Chapter 317 Let Anya End Her Vacation

Chapter 317 Let Anya End Her Vacation

Hearing her own name, Xandra was a bit curious about who her mother-in-law was talking to on the phone.

She helped Frederick to sit down in the dining room and saw Rachel finish her call and walk over.

"Mom, who were you talking to?"

"Your father," Rachel said.

Xandra blinked, smiling broadly. "Oh, so you two have been keeping in touch?"

"Yeah, the old guy is so annoying, calling or texting every single day."

Rachel looked disgusted.

Xandra laughed again. "Dad's thinking about you."

Rachel snorted. "Please! He's a married man now. I'm afraid that shameless woman Vivian will make a big deal out of this and ruin my reputation."

At the mention of Vivian, Xandra's smile faltered.

Then she reassured her, "Mom, don't worry. Dad's not stupid. He won't fall for Vivian's tricks again after being set up once. I'm sure he's waiting for a chance to deal with her."

Rachel pouted. "Hard to say. Men think with what's between their legs. Vivian's young and pretty, for all we know your dad might have slept with her once and gotten hooked on her young body."

Xandra glanced at her, detecting a hint of jealousy in her words.

She smiled. "Dad's not that shallow."

"What kind of person is he has nothing to do with me."

Rachel shot back, then said, "By the way , Xandy, I just told him about your situation. You're not mad at me for being a blabbermouth, are you?"

Xandra shook her head. "No, everyone will find out sooner or later anyway."

Frederick, who had been quietly listening on the side, chimed in: "What did father-in-law say?"

Rachel said, "He said he doesn't care about all that. He only knows that Xandy is his daughter and the three kids are his grandchildren; he hopes you can handle this calmly and not let Xandy get hurt."

Frederick glanced at Xandra and reached out to hold her hand.

"Of course."

Rachel looked at their clasped hands and probed, "So what are you two planning to do about this? The three kids' biological father is Lucas. Are you going to let the kids acknowledge him?"

Xandra felt the man's grip on her hand tighten.

She said, "I've already talked to Lucas. I'll have custody of the three kids, and we can co-parent them."

"Oh, what did he say?" Rachel asked.

"He agreed," Xandra replied.

Rachel nodded. "Makes sense. Lucas probably won't fight for custody anyway. After all, he's the second son of the Russell family. With that mother of his, there's no way she'd let him bring his illegitimate children home before he's married."

The word "illegitimate" made Frederick frown.

"Mom, from now on the three kids are mine and Xandra's children. Don't use words like 'illegitimate' anymore."

Rachel caught on and slapped her own mouth.

"Look at my big mouth. Sorry, Xandy, I didn't mean anything by it."

Xandra smiled. "Let's eat."

She knew her mother-in-law didn't mean any harm, she was just talking without thinking.

But hearing "illegitimate children" still left a bad taste in her mouth.

Not for any other reason, just that she felt bad for the three kids.

No matter how much she loved them, she couldn't avoid the fact that they'd be labeled as illegitimate children.

Frederick served her a bowl of soup and said gently, "Honey, you've had a rough few days. Your face looks thinner. Eat more."

"Right, right, Xandy, I had the kitchen make all your favorite dishes. Eat more."

Rachel was very attentive.

Probably trying to make up for her earlier slip.

Xandra smiled. "Mom, you've got the wrong person. I'm not the patient, Ray needs to eat more."

Rachel glanced at Frederick dismissively.

"He's a big strong man, eating a bit less won't hurt him. We women are more delicate and need to take better care of ourselves."

Frederick looked at her sideways. "Are you really my mother?"

Rachel: "No, I'm Xandy's mother. Come on, Xandy, eat up."

Xandra laughed again. "Mom, you eat too."

"Will do."

Watching the two women interact so warmly, Frederick's slightly worried heart settled down, and he began to drink his soup leisurely.

After dinner, Xandra helped Frederick back to his room to rest.

Soon after, his assistant Donald came over with several documents that needed Frederick's signature.

After Frederick finished signing, Donald hesitated before speaking up.

"Mr. Flores, there are several projects that Ms. Bellamy followed from start to finish. I'm having trouble taking them over. Could we have Ms. Bellamy end her vacation and come back to the office to help me handle the related matters?"

At this, Frederick's eyes darkened.

"Donald, how many years have you been with the company?"

"Three years," Donald said.

"Looks like your abilities still need improvement. Tomorrow I'll have Erin help you with part of the workload."

Donald's heart sank. He looked up at Frederick's stern face, swallowed, and said somewhat anxiously, "Mr. Flores, I can handle everything myself."

"Really?" Frederick questioned.

"Yes."

Donald chose his words carefully. "I just think Ms. Bellamy is very talented, and it's a shame not to let her continue helping you with work."

Frederick leaned back. "I'm just having her rest for a while, I didn't say she couldn't keep working. There's a new project about to launch, and I'll have her lead it."

Donald was silent for a moment. "Mr. Flores, I went to Ms. Bellamy's place this morning about work matters. Her current mental state doesn't look good. She seems very down."

Frederick's brow furrowed slightly. After a moment he said, "I see. You can go now."

"Alright."

Donald didn't dare say more. He took the signed documents and left.

Frederick was silent for a moment, then picked up his phone and called Anya.

But the phone was turned off.

Frederick frowned, his lips pressed thin.

Xandra gently pushed the door open. Seeing him staring at his phone in a daze, she asked with concern, "Honey, what's wrong? Is something going on at the company?"

"Nothing."

Frederick put his phone aside without elaborating.

Seeing he didn't want to talk about it, Xandra didn't press. "You should rest now."

Frederick looked at her. "Stay with me."

So clingy.

Xandra teased, "Sleep by yourself. I haven't finished looking around your place yet."

Frederick chuckled softly and said nothing more, slowly lying down on the bed.

Xandra looked at him for a moment longer, tucked him in, then left the bedroom.

He's worried about something!

Because if nothing was wrong, he definitely would have teased her a few times about sleeping with him.

In the bedroom, Frederick lay with his eyes open, staring at the ceiling, then picked up his phone again to call Anya.

Still turned off.

Thinking of his comrade's dying wish, he sat up and called Donald.

"Anya's phone is off. Can you go check on what she's doing?"

"Yes, Mr. Flores."

After hanging up, Frederick didn't lie back down. Instead, he sat quietly with his eyes closed.

Half an hour later, Donald called back.

"Mr. Flores, Ms. Bellamy isn't home. She must have gone out."