Odell frowned sternly. “What did you say?” Sylvia quickly changed her tone. “Nothing. I was just wondering if you were thirsty.” He scoffed. “No.” She answered briskly, “Okay.” He glared at her. She was perplexed by this behavior and blurted out, “Odell, don’t glare at me like that. It’s not like I’m begging you to let me see the children.” “I wouldn’t care even if you begged.” "I know." He glared at her again. She stopped talking and let him stare at her as much as he wanted. After a while, he crossed his hands in front of his chest and studied her expression. He observed how she looked like she had suffered some great injustice and smirked coyly. “So why did you come back? Thomas doesn't want you anymore?" She frowned and kept quiet. She wore a very hostile look and was visibly not interested in engaging in this discussion. He chuckled. “Weren’t you very insistent on going with him back then? Why? Did he get bored of you in just half a year?”
Sylvia grimaced. "I don’t think I’m going back.” “Yeah, I suppose there really is no point for you to go back since he was already willing to dump you despite knowing that you’re pregnant.” His words were filled with unconcealed sarcasm. Sylvia made no further comments. Odell gave her another look and asked, "Is there nothing else you want to ask me?" She looked at him and smiled in an almost pandering way. "Are you in a better mood now?" Something gleamed in Odell’s eyes. He was not expecting her to care about his feelings. He gave a dry cough and answered curly, “Well enough.” Sylvia immediately followed up. "Then could you let me meet Isabel and Liam? I just need a quick look at them even if it’s from a distance.” A cold and harsh look immediately arrested his handsome expression. Sylvia grimaced. As the atmosphere in the room gradually thickened, the sudden blare of a cell phone interrupted the moment. Sylvia looked at Odell’s pocket. He promp
Early morning. "Wow! There’s so much snow! Liam, come out and play!" Isabel bolted out of the living room and hopped like a bunny in the snow-covered yard. In the neighboring house, Sylvia’s room. She was awakened by the familiar noise of Isabel’s cries and promptly got out of bed. The bedroom was engulfed in darkness. It was as if it was still in the middle of the night. She could distinctly hear Isabel's voice coming from outside. She was telling Liam to come out and play with her. She walked barefoot to the window and pulled the curtains back. What came into view was a giant sheet of metal. The sheet of metal covered the entire window and blocked off what view there was. She could not pry it away from the window no matter how hard she tried. She frowned. She noticed no such installation when she closed the curtains before heading to sleep last night. How did this thing appear out of nowhere overnight? She decided to not give it too much thought and
The silence lasted for several seconds. Sylvia was the one who spoke first, “I… I just came out to get some fresh air.” She was insinuating that she was not trying to meet the kids or spy on them either. Odell ordered with a sharp scowl, “Get back in there.” Sylvia grimaced. She did not need him to order her around. She was going to go home anyway. She had come out in a hurry and forgot to put on a pair of slippers or even a coat at the very least. All she had on were two thin layers of clothing to protect her from the cold. She did not utter a word, then turned and headed toward the living room. "Hurry up!" Odell suddenly barked behind her. His sudden exclamation ended up spooking Sylvia. The soles of her bare feet slipped against the slippery snow. She lost her foothold and felt her body plunging toward the bed of snow. Everything happened in an instant. Then, she felt a muscular arm firmly holding on to her. With such strength, she was pulled back to
What? As in he fancied her? A wave of panic coursed through his body and he quickly explained, “Master Carter, I have nothing but respect for Miss Sylvia. I don’t have any other ideas about her.” "Don't you think she's cute?" Odell suggested. He said this in a surprisingly friendly tone. The driver clarified again, "I just thought that Miss Sylvia has a very interesting way of eating. I didn’t mean anything else.” Odell pursed his lips and looked at Sylvia, who was walking along the sidewalk. He reminded the driver, "Slow down. Can’t have her noticing us.” The driver calmed down and answered, “Alright.” ... The people from the house cleaning agency arrived shortly after and they were very efficient with their work. Sylvia’s house was spick and span after a day’s work. She had contributed just as much and thoroughly cleaned out everything in her dresser. She also washed all the clothes in Isabel, Liam, and Aunt Tonya's room. The day was very hectic and
This bedroom was once the bedroom of the children. He pondered for a moment. Then, he opened the door and turned on the lights. Immediately after the lights were on, he saw the figure of the woman who was sleeping soundly on the bed. His stern expression immediately softened. The warmth in his eyes only lingered for a brief moment for his expression immediately sharpened again as he peered at her with a displeased look. Why was she sleeping in the children's room? Was it out of guilt because she abandoned them for half a year? Or did she only begin to miss them after she was dumped by Thomas and suddenly remembered they even existed? These thoughts only upset him further. He felt like walking up to her to pinch her cheeks. That was when the still sleeping Sylvia suddenly shifted her hand to her belly and softly rubbed her belly. She must have been having a nice dream, evident by the sweet, dreamy smile on her face. He looked at her bulging belly. Her be
Meanwhile, in Sylvia’s living room. After Isabel and Liam hopped out of the car, they carried a small safe out of the car. Sylvia was hiding behind a couch. Her body was tensing all over as she stared agitatedly at the two of them working with the safe. She watched as they carried a trolley out of the car. It took a lot of effort for them to lug the safe onto the trolley. After that, they pushed the trolley up the stairs. She held her breath and tailed after them. The two of them reached her room and went inside. She peeked through the crack underneath the door and saw them hiding the safe under the bed. Isabel had to crawl under the bed to stash the safe before crawling out again. She immediately asked Liam upon emerging from under the bed, “Are you sure nobody will find the safe if we hide it here?” Liam was cautiously surveying the room and answered her distractedly, “Probably not.” Isabel pouted. “That’s true, this is Mommy’s house after all. Even if step
Isabel was a little thinner now but still retained her past chubbiness. While she was still relishing the joy of getting to see her darling children again, a large shadow suddenly jumped at her from within the darkness. She saw a familiar, handsome face appearing inches away from her. She immediately retreated a step backward and asked cautiously, “Odell, why are you here?” Odell stopped in front of her and glared at her viciously. “I heard Isabel and Liam came here?” “Yeah, they came here just now.” A thought suddenly occurred to her and she quickly added, “Don’t worry, I made sure they didn’t see me.” Odell narrowed his eyes. “Is that so?” “Yes, I’m not lying to you,” she answered resolutely. “I’m sure you must be very happy to see them.” Sylvia jerked her lips. “Hm.” Of course, she was way happy. “Good,” he answered in a queer tone. She looked at him suspiciously. He directed a gloomy look at her in return and ordered, “Pack up. I'm taking you to