Jennifer was talking to herself, but Mona happened to hear her. It took Mona a few seconds to understand what Jennifer meant by a “fake”. 'Hah. Even Jennifer knows about it,' Mona thought to herself. It seemed like the real Mona was no longer a secret, and she was the only one kept in the dark. Mona only found it absurd that she lived as someone elseʼs shadow for the past few years and was a joke to others. She turned to look at Jennifer with indifference and distance, “Since you think Iʼm substandard and useless, you should go and find the real Mona. Why did you come to me just to be displeased?” Jennifer was startled. She quickly covered her mouth and acted dumb as she responded, “What do you mean by real? Youʼre baffling. If you donʼt want to help, then fine. I wasnʼt expecting anything from you anyway.” After Jennifer finished, she rushed to leave. It was obvious she was trying to avoid the topic. Mona squinted her eyes and watched her leave. Suddenly, she thought of
Bobby and Millie held hands and ran toward Mona right away when they saw her. Mona spread out her arms to welcome the two little human bombs that were crashing in at full speed. "Mommy, Mommy, where did you go last night? Why didn't you pick us up from Great-Grandpa's house?” Millie rubbed her face against Monaʼs, which was sweet and intimate. Mona pinched her chubby little face with a gentle and doting smile. “I went to have a big meal last night.” “Wow, thatʼs amazing. Did Daddy take you out? Itʼs a pity that I wasnʼt there, or it wouldʼve been perfect.” Millie rubbed her small hands. Her face of full of excitement and anticipation. She had seen the news of the birthday celebration last night. She even repeatedly checked with Bobby to confirm it was a birthday surprise from their dad for their mom. After Bobby finished reading the news to her, she happily danced and even hummed on her way to kindergarten. She was even happier than Mona. Just when Millie was immersed
Bobby was extremely domineering as he protected Millie. He was unprincipled when it came to spoiling his sister. The boy hit by Millie was startled after being loudly reprimanded by Bobby. He sucked in the big snot hanging from his nose, threw himself into his momʼs arms again, and cried even harder. Mona was instantly troubled. It was normal for Bobby to be biased toward his sister, but was he not making things more difficult? As a parent and an adult, Mona could not be biased and had to be a good role model for her children. “Youʼre Jimʼs mom, right? How about you coax Jim first? Iʼll go stall a cab, and we can hurry to the hospital to get him checked,” Mona suggested to Jimʼs mom. Jimʼs mom responded, “Weʼre definitely going to the hospital, but your child has to take responsibility for hitting my son. Quickly ask her to apologize to my son.” Mona ignored her. She turned around and walked to the roadside to stall a cab. Since the incident happened was Millieʼs responsibi
Bobby was referring to Jimʼs mom. Mona gestured an okay sign to him and smiled. “Donʼt worry. Iʼm a superwoman. There’s nothing I can’t handle.” Bobby frowned slightly, looking very much like Thaddeus. “But Iʼm afraid that sheʼll be unreasonably pushy and unforgiving. Thatʼs the worst kind of person to deal with.” “Oh, donʼt worry for nothing. How serious can this be? Quickly get in the car to watch your sister. Iʼll be back soon.” Mona was glad about her childrenʼs concern for her but also felt sorry at the same time. They should be carefree at their age, but they still shared worries like adults. The consequence of being too understanding was bearing things they should not experience at their age. After feeling sad for a moment, Mona picked up her spirits and followed Jimʼs mom into the hospital for a checkup. While they were waiting outside the checkup room, a tall man walked over. The man had an unordinary temperament and wore an expensive suit jacket. It was clear he
Mona was dumbfounded after she heard that. She quickly composed herself and calmly faced the angry and indifference man in front of her. "Sir, since youʼre the principle of the kindergarten, thatʼs all the more reason for you to abide by the school rules and regulations and act according to them. You shouldnʼt abuse your power for selfish desires." Jimʼs dad looked down at Mona with arrogance and indifference. A contemptuous smile could be seen on his face. 'Sheʼs a woman, indeed. Short-sighted with poor insights.' “Babe, are you really going to expel her child?” Jimʼs mom tugged at his sleeve and acted coquettishly with a look of admiration on her face. “You love our son so much. Not every child is as lucky as him.” The man looked at his wife on the side and frowned slightly. He seemed to be a little displeased. “Donʼt simply talk.” His petite wife shivered down her shoulders. She pursed her lips and did not dare to say anything else. "This matter will be dealt with
Millie tilted her head and muttered, “If Daddy is your son, that means youʼre our grandma!” Jennifer nodded. “Yes, Iʼm your grandma.” “Bobby, we have a grandma too!” Millie was excited. She held Bobby, overjoyed. Mona stood on the side and watched the harmonious and warm scene. However, something felt off. It was delightful that Jennifer approved of the two children. Even so, Mona had a feeling it was unreal, as though everything was fake… Mona shook her head and gathered her wandering thoughts. She said to the children, “Bobby, Millie, say goodbye to Grandma. Itʼs time to go home.” Bobby and Millie waved obediently at Jennifer and got out of the car one after another. “Aunt Jennifer, thanks for looking after my children today. Weʼll be leaving first.” Mona thanked Jennifer politely and took the two children's hands as they walked to her car. Sitting in the driverʼs seat, Mona took a long breath. The thought of Jimʼs dadʼs strong attitude made her feel like she could
Mona called Thaddeus after dinner. He was still working overtime in a meeting at the company, but when he saw that it was Mona who called, he immediately paused it. He picked up his phone and walked outside to answer the call. Thaddeus stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window and looked down at the dazzling and glorious night view. He answered the call and put his phone next to his ear. When he heard Monaʼs voice coming from the other end, his troubled and restless mind gradually returned to peace. “Have you had dinner?” Mona started the conversation with a question of concern and casually asked. “Yeah.” Thaddeus unknowingly smiled. Even his voice became extremely gentle and pleasing to the ear. “Iʼm working overtime, so I had some food from the office building. It was too oily and not as tasty as what you cook.” Thaddeus was not indifferent and stingy with words. As long as Mona looked for him, he would tell her every little thing that happened in his day. Was there not
“Didn’t you say your dinner was too greasy? This is something to help with digestion.” Feeling warm and cozy inside, Thaddeus took large gulps of the soup. Happiness was written all over his face. Mona had something on her mind. She watched as the man finished his food while looking hesitant to speak. Noticing her preoccupation, the man grabbed a napkin to wipe his mouth before asking, “What’s going on with the kids?” Mona turned to the side and met Thaddeus face-to-face. “Here’s the thing. Millie hit a boy in school.” “Oh?” Raising a brow, Thaddeus thought he heard it wrong and had to ask one more time. Who would have thought his little princess had a savage side to her? She had the guts to hit someone. That was interesting. The man’s laid-back attitude demonstrated to Mona his lack of awareness of the gravity of the matter, so she showed a photo on the phone. “Yeah. I’m not kidding. Look at the bump on the child’s head. Your daughter did this. Thank goodness the med