Xavier felt nothing when he heard Noah's whining—neither fondness nor irritation. He just thought a boy Noah's age should be doing more meaningful things than acting like a baby."I'm not going," he stated. He was busy with the acquisition of Yandell Group.Noah just then realized that his bastard father might be dumber than he appeared. Although he was tempted to give up on trying, he held back his disappointment. "Alright, it's okay if you're not coming. Mr. Aaron and Mr. Septer will be there, and we'll set up tents together and eat together. Mr. Aaron loves Mom's cooking."Aaron? Xavier was puzzled and quietly wondered, "Who's this new guy?""I'll be there the day after tomorrow." Xavier interrupted before Noah could say anything else.Noah's big, round eyes lit up instantly. "Really?""Yes. Sleep early." With that, Xavier hung up.Only then did Noah lie down to sleep peacefully. Lately, his body hadn't been hurting as much. The thought of camping with his family made him e
Kiki sighed. She’d already known that a super handsome guy would join them on the camping trip. With Tristan along for the ride, how was she supposed to boldly flirt with the handsome man?"Well, it's fine; the more the merrier," Yvette remarked. Since Archibald was so eager to pair Tristan and Kiki together, as Kiki's friend, Yvette didn't want to sabotage that."Are you all going to ride together?" she asked."Mom, I'll ride with you and Noah," Zachary replied. He was fully aware that if he rode with Kiki, he would have to hear the endless bickering between her and Tristan on the way."Yvvy, I want to ride with you too," Kiki chimed in. Then she called out to Tristan, "You drive yourself; we'll take one car."Tristan frowned at Kiki's request. "Got it," he replied.Once Kiki and Zachary got in the car, the three women quickly began chatting, growing familiar with one another in no time. The drive to Mount Maple took over two hours.Aaron had sent them the location early th
"Aaron, I used to listen to your songs all the time. Your voice is amazing! Could you give me an autograph?" Kiki gushed, starstruck.Aaron smiled, "Of course. We can also exchange contacts. You're Yvvy's friends, so you're my friends too.""Sure!"Kiki and Lillian were so excited that they almost jumped with joy.Seeing that they were getting along with Aaron, Yvette stepped aside to take photos of Noah and Zachary.Zachary, wearing a The Simpsons outfit Yvette had bought for him, looked rather sullen."Zac, smile, smile," Yvette reminded him.Noah tugged on an elephant on Zachary's clothes. "Zac, smile."Zachary's expression only became more sour as he forced a reluctant smile. His expression was in stark contrast to Noah's bright grin next to him."Alright, let's try another pose."Yvette loved taking pictures of the two little ones.After a few shots, she couldn't resist calling Ray over. "Ray, come here and take a photo with Noah and Zac."Yvette considered Ray more th
"Are you okay?" Aaron asked.Lillian's cheeks flushed as she shook her head. "I'm fine."It was hard not to blush when faced with someone so handsome. She tried to reassure herself by thinking that Mark was handsome too. Little did she know that Mark and Xavier were already on their way. In fact, they were driving up to the spot where she was standing.On the way, Mark had been explaining to Xavier, "He's just some celebrity—a fancy boy, really. With everything going on at the company lately, I've been too busy, and that allowed him to slip back from Akreelia without anyone noticing."Mark had said this calmly enough at first, but the moment they arrived at the foot of the hill and he saw his blushing fiancée in Aaron's arms, his gaze started to burn."Bastard!" Mark could hardly pay attention to Xavier anymore. "Mr. Lane, I need to take care of something. Could you wait for me for a moment?""Sure," Xavier replied.Mark then rushed out of the car, heading straight for Lillian
The tall and well-proportioned man was dressed in a well-tailored suit and exuded an imposing presence.Aaron watched as Xavier walked over. Even though Xavier couldn't see, Aaron still felt an inexplicable sense of pressure."Xav," Tristan called out."Yeah," Xavier responded with a simple acknowledgment.For some reason, as soon as Xavier arrived, the atmosphere instantly turned cold, and everyone seemed uneasy.Yvette was puzzled. At first, she'd thought Mark had come because he'd been worried about Lillian, but now it seemed like that wasn't the case. Since Aaron was present, Yvette couldn't directly question Xavier about why he had come.Instead, she suggested, "Should we find a place to rest for a bit?"Aaron quickly replied, "I've already booked a place at the inn not far ahead. But I didn't expect there to be so many people. We might have to squeeze in a bit.""No problem," Kiki, ever the fearless person, instructed, "Tristan, Mark, and Xavier, you're all extras. You
"Everyone, let's eat first," the owner announced.With that, the group went to the dining room on the first floor, where the dining table was filled with simple but appetizing home-cooked dishes.Aaron spoke up. "We'll eat here today. Tomorrow, we'll go hiking and camp in tents."The ladies were pleased with his arrangements.However, it wasn't long before exquisite dishes were sent up the mountain.Tristan said, "Aaron, we can't let you treat us all by yourself. I ordered some food to be brought up."With a smile, Aaron took off his mask, revealing his strikingly attractive face. "Alright, I'll make sure to enjoy myself as well."Tristan became even more convinced that he didn't like the sight of Aaron.After the meal, he quietly warned Xavier, saying, "Xav, you need to watch out. Aaron looks really..." Not knowing how to describe it, Tristan used Claude as a comparison. "He's even better looking than Claude. Also, he doesn't look a day older than 25."Xavier had never seen w
Upon hearing this, Xavier couldn't help but reply coldly, "They are my sons. Of course, I can be patient with them and will treat them well."Feeling reassured, Yvette continued to stay with the children.As night fell, everyone returned to their rooms to rest.Noah hugged Xavier's thigh, asking, "Stinky Dad, you can't go anywhere tonight. The four of us need to sleep together, okay?"As soon as he said that, everyone around turned to look at them.Before Xavier could respond, Zachary snapped, "Noah, are you a kid? Mr. Aaron has already arranged rooms for you and I. We're sleeping together."For some reason, Kiki chuckled when she heard Zachary call Noah a kid. "Zac, you're the same age as your little brother."Zachary shot her a glare. Seeing that, Kiki thought Zachary was becoming increasingly unlikable.Noah's eyes were teary as he pleaded, "I want to sleep with Mom and Dad. Zac, you're an adult, so you can sleep alone."Zachary felt like he was going to explode from anger.
"Are you asking for my help?" Yvette asked in return.Xavier was a proud man. Even when he needed help, he had to go about it in circles, not wanting to actually say the word "please".Xavier's thin lips pressed tightly together. After a long moment, he finally squeezed out one word. "Yes.""That's not how you ask for help. At least be polite. Try again—what do you want to ask me for?" Yvette seized this rare opportunity to make things difficult for him. It would be a disservice to the hurt she had suffered in the past if she let him off easily.Xavier now wanted nothing more than to dock Mark's pay for abandoning him with Yvette and leaving him on his own.He had mild OCD. Without washing up, there was no way he could sleep, especially since he was in an unfamiliar place. Besides, even if he didn't wash up, he would still need to use the bathroom.Yvette was clearly taking advantage of the situation."Please take me to wash up," Xavier uttered and immediately regretted it.H