.
He knew what it was and would never buy this thing. Dolores was mad at him since she wanted to buy it last time.
Amanda, however, didnât know that. The box packaging looked beautiful and it was on the shelves of the checkout counter. She wanted to buy it several times, but her hands were beaten by Dolores. However, Matthew would buy it, for sure, because he loved her so much.
So Amanda took it upon herself to grab a few boxes and put them in the shopping cart.
Seeing the expression in Matthewâs eyes, she asked curiously, âWhatâs wrong?â
At that moment, the cashier adjusted her glasses on her nose and looked at the items in Matthewâs hand. She said, âCould you hurry up, please? Customers are waiting behind you.â
The cashier grumbled in her mind, âWhy are you still being shy about paying when youâve already brought it to the counter?â
Matthew ignored the cashierâs insistence and stare. He put the things Amanda had put in the shopping cart back on the shelves.
At all times, Matthew would buy or give away whatever she wanted and she never refused.
âDaddy, I want this,â Amanda said pointing to the things on the shelf.
It was the first time Matthew didnât respond to Amanda with a smile and a hug. He put the remaining things on the checkout counter in silence. Then Matthew put the things back in the shopping cart after paying the bill. He lifted it with one hand and wheeled the shopping cart out of the supermarket. They took the elevator to the parking garage located on the top floor.
Andrew followed silently behind Matthew.
Amanda, on the other hand, was frightened with a layer of tears in her eyes, but she didnât dare scream.
It was the first time Matthew had given her a frustrated expression and she was scared.
She was afraid Matthew would hate her and like her worse.
When they arrived at the parking lot, Matthew settled Amanda into the car seat. Then, he put the things he had bought in the trunk of the car. Andrew got into the car alone, then took one look at Amanda, and sighed.
He thought, âHow come sheâs so forgetful? Last time Mom hit her because she took that and put it in the shopping cart. After that, she stopped taking it. She should have remembered that â why did she do it again today?â
Matthew took the shopping cart back to where it was originally. He stood by the cart for a while and didnât get in it. He didnât know how to explain it to Amanda.
Matthew could not give Amanda sex education as she was too young.
He had never been so distressed and it was the first time he realized he would encounter such a problem raising a daughter.
He could explain it to his son, but no matter how much he weighed the words, he couldnât find the right ones to explain to Amanda what the thing was for because she was a girl.
Matthew thought he should read more books on parenting. Otherwise, he didnât know how to raise his children.
âDaddy,â Amanda called shyly to Matthew, and not daring to be funny, âI want to go home.â
Children were good at judging expressions. Matthew was making a long face.
He wasnât angry with Amanda. It was inevitable that at that age he would be curious about many things. He was angry himself for not knowing how to deal with such things.
âIâll never want to buy it in the future. Dad, donât be angry,â although Amandaâs hand was hit by Dolores several times, the impact was not as strong as Matthew being angry with her.
Matthew, who had always spoiled and loved Amanda, was angry about it, so it must have been something she couldnât want.
Amanda couldnât bring herself to take it again.
Matthew looked at Amanda through the car window. After a while, he opened the door and got into the car.
He said to Amanda calmly, âIâm not mad at you. Iâm mad at myself.â
Amanda blinked and didnât understand what Matthew meant.
However, she had learned a lesson about it. She didnât want to see Matthew with a poker face.
âItâs getting late. Iâll drive them back home,â Matthew started the car.
During the drive, Matthewâs phone rang. The caller ID showed serial numbers instead of a name. He pulled the car over to the side of the road and picked up the call. It was Kevin calling, âJayden is sick and is in the hospital now.â
Matthew and Jayden hadnât seen each other since Jayden left for White City.
Jayden had been in poor health since Victoria died. It was giving him anxiety and he had no problem with his physical condition.
Jayden wanted Kevin to call and tell Matthew that he was at the hospital because he wanted to see Matthew.
âWhere is the hospital?â asked Matthew.
He knew Jayden was in White City. Since Jayden was at the hospital, he should be at one of the hospitals in White City.
There was no airport in White City because it was a small place with a small population. So Matthew would have to drive there.
With the address, he could go directly to the hospital.
âIâll send the address to your phone with a message.â
Matthew hung up the call after saying, âHm.â
Matthew had no special feeling for Kevin, even after learning his identity. After all, Matthew didnât get along with Kevin.
So Matthew had an indifferent attitude toward Kevin.
âIs Grandpa sick?â asked Andrew. Andrew had been living with Jayden and Victoria. He had been sad for a long time, ever since Victoria died. Andrew wanted to visit Jayden, who was sick.
âI miss Grandpa and I want to go visit him.â
Amanda spoke first before Matthew could answer Andrew, âDad, can Andrew and I come with you to visit Grandpa?â
Sure Matthew wanted to take the two boys to visit Jayden, but it wasnât easy for him to explain to Dolores.
Jayden had no one to go with him. He would be glad to see Andrew and Amanda, plus it would be helpful to his condition.
After some thought, Matthew said, âOkay.â
Andrew and Amanda smiled happily. It had been a while since they had seen Jayden and Boyce, as well as Jessica. So they wanted to go back to where they used to live, and there were a lot of familiar people there.
He sent the two children uptown: âYou guys go home first. Iâll ask Armand to pick you up.â
Andrew and Amanda were quiet and knew to listen to Matthewâs disposition.
He parked the car as Theresa approached them. She had been sitting in the uptown park for a while and was quiet.
She smiled and went to get Amanda to get out of the car.
Matthew got out of the car, âI want to take the two of you on a hike. Iâll ask Armand to come pick them up later.â
Theresa was stunned for a moment and didnât understand for the moment.
Theresa thought, âIs he going to see Dolores now?â
âYou can go in now,â Theresa said.
Matthew opened the trunk of the car, took the things inside out of the trunk and handed them to Theresa, âArmand will pick them up on behalf of I want to see Andrew and Amanda.â
At that point Armand would tell Dolores that Matthew missed Andrew and Amanda, so Matthew investigated their whereabouts.
Thatâs why Armand would show up there.
Theresa heard that Matthew had arranged everything, so she didnât say much about it. She held the suitcases in one hand and held Amanda in the other, âAll right, Iâll take them home first.â
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