Anthony was never a vengeful man who really minded about petty matters. Louis was relieved at the sight of his casualness and said joyfully, “Alright, let’s eat!” Within seconds, the slightly tense atmosphere in the living room was replaced by the liveliness again. Calling the kids to come down for their meal, we headed slowly for the dining room.
We let the seniors make their ways first and trailed behind them slowly.
I grabbed the opportunity and asked Anthony tactfully, “What’s your plan for Tiffany?”
When it comes to his own flesh and blood, I believed that Anthony would tend to be more forgiving and tolerant. What’s more, Tiffany was apparently not as insidious as Nicholas and his wife. Hence, I bet Anthony would be more lenient with her.
With a look of nonchalance on his face, Anthony continued to move forward by holding my hands and replied casually, “As her elder brother, of course I will bear the responsibility for the sake of her wellbeing.”
I was puzzled at his words and knitted my brows.
Those who had crossed paths with Anthony previously knew well about his temperament. He was a prideful man who would not easily let anyone who had provoked him off easily. Tiffany had deceived Anthony and tried to match him up with Thora previously just for the sake of her own benefits. I don’t believe that he is able to put aside his wrath within such a short span of time!
This man really loves to twist his words and confuses me! There must be some hidden meanings behind his words!
Pfft! He’s overpowered by his so-called pride and self-esteem, just like all the other men. I’m not surprised that he refuses to pour out everything to me at the moment. He surely has some plans in his mind and is waiting for the ideal time to unveil the truth. By then, he would be able to show off his intelligence in getting things resolved!
Ah! Even an outstanding and mature man like him has such a childish mind! Pursing my lips, I could not help feeling amused at the thought. Even so, I decided to let him be and continued to be supportive of him.
It was common for the elderly to lead a systematic lifestyle and have an early bedtime. Even though Louis looked as fit as a fiddle, he was on medication as well. When the clock struck eight at night, he took his medicine and went to bed right away.
The rest of us accompanied the kids while they were having fun among themselves.
Summer was analyzing her favorite mathematic sums as usual; Gregory was attending an online class with earphones plugged in. Audrey and Drew were actually the only ones playing among themselves. Both of them got along well with each other as they both had similar characteristics and grew up in a similar environment. Meanwhile, we were casually chatting while watching the two of them have fun.
When the clock was about to strike nine, Anthony told me that he had to go outside after receiving a call. He explained briefly, “It’s regarding the orphanage. After double confirming with the police station, Joseph found out that nobody has ever lodged any police reports for some of the children. Thus, he doesn’t know how to get the matter resolved. I’ll go have a look and will be back soon.”
In a split second, Audrey tossed her toy aside and dashed toward Anthony. She asked excitedly, “Daddy, where are you going? I want to go as well!”
Anthony stroked her hair affectionately and replied placidly, “You just stay at home and help to look after Mommy.”
“I don’t want!” Audrey yelled instantly and pouted her lips with furrowed brows. “I want to go out for some fun. Uncle John used to bring me to his working place too. Daddy, you haven’t brought me out for a long time! I don’t like you anymore!”
She snorted and stomped as she turned her back toward Anthony. At the sight of her crossing her arms over the chest like an adult, I could not resist chuckling.
Glancing at John who was seated quite a distance away, there were helplessness and resentment in Anthony’s eyes. Oh! Looks like someone is jealous! I bet he’s blaming John for spoiling Audrey all this while. He must be cracking his head at the moment on how he can win her heart again!
Nevertheless, the culprit of the dispute was still adding fuel to the already burning fire by saying, “My dear Audrey, you’d better don’t make things difficult for your Daddy. Not everyone can treat you as lovingly as your Uncle John!”
Upon hearing his words, Emma pinched him hard on his arm and snapped, “Just zip your mouth and stop driving a wedge between them. Both of them are getting upset because of you!”
“Ouch!” John gasped exaggeratively and said jokingly, “How nice if I can have a sweet little princess like our little Audrey! How about we have another baby girl?”
“Stop!” Emma straight away pressed her index finger on John’s lip and snapped at him, “Go ahead to have one by yourself! I would never go through the horrible process and endure the excruciating pain again!”
John leaned closer to her with his smiling face and coaxed her, “Cool down. Think of how adorable Audrey is! Oh! If we could have an adorable little princess like Audrey who can keep you company and be your best helper at home. By then, you won’t be grumbling about feeling bored again since you’re the only female at home.”
Emma glared at him in displeasure. “Are you sure you get what I mean when I grumble that I’m bored?”
“What do you mean?” John was baffled.
Emma was enraged and almost stretched out her hand to pinch John on his arm again. Nevertheless, she put down her hand as something crossed her mind. “Forget about it. Anyway, don’t ever dream of having another baby girl again!”
In an instant, John felt dejected like an inflated balloon. Besides, he could not catch what Emma was thinking at the moment. Shrugging his shoulder, he was silent and did not persist to talk her into accepting his request.
My goodness! John is still as simple-minded and can’t read Emma’s mind after so many years!
It seems he never gets to understand women. Women are the same in general. Other than being tough on the outside and soft on the inside, we yearn for everlasting affection, attention, and care from our beloved partners!
When John tried to track down my whereabouts by all means around the world previously, he had sacrificed his family time for Emma and their son. Since they could eventually reunite with each other, Emma would definitely hope that they get to have more romantic moments with each other.
Nonetheless, John was never a romantic and sentimental man. As a computer expert, he was a bit too realistic in a way. Poor Emma, it’ seems like there’s a long way for her to go before my dumb brother learns about romance!
Looking at how the two of them were bickering with each other, Anthony turned slowly toward me, hinting me to speak up for him.
I used to be really protective of my children, and was reluctant to let them be exposed to any potential challenges of the outer world. As time went by, I gradually understood that the problems could not be resolved by hiding ourselves forever. The exposure to the hardships could be considered as intensive training sessions for ourselves. In other words, we tended to become mightier through the endurance of obstacles in life.
Therefore, I agreed to let Audrey go to the orphanage with Anthony. I decided to reveal the other side of the real world to her, giving her a picture that life was not just solely about beautiful moments all the time.
“Just let her go this round. I’ll accompany her,” I said gently as I stood up.
No doubt kids are innocent and lack courage. We as parents should play our role well and help them in boosting their courage.
Both Anthony and I could foresee that our children would never lead a free and easy lifestyle. Hence, I felt that it was practical to expose them to the outer world earlier so they would be able to experience the uncertainties and adapt better to the various types of challenges in life. Even though Anthony and I would try our best to be their all-time mentor and protector, we had to give them space to be independent.
The moment Audrey heard that I allowed her to follow Anthony out, she was over the moon. Before Anthony could open his mouth to say anything, she was already trotting toward the main door as she yelled jubilantly, “Hurray! I can go out to play now! Time to go out to play!”
I could not resist knitting my brows. Both Anthony and I have a cool temperament. How on earth does she have such a lively characteristic?
Glancing obliquely at Anthony, I was surprised that he actually looked calm and approved it silently. Stretching out his hand instinctively, he gestured to me to hold his hand.
My lips lifted into a smile as I walked toward him. The moment I grabbed hold of his hand, both Summer and Gregory stood up and gazed at us seriously.
“Both of you want to go with us as well?” I asked tentatively.
“Yeah.” Gregory nodded and replied firmly, “I’ll follow wherever Audrey goes. As his elder brother, I’ll protect her well!”
His words really warmed my heart. I was really proud of him.
“Oh! How sweet! Audrey is really lucky to have such a caring brother!” I complimented Gregory and patted his shoulder as a token of encouragement.
I was thankful that Gregory played his role well as an elder brother and was protective of his sister at such a young age. At the same time, I could not help letting out a deep sigh as the dispute between Anthony and his siblings flashed across my mind.
Later, I raised my head and gazed at Audrey. As we locked gazes, both of us smiled knowingly at each other. “Needless to ask, Gregory offers to protect Audrey, and you need to protect both of them, right?” I asked jokingly.
“Hehe!” Summer giggled shyly. There were sparkles in her smiling eyes.
In the end, we agreed to be fair and bring along all three of them.
Drew was the youngest among them, yet he was very observant and smart like John. The moment he saw Audrey and the others step out, he also stood up in an instant and tried to catch up with them.
As expected, both John and Emma tagged along with us as well since Drew was clingy to Audrey.
Both families ended up heading for the orphanage together. It was as if we were on a special family outing at night.
When we finally reached the orphanage, it was already ten at night.
Most of the children there had gone to bed, except those who were brought back from overseas by Joseph. At the moment, they were all gathered in one of the classrooms.
I started to feel uneasy the moment Anthony told me earlier that those children were rescued from the illegal lab involved with human genetic modification. Initially, I thought that those unfortunate children who were abducted for the experiment might be disfigured or even in a gory mess after being ill- treated. Hence, I kept telling myself to stay calm so as not to scare my children a while later.
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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