Odell sized him up and answered blankly, “Because we have cleaners come by from time to time.” “Do they clean the room me and my sister used to sleep in?” “Yeah.” “Do they change our bedsheets?” “Yeah.” Liam grimaced. He was still standing stoutly without the slightest hint of wanting to leave. After a prolonged standstill, he looked around the dark house and frowned before asking suspiciously, “Are you sure Mommy didn’t come back?” When they came here this morning, he was sure he caught the scent of his mother. Odell fell silent for a few seconds before declaring, “No.” It was not so much that he was not willing to let them see their mother, but that the wretched woman did not have the right to see them this easily! Liam turned to Isabel. “Come on, let's go back." "Okay,” Isabel answered with a firm nod. There was a clear look of disappointment on their faces. Odell frowned and glanced in the direction of Sylvia's room. Then he followed them a
After dinner, Sylvia grabbed a chair and sat by the wall where she continued to listen to any form of movements on the other side. Even after several hours had passed, she heard nothing remotely resembling Isabel and Liam chattering on the other side. It was Sunday. Were they not at home? After she pondered for a while, she reluctantly grabbed her phone and selected Odell’s contact. She hovered her finger back and forth over the keyboard for some time and after some more consideration, she sent a message: “Hey, good afternoon.” Followed by a cute smiling emoji as usual. Ten minutes passed, then half an hour… Then three hours had passed, and he did not answer. He was probably not going to reply at all by this point. Sylvia put the phone back in her pocket. The sky was slowly darkening by this point. Just as she was about to head back into the house, she suddenly heard what sounded like a car parking in front of the gate. She perked up with alertness and imm
Odell went into his house as well. The engine of the white luxury car roared. Upon entering her car, Lily put on a pair of sunglasses. When she drove past Sylvia’s house, she cast a brief sidelong glance at the house before directing her eyes back to the road and going on her way. ... Meanwhile, Sylvia made herself a simple bowl of noodles. After she finished eating, she went to the wall to listen for any signs of movement to gauge what Isabel and Liam were doing. There was nothing to be heard. They must have been exhausted from the day of activities. After she sat for a while, she went back to the living room. It was very quiet and she was beginning to get bored. She sat on the couch and reached for the remote to turn on the television and proceeded to put on a show to watch. Shortly after that, she began to feel tired and let out a long, dragged-out yawn. Her head felt groggy with sleep. After an indiscernible amount of time passed, she had the bri
Odell frowned with irritation. “Why are you turning away?” Was this her way of expressing her sorrow and emptiness? A show of her somber state? “Does this make you feel better?” Sylvia asked. Odell was puzzled by this. “Next time, let me know in advance before you come here. That way, I can get something like a shawl to cover my face so you won’t have to look at my face again." After a pause, she asked again, "Does this make you feel better?” Odell was speechless. Did she think that her face was the reason for him being upset? A burst of vexation rushed up to his head. He walked up to her in just a few large strides. Then, he clasped his large palms around her chin and made her turn to face him. His laser eyes seemed like they were going to bore holes into her. “Is something wrong with your head?" Sylvia narrowed her eyes and answered, “Not that I know of.” He glared at her. She immediately changed her tone. “If you think there’s something wrong, the
The house was very quiet, so quiet that only her breathing could be heard. It was rather boring, so after sitting for a while, she grabbed her coat and walked out of the house, intending to go to the nearby street for a stroll. Meanwhile, inside a car somewhere else that had just merged onto the highway, the driver was driving attentively. Odell sat by himself in the backseat. Ding ding. His phone chimed. He opened it and saw that it was a message from Lily. “Hey, I’m all ready. Are you done with work yet?” He texted his reply and sent it, “I just finished work. I’ll just have a quick look at the kids, and then I’ll come meet you.” “Okay, then I'll wait for you at the restaurant first.” “Okay.” He put away his phone and looked out of the car window. … The cold wind blew across the street, sending dry leaves rattling everywhere. It was colder than Sylvia had imagined. She suddenly regretted even coming out, but there were still two junctions until s
An hour later, Sylvia was admitted to the hospital. After treatment, her condition was returned to a stable state. Although she still felt some tightness in her stomach, she was not in pain anymore. Still, she had to stay hospitalized for several days. She leaned back against the head of the bed and looked weakly at the man standing by the door. He was leaning against the wall, his posture seeming rather laidback, but his eyes conveyed a different impression as he stared at her with grim intensity. It took a while for Sylvia to pluck the courage to thank him. "Thank you." He looked at her harshly. "Damn right you have to thank me. If I hadn’t run into you, your baby would probably have been gone by now.” Sylvia pursed her lips. The doctor attending to her informed her that if Odell brought her to the hospital just a little later, it might have been over for the unborn child. Odell was her life savior tonight. Her eyes gleamed and she thanked him again. "Thank you
Lily read the message Odell had just sent to her phone and immediately frowned irritably. Half an hour ago, she had texted him to ask whether he was on his way. His reply was: “Sorry, something came up. Let’s eat next time.” When she asked Odell what had come up so urgently, he did not reply again. After a while, she took a deep breath and called her assistant. Her assistant picked up within the first few rings, and she immediately ordered, “Get in touch with Odell’s driver. Ask him where Odell has been tonight.” The assistant hurriedly replied, “Alright, Miss, I’ll have that done right away.” ...... The next morning, the nurse woke Sylvia up. She got up and washed up, then she had a hearty breakfast. The weather was rather pleasant today, and the warm sun shone into the room through the window slits. The nurse watched Sylvia very closely to make sure that she would not leave the ward, so she had to return to bed. The sunlight shone from such an angle that
Sylvia lay down again after Lily left. She pulled the quilt over her head to block the sunlight from shining into the room. Meanwhile, Lily stepped out and immediately ran into Odell who was next to the doorway. His tall and lanky figure was leaning against the wall next to the door, and there was a distinctly dark look on his handsome face. Lily took a step back, startled by the sight of him. “Odell? Why are you here?" Odell glared at her with mild contempt. "I should be asking you the same question." A look of panic flashed across Lily’s face, then she promptly explained, "I'm sorry, I should have told you before I came. You didn't reply to my message last night, and I became concerned that something bad happened to you, so I got in touch with your driver. That’s how I found out that you brought Miss Sylvia here, so I figured I’d come to visit her as well.” “You came to visit her?” There was a tint of ice in his voice, and his current expression seemed almost demoni