Shea held her eldest son's hand and guided him to his room. Once inside, Shea immediately closed the door and brought her son closer to the bed. She then sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the boy in front of her with a gentle gaze.
"Azriel, Mommy wants to explain something to you. That man earlier, his name is Uncle Zayn. Mommy and Uncle Zayn are married now, so... Uncle Zayn is your daddy, Azriel. You have the right to call him Uncle or Daddy. But Mommy hopes... Azriel can accept Uncle Zayn well." Shea tried to explain about Zayn to her eldest son.
Azriel remained silent, staring at his mommy with intense eyes. "Does Mommy love him?" Azriel's question made Shea pause.
"Of course, that's why Mommy and Uncle Zayn got married. Kai is also happy to have a new daddy; what about you, Azriel?" Shea replied with a faint smile. She didn't mention that she and Zayn married for mutual benefit, not love.
Azriel sighed softly, looking at his hand still held by his mommy. "Can Azriel say something?"
"Of course, go ahead." Shea responded while caressing the back of her son's hand.
"Azriel doesn't like Mommy getting married again." He said, staring intently at his mommy's eyes.
Shea was, of course, taken aback; she never expected her son to say that. After all, Azriel was a quiet child. He rarely left his room unless it was for school or food. Even playing was a rarity; the child was always with his stack of books.
"Why?" Shea asked with a sorrowful gaze.
"Mommy's husband must hate me; he only loves Mommy. He married for Mommy; he surely won't accept Mommy's child." Azriel's words were genuinely beyond her expectations.
"Azriel, don't generalize people's traits. It's not good, dear." Shea admonished with a sorrowful look.
Azriel pulled his hand from Shea's grasp, then climbed onto his bed and crawled under the blanket. He turned his back to his mommy, who gazed at him sadly. He closed his eyes, seemingly indifferent to the presence of the beautiful woman who had given birth to him in his room.
In contrast, Zayn was currently staring at the toilet in Shea's bathroom. He needed to use the restroom but was puzzled by the toilet's mechanism. It wasn't his first time seeing a toilet, but he had never encountered Shea's before.
"Usually, the toilet lid is open; how do I open this one?" Zayn mumbled.
He wanted to open it but was afraid it might break. Soon, he heard the sound of the door opening. It must be Shea returning. He hurried out of the bathroom to meet his wife.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t Shea who walked in. It was Kai, who came in with his toy car. "Kai, Daddy needs to go to the bathroom. Can you help Daddy open the toilet?"
"Just open it; what's so hard?" Kai replied, puzzled.
"If Daddy knew how to open it, why would Daddy ask you, silly?" Zayn insisted.
"Geez, why can't you just open it yourself? Like this!" Kai walked into the bathroom, swinging his hand above the toilet lid. Miraculously, the lid opened. Zayn, witnessing such a clever method of opening the toilet, stared in disbelief.
"Wow, you just wave your hand?! That's amazing!" Zayn exclaimed.
"If you can't clean yourself afterward, just call Mommy."
"Ehh?!"
.
.
.
Zayn exited the bathroom and saw Shea retrieving something from the closet. He ignored her and walked over to the sofa to sit down. Shea turned around and looked at Zayn, who was focused on his phone.
"Go lie down first; I need to take a quick shower." Shea instructed.
Zayn nodded, "I'll wait for you." He replied, feeling uncomfortable occupying Shea's bed before the owner got in.
Shea nodded briefly, entering the bathroom with her clothes. Zayn was still playing with his phone, responding to messages from Riki. The man's brow furrowed, his expression serious. So engrossed in replying, he didn’t notice that Shea had come out of the bathroom, rubbing her wet hair with a towel.
“What's wrong? Why do you look so serious?” Shea asked upon seeing the very serious expression on her little husband’s face.
“My friend, I’m looking for a new job. He offered me to sing at a wedding in two days, can I …” Zayn was startled when he lifted his gaze and saw Shea in her nightgown.
“What’s wrong?” Shea asked, confused as she looked at herself. What was wrong? She was just wearing a normal nightgown, slightly open at the arms, and the hem only reached mid-thigh. Did Zayn think her dress was inappropriate?
“N-no, don’t you have something more covered up?” Zayn asked, his gaze fixed on his beautiful wife's face.
“I usually sleep in this, do you prefer me to wear a nightdress like yesterday? I don’t have one, but if you like, tomorrow I will …”
“No! No need,” Zayn closed his eyes for a moment, trying to steady his breathing.
Shea didn’t understand, she got up and sat at her vanity, picking up a hairdryer to dry her hair. Zayn could only press his chest in patience, not knowing why his body felt strange at that moment. Shea observed Zayn's expression in the mirror; one corner of her mouth lifted.
“He really is still so innocent,” Shea thought.
“Well then, I’ll go to sleep first.” Zayn got onto the bed, turning his back to Shea, no longer caring about the uncomfortable feelings.
“Zayn, there’s something I want to talk about.” Shea requested, looking at Zayn's back through the mirror's reflection.
“Talk about what?” Zayn asked without diverting his attention.
“Look over here!” Shea turned, asking Zayn to face her.
Zayn swallowed hard, glancing back slightly. Shea, wrapped in her nightgown, certainly made Zayn feel unusual. Seeing Zayn’s reaction, Shea quickly grabbed her long cardigan and put it on.
“I’ve put on a cardigan; you can turn around now,” Shea commanded.
Zayn turned, and sure enough, Shea was now wearing her long cardigan, allowing him to look at her more comfortably. The man sat up, took a pillow, and placed it on his lap. His eyes were fixed on Shea, who was sitting at the vanity with a serious expression.
“You’ve met my son besides Kai, his name is Azriel. You can call him Riel, but I often call him Azriel. I hope you can love him and never be cruel to him.” Shea took a breath before continuing.
“I divorced my ex-husband three years ago, and we have one child each. I have Kai because he was just a baby then and needed my breast milk. As for Azriel, according to the court’s decision, custody fell to my ex-husband. Just six months ago, I regained custody of Azriel after … after finding out that he was being mistreated by his stepmother.”
Thud!!
***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***
Updated 139 Episodes
Download
Like this story? Download the app to keep your reading history.
Comments