Chapter 406 - My Husband, My Secret Lover

Stela Walker POV

Yvonne and Christina didn't know what death meant, but at this moment, they realized that they had lost their great-grandfather forever. Feeling sad, Christina also sobbed in my arms.

I then led the children to sit down on the bench next to me and pacified them. Later, perhaps it was because the children were tired from crying that they fell asleep one by one.

Looking at the children, I asked in a soft and low voice, "Let's go back to sleep, okay?"

However, the three children were sleeping soundly and no one heard me. In this case, I had to quietly wait for them to wake up, and I considerately buttoned their coats.

The temperature at night was low. When the wind blew, it became colder here. As there was nothing I could use to shield the children against the wind, I wrapped my coat around Aelius who was bending over the wooden table, and then held Yvonne and Christina more tightly in my arms. But I was still worried that the children would catch a cold if they slept here for a long time.

Should I wake up the kids? Although it doesn't feel good being woken up while sleeping, it is better than catching a cold. While I was hesitating, a pair of big hands came into view and then took the two little girls away from my arms.

All of a sudden, I was wide awake and raised my head. When I saw Hayden, I was surprised. "... Hayden?"

"Mm," Hayden replied to me as he let Yvonne and Christina lie in his arms so that they could lie more comfortably. He had been fixing his eyes on the two girls and didn't look at me.

Seeing him sitting in the wheelchair, I asked in confusion, "How did you get here?" There was no elevator to the top floor of the villa, and the stairs to the top floor were steep and narrow.

Thinking of a possibility, I asked in disbelief, "Did you walk here by yourself? How can you walk in such a condition?"

I had secretly inquired about Hayden's condition with Luke. Both Hayden's legs were badly fractured and what happened in the forest half a year ago delayed the treatment, so it would take him a long time to recover.

Walking before recovery would make his condition worsen and was of no good.

After finishing my questions, I wanted to check on Hayden's legs and reached out my hand. But when I was about to touch his knees, I suddenly stopped and then withdrew my hand.

"Sorry. I was too anxious," I said. Looking at Hayden's legs, I found that his trousers were a little loose for him and I almost cried out.

Hayden, you used to be in a good shape.

Back then, When you played soccer on the soccer field, you could always attract the attention of many girls. But now, you're confined to a wheelchair. Your legs used to be muscular but now they are so thin.

I suppressed my tears as I saw how painful and vulnerable he was.

"I'm okay," Hayden said tonelessly with a hint of imperceptible disappointment in his eyes. His voice wrenched my mind back to the present.

Hearing his words, I nodded slightly. Looking in the direction of the stairs, I asked, "Did Uncle Luke help you get here? Do you want to go back to your room? How about I help you go downstairs?"

Expressionlessly, Hayden didn't answer my question but just said, "You can go back to sleep. I'll take care of them."

Although he didn't spend much time with me and the children, I knew he paid close attention to us and secretly looked at me from time to time. He witnessed how busy I had been and how many things I had done at the funeral. Therefore, he knew that I must be very tired now.

"Let me take care of them. It's not convenient for you to go downstairs with the children in your arms," I said softly, worried about him and the children. "How about this? I'll wake up Aelius and let him look after his sisters. Then I'll help you go back to your room first and..."

Before I finished my words, Christina, who was disturbed by the noise of their talking, frowned in Hayden's arms and buried her head into Hayden's coat. Seeing this, I and Hayden stopped talking. It was not until Christina fell into deep sleep again that we continued to talk, and this time, both of us lowered their voices.

When I wanted to continue to speak, Hayden whispered, "I can't fall asleep and want to spend more time with the children here. You may go back to sleep now."

"But..." I wanted to say something but then bit my tongue and looked at the children who were sleeping with worries in my eyes, thinking that I'd better not mention Hayden's injured legs again and again in case he felt hurt.

"You can rest assured," Hayden deliberately said in an indifferent tone with a cold and serious expression, "I'm the children's father. I will take good care of them."

Hearing this, I didn't know how to persuade him and had to listen to him. While walking toward the stairs, I looked back at him and the children from time to time. When I was about to get back to the first floor, I look at the stairs thoughtfully and then decided to talk with Luke about Hayden's physical condition again.

It's tiring and dangerous for Hayden to walk up the stairs alone in such a condition. I need to tell Uncle Luke to stop him from doing such dangerous things in the future.

Thinking about this, I went to Luke's room. The door of Luke's room was closed and there was no light coming beneath the door. Seeing this, I thought that Luke was still busy with his work and hadn't come back to his room so I turned around and went somewhere else to look for him.

It was late and there were only a few places that Luke probably had gone. I decided to go to these places one by one to look for Luke.

At this time, I happened to meet a servant who had just finished her work and was about to go back to her room.

I then stopped her and asked, "Do you know where Uncle Luke is? I have something to talk to him about."

"Uncle Luke?" The servant looked at me in confusion and pointed at Luke's room. "Uncle Luke went to bed not long after dinner. He had a busy day and was too tired so he went to bed early today. Mrs. King, if there's nothing urgent, you may talk with him tomorrow."

"OK. Thank you." I said politely.

Luke went to bed early. Then who helped Hayden go to the top floor? Did Hayden go up the stairs carrying his wheelchair by himself?!

His legs must be painful when he walked... I thought with mixed feelings.

For a moment, I had an impulse to rush to the top floor and give him a hug. But at the thought that Hayden didn't even want to see me, I gave up the thought and walked back to my bedroom in depression. When I opened the door of my room, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a glimmer of light coming from Hayden's bedroom not far away.