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
“How would you go about it, then? I want to hear your thoughts,” Thaddeus asked Mona. “Come with me to school on Monday. Millie was in the wrong for hitting, but that’s not a reason to expel a child. Let’s try to reason with them.” Thaddeus nodded his head. “We’ll go with your idea. You have my full cooperation.” It was his habit not to waste time or effort on trivial matters like these. He was better off using the time to make money. However, he was not going to go against Mona’s wishes. “Alright. So it’s settled. We’ll meet at the school entrance at eight o’clock on Monday. You can leave now since you’ve finished your food. I’m going to bed now.” “Where can I go? Who was the cause of my arm injury?” Displeased, Thaddeus pointed at his injured arm. Mona pursed her lips in helplessness before conceding. “Fine. You can stay here, but I can’t be at your beck and call like a nanny. I have things to do.” Thaddeus spoke of his displeasure and reflected the hurt in his express
Mona pursed her lips, getting the feeling that the man was letting himself go. There were no boundaries to the man’s indecency once he stripped away his unfeeling front. “Of course not.” “But I’m a normal man with needs.” Thaddeus was helpless. Mona put her hands in the air. “I’m not stopping you from taking care of your needs. You can get with any woman you want. I’m sure there’s a line of women who can’t wait to get into your pants.” The man scoffed in disgruntlement. “You’re just playing dumb.” “I don’t get it.” Mona’s mind harked back to her conversation with Marianne. Marianne said nothing would happen even if Thaddeus were alone in a room with a woman. At one point, Marianne had her suspicions that Thaddeus was asexual. Thaddeus nodded his head in annoyance. His arms drooped as he croaked, “But I only want you. All I want is you.” Mona dropped her jaw. The sudden love confession came out of nowhere. The first thought to jump into her mind was to run away. Sh
Thaddeus’s daughter’s cheerful giggles swept away all his frustrations and annoyances. He had never felt better. Lifting his arms up high, Thaddeus hurled Millie into the air. “Are you happy, my precious daughter?” Millie chuckled and replied, “I am! I am!” The smile on Millie’s face drove Thaddeus to work harder to make her happy while ignoring the throbbing pain coming from his injured arm. The laughter and chatter of the father and daughter echoed through the stairs, waking Mona and Bobby up. Mona rubbed her eyes as she lay in bed and monitored to frolic downstairs, suddenly realizing what a comfortable environment it was to be in. It seemed as though she woke up on the right side of the bed. She sat up and stretched, feeling refreshed in the morning. Mona got out of bed, put on her fluffy slippers, and went to wash up. After a change of clothes, she made her way to the stairs and stood by the staircase as she picked up on the conversation between the father and daugh
“We’ve got to play good cop and bad cop. Otherwise, it will be hard on the child.” Mona was in a daze as Thaddeus had a point. She had jumped the gun. “Don’t cry, Millie. Come on. Let me hold you.” Thaddeus lowered his head and looked tenderly at Millie. He lovingly caressed her eyes and spoke with love and patience. “My bum hurts.” Millie jumped into Thaddeus’s arms and whined while rubbing her snot and tears on Thaddeus. Thaddeus took the bad with the good, laying aside that he had a thing against germs. Mona was moved to witness the deep bond between the father and daughter. There was a certain appeal to the man when he was earnest and patient. She looked away and proceeded to get breakfast when her gaze fell on the man’s arm. Mona was startled by the blot of red spreading across the sleeve of his shirt. “Your arm is bleeding.” It was then Thaddeus turned his attention to his injury. He took a fleeting glance. “It’s fine. It won’t kill me.” “Why aren’t you more c
The teachers were waiting in the faculty office when Mona and Thaddeus dropped the kids off at school on Monday morning. The principal had given out an order on Sunday to settle the fight between Jim and Millie once and for all. The instruction overtly and covertly put pressure on the homeroom teacher to expel Millie from school. Since it was a direct order from above, the teacher had no choice but to comply. Besides, Millie struck the boy so hard that the boy needed medical attention. There had to be consequences for the committed offense. Mona and Thaddeus stepped into the office one after the other, and the teachers in the room lifted their heads to turn toward the imposing presence. Their attention was instantly drawn to the beautiful couple. Thaddeus was of a lanky build, and his sharp suit gave prominence to his lofty height. Next to him, Mona was petite, and her translucent skin was clear and glowing. Like the main characters in a soap opera, they made a grand entrance.