This was the trauma left by the incident five years ago. Duke said in a low voice, “If I had a choice, I wish our first night together had not caused so much damage.” Adina lowered her head. The corners of her mouth stretched into a bitter smile. How much did she wish that night had not happened? How much did she wish she had gotten married and had children like everyone else? How much did she wish her four children were born into this world normally? How much did she wish they were born into a complete and happy family? “Daddy, Mommy, what are you doing?” Harold’s voice suddenly came from beside them. Adina snapped out of her thoughts. She turned around and saw the children and their fluffy heads peeking through the kitchen door. Each child’s face was filled with bemusement. She quickly took a step back and curled her lips up into a smile. “Dinner is ready. Come in and help serve the food and set the table.” George led his three siblings in, and each child took a p
After Adina left with the children, the initially lively living room became quiet and gloomy. Harold was sulking on the couch as he played with the Legos and puzzles that Melody had not finished putting together. George raised his head and walked to Duke’s side. He asked indifferently, “Daddy, did you make Mommy angry?” Duke frowned. “What makes you say that?” “Mommy’s mood has been a little off since she came out of the kitchen. I thought Mommy was too tired, but during dinner just now, Mommy did not say a word to you.” George continued. “Did you say something harsh to Mommy?” Duke pinched his brows. “It’s some adult stuff. It’s too complicated for a kid to understand.” He did something terrible five years ago. On that night, he had been so drunk and confused that he could not remember what he had done. He would never have let Trent get him drunk if he had known it would end up like this today. However… Duke smiled a little. If that incident had not occurred that
He glanced at the note. It was an English name, Catherine. He remembered it now. It had been at his mother’s birthday party a few days ago. Catherine had sent someone over to deliver the birthday gift, so he added Catherine as a Facebook friend. He had sent someone to check on Catherine’s background a long time ago. She was already a well-known psychiatrist overseas, despite her young age. It was said that she could be ranked in the top three when it came to this line of work in Australia. Duke thought about it for a moment before he finally clicked on the chat box to message Catherine. He sent her a greeting emoji. She quickly replied, “I thought you had deleted me, Mr. Winters. Turns out that you hadn’t.” “I have a friend who wants some consultation on a mental health issue.” Duke pondered over it for quite a while before he sent that message to her. In the next second, Catherine sent a smiley face over with a witty message. “Many people who come to me for a consultatio
“I can’t be any happier. Come in now!” Adina helped the boys to carry their suitcases into the house. Her eyes were beaming with delight. Whether Duke knew about it or not, these boys were not going anywhere today. She finally had a chance to spend some alone time with her four children. Harold had been here once before, but he had not had the chance to come in. So this was his first visit as well. He looked around curiously and touched things with interest. He asked a few questions here and there. The living room was full of joy. George looked around with a solemn gaze. This villa was much smaller than the Winters family’s place. Because it was so small, the living room seemed a bit crowded. The balcony was full of toys. The color of the couch in the living room was pink. The curtains were of a similarly warm color. The decorative items were small furry objects that enticed people to touch them. This home was so much cozier than the Winters family’s place. No wonder
He slowly turned around to look at George. He frowned and said, “Is this any of your business?” “You are a hacker?” George pursed his lips and said, “And it looks like you are the leading figure in the hacking field. So, that opponent I met before, that was you?” Alden shoved his laptop into the crack in the balcony cabinet and stood up. He said, “Yes, that was me. Why didn’t you accept my challenge?” George paused for a second before he said, “I have little interest in hacking, and you should stop contacting other hackers, it’s not safe.” There was a faint sneer on Alden’s face. If he really had no interest in hacking, he would not have registered an account on the dark web. Besides, George’s hacking abilities were clearly exemplary. “I don’t know what you are trying to do by forming a hacker team, but I’m just offering you some friendly warning about this business. It’s best to stay out of it,” George went on and said. He remembered every word Daddy had said to him. There
Ever since she had kids, Adina had never once set foot in the amusement park. Alden did not like to play with such rides, and Melody was afraid of strangers. Therefore, this was the first time she was taking the children to a place like this. She had been carrying Melody in her arms with a protective posture. However, when they reached the amusement park, the little girl struggled to get down and walk on her own. “Mel, let’s blow bubbles together.” Harold was blowing bubbles, and Melody was chasing after bubbles. They had the most innocent smiles on their faces. Adina also smiled from the bottom of her heart. The doctor who used to treat Melody was right. Only love would bring an autistic child out of his or her own bubble. “Georgie, Al, why are you still standing there? Go and have some fun now!” Adina was holding four full-access tickets. They could play with whatever rides they wanted. It was just that there were a lot of people. There was a line for every ride. Ge
Before his anger could even grow, it all disappeared when he heard Melody call him “Daddy”. He picked up the little girl who ran toward him, and after spinning her around, he asked softly, “Did you miss Daddy?”“Yes!”The little girl nodded vigorously. On the other side, Harold was still looking for a place to hide in the car. George pursed his lips and said, “You had the nerve to run away from home, but you’re not brave enough to face the consequences?”Harold buried his head under the cushion and said with a muffled voice, “Hmph. I am a scaredy-cat. What’re you going to do about it? Fight me?”Adina was not sure whether to cry or laugh as she looked at them. “You think your Daddy can’t find you if you hide under the cushion? Come out, darling.”“No! I don’t want to come out!” Harold hugged the cushion and said stubbornly, “I want to stay here today. I want to spend the night at your house!”“Stay here, then. I’ll go back with Daddy,” George said after pursing his lips for
Duke rarely entered a kitchen, or he had never actually stepped foot in one.But lately, he had gone into the kitchen practically every day. He would wash vegetables or peel potatoes, and he was starting to get the hang of things. The kitchen was located right next to the living room in Adina’s modest mansion. They could hear the noise coming from the living room despite the two of them being busy in the kitchen.Basically, Harold was making all the noise as he chased Melody around the living room while laughing and playing.“You’re so naughty, Mel. How dare you tickle me!”Harold rolled his sleeves up and started chasing after Mel. Dimples appeared on the little girl’s face as she ran away while smiling, but Harold caught her and pushed her onto the couch. “Let’s see if you’re still going to tickle me again!”“I’m sorry, Hal,” Melody pleaded while laughing since she was unable to escape.Alden hurried over to them and said, “Let go of Mel, Harold. She’ll get out of breath fr