Eugene pinched between his eyebrows, suddenly realizing that he was being a little careless. He was too focused on proving that he was the children’s father, and that he had a right to participate and know the truth.
He was oblivious to the fact that if Hector didn’t want him to take the kids away, there were many ways Hector could achieve that, and with great ease too.
“All right, I’ll stop bothering you, then. I’ll check on the kids.” With that, Eugene walked right out of the room. Meanwhile, North had already applied ointment on Carter’s palm. The cool ointment relieved the burning pain in his palm. Terry frowned as he said, “Does it still hurt?”
Carter replied, “No.”
Blake pouted as he said in a slightly apologetic voice, “I can see that Grandpa hit you hard this time. I was the one who dragged you guys down. Grandpa wouldn’t have found us otherwise, and Carter wouldn’t have to be punished.”
To soothe Blake, Carter said, “You’re sick, so you have to get treatment. We don’t mind getting hit on the palms; it doesn’t hurt anyway.”
North chimed in, saying, “Grandpa was looking for you because he’s worried for your safety. He punished you so that you won’t sneak out again. Look, you just turned on the locator yesterday, and Grandpa is already here today. You can guess how anxious he must have been.”
The three children nodded. They knew that Hector loved them to the bones. The children were still chatting when Eugene entered the room. Four pairs of eyes lit up as the children called in unison, “Daddy!”
Eugene smiled as if all his worries were blown away in an instant. Who would be willing to let go of such adorable children? He would give Hector some time, then. After all, he had hinted quite enough today.
North asked, “Where’s Mommy?”
“She’s working on Blake’s treatment plan with Grandpa,” Eugene replied. Following that, North asked, “Then did you tell Grandpa that you’re taking Carter and the others home?”
Eugene said, “Not yet. Grandpa still doesn’t know that we consider each other family now. I think he’ll be sad if Mommy and I take you guys home. Grandpa took care of you since you were young, and he invested too much in you. We have to give him some time to get used to the situation.”
The four nodded, getting the gist of Eugene’s words. Eugene, however, smiled when he looked at the children. His smile was extremely gentle.
Even though Blake was sick, and he wasn’t sure if he could actually take the children home, every time he remembered that these four smart children belonged to him and Olivia, he felt unbelievably happy.
He reached out and patted their little heads one by one. “Why are you such wonderful children? You’re so young, but you managed to find me and Mommy despite the distance!”
The children smiled heartily as they exchanged glances, their eyes filled with glee. When Eugene finished speaking, he felt that something was off. He was sincere in his praise, but he feared that praise like this would make them think that they had done the right thing. So, he added, “But you mustn’t risk your lives like this in the future. I can’t imagine what would happen if you met some bad guys.”
Carter smiled gently. “Don’t worry, Daddy, we already found you, so why would we go out again?”
Eugene said, “You have to inform me and Mommy even if you’re going out just to play, okay?”
As he spoke, he took Carter’s tiny hand and examined it to find that it was swelling. Oh, my! Poor kid! “It must hurt a lot, right?”
Carter shook his head and stayed silent as he looked at the man in front of him. His eyes were filled with admiration. This was his biological father, the famous Eugene Nolan!
Many children couldn’t even begin to envy his good fortune. Most importantly, Eugene was nice to them and their mommy as well. Carter suddenly took a step toward Eugene, then fell into the latter’s embrace. He hid his head from sight as if he were shy and embarrassed for no reason.
Eugene caressed his head, asking, “What’s the matter? Does it still hurt? Let me blow on it for you.”
As he spoke, he took Carter’s little hand and began blowing gently on it. Carter pursed his lips. He knew that blowing. couldn’t ease the pain, but he still felt warmth surging in his heart, and his nose crinkled.
He was a little annoyed at himself. He didn’t even think of crying just now when he was punished, so why would he cry now? Fortunately, Eugene’s phone rang right at that moment, so Carter got out of Eugene’s embrace obediently.
