Nicole could not help but smile as well. Reaching out to touch Maya’s jelly-belly tummy, she replied, “You’ll be healthier when you slim down.”
“Yoda said the same, and Daddy said the same thing too last time.” Having mentioned Evan, Maya proceeded to question, “Mommy, when will Daddy be back?”
“…”
Nicole looked into Maya’s bright eyes. She could feel her heart being ripped apart once more, and that felt really painful.
Nonetheless, she managed to suppress the pain that was throbbing in her heart and continued with her white lie, “Daddy will be back soon. When he’s back, he’ll definitely bring you to climb the mountain, okay?”
Maya furrowed her small brows and nodded.
In the meantime, Nina let loose a sigh out of nowhere. She muttered to herself that Nicole’s statement was simply a silly attempt to coax a naive child.
If what she said was true, then why hadn’t Daddy come home yet?
Nicole looked at Nina without a word as she continued to bathe Maya.
After giving them their baths, hauling them to their bedroom, and cajoling them to fall asleep, Nicole quietly crept out of their room and returned to hers.
As she sat on her own bed, unable to drift into slumber, Nicole could not help but feel distressed as she remembered the looks in Nina and Maya’s eyes when they mentioned Evan just now.
Standing up and opening the doors of her closet to get her pajamas, she suddenly saw the box that she had sneaked out of Yoda’s room.
Putting down the pajamas, she took the box out and returned to her bed, planning to study it properly this time.
How do I open this thing?
“Passcode. What exactly is the passcode, I wonder.”
She murmured to herself as she studied the box, trying futilely to open it.
On the other side of the residence, Yoda had gone back to his lodging. When he opened his drawer to retrieve his things, he discovered, to his horror, that his box was missing.
His composure sank as his heart started beating wildly.
Who could have taken my box?
Thinking back carefully, he concluded that the box should have been taken during the time between dinner and his return to the room.
His expression was solemn, and after a brief moment of silence, a recollection of memory suddenly flashed in his mind.
He remembered bringing the four children back after their walk and recalled that Nicole had turned back to give him a very strange look.
Even though it was merely a quick glance, she had seemed suspiciously anxious. It had brought to his mind that the moment she caught him looking at her, she had quickly turned her head and left.
Something was definitely off there.
Could it be her who took the box away? Was she the culprit then?
Yoda immediately got up and walked out of his room.
Concurrently, Nicole was still fiddling with the box, unable to open it.
“That darn Yoda. What kind of otherworldly passcode has he set? Why is it so difficult to crack open this box?” Nicole muttered to herself as she attempted again and again.
As her patience ran thin, her anger flared up!
She heaved a sigh of frustration as she finally gave up and chucked the box back into the closet. Stopping to ponder, she considered that it might not be a safe place after all. Wouldn’t her efforts be in vain should Yoda find out and retrieve his box back?
After pouring much thought into it, she ended up storing the box in the safest place possible within her current reach: her safe.
Taking out her pajamas, she confidently walked to the bathroom, having the conviction that the box would be secure. Soon the sound of water could be heard as she stood under the shower. From afar, her figure looked lonesome and somewhat melancholic.
She could not help but recall the scene when Evan helped her with her bath.
Closing her eyes, he seemed to be right in front of her. Reaching out her hand, she could only grasp the thin air.
If only she had known that it would end up like this, she would have asked him to bathe her a few more times.
No.
If she had known, she would stop at nothing to prevent Evan from leaving for K Nation.
Unfortunately, it was all too late. There was no such thing as what-ifs in reality.
She would wait for her four little ones to grow up. Once they had their own homes, she would go to him.
“Evan, you have to wait for me!”
…
After finishing her shower and walking out of the bathroom, she turned off the lights and lay on her bed.
As she was about to fall asleep, she suddenly sensed a slight movement in the corner of her room. Jumping out of her bed in shock, she immediately bellowed, “Who is it?”
Her question was greeted only with silence.
Straining her ears intently, she could no longer detect any more movement. Thinking that she might have heard wrongly, she proceeded to sleep.
In her drowsy and heavy-headed state, she suddenly felt someone touched her. In a sleepy daze, she asked dreamily, “Who is it?”
“Hush, you’re dreaming,” came the low and sensuous voice, seemingly bewitching her in a hypnotic spell.
“A dream…”
So, it was a dream.
Nicole whispered to herself. Caught in a sleepy and tired state, her eyelids felt like they weighed a ton each. Soon she drifted into her sleep once more.
The intruder stroked her cheeks with feather-light touch as his lips curled into a slight smirk. “There is a punishment for thievery, you know.” His voice rang deep and mellow, soothing to the soul.
As he finished speaking, he began to personally punish her for her deed of theft.
…
The next day.
