Chapter 221 Don't Come Back Again
Kismet spent over an hour commanding the kitchen staff until Charles finally walked through the villa doors hand-in-hand with three children. Only then was dinner finally served: silver platters displayed glistening foie gras, beef wrapped in golden pastry, and even the mushroom soup was topped with a thick layer of cream. The rich, cloying aroma filled the entire dining room.
"Charles! Children! You're home!" Kismet immediately rushed over, reaching out to pat Emma's head, only to have Emma instinctively duck behind Charles. She awkwardly withdrew her hand, forcing a smile. "I had the kitchen prepare all of Charles' favorites. Come try everything!"
Charles entered the dining room and surveyed the elaborate spread, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly. He rarely ate such rich food anymore, let alone fed it to the children.
Sure enough, Jasper was the first to lean over one of the plates for a sniff, immediately scrunching up his little nose. "This smells so heavy, Daddy. I don't want to eat this. I want Mommy's chicken soup."
Ethan nodded in agreement, pointing at the pasta drowning in cheese and whispering, "That looks so gooey, I can't bite through it. And Mommy says too much cheese gives you a tummy ache."
Emma was the most direct, poking her head out from behind Charles with her little mouth pursed in obvious displeasure. "Kismet, don't you know what we like to eat?"
The children's words hit Kismet like tiny hammers, each comment making her frozen smile crack a little more. She could only persist with forced cheerfulness, "But these are all delicious dishes! If you just try one bite, you'll see..."
"No need, the children don't like this type of food." Charles cut her off, instructing the butler, "Clear all of this away and have the kitchen prepare a new dinner according to the children's preferences."
With that, he bent down to lift Emma into his arms, speaking gently, "Emma, sweetheart, Daddy will have the kitchen make your favorites. It won't take long."
Kismet watched as her carefully planned dinner was carried away plate by plate, her heart burning with frustration and humiliation. Yet she could only maintain her strained smile, "I should have thought this through better. I forgot the children prefer lighter meals."
She'd hoped to evoke memories of Charles' old preferences, never imagining that he'd changed his entire palate to match the children's tastes.
During the actual dinner, the children sat clustered around Charles, sipping their soup quietly without addressing a single word to Kismet.
Jasper looked up from his sea bass and suddenly asked Charles, "Daddy, when is Mommy coming home? Mommy's cooking tastes better than the chef's, and Mommy never gives us high-calorie food."
Ethan chimed in, "Yeah, Daddy, I miss Mommy! When Mommy's here, we don't have strangers cooking in our house."
He deliberately emphasized "strangers" loud enough for Kismet to hear clearly, making sure she understood she didn't belong in this family.
Kismet's grip on her spoon faltered, her face cycling through shades of embarrassment, but she pretended not to hear.
Emma was even more direct. After finishing her meal, she climbed into Charles' lap and wrapped her arms around his neck, whispering just loud enough for everyone to hear, "Daddy, why does Kismet always want to talk to you? Does she want you to be her daddy, too? I don't want that—you're our daddy!"
Emma said this deliberately. Trying to steal her mommy's husband! Even though Emily wasn't here, they were all Emily's little knights, and they would definitely defend their parents' love story!
When dinner finally ended, Kismet was just about to find an opportunity for private conversation with Charles when Ethan quickly grabbed his father's hand. "Daddy, you promised to read us a story tonight! Can we do it now? Please?"
Jasper immediately added, "And we want Daddy to sleep with us! Since Mommy's not here, Daddy can't leave us alone!"
Emma went straight for the most effective tactic, wrapping herself around Charles' leg like a little koala, "Daddy can't go! Daddy stays with us!"
Charles bent down to ruffle the children's hair, smiling warmly. "Alright, Daddy will read you stories and tuck you in."
Then he turned to Kismet, "It's getting late. I'll have the driver take you home."
Kismet watched Charles surrounded by the children, jealousy burning in her chest like acid, but she could only force another smile, "Don't trouble the driver, I'll drive myself home."
As she left the villa, she could hear the children's laughter and Charles' gentle storytelling voice drifting from inside. Her fists clenched tightly at her sides.
All of this should have been hers, but Emily and her children had stolen it away!
After Kismet left, Charles tucked the children into bed. Jasper suddenly opened his eyes and spoke up, "Daddy, can you please not let Kismet come here anymore? I don't like her."
Ethan joined in, "Daddy only loves Mommy, right? You won't be with other women, will you? We finally have a daddy now. I don't want other kids calling us fatherless again."
Though Emma didn't speak, she nodded vigorously, her little hand gripping Charles' shirt tightly.
Charles felt his heart warm as he leaned down to kiss each child's forehead. "Daddy understands. Daddy won't let anyone hurt Mommy, and I won't let you be sad."
Once Charles quietly closed the bedroom door and left, the three supposedly sleeping children suddenly opened their eyes.
Jasper whispered, "Good performance today. Daddy definitely won't let Kismet come back."
Ethan whispered back, "Exactly! Tomorrow we'll stick close to Daddy, too. We can't give Kismet any chance to see him alone."
Emma buried her face in her pillow, nodding emphatically, "We have to protect Daddy and Mommy and not let bad people ruin their relationship."
The three children quietly debriefed their operation before actually settling down to sleep.
The next morning, just as Charles was preparing to leave for work, three children came running over with their little backpacks. Emma hugged his arm, "Daddy, we want to come to the office with you! We've never seen it before! Please? Pretty please?"
Jasper added, "We'll be really good at the office, no trouble at all. We'll just sit next to Daddy and learn from watching you work."
Ethan even flexed his tiny bicep, "And I can protect Daddy!"
Charles burst out laughing at Ethan's declaration and immediately agreed, "Alright then, we'll all go to the office together. But you have to promise to behave, okay?"
And so Charles walked into Windsor Group with three children sporting matching little backpacks. Nathan did a double-take when he saw them, then couldn't help but grin.
With those three little bodyguards around, Kismet wouldn't stand a chance even if she tried to approach.
Indeed, when Kismet arrived at Windsor Group that morning after carefully selecting her outfit, she immediately heard from the front desk that Charles had brought the children to work. She even saw the receptionist preparing little snacks for them. Standing in the lobby and staring toward the elevators, she felt equal parts furious and helpless. She'd gone to such lengths to get close to Charles, only to be completely blocked by three children.
Morning sunlight filtered through the trees at the training camp, casting dappled shadows across the ground. Emily had just finished breakfast when the instructor summoned everyone to the field. Today's training exercise was wilderness navigation—participants would pair up and carry basic survival equipment through ten miles of forest to reach a central camp, with a four-hour time limit. Anyone arriving late would receive a failing grade.
"Begin forming teams now! You have five minutes before departure!"
As soon as the instructor finished speaking, trainees immediately began clustering into groups of two or three, searching for partners. Emily instinctively looked toward Alice, only to see Alice waving at her while standing next to a short-haired girl. That was Alice's regular training partner—they'd worked together seamlessly and had already agreed to team up again for this exercise.
"Emily, I'm sorry, but we already made plans..." Alice looked somewhat apologetic.