Chapter 73 Sleeping in the Same Bed with the Ex-Husband
On the plane back home.
William rested with his eyes closed, his heart rate abnormal, Sophia's last words echoing constantly in his mind.
"I've seen him by Alice's side."
Even though Sophia and the three children were safe now, just thinking about how they had almost died today made his blood boil with rage, wishing he could tear those people apart!
That very night, William showed up at the Johnson Villa.
Sophia had expected he would come.
After letting him in, she pointed upstairs, "The kids just finished their baths and are resting in their room."
Before she could finish speaking, William pulled her tightly into his arms.
Before she could even react and push away, he let go first, polite and distant, as if it were just an ordinary hug.
William's hands clenched and unclenched, ultimately resisting the urge to pull her into his arms again.
He reminded himself that his status was still inappropriate!
William said in a low voice, "I'll go upstairs to check on the kids."
Sophia nodded. She went to make milk for the three children, hesitated for a moment, then made a cup for William too.
He looked very tense.
Flying from the country where William was on business back to Empire City took over ten hours. William must have rushed back without stopping.
"Daddy!"
Seeing William, James and Michael found their source of comfort, and both threw themselves into William's arms seeking warmth.
"Daddy, so many cars crashed into us today!"
William patted James's head. "Was James scared?"
The latter nodded, then quickly shook his head.
"I was only a little bit scared."
"Daddy, you said I'm a little man who needs to protect Mommy and Michael and Emily, so I wasn't scared."
William saw through James's inner fear and held him tightly. "James was very brave today. Daddy is proud of you."
"But you're still young. With Daddy here, Daddy will always protect you and Michael and Emily."
After comforting James, he soothed Michael.
What surprised Sophia was that after caring for James and Michael, William also specifically picked up Emily and gently comforted her.
"Was Emily scared?"
Emily shook her head, "Mommy will protect Emily."
She raised her little fist, pretending to be fierce, "Emily protects Mommy and brothers!"
James and Michael also came over.
Hearing her words, their faces showed emotion, and they said, "Emily, we and Daddy will always protect you and Mommy too!"
Outside the door, Sophia's heart softened.
She handed the prepared milk to the children, then gave the remaining milk to William, "You should drink some too."
William's gaze fell heavily on her fingertips. He thanked her and drank the milk in one gulp.
It was only then that he realized how dry his throat was.
After an afternoon of Sophia's comfort and company, the three children had gradually recovered from the morning's fear.
Now with William by their side, they all relied on him, clinging to him to tell them stories.
Emily fell asleep in William's arms, her head resting in the crook of his arm, her little hand tightly clutching his shirt, sleeping sweetly.
James and Michael also fell asleep lying beside him.
William carried the three children from the playroom back to the master bedroom bed, tucked them in, made sure they wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night, then tiptoed out and closed the door.
Sophia didn't miss the dark circles under his eyes, "Since you're here, rest in the guest room. The kids might wake up at night."
William nodded, "Thanks for the trouble."
This wasn't his first time staying in the guest room at the Johnson Villa. The clothes he'd left before had all been dry-cleaned, pressed, and stored in the closet.
He didn't close the guest room door, worried he wouldn't hear any sounds from the master bedroom.
In the middle of the night.
William instantly woke up, hearing the children crying. He strode to the master bedroom and knocked on the door, immediately pushing it open after getting permission.
As Sophia had expected, although the children's emotions had been soothed during the day, the fear they experienced would be magnified at night.
Michael was the first to wake up from a nightmare, and soon after, James woke up too.
The children's crying directly woke Sophia.
She had just picked up Michael and comforted him for a bit when James also woke up crying. She could only take turns holding and soothing the children.
William came in at this moment.
He picked up James from the bed, his movements skilled, and soon calmed James's crying.
Sophia had also soothed Michael by then.
The two walked around the room holding the children. Just as they got them back to sleep, Emily woke up crying.
Emily rubbed her eyes and sat up pitifully, reaching out both hands toward Sophia, "Mommy, hug."
William came over and took Michael from Sophia's arms, his voice low and charming, "You comfort Emily first, leave Michael to me."
He held one son in each arm, his strength remarkable. Only after both children fell asleep again did he gently place them back on the bed.
But as soon as he released his hold, James and Michael immediately woke up, startled. William could only turn his gaze to Sophia.
She sighed, "You lie down and sleep with them."
The master bedroom bed was specially customized for the three children. Even with two more adults lying down, it wouldn't feel crowded.
Sophia held Emily and paced around the room. Emily's eyes were red, her hands tightly hugging Sophia's neck.
Only after James and Michael had fallen into deep sleep did Emily gradually become sleepy.
She glanced at the three people already asleep on the bed, carefully lay down with Emily, gently patting her back and humming a lullaby, unknowingly falling asleep herself.
When the lullaby completely stopped, William opened his clear, awake eyes, his gaze flowing over her face.
The three children slept in the middle, with him and Sophia on either side of the bed, looking exactly like a family of five.
William pulled a blanket over Sophia and Emily, adjusted the corners for James and Michael, then closed his eyes again.
By this time, there were only a few hours until dawn.
Between jet lag and the time spent comforting the children last night, even William, whose biological clock was extremely regular, overslept the next day.
Sophia and the three children always slept until they woke naturally, and after last night's ordeal, they showed no signs of waking.
The five of them slept until noon.
When Harper came over with gifts to mooch lunch and learned that Sophia and the children hadn't woken up yet, her eyes showed surprise and confusion.
She went upstairs and knocked on the door, "Sophia, are you awake?"
Just as Harper was hesitating whether to push the door open directly, the door was opened from inside.
The next second, she saw her good friend's ex-husband, who supposedly had no relationship with her, wearing a robe, looking cold as he opened the master bedroom door.
Harper's eyes widened, looking at him, "You!"
William's sleepiness vanished completely. He narrowed his eyes and sized up the man before him, overlapping with the figure at the Seraphim restaurant table.