Dinner lasted for over an hour.
The meal might not be as rich as the food in hotels but, because it was entirely prepared by Sasha, the children showed their utmost support. They asked for seconds, even third helpings until they were completely stuffed.
“Ian, do you like Mommy’s meatballs? It’s made from shrimp.”
“Yes, I do!”
Ian stabbed the last meatball with his fork and nodded without hesitation when Vivian asked him.
The girl was happy to hear that.
She was Mommy’s loyal fan. She would support her mommy no matter what.
But when Vivian turned to look at Daddy to ask the same question, she was suddenly spooked by the look he had on his face as he stared longingly at the plate in front of him. Her face turned pale. She did not dare to say anything after that.
What’s Daddy looking at? Why does he look so scary all of a sudden?
It was as if Sebastian had just witnessed something unfathomable. Grave horror could be seen projected in those dark eyes of his!
What’s up with Daddy? Does he not like Mommy’s cooking?
The little girl had a bad feeling about it.
Sasha did not notice that. She was doing the dishes in the kitchen. The children, after they finished their food, had left a pile of dirty dishes for her to clean.
Therefore, she was not in the mood to take note of him.
If she had looked his way, she might not have stayed calm while she went about her duties.
It was a long-standing habit of hers. Sebastian never liked peeling oranges himself. He did not like having the sweet, sticky feeling of orange juice stuck on his fingers.
So, back then, whenever she went to see him in secret, she would peel an orange, cut them into several pieces, plant a toothpick on one of them, and slip the dish under his door while the Hayes family was away.
How long have I been doing that?
Sasha could not remember clearly. The first time she did it, she was in her first year of elementary school. By the time he was sent abroad, she had graduated from elementary school.
As Sasha was doing the dishes in the kitchen, she thought about the promise she had made to their eldest son. She contemplated how she should tell Sebastian that Ian could stay here.
“Little Ian, can you help me serve the grapes?”
“Okay.”
Ian, who had been playing with Matteo, immediately rose and went to the kitchen to help Mommy with the grapes.
“Little Ian, listen to me. Although we have decided that you can stay here tonight, we still have to tell Daddy, alright? Can you please take these grapes to Daddy and tell him that?”
Sasha felt like a coward for sending her eldest son out to confront Sebastian.
Of course, Ian would not expose Mommy’s true intentions. At the same time, he was happy to do what he was told.
But when he brought the grapes out, he could not find Daddy in the living room. While he was wondering where Daddy could be, he noticed that the door to Mommy’s room was left open.
Has Daddy gone into Mommy’s room?
Ian approached the room with the grapes on a platter.
Just as he thought! When Ian got to the door, he spotted Daddy inside.
However, he was puzzled to see Daddy flipping through the books on Mommy’s study table like he was looking for something. Several books on Mommy’s table, which was usually so neat and tidy, had been turned over and strewn about.
What’s Daddy doing?
Ian stepped into the room. “Daddy, what are you doing?”
Sebastian, who had been feverishly flipping through the books as though possessed, froze when his son called him.
What am I doing?
In fact, Sebastian was not sure himself. It could be that the idea he hatched just a moment ago had been so scary that he felt the urge to search for evidence. He could be wrong.
But, what if he wasn’t?
He looked at the medical book in his hands, lost in a daze. For a long time, he did not look away from the annotations scribbled on the pages inside.
“Daddy, I want to stay here for the night.”
“What?”
“I’m not going to leave you, but I like having Mommy, Matt, and Vivi by my side. I… I like how tonight turned out.”
Ian tried his best to express what he really meant.
Indeed, he had never thought about leaving Daddy, but he really enjoyed spending time in Mommy’s apartment that night. He had his mommy, his brother, and his sister here to keep him company. It was much better here than Royal Court One, where it was cold and lonely.
Ian lifted his head and glanced hopefully at his daddy.
In the past, whenever he made the request, Daddy might give him one of his dirty looks as an indication of disapproval. This time, surprisingly, after Ian waited anxiously for a response, his daddy did not oppose.
“Got it. I’ll pick you up tomorrow.”
“Okay…”
The whole process went shockingly well.
Ecstatic, Ian sprinted out of the room with the platter of grapes. He was in a hurry to tell Mommy the good news.
Sasha, who was in the kitchen waiting for Ian to come back with an update, could not believe her ears as well. “Did Daddy really say yes?”
“That’s right, Mommy.”
Under the bright lights of the kitchen, the little boy’s eyes shone so brightly that they might as well be glowing.
Upon seeing those eyes glinting with excitement, Sasha concluded it must be true. She allowed Ian to resume playing with his siblings while she stayed to clean up the kitchen. After she was done, she left to check on her guests.
“Hey… what happened to you? You don’t look so well.”
As soon as Sasha arrived at the living room, she ran into Sebastian who had just come out of her bedroom. Within the span of ten minutes, that man seemed to have transformed into a totally different person. His face, drained of color, was scarily pale.
