Chapter 15
Clarice had just gotten back inside the house when George followed behind and said, "Come to my room, Clarice. There's something I need to talk to you about."
"Okay." Clarice didn't think much about it and did as told.
"Close the door behind you," George said.
That was when Clarice realized something was amiss. "What's wrong, Georgie?" she asked while shutting the door.
"That guy you met downstairs. Who was he?" George asked.
He's the handsome man I saw at the airport when we came back the other day. You saw him too, didn't you? What do you think? Is he handsome? I think he looks a bit like you!" Clarice replied excitedly. George ignored her statement and continued, "Did you add him on WhatsApp?"
Clarice nodded. "Yeah, I did!"
"Let me have a look at your phone."
Clarice did as told and handed him her phone. "What's wrong, Georgie? Is something the matter?" she asked when she saw the solemn look on his face. George kept quiet as he went through her contact list on WhatsApp. Surely enough, he found a newly added contact that she had yet to start chatting with.
After a brief moment of hesitation, George decided to look at his status posts, but found nothing at all.
It was as if he had never posted anything before.
His profile picture was that of a starry sky, so George couldn't obtain any information from it either.
Sensing that something was really strange about his behavior, Clarice asked, "What has gotten into you, Georgie?"
George shifted his gaze back toward her as he replied, "It's nothing. I just found him to look rather familiar, that's all. I think I've seen his picture in a magazine or something."
Clarice frowned. "Really?"
"Yeah." George handed the phone back to her as he continued, "He's probably a famous person. It's fine, you may feel free to chat with him if you'd like."
Clarice nodded. "He seems like a pitiful guy.
"Pitiful? How so?"
"He said he could've had a child as cute as me, but..."
George felt a sharp pain in his heart when he heard that. "But what?"
"But fate prevented it from happening. I think something must've happened," Clarice said.
Right as George went into deep thought, Elliot opened the door and stuck his head into the room. "What are you two whispering about behind my back?" "Oh, we were just talking about how Clarice has been chatting up some random guy!"
George said.
"He's not some random guy! This may be my second time seeing him, but I have a feeling that he's a nice guy!" Clarice protested.
George simply kept quiet and seemed to be thinking about something.
Although Elliot was the most playful one of the three, he was very good at reading people's emotions.
He made his way toward them and asked Clarice, "Gramps made some desserts for supper. You want some?"
Clarice's eyes lit up when she heard that. "I do!" she replied while running out of the room.
Elliot then sat down in front of George and said, "All right, talk to me. What's going on?"
There was a hint of hesitation in George's eyes as he stared at him in response.
"It's fine if you don't want to tell me about it now. Just come to me when you feel like talking," Elliot said as he stood up and got ready to leave. "I think I might know who our daddy is."
Elliot stopped in his tracks and turned around in shock. "Are you sure about that?"
George shook his head. "Not entirely. I still need to confirm it." The theories that I have are simply based on my gut instincts alone.
"H-How do you plan on confirming it?" Elliot asked.
"I need more time to think," George replied.
"Does Clarice know?"
"I want to confirm it before telling her. I don't want her to end up feeling disappointed."
Elliot nodded. "I suppose that makes sense. You can't get disappointed if you don't have expectations."
"I'll update you on this when I come up with something," George said.
Elliot simply nodded without saying anything.
Terence came over with a tray of desserts shortly after Natasha changed into a fresh set of clothes.
Noticing the mysterious behavior of the three, Terence told Natasha about their conversation three hours ago.
Natasha burst out laughing after hearing that. "I bet they only said all that so you'd tell me about it!"
"Does that mean the kids were just using me?" Terence asked.
"You'll get used to it, Grandpa!" Natasha consoled him.
Man, spending time with those kids sure makes me feel young again!
Terence chuckled at the thought of that. "Have they never questioned you about their father?" he asked while munching on the desserts he made.
Natasha simply shook her head in response.
"What if they find out the truth? Have you ever thought about what you'd do if that happens?" Terence pressed on.
"It was never my intention to stop them from learning the truth. If they ask me about him, I'll tell them everything honestly. I won't lie to them about this," Natasha replied.
"Aren't you afraid that they might go with Kenneth?" Terence asked.
Natasha flashed him a smile. "It's their freedom to choose whether they stay or leave. I'm happy with just being their mother. I don't want to restrict their ideas and behaviors. Who they choose to follow in life will not change the fact that I am their mother, nor will it affect my love for them in the slightest."
Wow, Natasha sure has matured a lot! Not only does she have her own views, but she also provides her kids with the maximum amount of freedom possible.
With that in mind, Terence exclaimed, "Kenneth truly is a lucky man. He may not know about the existence of these kids, but he is definitely blessed to be their father!"
Natasha refrained from commenting on that statement.
There's no way to change who their father is, but I can do my best to provide them with the best in life.
George and Elliot had innocent looks on their faces when they came out of the room.
Natasha could tell that they had something on their minds, but she chose not to question them about it.
"How was the conversation with Mr. Lynch, Nat?" Elliot asked with a grin.
Having recalled something, Clarice chimed in as well, "Oh, right! I can't believe I forgot about this! What do you think of him, Mommy? Was he really handsome?"
George was the only one who didn't ask her anything.
"We had a nice chat. He does indeed look pretty handsome." Natasha found herself unable to deny that fact.
"I know, right? He's so gentle and chivalrous! I used to think that he was just the director of school affairs, but I found out today that he's also the school director! He actually owns shares in the school!" "I suppose he's a successful and handsome young man, then?”
"Of course he is! I also heard he owns a few other businesses, but I'm not sure what those businesses are," Clarice said.
"What do you think of him, Mommy? Will you consider him?" Elliot asked curiously.
Even Terence was staring at her curiously as he said, "You can try dating him if he's a decent guy, Nat."