“Did you have a fight with Mommy?”
After a moment of contemplation, Evan shook his head and replied, “Nope.”
“If that’s the case, why did Mommy say that you are her nemesis?”
Evan frowned at what the little boy said.
He reckoned Nicole must have spoken that out of spite because she was pissed with him for using Zane to compel her into giving up Juan’s custody.
However, he decided to make up something to answer Juan because he couldn’t let him know the true reason. “Your Mommy must have meant that as a joke.”
“Daddy, it’s not easy for Mommy to raise me up. She’s gone through a lot of suffering and she once even sold her blood just to make money. For her effort of nurturing me into such a healthy and adorable kid, could you please treat her nicer?”
There was a trace of imploration in Juan’s clear eyes.
Meanwhile, suspicion flickered in Evan’s pupils.
She sold her blood…
As a woman who was cruel enough to abandon her own kid, could she have done such a huge sacrifice for Juan?
He wondered why she had not left Juan with him since she had done that to Kyle.
Wouldn’t it have been better for her to just leave both kids to him so that she could have total freedom?
Sometimes, he really found it hard to figure her out.
“Daddy, can you promise me that?”
Juan tugged the sleeves of his shirt in a coquettish manner.
Evan, whose mind was pulled back to reality because of him, nodded. “I promise you.”
“How about you and Mommy take me to the theme park this weekend?”
“This weekend…” Evan’s voice trailed off with some hesitation.
He recalled the last time he brought the kids on a trip together with Nicole. Thinking about the time she lashed out on him at the dessert place, he was worried he might regret his decision to go on another trip with her this time.
“Daddy, please just say yes because Kyle is dying to go to the theme park too. We were so envious of our friends when they told us about their trips with their parents.”
“Let me think about it first. Now, it’s late and it’s time for you to go to bed.”
“Daddy, just say you will take us to the theme park. I’m begging you… I’ll go to bed right away if you promise…”
At last, Evan succumbed to his pestering by agreeing to take them to the theme park.
“Daddy, let’s do a pinky swear.”
Looking at Juan’s eyes which were brimming with anticipation, Evan stretched out his pinky finger and twined it around Juan’s.
“Well, you should go to bed now.”
Smiling, Juan crawled to his lap and wrapped his arms around his neck to plant a kiss on his lips. “Daddy is the best dad in the world!”
Staring at Juan in astonishment, Evan’s cold and stern face broke into a faint grin.
Juan was indeed right to point out the fact that Nicole had really given him an incredibly adorable and obedient son.
Therefore, he should give her credit for that.
When Juan scrambled back to his bedroom, he couldn’t wait to share the good news with Kyle.
“Daddy has agreed to bring us to the theme park together with Mommy!”
“Really?! That will be a golden opportunity for us to help them patch things up.”
Yet, they failed to come up with any viable plan after racking their brains for some time.
Juan suggested, “Let’s hold a meeting with Nina and Maya tomorrow. I’m sure we will be able to think of something with more people contributing.”
“Sounds good to me.”
The next morning, the kids headed downstairs to enjoy breakfast after waking up.
As usual, Maya was the first one to appear at the dining table. She couldn’t help but salivate at the sumptuous spread of food which was served.
When Juan and Kyle took the seats opposite her, she cast a glance in the direction of the staircase before she asked the boys in an undertone, “Is Nina here?”
“I didn’t see her on my way here.”
“I don’t think so because she seems to be in the bathroom.”
After getting the confirmation from the boys, a flicker of light shone in Maya’s eyes as she reached her chubby arm over to Nina’s plate from which she grabbed a prawn and put it down on her own plate.
She paused to think for a second before sneaking the largest slice of pizza off Nina’s plate and stuffing it into her mouth.
While she was chewing, she picked up Nina’s glass of milk and poured it into her own glass.
Watching the scene, Kyle and Juan glanced at each other. “She must be famished,” Juan sighed.
When Kyle heard him, he took a prawn from his own plate and offered it to Maya but to his dismay, she refused to accept it as a person of backbone.
“Kyle, I have enough to eat. In fact, I only took Nina’s food because she bullied me last night.”
Kyle was stunned to hear her response. “Are you sure you don’t want the prawn?”
