Chapter 173
Dinner took a long time, mainly because Lillian and Kevin ate slowly. They would eat for a while, then start playing, unable to stay still despite the adults‘ reminders. However, the good news was that although Lillian and Kevin liked to move around during meals, they were both well–behaved eaters. They ate whatever they were given and finished everything without being picky. Jeremy was even more obedient. He did not need any urging from the adults and proactively finished all the food on his plate.
After the meal, Stacey decided to take the three little ones for a walk in the residential area. Jeremy was very curious and looked around with wide–eyed wonder as soon as they entered the residential area garden. Quietly, Stacey snapped a photo of Jeremy, Lillian, and Kevin playing together in the sandbox at the children’s playground. She opened WhatsApp and sent the picture to Hayden. Jeremy was only three years old and staying at someone else’s home without him, so she figured Hayden might be worried. Stacey thought that sending him a few photos of the children having fun would put him at ease.
At Hoggard Technologies, the nighttime lights had been switched on in the CEO’s office on the top floor. Hayden had returned after dinner to continue working overtime. He needed to finish his tasks before he could make time to pick up his son from the Carter family. Although Hayden was the boss, working overtime to catch up with the schedule was exhausting. However, he didn’t expect that tonight’s overtime would be different from any before.
His phone in the drawer suddenly chimed with a special alarm he had set exclusively for messages froto family. Instinctively, Hayden took out his phone to check. He was initially stunned but then pleasantly surprised Hayden had nearly forgotten that he had set a special alarm for Becky, so this distinct sound would play whenever she sent him a message. Opening the message, he saw a photo of three children playing in the sandbox. It seemed Becky sent it to reassure him about Jeremy. She might be afraid that he would worry about the child, so she sent him photos.
A faint smile appeared in Hayden’s eyes as he examined the photo closely. Jeremy was playing joyfully with Becky’s children, and it was clear even from the photo. It seemed that the incident from a few days ago had affected Jeremy less than before. Looking at the photos, Hayden couldn’t help but imagine the angle and appearance of Stacey taking photos of the children with her phone. Since she captured the children so adorably, she had to have been full of maternal love and very gentle while taking the pictures. With this thought in mind, Hayden opened his office drawer and took out a small wooden duck, covered in bite marks, to play with. He then replied to her Jeremy looks really happy–l
On the other side, Stacey saw Hayden’s message and quickly responded: [Yes, Jeremy is very well–behaved. He’s nice to Lillian and Kevin when he’s with them. Jeremy is so considerate.
Hayden mused, Jeremy’s nice to Lillian and Kevin?‘ He chuckled at her words, and his gaze fell back on the photo. Indeed, Jeremy and Becky’s children looked very harmonious together. Hayden thought, ‘It seems that Jeremy really likes Becky and everything associated with her, including her children. Hayden texted in response: [Yes.] After a moment of thought, he took a photo of his office and sent it to Becky.
Stacey was surprised to see that he was still working and texted him: [Are you still working?]
Hayden texted back: [Yes.]
Stacey quickly replied: [I won’t disturb you further then. You can focus on your work, Jeremy is doing great here, so there’s no need to worry about him.]
Hayden replied: [Okay.]
Their chat ended, and Stacey glanced at the chat box before looking at Jeremy, who was still playing. She suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for Hayden, realizing that he had it tough and even had to work overtime. Stacey put her phone away and sat on a nearby bench, watching the three children play in the sandbox.
Although Jeremy was intelligent, he was still just a child. Back at Hoggard Villa, he likely didn’t have many playmates his age. Now, playing with Lillian and Kevin, Jeremy had naturally become more “childish,” leading the other two to build sandcastles, Jeremy’s practical skills were impressive. He quickly built a small castle, earning admiring glances from Lillian, whose wide eyes were filled with awe. Kevin also thought Jeremy was amazing and looked at him with joy. “I want to build one too!” Kevin shouted in his sweet and innocent voice.
09.17 Thu Aug 1,
Chapter 173
Jeremy glanced at Kevin and nodded. He went over to teach Kevin how to build a castle. Stacey couldn’t resist moving closer. pulling out her phone to capture the best angle of Jeremy’s creation. Jeremy noticed Becky was secretly taking a picture of his castle and shyly turned to look at her. Stacey waved him over Jeremy, come here and stand in front of your castle. Let me take a picture of you with it, okay?”
Jeremy hurried over and stood nervously in front of his little castle. When Lillian and Kevin saw that Stacey was going to take a photo of Jeremy, they quickly joined him. They squeezed together obediently, waiting for Stacey to take the picture. Stacey smiled as she aimed the camera at the three children, capturing the moment. As soon as the photo was taken, Lillian excitedly ran over. “Mommy, I want to see!” Even though she was only a year old, Lillian was quite familiar with the process of having her picture taken. Thanks to Debra, who loved dressing her up and capturing the moments, Lillian knew that she could see the photo right after it was taken.
Lillian wasn’t the only one eager to see. Jeremy and Kevin were also curious, and soon all three children gathered around Stacey. Quickly, Stacey crouched down, clicked on the photo, and showed it to them. “It looks good!” Kevin exclaimed happily as he looked at the photo.
Jeremy’s eyes also sparkled. With bright eyes, he looked at Becky with a smile and thought, I like it. “Do you think it’s nice, Jeremy?” Stacey asked with a smile. Jeremy nodded vigorously. She grinned and said, “I’ll save this photo and send a copy to your dad. When you want to see it in the future, you can ask him to show it to you, okay?”
Jeremy’s eyes lit up, and he nodded eagerly. Stacey instinctively thought about forwarding the photo to Hayden, but it occurred to her that he was at work and sending it might disturb him. “I will send it to your dad later tonight, okay? He’s busy working overtime right now,” she explained as she looked up at Jeremy. Stacey smiled, put away her phone, and said, “All right, the photo has been taken. You guys can go back to playing now.” Lillian’s face lit up at her words. She wanted Jeremy to teach her how to build sandcastles, just as he had taught Kevin earlier. It was going to be her turn now.