Chapter 145
"Why are you worried?"
Emily didn't quite understand. "Aren't you their father? You're not going to hurt them, are you?"
"Of course I won't hurt them." William nodded. "But don't you want to see the kids? Once I take them away, it won't be so easy for them to come back."
"Why not?" Emily's heart tightened.
From William's tone, it sounded like the two children weren't going back to the Brown family, but into some kind of dangerous den.
A flash of light passed through William's eyes, his tone casual. "The reason is simple. Once they go back, they'll definitely be attracted to everything there. So many new and interesting things they've never experienced before—do you think they'll still want to come home?"
"Most importantly, when Grandpa sees them, he'll be thrilled and want to give them everything. If you were in their shoes, would you still want to come back?"
William was stating facts.
Just like with Aiden, Raymond had spoiled him rotten since childhood.
William was quite helpless about this.
He had reminded Raymond more than once that loving children was fine, but spoiling them was not.
But Raymond never listened, always saying it was fine, that Aiden was too young to put too much pressure on him. Children were meant to be cherished.
It was easy to imagine that after Oscar and Nina were brought back to the Brown Mansion, Raymond would treat them the same way.
Just thinking about it, William knew that once the two kids entered the Brown Mansion, they wouldn't want to come back.
He was telling Emily all this now to give her a heads-up, to prepare her mentally.
But Emily didn't see it that way.
She steadied herself and shook her head.
"I raised Oscar and Nina myself. I know them very well. No matter how many new and interesting things your Brown family has, I believe they'll definitely come back to me. Go ahead and take them."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure." Emily nodded again.
"You're right. They're this old and haven't even met their family. It's really not fair to them. Take them back today. I'll go pack their things, and when I'm done, I'll go straight to my room."
William watched her leave, his eyes puzzled.
Is she just leaving like that?
That was pretty decisive.
Emily really did go to pack things for Oscar and Nina.
When William came in, Emily had almost finished packing.
This wasn't a decision she'd just made—she'd already decided two days ago to let Oscar and Nina go with William.
Almost done packing, Nina came over. "Mommy, are we going back to Daddy's house?"
"Yes." Emily nodded. "Your daddy is waiting outside. You'll go back with him and stay for a couple of days, meet your grandpa and other family members."
Nina sensed something was wrong. "Mommy, you're saying we're going back to the Brown Mansion, but what about you? Aren't you coming?"
Emily hesitated.
Although she'd already made up her mind, now facing the children's questions, she was afraid that if she nodded, the kids wouldn't want to go.
"Mommy, are you really not coming?"
Oscar frowned. "If that's the case, if Mommy's not going, I'm not going either."
"Then I'm not going either."
Nina immediately chimed in. "Home is where Mommy is. If Mommy's not there, what's the point of us going?"
"Oscar, Nina, don't be like this," Emily said. "Even though Mommy's not going, it's still your home. How can you not go home to visit?"
"We don't want to go!"
The two children said in unison, catching Emily off guard.
When William came in and heard this, he felt much more relaxed.
This was right. He wanted both kids and Emily to come back with him. Now that the two children were on the same side as him, that was good.
Eventually, Emily would come home with him, and after spending time together, feelings would develop, and they could be together.
But what William didn't expect was that Emily walked up to Oscar and Nina, crouched down, and patiently persuaded them. "Oscar, Nina, you need to listen to me. It's not that I'm not going to the Brown Mansion, it's just that I have other things to take care of. I'll come over in a couple of days."
"You go with Daddy and stay at the Brown Mansion. In just a couple of days, you'll see me."
"Really?" Nina's brow relaxed. "Mommy, you're not lying to us, are you?"
"When have I ever lied to you?"
With that said, Oscar and Nina both nodded.
"Okay then, we'll go back to the Brown Mansion first, and Mommy has to come as soon as you're done with your work."
"Okay, let's make a promise."
Nina held out her pinky finger and made a pinky promise with Emily.
William, on the side, was dumbfounded. Was it solved that easily?
These two kids were too easy to talk to, weren't they? This situation was completely different from what he'd imagined.
Emily stood up and glanced at William, handing him the suitcase.
"Everything's packed. Take Oscar and Nina and go first. I really do have things to handle, I'm not putting you off."
"I promised Rodolfo earlier that I'd go back to work at the funeral home. After what happened with my mother, I couldn't think about it, but I need to give Rodolfo an explanation. I can't just leave without a word—that would be too much."
William knew that what Emily was saying now was just an excuse, but he didn't call her out on it. He just nodded.
"Okay, come to the Brown Mansion to find me when you're done. Oh, does your mom want to come back with me?"
Amelia was taking an afternoon nap in her room.
She'd been in poor spirits these past couple of days because of the medication. The doctor said the medicine had side effects, so she spent most of her time resting.
"My mom won't go yet."
Emily said, "I already talked to her about it. She wants to stay here with me. You go ahead."
Oscar and Nina looked at Emily reluctantly, as if this departure meant they'd never see each other again.
Finally, after Emily's repeated urging, the two children reluctantly left with William.
As William took the elevator down, his mood was heavy and gloomy.
He'd thought Emily would definitely go back with him. He'd already prepared what to do tonight, but he didn't expect Emily to refuse, and so decisively at that.
Just now, he really wanted to forcibly take Emily away regardless of everything.
But thinking again, if he really did that, Emily would definitely be very resistant, and it might backfire.
In that case, it was better to take it slow. When Emily figured things out and was willing to go home with him, that would be fair.
Most importantly, Emily wouldn't be put off.
Thinking of this, William had to suppress his excitement and got in the car with the two children.
"Are we going to live in the big house?" Nina asked, blinking her innocent big eyes.