Chapter 60 Joshua's Valuable Self-Awareness
"Daddy, can we ask you for a favor?"
Joshua raised an eyebrow. "Let's hear it."
These two kids calling him this late - he figured it couldn't just be about apologizing. Joshua curved his lips slightly, waiting for them to speak.
"Can you take Mommy out to dinner?" Cleo asked timidly, her voice very sweet.
"What?"
Joshua walked to the window, looking at the flickering lights outside, a trace of surprise flashing through his deep eyes.
"Mommy said she wants you to take her to dinner. She has something to tell you."
"She wants me to take her to dinner? She said that herself?"
Joshua narrowed his sharp eyes slightly, a hint of amusement crossing them, though he didn't quite believe it.
"Of course."
"..."
"You don't believe us?" Finn asked.
"Not very believable," he said in a low, measured voice.
Finn paused, seeming to think about something, then spoke after a few seconds. "Daddy, I just realized you have a really admirable quality."
"What's that?"
An admirable quality?
What admirable quality?
"You're really self-aware!"
"..."
Really self-aware?
...
Joshua was momentarily stunned, his deep eyes showing a flash of bewilderment before he quickly recovered, shaking his head with a helpless smile.
Finn was definitely Ava's son - he'd inherited her sharp tongue perfectly.
"You're clever."
"Just average." Finn's voice was cheerful with pride.
Joshua chuckled softly. "You should be grateful."
"Grateful for what?" Finn didn't understand.
"My superior genes were passed on to you, which is why you're so smart."
"Mommy gave birth to me. What does that have to do with you?"
"Without me, your mommy couldn't have had you." The amusement in Joshua's deep eyes grew.
"That's nonsense. Cleo and I were both born by Mommy alone. What does that have to do with you?"
Finn was angry. There was no way Mommy couldn't have had them without him. They'd been raised by Mommy alone their whole lives. What difference did his presence or absence make?
"Right, Mommy gave birth to us and raised us. Mommy could have had us without you." Cleo, listening nearby, also got upset and started arguing with Joshua.
The children's words made his heart clench heavily, a strong sense of guilt suddenly enveloping him.
What he said, the kids didn't understand yet, but what the kids said was the reality of what Ava had experienced these past years.
She'd given birth to the children alone, raised them alone - his presence or absence made no difference...
Joshua lowered his head slightly, his refined lips pressed tight, raising his hand to rub his throbbing temples.
The call continued, but no one spoke.
Joshua let out a deep sigh. After a long while, he slowly asked, "When is she free?"
"...You need to call and ask her yourself."
"Okay."
"Just remember to invite Mommy yourself. Hanging up now, bye."
"..."
Joshua's cool brow furrowed slightly as he casually tossed his phone onto the desk, slowly shifting his gaze toward the window, his usually impassive face taking on a heavier expression.
After a few minutes, Joshua picked up the phone he'd tossed aside. Just as he was about to make a call, an incoming call came through first.
A trace of surprise appeared in Joshua's cool eyes as his slender fingers swiped to answer.
"Joshua."
Ava's calm, quiet voice came through with a hint of hesitation.
"What is it?"
"About today..." Ava lowered her eyes, biting her lip. "I was wrong. You weren't the one who took Finn and Cleo. I apologize. I'm sorry."
A brief silence on the line.
Ava's fingers tapped the desk, worried Joshua might be angry. But the next second, without much surprise or comment, Joshua said in a low voice, "It's fine."
Ava's eyes flickered. This was the first time she'd found Joshua so easy to talk to.
Her calm eyes narrowed as she finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, if there's nothing else, I just wanted to apologize..."
"Nothing else you want to say?"
Ava pursed her lips. At his question, she actually did think carefully through everything in her mind, and only after confirming there was nothing else said, "...No."
"..."
Joshua was silent for two seconds.
"I have something to tell you."
Ava felt inexplicably confused, thinking to herself that if he had something to say, he should just say it. Why make it feel so serious, making her heart race for no reason?
"Are you free tomorrow?"
Ava paused slightly and asked back, "Do you need something?"
Joshua leaned back in his office chair, his gaze lingering briefly on a photo on the desk, his eyes calm but his expression heavy.
"Yes."
Joshua's low voice continued, "Let's have dinner together."
Ava pressed her lips together, somewhat unable to process this. "Dinner? You and me?"
"You don't want to?"
"..."
This wasn't about wanting to or not. Why would he suddenly ask her to dinner? It felt so strange.
Ava pressed her lips together and used her usual way of refusing, saying very seriously and tactfully, "The main thing is I don't have time."
Joshua was silent for two seconds, then said, "I mainly want to talk to you about Grandpa's condition. Since you..."
"I do!"
Ava's voice suddenly burst out.
"Tomorrow at noon, twelve o'clock... I have time."
"..."
That was faster than flipping a page. Joshua's eye twitched. To get Ava to have dinner with him, he had to bring up Victor. After a long moment, he laughed helplessly.
"Alright, I'll wait for you at Savory Elegance."
Joshua's voice followed.
Savory Elegance, the most famous restaurant in Silverlight City. The atmosphere inside was wonderful, making people feel refreshed at first glance.
The dishes were even more delicious and appetizing, with the main focus being light flavors.
Ava had always liked this place and had wanted to take the two kids there before, but the restaurant was always packed, and they didn't take reservations - if you wanted to eat there, you had to wait in line outside.
Even so, people willing to wait in line kept coming.
"Mommy, who were you talking to on the phone?" Finn and Cleo came up on either side of Ava.
Ava put down her phone and pinched both children's cheeks. "You two were supposed to be reflecting on your mistakes, but instead you're slacking off and brazenly showing up in front of me. Getting bold, aren't you?"
"Mommy, could you really bear to make your two adorable babies stand there the whole time?" Cleo snuggled into Ava's arms, acting cute, knowing Ava was soft-hearted and definitely couldn't resist.
"Mommy definitely couldn't bear it, right?" Finn also launched his cute offensive.
The two little ones acting cute and charming immediately made Ava laugh.
Seeing Ava smile, Finn gave Cleo a look, and Cleo casually asked, "Mommy, were you just talking to Daddy on the phone?"
"How did you know?"
"What did Daddy say?"
"He said he'd take me to dinner."
The next day, Ava took Finn and Cleo to school. Before walking into the school, the two children reminded her about having dinner with Joshua.
"Why are you two suddenly so concerned about his business?" Ava's suspicious gaze moved between the two little ones.