
I had only just ended the call when a knock on the door came.
When I opened the door, Gregory was holding a pile of clothes while dressed in his pajamas. “Ms. Stanhope, I don’t know how to put these in. Please help me,” he whimpered.
“You don’t know how to wear them?”
It would be understandable if it were other children. But Gregory Hall was a child prodigy who could hack into programs and command an entourage. He had that kind of intelligence, yet he couldn’t figure out how to wear his clothes?
“I’m not good at it,” he whined as he looked at me with his little furrowed brows. “I’m going to be late. Help me.”
No woman in her right mind would be able to turn down such a request from an adorable little kid. I was no exception.
“Okay, Greg. I can teach you how to do it, but I’ll only do it once. You’re already six years old. You ought to have some basic self-care skills! Can we agree on that?”
“Yes!” Gregory replied happily with a nod as he pushed his way into my room. He then kicked off his shoes and jumped onto the sofa, waving his hands excitedly.
I couldn’t help but smile. A child’s world was indeed simple. Even a basic task like putting on clothes could bring so much joy.
I only realized how complicated Gregory’s uniform was after I had taken it from him. Just the top alone had three pieces to it. There was the shirt, vest, and coat. There was even a red-checkered bowtie for the collar. When put together, it looked just like a shrunken-down version of a three-piece suit. Even I had almost forgotten to put the vest on him. No wonder Gregory had so much trouble doing it himself.
Gregory started to whine as I continued to dress him for school. “I don’t like school. The kids there are all so childish. They don’t even know what binary is… “
I nodded at his words, though deep down, I was feeling very amused. This little guy knew so little about basic life skills, yet he was so advanced when it came to computer expertise.
Oh, Gregory. Your classmates aren’t the only ones. I don’t know what you’re talking about either.
Worried that my self-esteem might get crushed even further, I hurriedly finished dressing Gregory and ushered him out of the room. “Hurry, hurry, hurry! Don’t be late!”
When we got to the door, we ran into Anthony, who was just about to leave for work.
An awkward silence ensued when our eyes met. I stayed rooted in the spot, not wanting to move any nearer to him.
“Look, Daddy!” Gregory ran up to Anthony and twirled around for him. “Ms. Stanhope helped me get dressed!”
Anthony hummed in response before looking back at me. “Today’s Sunday.”
“Okay. So?” I was still upset by what had happened this morning, so my tone was brusque.
“Which means there’s no school today.”
My face darkened as I turned to look helplessly at Gregory, trying to convey how hurt I was to have been tricked by him.
Unfortunately, the boy thought I was making faces at him, so he grinned cheekily back at me.
I was so frustrated I wanted to scream and pull my hair. I wouldn’t be surprised if I had to endure more of these in the future.
“Oh, right.” I suddenly remembered my date with Emery, so I decided to change the subject. “I’ll be going out later.”
“Where to?”
“That’s personal.” Does he not understand that I’m informing him and not asking him for permission?
After pondering for a while, Anthony finally said, “I’ll be going to the neighboring city in the afternoon. You have to be with Gregory. It’s my right to know of your whereabouts.”
I was surprised that Anthony would allow his son to be alone with a woman he had barely known for a month. “I can bring Gregory along?”
Or has he once again mixed me up with the Sienna he knew so well?
There was a flash of annoyance in his eyes as he grumbled, “Do you want to leave him alone instead?”
“No… That’s not what I meant,” I quickly explained. “If you must know, I’m just going to meet Emery.”
“I’ll get the car and chauffeur ready,” Anthony answered as he made his way down the stairs.
With Anthony gone, I turned my attention back to Gregory. He had fetched his tablet and was now taking photos of himself.
Is he that narcissistic? ”Gregory?”
The boy hummed in response but continued to strike poses while looking in the camera. From where I was standing, I had to admit he did look rather handsome.
I smiled and crouched down in front of him. “Your father said I could take you out to play today. Are you excited?”
“Really?” Gregory’s face immediately lit up. “Yay! I can go out with Ms. Stanhope!”
I rubbed his head lovingly as my eyes darted over to his tablet.
Piqued by curiosity, I reached out for his tablet, and Gregory handed it to me without any hesitation.
Gregory had registered a personal Facebook account and posted a status update with the selfie he had just taken.
The caption was just a simple phrase: Don’t worry about me. Love, Greg.
I didn’t need any explanation to know that he had written this for the late “Sienna.”
As I scrolled through to the earlier posts, they all had the same caption with Gregory in different poses. An inexplicable sadness came over me, and before long, tears were streaming down my face.
I could only imagine how sad Gregory must be to be mourning for his late mother in his little private corner.
I hugged him tight and patted him gently. “From now on, I’ll always be with you.”
Gregory couldn’t understand why I had such drastic emotional changes in a short span of time. He listened quietly and patted my shoulders, comforting me like an adult. As we stayed hugging each other, the sorrow I felt inside me started to spread like wildfire.
It took me a while to regain my composure. Afterward, we left the house and were greeted by Joseph, who stood waiting beside the car.
Although Anthony had mentioned arranging a chauffeur, I didn’t expect Joseph to be the one.
Noticing our arrival, he was quick to open the door. With one hand still on the handle, he greeted politely, “Ms. Stanhope, Mr. Gregory, you’re here.” He smiled at the latter.
My son was delighted to see him. “Mr. Campbell!”
After Gregory entered the car, it dawned on me to ask, “Mr. Campbell, aren’t you busy? Are you sure it’s ok for you to accompany us?”
“There’s nothing to worry about. Also, Mr. Featherstone won’t feel safe unless it’s me.” His voice was earnest.
Joseph’s overly respectful behavior puzzled me. Since he had been the one to gather intel about me, he should know that I am not Sienna. There was no need for him to treat me as such.
But what he said about safety made sense. With Gregory’s identity still a secret, Anthony would definitely want someone trustworthy, like Joseph, to look after him while he was out. “All right, thank you.” After I got in the car, Joseph kindly closed the door after me.
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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