“You can tell they are not the original ones?” Zachary asked, looking at the plants, “I wasn’t in the mood to do anything back then because I was so worried. When I finally came around, the plants and the fish had already died. I was afraid you might get angry when you saw it, so I asked them to replace everything with similar ones.”
Zachary glanced at her before continuing. “I pored over the photos and videos just to make sure I know how these things looked like originally. It seems like I didn’t do a good enough job. You realized it.”
It’s actually a job well done. Charlotte almost blurted out. For a moment, she thought they had traveled back in time to two years back.
She had yet moved into Nacht residence back then, and neither had she gotten married to Zachary. That was before she got sent to T Nation.
It was not until she saw the eagle on the balcony that she was shaken back to reality. I’m Charlotte Lindberg now.
We can’t go back to how things were now. There’s no turning back, Charlotte.
“Why did you bring us here?” Charlotte questioned coldly after recollecting herself.
“I just want the kids to be happy,” Zachary replied patiently, “They had never been separated. This is too sudden for them. It might take a while before they get used to it. I just want them to know that no matter what happens in the future, we are always a family. I want them to know that we have each other’s back. Our bond will keep them going no matter what they face in the future.”
Charlotte felt ashamed listening to him. Zachary was a better parent than her.
“Go and rest for a bit. I’ll make lunch.”
Zachary took off his coat and rolled up his sleeves as he walked into the kitchen.
Now, since when did he know how to cook?
Charlotte suddenly remembered that Zachary once made a pot of vegetable beef soup with Robbie and Jamie, but that was still not telling of his culinary skills.
Charlotte tilted her head, thinking, as she walked back to her room.
Her room looked the same too. The orchids were blossoming under the sun and her ledger book was still flipped to the same page beside her bed. Even her laptop was still on the webpage where she wanted to upload photos.
Charlotte did not expect Zachary to put so much effort into keeping this house the way it was.
She walked over and touched her table, her bed, her laptop, the ledger, and the flowers.
Her heart warmed.
“Mommy!”
Ellie’s voice pierced through the silence. Charlotte went over to open the door. “Ellie.”
“Look, Mommy! Deedee, Lulu, and Kiki are still here.”
Ellie showcased her Barbie dolls proudly.
“I accidentally broke Lulu’s leg when I came here last time. I cried so much because of that, but now it’s all fixed.”
“Did Daddy fix it for you?” Charlotte asked gently as she squatted down, “You have to thank Daddy.”
“I’ll go now!”
The girl ran to the kitchen with the dolls in her hand.
Right after she went off, Jamie came in. “Mommy, come here.”
“What is it?” Charlotte asked as she followed Jamie over to his room.
She was stunned when she went in. The Lego looked the same as when they left. It was a spaceship with a few missing pieces.
“I remember Robbie and I were almost done with the model when we had to leave two years ago. We wanted to finish it before leaving, but Mrs. Berry said we could do it after we got back,” Jamie recounted in a flustered manner.
“I remember when I came back during my last birthday, Robbie and I wanted to finish it, but I messed everything up when I accidentally hit it off. Daddy said he would redo it for me because I was crying so hard. I can’t believe Daddy did all this.”
