She brought this onto herself.
When she first came back, Sebastian had opted to let bygones be bygones since they had not seen each other in years. He even had a reception party arranged in honor of her. But she had to ruin it all.
Who was to be blamed?
In the end, she only had her strong desire for control to blame.
She thought that, among the members of the Hayes family, she was the one in charge. She wanted to be involved in everything, including Sebastian’s personal matters.
Little did she know that no one really took her seriously.
Sebastian took the two children away without even stepping into the private room.
Matteo, who had watched the whole thing from the sidelines, let out a sigh. “Daddy, where are we going to eat next? I’m starving.”
He felt around his growling tummy.
Sebastian cast a glance his way. He was about to suggest taking them into the city to eat whatever they want but Ian, who sat on Sebastian’s right side, spoke first, “Let’s go to Mommy’s house.”
“What did you say?” Sebastian looked at him in surprise.
Go to Mommy’s house? What does he mean by that? Everything’s going so well, why do they want to go there?
The man was not aware that his eldest son, whom he raised on his own, had spent the whole day with Sasha. They had purchased a new blanket and other daily necessities, keen on settling down for the long term.
Matteo, on the other hand, responded quickly to Sebastian’s confusion. “Yes, let’s do that. Let’s go back to our place. Daddy, you should know, Mommy bought a lot of groceries today. If Ian and I hadn’t been taken elsewhere so suddenly, we would get to eat a lot more of Mommy’s cooking. Isn’t that right, Ian?”
“Right.”
Ian nodded without hesitation.
Sebastian fell into silence.
He did not like what he was seeing.
So, has Sasha managed to bribe these brats into submission already? Seeing how they’re so supportive of her, why don’t I have the honor too? I’m their daddy, after all.
Sebastian was not pleased.
But in the end, after the trio returned to the city, Sebastian took them to Sasha’s apartment complex.
…
“Okay, Vivi. Here comes your favorite drumsticks!”
The mother-and-daughter pair in the apartment unit had no idea that the two boys were coming back home with their daddy. Sasha had just taken out two freshly cooked chicken drumsticks from the oven.
Vivian got excited at the sight of her favorite food.
“Wow, it smells so nice! Thanks, Mommy.”
The little girl quickly picked up a fork and gobbled up the scrumptious meat. Next to her was a bowl of ravioli stuffed with shrimp meatballs that Sasha had made for her. The food was absolutely tempting.
Her two sons were not here with them, so Sasha did not make a lot. The portion was just enough for her daughter and herself.
Pleased with her daughter’s feedback about her cooking, Sasha went into the kitchen to get some for herself, only hers consisted of more ravioli and fewer meatballs.
While the two were in the middle of dinner, the video intercom downstairs buzzed to life.
Who can it be at this hour?
Sasha put down her fork and went to answer the call. When she picked up the receiver, she was not expecting to see the image of her two boys on the screen! She was astonished because she had just sent them off just a while ago!
“Little Ian? Matt? Why are you back so soon?”
“Mommy, open the door quick! We haven’t eaten because we want to have dinner at home. Oh, we brought Daddy too.”
Downstairs, Matteo, who was dressed in so many layers that he resembled a little bun, waved his hand at the camera and smiled at his mommy. Then, he yanked the tall figure standing behind him to appear on the screen as well.
Sasha did not like what she was seeing.
Instantly, she panicked at the sight of the figure on the screen.
What’s that kid thinking? Why have they come back so soon? And they’ve even brought their father with them!
Sasha, annoyed, hung up the receiver and quickly returned to the living room. She wanted to tidy up the house as fast as she could, so that the figure on her mind would not feel repulsed when he entered.
But when she walked into the living room, she realized there was nothing much to clean at all.
Her apartment had always been tidy.
So she resorted to putting away the tableware previously left on the table and placing them in the kitchen. She was discarding the last few items when her visitors arrived at the doorstep.
“Mommy! Mommy! Open the door, we’re here!”
“Is that you, Matt? Mommy, Matt’s home!”
When Vivian, who was still dining at the table, heard her brothers’ voices, her eyes sparkled with delight. She swiftly forgot about her drumsticks as she leaped from her chair and ran as fast as her little feet could carry her to open the door for the boys.
When the door swung open, there they were. Her two brothers were right outside.
Vivian was overjoyed to see them. She was about to launch herself into their arms but stopped when she spotted a figure behind the boys. She looked up, and her marble-like eyes widened even more.
Why… Why is Daddy here?
Shocked, the little girl gave up the idea of engaging in cheeky banter with her brothers. She turned around and scurried back into the house, looking for Mommy.
Outside the door, Sebastian was taken aback by her reaction.
Am I that scary? Vivi ran away when she saw me. Has she forgotten that I was the one who tied her hair this morning?
The man who humbled himself to come here was disappointed by the turn of events. Regardless, he still stepped into the apartment unit along with his two sons.
He stepped into a warm beam of light.
That night, with the owner of the apartment unit at home, Sebastian who dropped by again with the same chilly aura, was finally not as gloomy and cold as the night before.
