* * *
"All of you, don't tire yourselves too much, okay?" Daniel reminded, looking at Lan, Luangmin, the five girls who were following Lan earlier, and now more kids that Daniel guessed were Lan's classmates.
"Yes~," they all said in chorus, very excited to go and play.
"Don't wander off as well, I want to be able to see you two from afar," Daniel added again, looking at Lan and Luangmin who nodded. Moving his chin up and down with a smile, he soon let the kids go play.
"Young Master Lan is really a popular kid, his classmates are swarming him," April commented from his side, slowly eating her sandwich.
"Yeah, I'm sure he'll grow up just fine. When I was the same age as him, I didn't have this many kids playing with me because I was always shy," Daniel mentioned with a soft smile on his lips, remembering his childhood days. When he was a kid his classmates didn't want to play with him because he wasn't good at anything and teaming up with him will decrease the chance of winning in the game. That continued until he graduated elementary, so he got used to being alone. He wasn't really bullied but he was an outcast.
"Hmmm, when I was his age I was pretty normal," April lied, her childhood was actually far from normal. She was an orphan at the age of two. She went to three different orphanages after being adopted and then put back again until she was taken by the Mo association. She started basic training at eight and even until now she still trains to maintain her body. It wasn't easy but she enjoyed it, especially when she was finally given a mission. That's when she finally had her first kill at fourteen and another six years later she was given the title of captain of her team and one of the best members of the association.
It wasn't the best really but it had its own happy times. However, that's something Daniel shouldn't know. At least for now.
Removing his eyes from Lan and Luangmin playing with the other kids, Daniel looked at April's smiling face as she reminisced her childhood days and suddenly, he got curious. Despite this just being the second time since he met April, Daniel could feel that they were getting close already. It might be because April was a very outgoing and flexible person that they got along well, but since he already treated the Beta as his friend, he wanted to know more about her.
"What are you remembering? Are you perhaps remembering someone? A man perhaps?" Daniel asked with a teasing tone, making April roll her eyes.
"No way, I don't have a man to remember!" April frowned, biting on her sandwich again, making Daniel even more curious.
"Why are you being so defensive? I was just asking," Daniel whined with a little pout.
"Anyway, my life is pretty boring. Let's talk about yours, especially when you fell in love with the Eldest Young Master? I heard about it on the TV and the internet before, but coming from the Second Young Master I doubt what he said was a hundred percent true," April said, quickly changing the topic as she finished her last sandwich. Meanwhile, hearing the Beta's question, Daniel remembered that story Hanlu made up to deceive the public and he couldn't help but give out a laugh.
"So how much of that was true?" April asked. She saw Daniel looking at his mobile device earlier looking all depressed, so maybe it's a good choice to talk about something light.
"Hmmm, maybe twenty percent?" Daniel replied giggling.
"T-Twenty!? S-so which of those was really true?" April asked in disbelief. When she heard about Daniel and Mo Laotian's story, even though it was very novel-like she didn't really question it because somehow it was possible. Both heads of the Sullen and Mo household are known friends, so it wouldn't be odd if they host events once in a while, maybe privately to get acquainted. It was possible that Daniel and Mo Laotian met there and possibly fell in love.
However, because Mo Laotian is sixteen years older, he might have had second thoughts about whether to pursue Daniel or not, who was just a teen then. Alas, that one fateful day in the rain when he offered Daniel his umbrella, out of the heat of the moment Mo Laotian might have confessed and then it turned out that Daniel also fell for the Alpha long before, but had the same problem as the Alpha since he was sixteen years younger.
Daniella, on the other hand, the twin sister, might also have fallen for Mo Laotian because who wouldn't really? But because Mo Laotian already fell for Daniel, he rejected Daniella, causing her to be so bitter that she did those things to Daniel. She tried to make Paul Hymlyn her rebound but it was just no use because Mo Laotian is unmatched.
Anyway, when their relationship became official, they secretly married but had to reveal it to the family when Daniel quickly got pregnant while he was still in his second year of college.
"Well, it's true that Laotian and I married secretly, but I was already pregnant then, my stomach was more than five months along. Also, we weren't in love with each other, to begin with, it was just by chance that we ended up together. I haven't met him in any Sullen or Mo family parties, I didn't even know he was that big in the country. It took me months to really know him." Daniel softly replied, there was a gentle smile on his lips as he reminisced the past. Even though Daniella was a constant threat to their relationship back then, that time was still the best because he stayed with Laotian all the time. Laotian never left him, and when he did it wasn't a month long.
"What the he—Was that the only thing true from Second Young Master's story?" April asked again in disbelief while Daniel nodded with a giggle. That wasn't even twenty percent! And what does the Omega mean 'met by chance?' She did not expect that their story was far more complicated than what was published.
"A-and what do you mean by—by chance?" April asked, very interested in the topic, as Daniel continued to giggle seeing April's reaction. Well, it was to be expected. It has been two years since his marriage to the Alpha was released and by now people already knew how they met and now that April was learning the whole truth, it should shock her at least.
"Well, we accidentally had a one-night stand at this bar he surprisingly owned. That night was rather complicated on both our sides but yeah, we found each other by chance. I had a boyfriend then, you know Paul Hymlyn from the Hymlyn Corp? I was in a relationship with him for four years but then we separated weeks after that because, unfortunately, he loved Daniella."
". . ." April stared at Daniel with the same shocked expression she had at the very beginning of the story. So Paul Hymlyn and Daniel Sullen were actually lovers, not Daniella Sullen and Paul Hymlyn? That wasn't mentioned in the entertainment gossip, it was always Daniella Sullen being in a relationship with Paul. That they fell in love with each other in high school and then finally got engaged and all. Well, she knew that wasn't true after Daniella Sullen's scandal went out, but April truly believed that the Alpha just fell out of love because of Mo Laotian.
She did not expect this at all. Not in her wildest dreams.
"Anyway, I got pregnant with Luangmin and Luangmie, which I didn't know until they were 2 months old. Well, I didn't know I was pregnant with twins, my stomach was just 2 months when I learned I was pregnant. Oh but before that, Laotian and I found each other again because Tian Zi had a unit at my previous condo building. I didn't remember him, but Laotian remembered me, he had me checked and he found out I was the Sullen's long-lost grandson. And then yeah, the third time I met him was when I was at the hospital finding out I was pregnant. He offered me marriage that very day," Daniel continued to say with a happy smile on his face while rubbing his bulging stomach. However, that smile didn't last when suddenly he missed the Alpha.
Daniel chewed on his lips, he suddenly felt like crying because he missed his husband so much. He hasn't called again today and he wasn't used to that. Laotian always finds ways to spoil him and now that he's feeling neglected he couldn't stop himself from feeling sad.
"I-I never knew that the story was like this," April mentioned, slowly absorbing the information. She quickly wondered if she could share this with her team. "I guess you agreed to marry him and now here you are," she added leaning back with a sigh.
"Of course I didn't! I didn't know him, why would I marry him just like that?" Waking up from his thoughts, Daniel quickly denied.
"A-At that time I was in love with Paul. I was planning to raise my children on my own and if Laotian wanted to be the father, he could still do that without us getting married." He added looking at April briefly and then looked at his stomach again with a smile. It was a sweet memory even though he was missing the Alpha so much at this very moment.
"But he was stubborn, he forced me to live with him. Before I knew it I fell for him very quickly. I was worried because I didn't know he was that big, but thankfully Laotian returned my feelings. I proposed to him and then we got married that very day with Hanlu as our only witness," Daniel finished with a laugh.
"Ahhh, Second Young Master is really a scam artist! He told all those unnecessary lies to the public," April whined. She felt like it was unnecessary to hide the facts. Although she was not really a member of the couple's fan club, she does support their relationship because Mo Hanlu's story was just too irresistible. It woke up her hopeless romantic side, but if the real truth was out, someone could actually make a movie out of it.
"We had to lie to protect both families' reputations," Daniel defended. They couldn't just reveal that he had gotten pregnant due to a one-night stand because that would make people think he was the kind to succumb to such activities and cause scandals or lead to even more complicated things. Back then Laotian chose the safest and most peaceful route, and now they were living peacefully without being constantly criticized by the public.
"But it was such a good story to tell, I'm itching to publish this online," April whined frustratedly, she really wanted to share this info.
"Don't do that, Silly! I'm only telling you this because you are a friend that father-in-law introduced to me," Daniel laughed, throwing a crumpled tissue at her.
"Okay, okay, I won't. Anyway, that aside, why did you look sad earlier when you looked at your phone?" April finally asked. She had wanted to ask earlier but felt like it wasn't the right time.
"Oh, t-that? You'll scold me if I tell you," Daniel said, the smile on his lips disappeared, remembering that Laotian hasn't called him again today. He understands that Laotian is busy and might not have time to call him. He was just being too demanding and if he told April this, even though he knew his mistake in this situation, he wouldn't want to be called out for it.
"What is it? You're only making me want to know even more," April said, raising one eyebrow.
"Well…" Daniel started chewing on his lips, he had never had someone with who he could share his problems or displeasures. This was the first time so he was slightly awkward. His eyes quickly wandered off elsewhere, to the grass, to a grasshopper jumping from one place to another, and to the kids playing. Looking at the children running around happily, a smile finally flashed back across his lips. He scanned through the children, looking for both Lan and Luangmin, but when he saw neither of the two was around, Daniel's eyebrows frowned.
"Lan and Minmin are gone."