Gregory was nearby, rubbing his eyes, and spoke softly to Deanna.
"Mommy, you're back?"
"Yes, I'm back."
Deanna said as she reached out to pick up the little one, gently saying, "Come on, Mommy will take you to bed."
Lance watched from the side and immediately followed.
Entering the children's room, Deanna carefully placed the little one on the children's bed, covered him with a blanket, and gave him a goodnight kiss on the forehead.
"Goodnight, Gregory."
"Goodnight, Mommy."
Gregory responded drowsily.
Seeing this, Deanna gently patted his chest twice and smiled softly, "Sleep well."
Gregory nodded, murmured an acknowledgment, and closed his eyes.
Once the little one was asleep, Deanna stood up and turned to see the little girl lying in Lance's arms.
She used the same method to coax the little girl to sleep.
However, Chloe had a habit of holding a fluffy doll while sleeping.
Lance noticed this and raised his eyebrows slightly, asking in a low voice, "Is this Chloe's habit?"
"Yes, she liked holding my arm to sleep since she was little. As she grew up, she started holding a doll."
Deanna responded with a light laugh, her expression filled with indescribable affection.
Lance nodded and said nothing more.
But if one looked closely, they could see the tenderness in his deep black eyes.
Seeing both children asleep, Deanna gently waved to Lance, "Let's go out."
Lance nodded. He took one last look at the sleeping children before following Deanna out quietly.
Once outside, Deanna pointed to the sofa and invited, "Mr. Mercer, please sit. I'll get you some water."
Despite her words, she came back with a pill in her hand.
"Here, take this."
Deanna walked over to Lance and handed him both the water and the pill.
Lance didn't ask what it was and took it without question.
Seeing his unconditional trust, Deanna raised an eyebrow, "Aren't you going to ask what kind of pill I gave you?"
"I believe you wouldn't harm me."
Lance looked at her intently.
His focused gaze was so deep it seemed to draw people in.
Deanna felt a sudden unease and quickly looked away, explaining, "The pill is to prevent you from feeling unwell in the morning because you drank quite a bit tonight."
Lance nodded and sat on the sofa with an air of calmness, showing no intention of leaving.
Of course, Deanna couldn't ask him to leave either.
After all, she had invited him up herself.
So she sat beside him, and the atmosphere became somewhat quiet and awkward.
Lance noticed this and started a conversation.
"By the way, your stepsister should be getting out soon."
Deanna was momentarily stunned by his words but then smiled wryly, "If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten about it."
Seeing her reaction, Lance knew she didn't care much about it and raised an eyebrow.
Then he asked, "Don't you have any thoughts about it?"
Deanna understood his implication immediately and shrugged, "I don't have any thoughts. If that woman gets out, she gets out. As long as she doesn't bother me again, it's fine."
"You seem quite indifferent about it. But I think your stepsister won't let it go easily."
Lance frowned slightly, showing some concern.
Deanna shrugged nonchalantly, "She won't let it go easily, but I'm not someone to be messed with either, right?"
Hearing this, Lance thought of the previous confrontations between her and the Jones family.
Indeed, she was right.
"That's true. But I'm worried your stepsister might resort to extreme measures. If you need any help, you can come to me."
"No need to trouble..."
Deanna instinctively wanted to refuse. After all, Lance had already helped her a lot, far beyond what her treatment fees could cover.
But before she could finish her sentence, Lance interrupted as if he knew what she was going to say, "Dr. Deanna, don't be in a hurry to refuse. Helping you is also helping myself. After all, only Dr. Deanna can treat my old ailment now. So Dr. Deanna is very important to me. I can't allow anything to happen to you."
Hearing this, Deanna was left speechless.
Especially those last few words. She knew what Lance meant but couldn't help feeling her heart race because of them.
Fortunately, she quickly suppressed her emotions and said helplessly to Lance, "If I need help, I'll let you know."
Lance nodded in satisfaction.
They chatted for a while longer.
Deanna started feeling hungry.
She had left in a hurry tonight and hadn't eaten much. At that place, she had no appetite either.
"I'm hungry. Are you hungry? I'm thinking of making some noodles."
She held her stomach and looked at Lance.
Lance found her actions inexplicably cute. He nodded and smiled, "Sure, I could have some too. I didn't eat much tonight either."