âYes.â
Tobias Clark reached out to touch her belly, afraid to touch her, and then quickly withdrew his hand. He pursed his lips, something having crossed his mind, and then looked at her. âEnna, many people stop loving their older child when they have a second one, focusing all their attention on the younger one. Do you think youâll do that too once you give birth to your sister?â
If thatâs the case, he doesnât want to have a sister.
âOf course not.â Enna took his hand, chuckling as she teased him. âAfter all, Iâll be counting on you to support me when you grow up.â
Tobias was inspired. His eyes sparkled with determination. âDonât worry, Iâll learn from Dubious Man how to make money in the future. Iâll make sure you and my little sister will never worry about anything!â
Enna couldnât help but laugh. ââ¦â He kept talking about having a sister when they couldnât even tell the babyâs gender yet. If it turns out to be a brother, he might have a fit. However, she believed that Baron Lawrence would be a great father, and Bobby would step up as a good older brother.
Enna walked with him around the neighborhood. Bauhinia Garden, with luxury-like houses, is more like a villa than a typical neighborhood. The landscaping was particularly well done, with tree-lined paths and an artificial lake in the center, complete with ancient-style pavilions and a few swans.
Youâd think you were in a park if you didnât know you were in a neighborhood.
Despite the emphasis on greenery, the area is vast. Enna had never explored the whole neighborhood before, and by the time they made a complete circle, she realized theyâd been walking for over an hour.
Bobby seemed fine, but she was starting to feel tired. They went home and got cleaned up, then just as they lay down on the bed, Bobby pushed open her bedroom door and jumped onto the bed, wearing a little tiger pajama set. He hugged her close, his voice sweet and childish, âEnna, I want to sleep with you tonight.â
It was quite rare for him to be so affectionate with her, so of course, she wouldnât say no. She wrapped her arm around his waist, âOkay.â
âTell me a story.â
âSure. What do you want to hear?â
âI want to hear the story of the Ugly Duckling.â
âOnce upon a time, a duck father and a duck mother gave birth to a group of adorable little ducklings. One of them was big and gray, looking completely unattractive. So, all the other ducklings loved to bully it, laugh at it, and even gave it a nickname: Ugly Duckling. But the Ugly Duckling didnât give up; instead, it worked hard to learn life skills and tried its best in everything. Still, the other ducklings often ridiculed its appearance, and the duck parents didnât like it either, driving it away. The little duck persevered through the long, cold winter alone⦠Only to find itself transformed into a beautiful white swan by the lake.â
âThis story tells us that with hard work, anything is possible.â
Tobias had his own opinion and didnât agree at all. âThe Ugly Duckling didnât become a white swan because it worked hard, but because it was always a swan in the first place. It just happened to find itself born among ducks. No matter how much effort it put in, the Ugly Duckling would always turn into a white swan anyway.â
He paused for a moment and then said earnestly to Enna, âEnna, this story isnât trying to tell us that hard work makes you a white swan. What itâs really trying to say is that ducks will always be ducks, and swans will always be swans. Even if a swan finds itself surrounded by ducks, one day, it will stand out because of its true identity. As for the ducks, no matter how hard they work, they will always remain just ducks, never becoming swans.â