"..." Sylvia turned to look suspiciously at what the source of the crowd’s chatter was and noticed that Odell was walking towards her. He was wearing the same black shirt from this morning. Only this time, he also had a long overcoat over it since it was getting cold. His defined figure was very eye-catching to this crowd. Even the other good-looking fathers appeared to be quite ordinary when put in contrast to this dashing man who had appeared among them. He smiled as he walked toward her. It was a very subtle smile, but it had this strange effect of adding to his charm. Some of the mothers who were nearby covered their mouths as they gasped and fawned over him. Sylvia frowned and turned her away without looking at him. Odell appeared behind her. He inquired nonchalantly, "Where have you been all day today?" “None of your business.” Then, the school bell rang and the door opened. A group of children emerged in an orderly manner. Shortly after
The uncomfortable silence lasted until they reached the gates of Odell’s house. Odell got out of the car and went to carry the sleeping Isabel in his arms. Sylvia, meanwhile, carried Liam out of the car. They walked into the house together and went to the children’s bedroom, the one that Sylvia usually slept in with them. Upon entering, Sylvia placed Liam on the bed and turned to Odell, “Just put Isabel down, I'll take care of them." Odell did not answer. He deftly put Isabel on the bed, before going to the dresser where he found two sets of pajamas. Sylvia was bewildered by this. She watched as he promptly removed Isabel's little boots, coat, and trousers, all in an orderly fashion, and proceeded to put her in one of the pajama sets. Then, he did the same with Liam, taking off his shoes and clothes before putting on the pajamas for him. In no time, both siblings had been placed in the middle of the bed, and carefully covered with the quilt. He did all of
After waking up and getting dressed, she took Isabel and Liam to the living room. Odell was already waiting for them on the living room couch. Unlike his usual suit and dress pants combo, he was dressed very casually today. He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt paired with a pair of fitted pants. His figure was lean and fit as usual, and the casual outfit did nothing to diminish his handsome looks. However, it did make him look a little less intimidating than usual. "Morning." He turned to Sylvia and greeted them with a quick smile. A very charming smile. Sylvia ignored him and was about to take the two children to the dining table when Isabel suddenly greeted, "Morning, Baddie.” Sylvia looked over suspiciously. She noticed that Isabel’s eyes were fixed on Odell, as if she had been enchanted by his look today. Sylvia’s lips twitched involuntarily when she noticed this, and she quickly tapped Isabel’s head. Isabel complained, "Mommy, why are you hitti
“Sure.” Isabel pouted and answered in a slightly offended tone, “Of course I know to not go into the water, I’m not stupid.” After that, she sat down by the creek with Liam. Picking up a net, they threw it into the water, hoping to catch something with it. Meanwhile, Odell pitched the tent for them. Seeing that the children were being very well-behaved, Sylvia decided to help Odell with the setup. The tent was ready in no time. Sylvia threw the blanket and pillows that she brought into the tent. Then, she sat under the tent and watched over Isabel and Liam. Liam was sitting quietly, without moving a muscle. Beside him, Isabel was ceaselessly throwing the net into the creek before pulling it back in again, her hands constantly moving the entire time. It was around this time that the sun began to rise from behind the hill opposite them. Beholding the majestic scene, Sylvia felt as if she was looking at an oil painting. As the sun rose, the rays of sunlight
It was a tug-of-war competition between all the participating families. Since there were exactly six groups of families at the scene, it would be played out in an elimination format. Each family would draw lots to see who they would be matched up against, and the winners of each matchup would advance to the next round. This meant it would be a best-of-six, then a best-of-three before moving onto the grand final. The winners would get a mermaid doll. The mermaid dolls were being displayed on a table. Each doll had been delicately made, depicting a chubby and adorable little mermaid. Most of the fathers in the participating families were large and burly men. Sylvia had been separated from Odell while accompanying Isabel and Liam as they went around the area. This meant it was just the three of them at the moment. There was a chance they would not even get past the first round. Since Isabel was very eager about the competition, Sylvia did not want to ruin the occas
“Hahaha…” They began laughing heartily upon seeing Isabel’s confident taunts. Part of it was because they were charmed by how cute she was, but their laughter was also mixed with some ridicule. That was no surprise, considering how Isabel and Liam were a pair of four-year-olds, while both Sylvia and Odell looked fairly skinny. One thing they had to admit was that this was a rather good-looking family. Isabel was so angered by this that she turned around and cried out to Sylvia and Odell, "Mummy, Baddie, we have to show them what we’re capable of!” Sylvia answered meekly, lacking the confidence to back up Isabel’s talk, "Okay." Odell smirked, “Got it.” Shortly after that, upon the referee's signal, they all picked up the rope. Then, the whistle sounded. The rope was jerked into a straight line in an instant. Although Sylvia was not very confident about their chances this round, she gave it her all for Isabel’s sake. Within seconds, she felt the rope be
Upon wearing the dress, Isabel now looked like a chubby little mermaid. After coming out of the locker room, Isabel ran over to Liam and immediately began to ask, "Brother, how do I look?” Liam stroked the hair of her head and complimented her in a very polite manner, “You look good." "Hey, let’s go to the hot spring then.” The two of them slowly lowered themselves into the hot spring, holding hands the entire time. Sylvia followed after them. When she walked past Odell, she suddenly found her arm being tugged by him. Sylvia immediately pulled her arm back and scowled at him. He cautioned softly, “Careful, it’s slippery. Be careful when you go down and make sure you don’t fall.” Sylvia ignored him. She was not an idiot nor was she blind, of course she could tell that it was slippery. She went to the edge of the hot spring. Just as she nervously raised her right foot and prepared to step in, her left foot suddenly slipped on the surface of the slippery
Sylvia’s figure was reflected in Odell’s obsidian eyes. He studied her for a few seconds before suggesting, “Let's talk outside.” “Alright.” With Isabel and Liam sleeping in here, this was not an ideal location to discuss their divorce. They went to the balcony of the next bedroom. There was a table and chairs on the balcony. Several bottles of beer and a box of cigarettes could be seen on the table. Sylvia sat across from Odell. He picked up a bottle of beer and offered, "Would you like a drink?" Sylvia was not a fan of liquor. More importantly, she was not in the mood to share a drink with him so she turned down the offer, "I don't drink." Without saying anything, Odell reached for a bottle of beer and poured it into a glass. Then, he leaned back in his chair, picked up the glass of beer, and drank cheerfully and casually. All the while, he did not speak. Sylvia could not stand it anymore and repeated the question, "Odell, it’s been three days, have y