Nora walked into the living room and saw Cherry in her pajamas holding a cell phone. She was sitting cross-legged and was playing happily with the game's audio turned on.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, the little girl turned and looked over.
Seeing that Nora was about to get mad, she put on a bright smile and blinked her big round eyes. "Mommy, you're finally back. I was so bored. I missed you so much!"
"…"
Nora sighed silently.
Wasn't the reason why Cherry played games every day exactly that she was either busy or sleeping, and didn't have any time to spend with her?
She resisted her drowsiness and desire to immediately jump into bed, and said, "Clean up the place, Cherry. Let's have dinner outside tonight."
Mrs. Lewis asked, "What would you like to wear tonight, Cherry?"
Cherry thought about it seriously. "The little gray suit from Gucci!"
Nora frowned. "Are you wearing boys' clothing again?"
Cherry had a quirk—she liked going out with her dressed like a little boy.
She continued to stare at the phone. "Uh-huh. This round's ending soon. Mommy, what are we having?"
Nora reached over and grabbed her cell phone before she answered, "We're having pizza downstairs." Then, she turned off the game.
"Hey! We're raiding soon. You—"
An irritable Cherry was about to throw a tantrum, and she was even about to curse. However, when her eyes met Nora's, the little girl pursed her lips and squeezed out two words from in between her teeth: "Let's go."
In the room next door.
Pete stared at the cell phone. 'sweetcherry' had logged off the game, and the voice call had also been disconnected.
He felt a small sense of loss at the bottom of his heart.
Chester Hunt, who was sitting on the sofa, breathed a sigh of relief at the sight. "Kiddo, you're done at last. My tyrant of an elder brother is coming back soon, so hurry and clean up the place!"
Pete, who looked sullen, didn't speak.
Chester came over and looked at his cell phone. "Who are you playing with? You look so reluctant to log off. If you want to play it again, why don't I play with you next time? I'm really good. I'm ranked among the top ten players on the local server. The top player on the server, sweetcherry, is our team leader, and the two of us are online buddies. I'll get him to let you join and play together next time…"
At the sight of him looking over, Pete turned off the screen and stood up. "Uncle Chester, I wanna have pizza."
Chester suddenly felt a headache coming on. "C'mon, behave, kiddo. Justin's not gonna agree to that!"
As the only grandson of the Hunts, Pete was treated like a VIP. His daily schedule was scientifically planned, and he executed it in strict accordance with the timing.
Although he didn't attend classes, he was busier than even adults.
As Justin wasn't around today, and Chester felt really sorry for this poor little nephew of his, he risked his life and indulged him in playing games all afternoon.
But… Eating out?!
This was definitely testing the limits of Justin's patience!
Chester tried painstakingly to dissuade him. "You forced him to take you out for cake yesterday by refusing to take your medication, but this method isn't going to work today. C'mon, kiddo, behave…"
It was as if Pete didn't hear him at all. He went straight back to the bedroom and opened the closet. He was about to take a random piece of clothing to change into when he suddenly spotted the limited edition little gray suit from Gucci.
He put on the suit impulsively and walked out.
Shocked, Chester stopped him. "Justin's already downstairs!"
Pete looked at him coolly. "Uh-huh. It's fine as long as he's not at the door."
"…"
Chester watched him leave, feeling as though chills were going down his spine. He felt like a violent storm was about to come.
One minute later.
Justin opened the door and strode in, his presence as strong as ever.
As he entered, a terrified-looking Chester lowered his head and greeted him weakly. "Justin…"
Justin, who was taking off his coat, paused. His inky eyes swept across the room, and his expression darkened. "Where's Pete?"
He sounded displeased.
Chester became even more scared. "… He's at the pizza place downstairs."
As soon as he spoke, the tyrant suddenly turned around, scaring Chester so badly that he shouted, "I know it's my fault, Justin. Hold back a littl… Huh?"
Justin had already bypassed him and left.
Chester, who thought that he had managed to narrowly escape, had only just heaved a sigh of relief when he heard the other man's deep voice. "I'll deal with you when I'm back."
"…"
—
The pizzas at Hotel Finest were $99 each.
There were all kinds of varieties, and one could order their fill of flavors there.
With a menu in her hand, Nora walked toward the empty tables.
Cherry followed her. Dressed in a little suit, her daughter looked awfully handsome, and there was a sly look in her spirited eyes. "Mommy, I'll go look at the cakes."
Nora let out an "Okay". However, when she turned around, she saw her 'daughter' standing behind her and staring at her all wide-eyed.
Pete was only trying his luck. He didn't expect that he would really meet her again.
A bit of joy that had never once been there before appeared in the eyes of the usually taciturn boy.
When Nora saw him staring at herself silently with a menu in his hand, she asked in confusion, "Did you not find the cake display counter, baby?"
'Baby'…
Pete blushed.
Although his grandparents also occasionally called him that at home, the woman's voice was casual and lazy, and it actually sounded exceptionally affectionate.
His eyes suddenly turned red, and he asked sadly, "Are you my mommy?"
Nora was puzzled.
She felt like something was wrong with Cherry.
Was it because she had forcibly logged her off the game just now?
Although Cherry was a spoiled little princess, she had always been a lively and active child. Surely not, right?
Nora bent over and rubbed his head. With a low chuckle, she said, "Alright, it's all Mommy's fault. What do you wanna have? I'll order it for you, okay?"
She held up the menu. "Do you want pepperoni pizza?"
It really is Mommy!
Pete's eyes widened. He wanted to ask "Mommy, why did you abandon me?", as well as "Where have you been all these years?"
Yet, when all the words reached the tip of his tongue, he swallowed them all down again.
He, who had grown up being taken care of by Justin, had difficulty expressing his feelings. He could only nod heavily. "Yeah!"
Nora was completely unaware of how complicated the boy's emotions were at the moment. She took him by the hand and walked to a relatively quiet and inconspicuous table in the corner.
Cherry, who was lingering at the cake display counter, looked at the mousse cake, and then at the Black Forest cake, unable to decide. In the end, it was only after she decided that she would have both that she finally decided to go back to where her mother was.
However, as soon as she turned around, she noticed a very good-looking young man walking toward her aggressively. Then, he stretched out his long shapely arm, picked her up, and forcibly brought her out. "This is all junk food! Don't eat it!"
Cherry, who was dumbfounded, struggled fiercely. "Who are you? Why are you ordering me around? Let go of me! Help, someone's kidnapping me!"
The commotion attracted the attention of the entire dining hall.
Justin had a stormy look on his face. As they were in public, his good upbringing made him suppress his anger in the end, and he snapped, "I'm your father!"
—