Upon hearing this, Julia and the two little ones exchanged glances.
"What idea, Deanna? What are you talking about?" Julia pretended not to understand.
The two little ones mimicked her, "Mommy, what are you talking about? We don't understand."
Deanna looked at the three of them with identical expressions and let out a light humph.
"You three are quite in sync."
Hearing this, Julia and the two little ones looked embarrassed.
Deanna didn't give them a chance to argue and continued, "Don't think I don't know. You deliberately arranged for me to be with Mr. Mercer today. Don't think I don't know what you're planning."
Seeing that Deanna was about to get angry, Julia quickly stepped in front of the two little ones.
"This has nothing to do with Gregory and Chloe. It was all my idea. If you want to blame someone, blame me. I just saw how hard it is for you alone and wanted to find someone to take care of you and love you."
Deanna fell silent, not knowing what to say.
No matter what, Julia had her best interests at heart.
Finally, she sighed deeply and said, "Julia, I know you mean well, but I don't like being manipulated in such matters."
"Alright, if you don't like it, I won't do it again."
But Julia thought to herself, 'No way. I'll do it for your happiness!'
Seeing her friend admit her mistake, Deanna didn't say anything more and sent her away.
Soon, only she and the two little ones were left in the living room.
Although Deanna didn't hold a grudge against her friend, she felt she needed to talk to the two children.
This was an adult matter; how could they meddle?
Seeing their mommy's glare, the two little ones immediately showed timid expressions.
They were also afraid their mommy would really raise her voice, so each of them hugged one of Deanna's legs.
"Mommy, please don't be mad at us, okay?"
"We didn't mean anything bad; we just really like Uncle Lance."
Hearing their words, Deanna raised an eyebrow but kept her expression neutral. "So just because you like Mr. Mercer, you think it's okay to manipulate Mommy?"
The two little ones quickly shook their heads in denial.
"It's not manipulation; we weren't trying to manipulate you. We just thought it would be great if Uncle Lance could be our daddy."
"Mommy, we just want a daddy."
The little girl looked at Deanna with hopeful eyes.
Deanna looked back at her and felt a sudden pang of sadness in her heart.
She understood very well the children's longing for a father.
But because they rarely mentioned it and she didn't know what to do about it, she had always pretended not to notice.
She hadn't expected the children to bring it up so suddenly today, catching her off guard and making her feel even worse.
"I'm sorry. It's my fault for neglecting your feelings and making your childhood incomplete."
By the end of her words, she couldn't help but tear up.
Seeing this, the two little ones became anxious. "Mommy, don't be sad. Even though we want a daddy, you're the most important to us."
"And our childhood isn't incomplete. Whatever other kids have, you've given us."
Hearing this, Deanna felt very comforted that the two little ones appreciated her efforts.
But there were some things she felt she still needed to explain clearly to them. "I know you want a daddy, but we can't just pull Mr. Mercer into this. It's not right. You have to understand that everyone is an individual with their own thoughts. If Mr. Mercer doesn't have this idea and you do this, it will only cause him trouble."
"Will it?" The two little ones couldn't help but frown, feeling a bit downcast.
Deanna nodded again. "Of course it will. Just like if I made you do something you didn't like, how would you feel?"
"We wouldn't be happy," Chloe answered in her childish voice.
Hearing this, Deanna rubbed her head gently and said softly, "You see? If you wouldn't be happy, then Mr. Mercer wouldn't be happy either."
The two little ones didn't say anything because they felt Uncle Lance didn't seem unhappy.
But they didn't voice this thought and just nodded obediently, indicating they wouldn't be so willful next time.
Deanna didn't know this. Seeing that the two little ones understood, she coaxed them to go rest.
However, later that night, she found herself unable to sleep.
She poured herself a glass of wine and sat in the living room, lost in thought with a somewhat dazed look in her eyes.
At that moment, Old Ashley came out for a drink of water and saw this scene.
As someone who had been through it all, she immediately saw through what was troubling her granddaughter.
"It's so late; why aren't you resting?"
She pretended not to know anything and walked over to sit down.
Deanna snapped out of her thoughts and saw it was her grandmother. She said softly, "Just thinking about some things. Why are you up, Grandma?"
"Got a bit thirsty and came out for some water."
Old Ashley said this and then got straight to the point. "Tell me, do you feel something for Mr. Mercer?"
Deanna knew exactly what her grandmother meant.
She instinctively wanted to say no but found herself unable to say it when the words reached her lips.
The next morning, Deanna was a bit tired as she took the two little ones to school.
After entering the school, the two little ones huddled together and secretly contacted Julia on their phone.
"Godmother, Mommy doesn't allow us to match-make her with Uncle Lance. What should we do?"