.
âYouâre such a bratâ¦â Joseph looked depressed, âHave you forgotten that youâre my son? Iâm your father, and sheâs not your biological mother.â
[I know.] Noah quickly jotted two words on the board.
Joseph thought that reasoning with the kids was basically going to turn him into a psychopath. So he didnât bother arguing with Noah any further, âSit down, letâs go to great-grandpaâs for dinner tonight.â
âI donât want to eat.â
âIf you donât want to eat, Iâll call your mother and tell her you just broke your promise to her. Iâll ask her not to come this weekend. Then, you will starve to death.â
Hearing her words, Noah immediately became nervous. His face turned red with anger. Stomping his legs, he said, âYouâ¦you are very bad.â
âOkay, Iâm bad.â Joseph looked at him, âYou may think Iâm bad, but please think hard about whether or not you want to eat on the way to Grandpaâs house.â
After finishing his words, he closed the door to the back seat. He got into the car and started the engine. Then, he drove to the Beckham Mansion.
Since Franklin took over the ST Group, he became an idle man. He stayed home every day reading the newspaper. He also took it upon himself to fetch Noah, as if he was trying hard to be a good father.
However, Noah did not seem to appreciate his effort. The most frequent question he asked him was when he and Hayden would reconcile. Noah thought Hayden and Joseph were just angry.
On the other hand, Stella sat in the back seat and said angrily as if she were an adult, âMom, I thought you were done with Mr. Beckham, you canât be with him all the time after youâre done.â
Hayden laughed at Stellaâs words. âWhy? I thought you were really into Mr. Beckham.â
âThat was before. Mr. Beckham is marrying someone else, isnât he? Besides, he doesnât treat you as well as Dad treats you, so itâs better if youâre not with him. Mom, if you donât like Dad, you can find someone else, donât put all your eggs in one basket.
âHey, little girl, even you know that saying, who taught it to you?â.
âAiden, Aiden taught it to me.â
âAiden again?â
Hayden looked puzzled for a moment.
Aiden was a new transfer student in his class. Lately Stella always mentioned his name, it was so often that until it had far outnumbered the times Stella mentioned Noahâs name.
As she thought about it, Stella continued with a serious countenance, âAnyway, you shouldnât get too close to Mr. Beckham. Heâll keep you from having love affairs with other men.â
âAiden told you that, too?â
Stella nodded her head seriously.
âWell, Aiden knows all about it.â Hayden was a little depressed.
He had thought that his little girl had seen a lot of the world and was not easily fooled by others. However, it had only been a short time since they had returned, but she had already been fooled by the boy in her class.
She held back her laughter and asked him.
âBut what do we do if your brother refuses to eat at home? Iâve promised Mr. Beckham to cook for Noah at your great-grandfatherâs house every weekend.â
âHuh?â
Stella frowned. Her little pink face scrunched up in frustration. She showed an expression as if she didnât know what to do.
âIf you donât want to see Mr. Beckham, then just donât go there. Iâll take you to the office for the weekend and you can stay with Mr. Burke and let him make clothes for your dolls.â
âI donât want to.â Stella curls her arms, âI want to go.â
âWhy, didnât you say you donât want to see Mr. Beckham?â Hayden held the steering wheel, she was puzzled and asked again.
âIâm going to keep an eye on him. If he dares to bully Mom again, Iâll call Dad to come back and protect you.â
The little girl looked overbearing. Seeing her gaze reflected in the rearview mirror, Hayden froze for a moment. Then she smiled warmly.
âOkay.â
Adults always thought children didnât understand anything. But, in fact, childrenâs ability to sense other peopleâs emotions was better than adultsâ. Even Hayden didnât know when Stella began to resent Joseph so much.
Maybe it was because she told him that Noah was her long-lost brother. Although she never mentioned it before, maybe she had already realized that Joseph was actually her biological father, or maybe it was when she took her out of Old Master Beckhamâs house, when she saw Hayden sad and depressed, maybe she got the impression that Joseph was treating Hayden badly.
There were too many possibilities, but the changes were too subtle for her to realize in time. By the time she realized that Stella was resisting Joseph, it had been a long time since Hayden and Joseph had argued, misunderstood each other, and made amends.
When Hayden brought Stella home, Benjamin had already been waiting at the door for a while.
When she saw Benjamin, Stella was so excited that she forgot her earlier melancholy and immediately jumped into Benjaminâs arms, âBenjamin, youâre back at last.â
Benjamin hugged Stella and guessed her weight. âYouâre so much heavier, did you miss me so much?â.
âYes.â
The sweet, cute sound almost melted someoneâs heart.
Looking at Benjaminâs luggage, Hayden opened the door. âCome in, Iâll go to the supermarket later to buy some things to cook you something special.â
âNo need, I can eat anything. Iâm too tired and just want to get some sleep on your couch.â
âYouâre too big to sleep on the couch, you can sleep in the guest room.â
Hayden smiled and carried Benjamin inside.
Stella grabbed the gift Benjamin gave her and happily went to her room to open it, while Hayden took the noodles and cooked them.
âWait a minute, itâll be ready soon.â
âSure.â
Benjamin lay down on the couch and let out a light snore instantly.
When Hayden came out of the kitchen with a bowl of noodles, he saw Benjamin asleep on the couch, he couldnât bear to wake him up.
The warm yellow light illuminated Benjaminâs boyish face. His messy hair covered one eye, and she didnât know how long it had been since heâd last cut it.
She felt a little guilty.
After she had run over Benjamin, he had been recovering. After he had regained some memories, she asked him to help her look into Noahâs affair. But, in fact, in the end, Benjamin was still a boy, he just seemed a little mature. She didnât know how she could have been sure to let him go so far.
She thought the debts she owed him could never be repaid.
Hayden sighed.
âYes?â Benjamin was suddenly startled. He sat up from the couch drowsily, âAre the noodles ready?â
âYes.â Hayden quickly pushed the bowl of noodles into his hands.
It was some noodles in soup with shredded pork and salted vegetables, with two golden fried eggs on top of the noodles.
Benjamin smiled a very happy smile. âIâve been wanting to eat this for a long time.â
After finishing his words, he took the bowl and ate the noodles quickly, as if he didnât care about his image.
After a while, he finished the bowl of noodles.
âIs that enough? Iâll go get you another bowl if you want more.â
âNo need, no need.â Benjamin said as he wiped his mouth, âHayden, Iâm already full, letâs talk about the important things first.â
He set the silverware down on the bowl, making a high-pitched sound as if announcing the beginning of a new chapter in the story from this point on.
Three years ago, there were two main nannies charged with caring for Noah. The first was named Teresa Mitchell and she was in charge of Noahâs diet.
The other was named Sabrina Hall and was in charge of Noahâs daily chores. The Beckham Family people called them Teresa and Sabrina.
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