Raphael was at the banquet. He listened to the surrounding conversations, his eyes flickering as he looked at the man and woman not far away, feeling a bit puzzled.
Wasn't Lance with Deanna? Why was he now getting engaged to the lady of the Cody family? No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure it out and eventually decided to stop thinking about it.
Meanwhile, in the Jones family apartment, Deanna was doing crafts with the two little ones. This was a kindergarten assignment that needed to be submitted the next day.
"Mommy, this is crooked. It needs to be redone," Gregory pointed out meticulously, his perfectionism showing.
Deanna knew her son's nature and didn't argue, immediately cutting out new colored paper.
Chloe was helping on the side. In the bright room, the three of them were busy, with scraps of paper all over the table, creating a very warm scene. The children's amusing chatter added a lot of warmth to the room.
An hour later, the three of them finally finished their craft.
Looking at the perfect work in front of her, Deanna couldn't help but take a photo and post it on social media to show off.
She added a caption: "Completed with Gregory and Chloe, feeling accomplished."
At the banquet, Lance dismissed Bella and sat alone in the lounge area playing with his phone.
Just then, his phone buzzed with a special notification from Facebook.
When he opened it, he saw Deanna's shared photo and her short caption. He could imagine the scene of the mother and children working together. The craft was indeed beautiful. Lance gave it a like.
At the same time, Deanna noticed Lance's like.
On a whim, she opened their chat window and sent a friendly greeting: "Weren't you supposed to be at a social event? How do you have time to play on your phone?"
Lance's stern features softened as he read her message. Glancing at the bustling banquet hall, he typed back with slight disdain, "Such social events are very boring to me."
Deanna was taken aback by his message, sensing his disdain. Before she could reply, Lance sent another message: "The craft looks nice. Did you make it?" "No, I made it with Chloe and Gregory," Deanna quickly replied.
The next second, she received Lance's praise: "I didn't expect Chloe and Gregory to be so talented."
As they chatted, Chloe and Gregory noticed something was up. They saw their mommy smiling sweetly and knew something was going on.
They crowded around her. "Mommy, who are you chatting with?" "It's Mr. Mercer. He just praised your skills," Deanna replied with a smile.
Hearing it was Lance, the two kids got excited and insisted on chatting with him.
Unable to refuse them, Deanna asked Lance if it was convenient for him to take a call.
She explained that both kids had things to say, and it would be easier than typing messages which could confuse Lance about who was speaking.
Almost instantly, Lance's video call came through. Deanna was startled but quickly composed herself and answered the call. The next second, Lance's handsome face appeared on the screen.
"Uncle, you look so handsome tonight!" Chloe said admiringly, her eyes sparkling brightly. Gregory nodded in agreement, "Handsome!" Seeing the two little faces on the screen, Lance couldn't help but smile.
"Did you finish your homework?"
"Yes," they answered in unison. Their innocent voices made Lance's smile even more apparent.
Then Chloe suddenly changed the topic and invited him. "Mr. Mercer, Mommy made snacks tonight. Do you want to come over?"
"What snacks?" Lance asked warmly. Gregory added, "Burritos, Mommy made them herself. They're delicious."
"I helped Mommy make burritos," Chloe chimed in proudly, her cute demeanor making Lance's heart flutter.
Deanna felt a bit awkward watching from the side and quickly said, "Mr. Mercer doesn't have to come; it's just homemade food. You might not like it."
Hearing this, Chloe and Gregory looked disappointed. Chloe tried to persuade him again: "Mommy's cooking is so good; you'll definitely like it, right, Uncle?"
She looked at Lance expectantly after speaking. Lance chuckled and glanced at the banquet hall before saying, "Chloe is right; I'll come over right away."
Deanna was speechless; she hadn't expected Lance to actually agree.