That evening, the three Mercer siblings stayed to celebrate with Deanna.
Later, after dinner, Julia took her two daughters and left, but not before arranging to go shopping with Deanna the next afternoon.
After seeing Julia off, the family went to enjoy the outdoor hot springs, separating by gender.
Deanna immersed herself in the warm water, letting out a sigh of relaxation. It had been a long time since she felt so at ease.
As she closed her eyes to enjoy the moment, she felt a pair of hands on her shoulders, massaging them. She turned her head and saw Chloe standing behind her, trying to be endearing. "Mommy..."
"What is it?" Deanna asked softly.
Chloe leaned closer. "Can you please talk to Daddy for me tonight? I ruined his alone time with you today, and I'm sure he'll assign me extra work tomorrow!"
She was confident because this had happened many times before. When she was younger and too clingy with her mother, her father would trick her into taking on more schoolwork. It wasn't until she grew older and Gregory pointed it out that she realized her father's scheme.
Seeing Chloe's distressed expression, Deanna didn't know whether to laugh or scold her. This girl never seemed to learn. She always challenged her father's authority and ended up coming to Deanna for help after getting into trouble.
"Now you're scared? Why didn't you think about the consequences when you were encouraging your godmother?" Deanna teased.
"I just miss you so much. Daddy always monopolizes your time," Chloe pouted, hugging Deanna's shoulders and acting spoiled.
Unable to resist, Deanna agreed. Chloe was overjoyed and kissed her mother on the cheek. "I knew you loved me the most."
"Alright, go enjoy the hot spring," Deanna said, pulling her to sit by the edge of the pool.
But Chloe couldn't sit still. She looked at her mother's still-beautiful face and asked curiously, "Mommy, why is your relationship with Daddy so good? I've never seen you two argue, but sometimes Auntie and Uncle Lionel do."
"Why do you ask?" Deanna raised an eyebrow.
Chloe had always been carefree and clueless about relationships. Meeting her mother's dark eyes, Chloe felt a bit guilty and pleaded, "Come on, Mommy, just tell me."
Deanna saw through her daughter's little tricks but didn't expose her. "Alright, alright, I'll tell you. Just stop shaking me; you'll make me dizzy."
Deanna took Chloe's hand and began to recount her and Lance's love story. "It's probably because we both cherish what we have. You might remember that we went through very tough times when you were little. Later, by chance, I met your father, and we faced many obstacles when we decided to be together. We even experienced life-and-death situations several times. Knowing how hard it was to get here makes us treasure every day together."
She paused, a happy smile spreading across her face. "Of course, it also helps that your father is a wonderful man. So when you look for a boyfriend or future husband, make sure he's like your father, okay?"
"If I look for someone like Daddy, will I even find anyone? Men like him are one in a million," Chloe muttered.
Deanna agreed inwardly; there was no one else like Lance. She lowered her standards a bit and said, "If you're unsure whether he's good or not, bring him home someday. Your godmother and I can help you judge."
"It's not even close to that stage yet. Even if I wanted to invite him, he might not be interested," Chloe blurted out before realizing she had said too much. She glared at Deanna in embarrassment. "Mommy, you tricked me!"
Deanna blinked innocently. "How did I trick you? I just said it out of consideration for you. But it seems my little girl has grown up and has someone she likes. What does he do?"
"There's no one I like!" Chloe denied quickly.
Deanna smiled knowingly but didn't press further. "Alright, alright, no one you like. But pursuing someone isn't easy. Do you know how many people helped your father when he was courting me?"