Chapter 81
Henry looked at Tiffany, a warm light flickering in his eyes.
A pang of bitterness tugged at his heart, but he steadied himself and said in a deep voice, "Let's grab some food first."
"Yeah, let's eat!" Julia forced back her tears.
She held Tiffany and sat down at the dining table.
Lexine had already cleaned up the kitchen and prepared a fresh meal for them.
By the time they sat down, the dishes were already laid out.
The three little ones were indeed hungry.
They each took their seats and began to eat.
Julia, despite her injured hand, habitually took care of them, serving them food.
Joseph and Stephen noticed Julia's struggle and, being very considerate, said, "Mommy, you don't need to take care of us. We'll be fine."
They ate on their own but didn't forget to serve Julia some food as well.
Julia's heart softened as she watched Joseph and Stephen.
Seeing them, Tiffany also started serving Julia food, her eyes sparkling as she waited for Julia to eat what she had given her.
Julia played along, first eating what Tiffany had given her and then praising her, gently patting her head, "It's delicious."
Encouraged by the praise, Tiffany eagerly continued to serve Julia more food.
Before long, Julia's white porcelain plate was piled high with food.
Julia was already full but couldn't bear to disappoint Tiffany, so she forced herself to eat more.
Henry, seeing this, couldn't help but laugh, "You three eat your own food. Julia is about to burst."
Julia, unable to eat any more and constantly hiccuping, looked gratefully at Henry for speaking up.
Henry still had some authority over the three little ones, and Julia's plate stopped accumulating more food.
At that moment, Henry's plate started to fill up instead.
He looked up to see that it was Stephen who had served him.
Stephen watched Henry nervously, full of anticipation.
This was the second time.
He was trying to win Henry's favor.
Henry looked at Stephen, feeling a strange sensation he couldn't quite describe.
But he still ate the food Stephen had given him. "Thanks, Steve."
Seeing this, Tiffany began serving her daddy food as well.
Joseph and Stephen, who had been serving Julia, now turned their attention to Henry.
Throughout the meal, Joseph remained still.
Henry couldn't understand where Joseph's animosity towards him came from.
Julia noticed this too and suddenly had a suspicion: Could Joseph and Stephen know who their real father was?
But she quickly dismissed the thought.
That was impossible.
Hadn't she hidden it well enough?
After the meal, both Julia and Henry were stuffed.
They sat on the couch for a while, like a family, watching cartoons with the kids.
Once they had digested a bit, Henry silently put on his coat, looking like he was about to leave.
Julia glanced at him, puzzled.
Henry stood up and said gently, "Daddy has to go now. You stay here with Julia, Joseph, and Stephen, and be good. Don't cause any trouble for Julia, okay?"
Tiffany nodded obediently.
Though she didn't want her daddy to leave, she wanted to stay more.
Julia walked over as well, and Henry looked straight at her. "I have some urgent business at the company, so I need to leave. Tiffany just recovered, and I'm worried she might not be stable yet. I'd like her to stay with you for a few days. If it's too much trouble, I can have Hannah come pick her up. What do you think?"
Julia was surprised to hear a pleading tone from this usually proud man.
She hesitated for a moment, then patted Tiffany's head. "Let her stay. If I thought it was too much trouble, I wouldn't have taken her in the first place."
"Alright, thank you. If you need anything, just let me know, and I'll make sure it gets done!" Henry said earnestly, meaning every word.
The past was best left unspoken.
Julia had helped him a great deal now, and he owed her for that.
Julia smiled slightly. "Okay, I'll hold you to that promise."
She bent down to pick up Tiffany and said to her, "Say goodbye to daddy."
Tiffany waved her arms enthusiastically at Henry, as if saying, "Goodbye, daddy."
Henry left their home feeling reassured, but not before kissing Tiffany's forehead one last time.
That night, after putting Joseph and Stephen to bed, Julia returned to the room to put Tiffany to sleep.
Lexine, seeing Julia come in, quickly got off the bed.
"It's okay, Lexine. You don't need to be so formal with me," Julia said.
Lexine had always worked as a nanny for other families, and some wealthy people looked down on nannies, not allowing them on their beds.
Even though Julia had given Lexine permission, Lexine still reflexively got off the bed.
Lexine said, "Understood, Ms. Kennedy."
Julia wanted to give Tiffany a bath, and Lexine helped. The two of them bathed Tiffany together.
Seeing how badly Tiffany had been hurt, Lexine couldn't help but mutter, "I can't believe someone would hurt a child like this. Aren't they afraid of going to hell?"
Tiffany's eyes blinked at their conversation.
She remembered Vivian's warning and kept her mouth shut.
Julia suddenly recalled what Henry had said at the amusement park.
Tiffany's biological mother wasn't Vivian.
So who was Tiffany's mother?
The next morning, Hannah, the nanny who usually took care of Tiffany, came by early to check on her.
Seeing Hannah playing with Tiffany, Julia couldn't help but ask, "Hannah, Tiffany was so sick this time. Why didn't her mother come to see her? Is something keeping her away?"
Hannah was taken aback, looking at Julia in shock.
Wasn't this child Julia's?
Why was Julia asking her this?
Julia should know Tiffany was her own child, right?
But this question left Hannah confused.
After a moment of hesitation, Hannah cautiously asked, "Didn't Mr. Hearst tell you?"
Julia found her reaction strange and said, "He only told me that Tiffany's mother isn't Vivian."
Hannah understood then that Henry hadn't told Julia the truth.
Julia herself didn't know.
Hannah didn't want to get involved in their complicated relationship, so she tactfully replied, "You always thought Tiffany's mother was Miss Jones? Tiffany doesn't look like her at all. I don't know why you would think they were mother and daughter."