Lance listened to Old Ashley and realized that Deanna had a tough past. He felt a bit uneasy inside. The two little ones sighed, "If only someone could take care of Mommy."
"Yeah, if someone took care of Mommy, she wouldn't be so tired."
Hearing this, Lance frowned. Did these kids agree with finding a stepfather? He kept his thoughts to himself, knowing his current identity wasn't suitable for meddling too much. He changed the subject and stood up, "I'll go check on Dr. Deanna. If it's serious, I'll take her to the hospital."
"Thank you, Mr. Mercer," Old Ashley nodded.
Lance went to the bedroom, followed closely by the two little ones who peeked from the door. Old Ashley found it amusing but didn't stop them.
Inside, Lance knew the kids were peeking but didn't mind. He approached the bed and saw Deanna looking pale and sleeping restlessly. She seemed uncomfortable, her brows furrowed.
Lance's eyes darkened with an unreadable emotion. He touched her forehead; she had a slight fever but nothing too serious. He adjusted her blanket and turned to leave. As he turned, he saw the kids still peeking and chuckled, "Why not come in?"
The kids, not embarrassed at being caught, grinned and asked in unison, "Uncle, is Mommy okay?"
"She's fine for now. We'll keep an eye on her," Lance said, motioning them to follow him out, "Let's not disturb her rest. We'll talk in the living room."
The kids nodded and followed him. Old Ashley saw Lance come out and asked with concern, "How is Deanna?"
"She has a slight fever but it doesn't seem serious. We'll check again later," Lance repeated.
Old Ashley nodded and resumed knitting. The kids pulled Lance to help with their math problems.
Around noon, since Deanna was sick, Old Ashley planned to cook. She looked at Lance and asked, "Mr. Mercer, what would you like for lunch?"
"No need to trouble yourself. I've already asked Xavier to order food; it should arrive soon," Lance replied.
Old Ashley smiled and sat back down, "Thank you, Mr. Mercer."
Soon, there was a knock at the door. The kids ran to open it. Outside was Xavier with hotel staff carrying food boxes. Lance had ordered from a five-star hotel and included a light chicken porridge for Deanna.
Xavier directed the staff to set up the food and handed Deanna's meal to Mr. Mercer, "Mr. Mercer, this is for Dr. Deanna."
Lance took it and instructed, "You take care of Chloe and Gregory's meal. I'll bring this to Dr. Deanna."
Xavier blinked, finding Mr. Mercer increasingly unlike his usual self. When had Mr. Mercer ever taken care of another woman? Only Dr. Deanna seemed to make him break his own rules repeatedly.
Unaware of his assistant's thoughts, Lance entered the room with the porridge and gently woke Deanna, "Wake up, it's time to eat."
"Mr. Mercer, what are you doing here?!" Deanna woke up groggily and was surprised to see him.
Lance didn't explain his special visit but helped her sit up and handed her the porridge, "Eat something first, then take your medicine."
"Thank you," Deanna said as she started eating, occasionally glancing at him. How did he know she was sick? She guessed Gregory and Chloe must have told him and didn't dwell on it.
After finishing the porridge and resting a bit, Deanna took her medicine. During this time, Lance stayed by her side.
Having slept all morning, Deanna felt better and got up to check on things outside. The kids ran over as soon as they saw her.
"Mommy, you're up! Are you feeling better?" they asked eagerly.
Old Ashley also looked concerned.
Deanna felt warm inside seeing their concern and smiled, "I'm much better now. Have you two eaten?"