Larissa forced herself to nod despite the pain. "Much better.""Good, then." Mike's voice was distant. It was even more distant than when they were talking earlier downstairs. "I know a skilled orthopedic doctor. If you need it, I can help you contact him.""No need!" Gary rejected him. Because Mike had defended Kevan earlier, Gary did not like Mike anymore. He was not nice to him. "Do you think our family doctor can't handle an injury like this?"Mike admitted his mistakes. "I was presumptuous. My apologies."To prevent Gary and Mike from fighting, Larissa shot a look at Lewis.Lewis got the hint and said to Mike, "Mike, before I came up, Mr. Brock of SouthSea Corporation seemed to be looking for you. I don't know why, but why don't you go see what's up?"Mike knew what was up too. "Okay." He agreed to it and put on an apologetic look on his face. "I'll be heading downstairs then."Gary did not reply, his face cold. He only spoke after Mike was gone, saying, "Is Mr. Brock of So
Lewis' question was too straightforward, and Larissa was not prepared."Huh?" Her eyes sparkled with something as she tried to fib. "I just thought that Dad was too much, so I said that to make him angry on purpose!""So, you feel nothing for Mr. Rogers?" Lewis pressed her.Larissa looked down. Her fingernails were digging into her palm. She did not want to let Lewis know how she felt. Still, she did not want to lie either.Lewis knew what a long silence meant. "I know your answer." His voice was mild. "Next time Uncle Gary does anything else, I'll help you."Larissa looked up. Lewis was not looking at her, and his expression was still normal."Don't tell Uncle Gary about this." He reminded her. "Otherwise, I'll be kicked out of the house."Larissa teared up because of how touched she felt.Although Lewis had always treated her like she was his biological sister, their relationship only formed because of Gary.She never expected Lewis to choose her when she was in conflict wit
Larissa waited for a long time with her phone, but she did not receive any news from Lewis.She could not help but send a text to him. "So? Has Kevan agreed to it?"There was still no response.Suddenly, the door opened and someone came in.Thinking that it was Lewis, Larissa began to complain. "Didn't you say that you'll send me a …" The last word went unsaid when she saw who it really was."Wait, why is it you?" She was so surprised.Kevan calmly said, "Lewis told me to send you home.""Huh?" Larissa was even more surprised than ever. "Didn't he say that I should stay?"Kevan went over to the bed and picked Larissa up while she was still confused. "He said that he has something going on tomorrow morning. So, he told me to send you to the company after sending Aster to school.""Oh, okay." Larissa was too embarrassed to be level-headed enough to figure out if Kevan was telling the truth or not.Kevan went downstairs with Larissa in his arms.The banquet downstairs had ended
Lewis' voice was very loud. Even if Larissa did not put her phone on speaker, Kevan could hear every single word Lewis said."What do you mean?" Larissa did not understand. "Didn't you tell him to take me home?" She looked at Kevan in the driver's seat in confusion. Kevan's face remained unchanged, but he pressed down harder on the gas pedal.Lewis suddenly was not angry anymore. His voice was much calmer than before. "I did tell him to bring you home."Larissa was confused. "What's going on?""I did tell Mr. Rogers to bring you home," Lewis said. "Uncle Gary was next to me earlier. I was afraid that he might kill me, so I had to act a bit."Larissa did not know why Lewis did not tell her before letting Kevan take her away. Still, she was reassured after she got confirmation from Lewis. At least, this was not some "kidnapping" scheme that Kevan planned."Text me once you get home. I'll be waiting for you at the company tomorrow. Just call me when you get there. I'll pick you
When Larissa entered the apartment, Wendy and Aster were screaming together. They were hugging each other for some reason. It nearly blew Larissa's eardrums out.Larissa turned on the lights. The warm yellow color lit up the space at once."What on earth are you doing at this time of the night instead of sleeping?" Larissa frowned. "Did you see a ghost or something?"Seeing that it was Larissa, Wendy and Aster let out a sigh of relief. They let go of each other."I was watching 'Kornan' with your son." Wendy's heart was still pounding. "It was so scary! I almost died because of it!"Aster immediately scorned her. "You're such a scaredy cat, Godma. It wasn't scary at all!""Who screamed because he was scared then?" Wendy did not spare his dignity as she pinched his nose. She scolded him, "Kid, if you lie, your nose will grow longer!"Aster batted her hands away. He touched his nose like he was checking to see if it grew longer.Larissa took one step forward. Kevan finally ente
As Aster was there, Larissa did not let Kevan carry her. She held his arm and hopped forward that way. Aster quickly ran over to her other side and supported her. He kept nagging her all the way from the entrance hall to the bedroom."Mommy, stop wearing heels!"You're an adult now, why are you so careless when walking?"How am I supposed to be okay with you going to work alone like that!"Aster straight up copied the way Larissa scolded him and scolded his own mother the same way.Larissa just sat on the bed when Aster kicked off his slippers and wiggled into the sheets next to her."You promised me that I could sleep with you tonight!" He was afraid that she would go back on her word, so he clutched at the sheets tightly and wrapped himself into a cocoon. Only his forehead and eyes were shown.Larissa gently poked at his forehead. "I know!" She smiled dotingly at him though she was helpless at his actions. "It's not like I've chased you away yet. But—" Glancing at Kevan who wa
Larissa pressed a kiss to Aster's forehead before rubbing his cheek. She said longingly, "Goodnight.""Alright!" Aster hugged Kevan's neck again. "It's Daddy's turn!"Larissa and Kevan both froze. "What?""The goodnight kiss!" Aster urged his mom. "Mommy, you haven't kissed Daddy goodnight yet!"Larissa was embarrassed and flustered. Honestly, why was this kid so good at pushing her into death traps now?"I …" She was just about to find an excuse to avoid it when her forehead was suddenly touched by coldness—Kevan had planted a light kiss on her forehead, and he pulled away before a second was even over."Goodnight."He gazed at her, the gentleness in his eyes was enough to drown her. The heat from the point of the kiss began to spread all over her body. Larissa only felt hot, and her heartbeat was going insane. She did not even dare to look at him.Hugging Aster, Kevan straightened up. He walked out of the bedroom while he explained to the kid. "I told you, Mommy is a girl and
After Kevan sent Aster to school, he came back to the car. When he got in, his gaze drifted to Larissa, who was sitting in the backseat. She was staring blankly out the window while leaning against the door. He did not know what she was thinking about.She seemed to be like this all the way from home as long as Aster was not talking to her."What's wrong?" Kevan asked her.Larissa snapped out of it and forced a smile. "Just figured something out.""What?" Kevan was a little stunned."Nothing." Larissa shook her head before changing the topic to Kevan himself. "How long are you going to stay here this time?""I haven't decided." Kevan started the car. He looked at her through the rearview mirror and asked, "Why?""Just asking." Larissa casually wrote it off before looking out the window in silence again.Kevan shoved down all the questions in his heart, but his worry just could not disappear. When did this change in Larissa happen? Kevan tried to recall carefully. It seemed to b