Not long after, Lance carried Deanna onto the yacht docked at the pier.
As soon as they boarded, the yacht began to sail.
Lance held Deanna's hand and led her to the deck. The sea breeze blew their hair into disarray.
Under the moonlight, the sea shimmered with a deep blue hue, rippling with the wind.
Deanna felt an indescribable sense of peace and happiness.
Lance held her close, savoring this rare tranquility.
After some time, a sudden phone ringing broke the silence.
The call was from their two little ones, a video call.
They had seen the proposal photos Julia posted on Facebook and were calling to demand an explanation.
"Bad Daddy, you proposed to Mommy without letting us be there!"
"This time we're really mad, and we won't be easily appeased!"
Chloe crossed her arms and huffed.
Seeing their angry faces, Deanna gave Lance a look that said she would handle it.
Lance smiled and, with a serious tone, started to spin a tale, "Not letting you join was for your own good. After proposing, I planned to take your mommy on a romantic getaway. If you were there and knew I wasn't taking you along, wouldn't you feel sad?"
The two little ones were momentarily stunned, thinking his words made sense.
But Gregory quickly caught on.
"Bad Daddy, don't try to fool us. We're talking about why you didn't include us in the proposal, not the trip. Besides, even if you and Mommy want a romantic getaway, my sister and I wouldn't stop you. Hmph, I think you just forgot about us!"
Gregory had hit upon part of the truth.
Lance had indeed been too busy to remember at first. Later, when he did think of it, he felt it would be awkward to go on a trip without the kids, so he decided not to tell them at all.
Thinking this over, he smiled at them and said, "While we're away, be good and listen to your grandparents. I'll have Xavier bring you a gift every day until we return."
"Daddy, don't think you can bribe us with gifts. We won't be tempted."
Chloe huffed proudly.
Gregory nodded in agreement. "Gifts won't make us any less angry!"
Hearing this, Lance raised an eyebrow.
"Are you sure you don't want the gifts? They include the TH3 robot Gregory has always wanted and the limited edition Barbie doll Chloe has been eyeing. But if you don't want them, I'll just let Xavier have a refund."
"Don't do that! Just don't," Almost as soon as Lance finished speaking, the two little ones shouted anxiously.
Seeing their reaction, Lance laughed and asked, "So you're not mad anymore?"
"Hey, what's there to be mad about? Daddy wanting to spend time alone with Mommy shows how much he loves her. My brother and I fully support that."
Chloe smiled sweetly at Lance.
Lance almost couldn't hold back his laughter when he saw this.
Fortunately, he managed to keep it in, cleared his throat, and continued, "Well, I didn't call you for the proposal…"
"It's fine if you didn't call. It was so chaotic on site; Daddy was just worried we might get lost," Chloe said, waving her little hand in a nonchalant manner.
Gregory looked on from the side, feeling quite uncomfortable.
A limited-edition Barbie doll was all it took to win her over. His sister really had such low standards, but… the robot was still quite impressive.
Never mind, for the sake of the robot, he decided not to make things difficult for Daddy.
So, the family laughed and joked for a while before ending the call.
Deanna watched as Lance put away his phone and said with a smile, "I didn't expect you to handle the two of them so easily."
"I'm their father. It's not hard to take care of them," Lance said proudly.
Deanna chuckled at his response. Seeing her beautiful, flower-like smile, Lance's eyes were almost overflowing with tenderness. "It's getting late. Let's head back to the room and rest; we still have several hours to the island."
Although he said that, Deanna could still see the heat in his eyes and knew what he meant by rest.
A night of intimacy.
When Deanna woke up the next morning, Lance was already gone.
She didn't mind, and after getting up and freshening up, she left the room.
Following the staff's directions, she arrived at the restaurant on the top floor and saw Lance standing on the balcony.
Lance heard the sounds behind him, turned around, and seeing Deanna, his originally stern features softened immediately. His voice was gentle as he said, "You're up."
"Yes, I'm up. What are you looking at?"
Deanna nodded and walked over to Lance's side. Looking outside, she was amazed by the view.
Their cruise ship was docked at the pier. Beyond the pier was a marble pathway, with a row of bamboo trees planted on either side, making for a beautiful scene.
At the end of the bamboo forest, she could vaguely see a delicate courtyard combining both traditional and modern styles, giving off a feeling of a secluded mountain home.