Odell sat next to her and peered at her from the corner of his eyes. Isabel had woken up some time ago. She was seated in the further back row with Liam. Liam was reading a book. Isabel leaned against his shoulder and stared at Odell and Sylvia in front. Her eyes widened like a giant ball. After staring for some time, she inched toward Liam and whispered, “Do you think Mommy and baddie Daddy are going to get along from now on?” Liam darted a glance at the two sitting in front. He observed the tender, amiable expression on their faces and seemed convinced himself as well. He uttered a short “hmm” in reply to Isabel. Isabel snickered joyously. “That’s great. We’ll never be separated from Mommy and Daddy from now on.” Liam clicked his tongue. …Half an hour later, the car stopped outside the house. Sebastian and Aunt Tonya had been waiting for them outside the house. The car had just screeched to a stop when Sylvia saw them approaching the car. Isabel was
After dinner. Odell had some work to deal with and went to his study. Isabel made Liam go to the children’s room with her to play. Meanwhile, Sylvia stayed with Flint and chatted with Aunt Tonya for a while. Aunt Tonya was getting old and tended to tire easily, so she was getting sleepy toward the end of their chat. Sylvia told her to get some rest before taking Flint upstairs. When she passed by the children's room, she noticed the door was ajar. She saw Isabel and Liam sitting cross-legged on the floor, each of them had a controller in their hand which they were furiously mashing away at. Isabel was the more excited of the two and was shouting madly, “He was the one who killed me. Kick his butt!” Sylvia made a look and hurried past the room, making sure to cover Flint’s ears. It was 9 p.m. Flint was in good spirits, and he was not sleepy either. After a while, she decided to head to the study. The door was half-open just like the children’s room,
The study was filled with Flint’s cheerful chuckles. Sylvia instinctively turned to Odell. He was still seated at his desk, but his posture had changed. He rested his elbow against the table with his chin propped against his palm. He seemed very relaxed and was looking at Sylvia with a hint of a smile in his eyes. Sylvia did not know how long he had been staring at her. He must have seen what Flint did. She felt her cheeks flush red and blurted out, “Why are you staring at me? Aren’t you supposed to be working?” “I don’t know,” Odell said, “I just felt like staring at you.” Sylvia was silent. Was he trying to flirt with her? Her cheeks were seared with red as she gazed into his dashing face. She took Flint and turned to leave. “I’ll stop pestering you so you can get back to it.” She paddled toward the door with Flint. However, Flint did not seem very cooperative and suddenly shouted, "Dad, Daddy..." Sylvia ignored his pleas and continued walking o
“Play with Flint over there. I’ll be right with you,” he let go of her as he said this. Sylvia pulled herself to her feet. Meanwhile, Flint was sitting on top of the table and facing them, staring at them curiously with those large eyes of his. He just saw them kiss! Sylvia's cheeks burned with embarrassment, and she immediately took Flint into her arms. Odell had a satisfied grin on and watched as Sylvia sat on the couch with Flint in her arms. Only then was he finally willing to go back to his work. There were countless undecipherable words typed out on the computer. It was Flint’s handiwork. He patiently erased everything before going back to his original documents. The window of the study was open, allowing a cool breeze of air to pour in from the outside. The day may be tranquil but the study was not. It was filled with the constant thumping, tapping, and various noises produced by Flint rummaging around. Sylvia had done all she could to minimize the
The fine weather in addition to the hypnotic rhythm of Odell’s typing made Sylvia fall asleep as well. Before she realized it, she had drifted off to sleep. After some time passed, Odell wrapped up his tasks and closed the laptop. He looked at the pair of mother and son who were both sleeping next to him and smiled lovingly. It was a heartwarming sight. He carefully took Flint from Sylvia’s arms and took him to the bedroom. After that, he returned to the study and carried Sylvia in his arms. … “Mommy, Mmmy.” Sylvia was woken up by a toddler’s babble. She opened her eyes to see Flint lying next to her and snuggling against her body. Odell was next to her as well. He was lying on his side with his head resting atop one hand. His gaze seemed to penetrate through her. She quickly sprung up from the bed. It was her bedroom, the same bed that she usually slept in. The only ones in the room were her, Odell, and Flint. The two of them were in pajamas. She cou
Sylvia asked without thinking, "Odell, when did you get back?" Odell stared at her contemplatively. He flashed a brief smile and told her, “For quite some time.” He drew close to her as he said this. He brushed a small patch of paint off the tip of her nose and asked her, "Are you finished?" Sylvia nodded. "It's a great painting,” he complimented. Sylvia smiled with reservation. "It's alright.” It did turn out better than she was expecting, but it was still missing something she could not quite put her finger on. “No need to be humble, it's wonderful work.” As he spoke, he raised his hand and patted her head again. It was significantly better than the work she had put out during the event hosted by Master Springsteen the last time. It seemed to him that she was getting back to form. Sylvia whimpered, "I know that, but I’m not trying to be humble.” It was a great work of art and she knew it, but it did not change the fact that it lacked something to m
…Sylvia was woken up by the sweltering heat. It should have been mid-autumn and yet she was drowned in sweat. She opened her eyes in a blur and saw the man sleeping in front of her. He looked very handsome even as he slept. His arms were wrapped around her waist, and she was almost held in his arms by him. She furrowed her brows and immediately shoved him away. Odell snapped his eyes open quickly. After a brief confusion, he quickly registered the situation. He smiled kindly and greeted her, “Good morning.” Sylvia peered at him. Odell let go of her waist and brushed his fingers against her cheeks. "Why did you wake up so early?" Sylvia answered blankly, “I woke up because I felt hot.” Odell paused for a moment, then asked with a coy smile, “Hot? Are you feeling unwell?" He pressed his palm against her forehead to check her temperature, then he shifted his arm to her neck to feel her body heat. He commented, “You’re sweating a lot.” Sylvia tri
Before Odell could make his next move, Sylvia quickly hopped off the bed and went to the dressing area to get changed. Odell looked at her silently. In an instant, all the lust inside him was washed away. He glanced at Flint. Flint stopped snickering suddenly and looked at his father. His eyes widened into two large, reflective marbles. The pair of father and son stared at each other sometime before Odell went to pick him up. Flint began crying out, "Mommy, Mommy…” Odell's face darkened briefly. He walked out of the room with Flint in his arms, but Flint's cries only grew louder from that point on. Sylvia, who had just gotten changed, quickly stepped out of the dressing area. She stepped out just in time to catch a glimpse of Flint being carried out of the room by Odell, his feet wrangling frantically in the air as he repeatedly called for his mother. She felt a twitching sensation inside her chest when she witnessed this picture. “Here’s Mommy, here’s Mommy.