“Isabel again? Why can’t she quit it? Nothing good ever happens whenever you run into her. Who won the fight?” Linda gave the vegetables a rinse. “Duh. Me. She slapped me, but I mounted on her and pulled all the hair out of her.” Mona flung her hair back. Satisfied, Linda smiled. “She deserved it. It’s high time someone teaches her a lesson.” Mona popped her head out to check on the kids and nudged Linda with her elbow. “Hey, I’m telling you now. You’d better play along when the kids ask about my face. Just say that I had an allergic reaction to the makeup. The kids catch on quickly, so you should put on the best show of your life.” Linda gave her an OK sign to say she got it covered. The pair were busy in the kitchen when the doorbell rang. After an exchange of looks, Mona went to open the door. Standing at the door, Victor had a bag in hand. It contained a few bottles of medicine. “What’s this about?” “I got medicine for you from the hospital. Does your face hurt?”
“Cosmetic allergy.” Mona looked at Linda, who immediately played along. “Yes, Suzy is allergic to alcohol. Her face became like this after using counterfeit products.”Thaddeus narrowed his eyes and looked at the two women who lied without batting an eyelid. It was a lie that could only convince themselves. Even children like Bobby and Millie would not believe it.Moreover, he had the misfortune of bumping into Victor when he came upstairs.“Is that so?” The man asked instead, “Why is there medicine on the floor here?”“I called an errand boy to deliver some medicine.” Mona made up an excuse and bent down to pick up the medicine on the ground, trying to appear calm and collected.Thaddeus did not expose the woman’s lies. He already had a vague guess upon seeing the red mark on her face.He put his hand into his pocket and said, “Didn’t you say the children missed me? Aren’t you going to invite me in?”Mona replied, “Take the children to the playground. Linda and I will eat at ho
After saying that, Bobby turned around and went back to the kitchen to find Mona. He quietly stood behind her without saying a word.Mona turned around only to find that her son had been standing silently behind her. She did not know what he was thinking about.She squatted down and asked, “What are you doing here? Why don’t you go change your clothes?”“I don’t want to go out today. I still have a lot of homework.”“Really? But I didn’t see your teacher assign a lot of homework in the group chat.”Mona took out her phone, looked through the chat history of the WhatsApp group, and confirmed it again. As she wondered, she suddenly thought of something and lifted her eyes to look at her son.“Do you want to stay home with Mommy?”Bobby did not speak and answered Mona’s question with silence.Mona felt a warmth blossom in her heart. Her son knew what she was thinking.Although on the surface, she pretended to be generous and allowed Thaddeus to visit the children, as she watched
Mona blinked and said, “Have fun with Millie. She sweats a lot when she goes all out playing. Let her get dressed well and cool down before going outside.”The man nodded. “Gotcha.”Mona glanced at his face and saw that there was a hint of playfulness in his usually cold and indiscernible expression. Lowering her head, she looked at the man’s shoes, and a dim light flashed in her eyes. “Were you very busy today?”“It wasn’t that bad.”“Your shoes are dirty.”“It’s fine.” Thaddeus remained secretive. “We’re off now.”Mona looked at the man’s back as he left, and a strange feeling arose in her heart.Thaddeus was a clean freak who ensured that even his shoes were spotless. If not for the fact that he was on a long journey and was anxious to rush over, he would not have neglected how dirty his shoes were.Mona watched as the man’s figure walked into the elevator and disappeared from sight. Her heart sank.She hoped that nothing would happen according to what the mysterious man sa
Mona knew that the truth could not be concealed, so she confessed and reported on her battle proudly.Bobby shook his head in exasperation. “Bend down. I’ll apply the medicine for you. Otherwise, your face will swell up like a pig.”He took out the ointment, squeezed it on his fingertips, and stood on tiptoe. Mona obediently turned her face to him.“This medicine was sent by Victor, right?”“Yeah.”“Sigh.”“What are you sighing about?”“He’s actually quite concerned about you.”“So?”“It’s not bad to keep a backup plan. Why did you chase him away?”At those words, Mona knocked her son’s head.“That’s not a good thing to think about. Victor is getting married soon. Aren’t you afraid that his fiancee will kill me?”Bobby finished applying the ointment, screwed on the cap, and sat back in his seat. “Well, fine. It seems he doesn’t like you that much. Otherwise, he wouldn’t get married to someone else.”Mona pursed her lips. “Oh, you get it.”It had become a daily occurrence
“Mommy... Daddy is hurt...”Millie sobbed on the other end of the line. She squeezed tears out of her eyes in a place where Mona could not see her.“How did he get hurt? Where is Daddy now? Pass the phone to him.” Mona was no longer calm and fell into the trap that the father and daughter had set for her.“Hey.” The man’s deep and magnetic voice sounded. It was Thaddeus.“Millie said that you’re hurt. Is it serious?”“It’s fine.” The man paused. “We’re in the hospital now. Millie is fine, but I broke a bone and need a wheelchair.”Mona was shocked. How was being in the hospital in a wheelchair ‘fine’?“Which hospital? I’ll go there now.”“The People’s Hospital.”“Okay, I’m coming over now.”Mona stood up, briefly told Linda the situation, and took a cab to the hospital Thaddeus told her about.When she arrived at the hospital, she saw Thaddeus sitting in a wheelchair and Millie obediently standing on her tiptoes to feed him water. He looked like... an old man who could not t
Just like that, the trio returned home from the hospital.Because of Thaddeus’ arrival, Linda returned to her home that night.Now, the family of four lived under the same roof. The difference was that Thaddeus returned as a disabled patient. If he did not want to be driven out again, he had to perform hard to disguise himself. Even if his long legs went numb from sitting in the wheelchair, his expression was light and happy.“I’ve hired a nanny using your money. She’ll come tomorrow to take care of you.”Before going to bed, Mona came to Thaddeus’ room and leaned sideways against the doorframe, crossing her arms and informing him.The man frowned in dissatisfaction. “What nanny? Didn’t you quit your job? Don’t you have time to take care of me at home?”“I’m very busy with the hospital and my own matters. I did resign, but that doesn’t mean I have nothing to do. Isn’t it more professional to hire a nanny to take care of you?”Looking back on the years when she was Mrs. Fontaine,
“It’s selling like hot cakes?” Mona did not understand what that saying meant.Ben smiled and explained, “Yes, the part-time university students we found went to the dorms to sell the jewelry you designed. They all said that the sales this time were great, and they managed to sell the goods to almost every customer. The demand is catching up with our supply.”“That’s great. How much did we earn?”“I haven’t checked the books yet, but it’s definitely a lot.”“Great!”Mona felt surprised. She did not expect her designs to be best sellers. Her heart was filled with a sense of accomplishment.“The money was intended to be used as Grandpa Gray’s treatment fee. In the end, your husband, as the honorary director of this hospital, exempted all the fees at once. Thus, we plan to set up a studio with the sales profit.”“Wow, that’s great news.”“Ms. Ortega, you should come up with a name for the studio. You’ll be the boss of the studio. In the future, Tim and I will listen to you.”“Me?