Of course, Lance had no good solution and could only tell Lionel not to let Julia go out anymore.
But how could Lionel agree to that?
Not to mention, if he didn't let Julia go out, she would definitely cause a fuss with him.
Moreover, Lionel couldn't bear to keep Julia confined.
In the end, their conversation didn't go well, and they parted on bad terms.
After hanging up the phone, Lance felt a headache coming on but could only keep it to himself.
He had always doted on Deanna and naturally couldn't let her suffer.
Lost in thought, he walked to the children's room and heard laughter coming from inside.
"Mommy, the baby just moved. He must have heard me and is responding."
Chloe's excited voice came from the room.
Two months ago, as Deanna's pregnancy progressed, the baby started moving.
Lance was the first to notice the baby's movements.
At that time, he was reading early education stories to the baby as Deanna had requested.
Who knew that halfway through, Deanna suddenly cried out, arching her body with a pained expression, which scared Lance.
"What's wrong?"
Lance quickly put down the book and looked over.
Deanna didn't answer immediately but maintained her position for several seconds before slowly sitting up with a faint smile. "It's nothing, just the baby being playful in my belly."
Having already given birth to two children, she was quite experienced with such situations.
Earlier, her belly had suddenly cramped up, catching her off guard and making her cry out.
Thinking of this, Deanna gently placed Lance's hand on her belly.
At that moment, it was as if the baby sensed something and pushed against Lance's hand through the belly.
Feeling the unusual sensation in his palm, Lance froze, his whole body stiffening as he looked at Deanna in bewilderment.
"The baby just moved!" he exclaimed in surprise.
Seeing the shocked look on Lance's face, Deanna couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, he's saying hello to you."
Recalling this, a gentle smile appeared on Lance's lips as he looked tenderly at Deanna and their two children in the room.
Inside the room, Deanna and the children hadn't noticed Lance yet.
The children were especially eager, taking turns talking to the baby.
"Chloe, you've been talking to the baby for three minutes now. It's my turn."
Gregory spoke seriously to his sister.
Chloe pouted and pleaded, "Gregory, let me talk to the baby a little longer. It's rare for him to respond to me."
Ever since the baby started moving, the children's favorite activity was talking to the baby and waiting for a response.
Sometimes they would talk to the baby all day without getting any response.
As the children vied for attention, Lance walked into the room and cleared his throat to announce his presence.
"Daddy, you're back!"
The children immediately stopped arguing and ran to greet him joyfully.
Deanna, however, felt a bit guilty when she saw Lance.
Especially when she met his deep gaze.
She forced a smile and stood up. "You're back. Why don't you play with Gregory and Chloe for a while? I'll go check if dinner is ready."
She said this because she felt that Lance's gaze was somewhat unfriendly and wanted to find an excuse to leave.
However, Lance had already seen through her intentions.
"Let Gregory and Chloe check on dinner. It's too dangerous for you to be going up and down with your big belly."
Lance said this without giving Deanna a chance to argue and sent the children out of the room.
For a moment, only Deanna and Lance were left in the room, creating a quiet atmosphere.
The silence made Deanna feel increasingly uneasy.
Especially under Lance's gaze, she felt immense pressure.
Finally, without waiting for Lance to question her, she grabbed her ears with both hands and began to apologize.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have eaten snacks and ice cream with Julia today."
Seeing Deanna apologizing like a child, Lance didn't know whether to be angry or amused. He snorted lightly. "You admit your mistake now, but I've never seen you change your ways!"
Hearing this, Deanna awkwardly rubbed her nose and shifted all the blame onto her friend.
"It's really not my fault. Every time I decide to change, Julia brings delicious food to tempt me. You know how it is; ever since the baby has grown bigger, I've been craving more. I can't resist it. It's not me who wants to eat; it's the baby."
At the end of her explanation, she didn't forget to use the baby as a shield.
Listening to her twisted logic, Lance couldn't help but laugh in exasperation. "So you're saying it's all Julia's and the baby's fault?"
"Uh..."
Deanna had a bad feeling about where this was going.