The two taught until evening before finishing.
Deanna originally wanted to invite Gunner to dinner, but he declined.
She left the study alone, planning to find the two little ones and her grandmother for dinner.
As she reached the courtyard gate, she heard the cheerful laughter of the two children and a man's voice she didn't expect.
She quickly entered the courtyard and saw Lance, blindfolded, playing tag with the children.
Her grandmother sat nearby, watching them with a smile.
At that moment, Chloe, trying to avoid being caught, ran towards Deanna's direction, screaming.
She didn't see Deanna and crashed into her arms.
Deanna staggered back two steps before steadying herself.
Only then did the little girl notice her and exclaimed joyfully, "Mommy's back!"
With those words, Gregory and Old Ashley also looked over.
Lance removed the blindfold and gazed at Deanna with gentle eyes.
Deanna looked back at him.
Their eyes met, and the air seemed to sweeten.
"When did you get here?"
Deanna held Chloe's hand as she walked over, looking at the man in front of her with longing.
Lance smiled lightly and said, "When you were showing your prowess."
Hearing this, Deanna knew he had arrived in the morning. She pouted in dissatisfaction and glared at him.
"You've been here so long, why didn't you let anyone inform me?"
"I saw you were busy with Mr. Martinez and didn't want to disturb you. Besides, I wanted to surprise you."
Lance said as he stepped forward to hold Deanna's hand, interlocking their fingers. He then asked, "Are you done with your work now?"
Deanna glanced at him and finally nodded lightly. "Almost done. The rest will have to wait until after the apprenticeship ceremony to see how Master arranges things."
"In that case, we can take a few days to explore the area. I heard from Gregory and Chloe that they haven't been out much."
Lance shared his plans.
The two children were ecstatic, chattering about where they wanted to go.
"Uncle Butler said there's a beautiful waterfall behind our mountain, surrounded by wild fruits. It's perfect for camping. Daddy, let's go there and take some photos to show Grandpa and Grandma."
"We can also visit the small town at the foot of the mountain. I heard there's a circus troupe."
From their words, it was clear that the two children had explored their surroundings well in recent days.
Lance didn't say anything but looked at Deanna.
The two children also looked at Deanna.
Obviously, whether they could go out depended on Deanna.
Seeing this, Deanna waved her hand and smiled. "Since you want to go, I'll inform Master tomorrow, and we'll go play. But for now, let's have dinner."
With that, the family walked towards the dining room, chatting and laughing.
Brice came out to get medicine for his son and saw this scene, his chest filled with hatred.
The Martinez family belonged to his son; he would never let this woman take what was his son's.
He thought viciously as he took the medicine back to their courtyard.
Later, he brought the prepared herbal medicine to his son's room and dismissed the servants.
Once he confirmed no one else was outside, Craig sat up in bed before Brice could speak.
At this moment, aside from his pale face, Craig looked much better than he had in the morning.
He looked at Brice seriously and said, "Dad, Jagger came again with people to ask about my condition. It seems Gunner is determined to drive us out."
"We absolutely cannot leave the Martinez family. If we do, it will be even harder to return in the future!"
Brice said grimly.
Craig understood this too.
He pounded the bed in frustration and said angrily, "We should have insisted on competing today. We should have dragged it out until that woman's apprenticeship ceremony before continuing!"
Just as he finished speaking, a low voice came from outside the door.
"Even if Master Craig drags it out until then, it won't change the outcome. Gunner is determined to let Deanna take over the Martinez family and has already started eliminating all potential obstacles for her."
With these words, a hunched figure walked in from outside.
Under the room's light, Brice and his son saw clearly that it was an extremely ugly old man. They frowned in disgust and shouted, "Who are you? Who allowed you in? Get out!"
As for what the old man had just said, Brice pretended not to hear it.
Brent remained still and coldly said in his original voice, "Master Brice, do you really want me to leave? If I go, your son will never have a chance to inherit the Martinez family!"
"It's you!"
Brice recognized Brent's voice immediately and looked at him in shock.
Craig didn't recognize him and asked in confusion, "Dad, do you know him?"
"Not only do I know him, but you do too. He used to be Uncle Gunner's trusted aide-Brent."
Brice revealed Brent's identity.
Craig was also shocked. "He's Brent? But isn't Uncle Gunner hunting him? How is he here?"