After watching the two children enter the school, Lance turned to Deanna and asked, "Where are you going next?"
"Home first, to sort out the things we brought back," Deanna replied, then looked at him and asked, "Aren't you going to the office?"
Lance smiled back, "I'm tired from all the fun these past few days. I'll take a break today."
Hearing this, Deanna didn't say anything more.
Later, they returned to the mountain estate with fruits from the south.
Old Ashley was surprised to see them. "You're back," she said, noticing the absence of the children. "Where are Gregory and Chloe?"
"They went to school," Deanna explained, adding that they had actually returned the previous night with a lot of things.
As Deanna and Old Ashley chatted, Lance sat nearby without interrupting. Soon, his phone rang. Seeing his frown, Deanna guessed it was about work and said with a smile, "Go ahead, no need to stay with us."
"Deanna's right, go handle your business," Old Ashley added, waving him off.
Lance nodded and left with his phone.
Soon, only Deanna and Old Ashley remained in the living room.
Deanna smiled and said, "It's a pity you didn't visit the estate this time. You would have loved it; the air is fresh, and the scenery is as beautiful as any tourist spot."
"That sounds wonderful. It's a shame I missed it," Old Ashley said with a hint of regret.
Deanna held her hand and reassured her, "It's not a big deal. We'll go next time."
As they spoke, Sam approached.
"Missus, as you instructed, I've divided the items you brought back into five portions."
"Thank you. Please distribute one portion to the other family members as an early New Year gift," Deanna said with a smile.
Sam was grateful. "Thank you, missus."
"You're welcome. Also, have the kitchen prepare more dishes tonight; I'm inviting some friends over," Deanna instructed.
That evening, the quiet estate became lively as Deanna invited Julia, Landon, and Old Hughes over.
Julia couldn't help but tease her glowing friend, "You look like a woman in love, radiating happiness."
Deanna playfully raised her hand to hit her. "Come on. Stop teasing me!"
Julia called out to Gregory and Chloe for help. "Your mom is going to hit me!"
"Why would Mommy hit Godmother?" The children looked on in confusion.
Before Julia could answer, Landon spoke up. "Don't worry about your Godmother; she deserves it."
Julia glared at him. "Landon, what are you doing?"
"I said you deserved it," Landon teased.
Julia turned her attention to Landon, chasing him around the living room. Their playful banter filled the room with laughter.
Everyone had a great time that night.
The next morning, Deanna was woken by her alarm clock. Lance woke up too and noticed her phone. "You set an alarm?" he chuckled.
"Yes, without it, we'd waste another day after last night's fun," Deanna said as she got out of bed. "I'll wake Gregory and Chloe; you can rest a bit longer."
Despite her suggestion, Lance got up shortly after.
After getting ready and having breakfast together, they went about their separate tasks.
Deanna dropped the kids off at school before heading to the office. Her desk was piled with documents waiting to be processed.
Instead of diving into work immediately, she turned to Xavier and asked, "Anything happen while I was away?"
"Nothing major," Xavier reported with a smile. "But there was an interesting incident in Cloudmere."
"What happened?" Deanna asked curiously.
"Raphael Howard wants to divorce Emily Jones. Emily doesn't want to and has been causing trouble for Raphael, disrupting several of their deals," Xavier shared the news.
Deanna was surprised but not particularly interested in their affairs. She waved Xavier off to continue his work.