Before leaving, Belinda looked at Ashley and asked, "Ash, can I come and see you again sometime?"
"Of course. Recently, I've just been staying home. So please, if you want to come over, don't hesitate at
all,"
Ashley responded.
"That sounds good."
Belinda was relieved after hearing Ashley's reply.
"Then, we'll take our leave now."
But Belinda just looked at Ashley with so much longing in her eyes. Everyone could see that she didn't
really want to part with her daughter.
"Goodbye, Mom, Dad, and brother Jeremy. Come to visit me again when you have the time."
Ashley hadn't planned on addressing Belinda as Mom.
However, when she saw the look in her mother's eyes, she could tell that her mother was hesitant to
leave. She would turn back to look at Ashley from time to time.
Even Ashley herself didn't know why she suddenly wanted to call Belinda, her mom.
She felt like it wasn't a big deal at that point.
For Ashley, it was suddenly very easy to call Belinda, her mom. It felt natural even.
Ashley breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Belinda with a smile on her face. "Goodbye, Mom."
With that, Belinda looked at Ashley in disbelief.
She was completely stunned with what Ashley had called her.
What did she just hear?
What did Ash just call her right then?
Did Ash really call her mom?
What was going on?
Did she hear it right? Or was it just her illusion?
Before coming to visit, she had been looking forward to hearing Ashley call her mother. However,
Ashley hadn't done it throughout their entire conversation.
Disappointed as she was, Belinda could also understand that it wasn't easy for Ashley to just regard
her as her mom so quickly. After all, she had not been there for most of Ashley's life thus far. Therefore,
when Ashley called her Mom just now, she was taken aback.
Meanwhile, Martin and Jeremy were also surprised.
They too didn't expect that Ashley would call them Dad and brother respectively.
The two of them looked at Ashley, who was standing on the steps and looking at them with a smile.
They waved to her and said, "Goodbye, Ashley."
After seeing Jeremy and her parents off, Ashley entered the house and was immediately embraced by
Andrew. "Let's go upstairs."
"Not now; it's still so early. I'm going to see my kids first."
As expected, the expression on Andrew's face instantly turned gloomy when she finished speaking.
Then, Ashley added, "I want to see Dany to know if she can sleep alright on her first night here and
whether she's adjusting quite well to the new environment. I also want to know her thoughts about
going to school with Fabio."
Then, in a slow and soft manner, she said, "You can go back to our room first, okay?
I'll be with you a little later."
When Andrew heard Dany's name, the frown on his face loosened up a bit.
But he was still feeling a tiny bit of disappointment.
It was one of the reasons that he didn't want to have children.
Since Ashley had children now, all of her focus and attention would go to taking care of them every day.
Therefore, she wouldn't have the time or energy for him.
"I'm giving you ten minutes only."
Ashley was amused so she raised her eyebrows at Andrew. "Mr. Lu, it's going to take at least a few
minutes for me to reach the children's room. If I only have that much time, I'm afraid I won't have a
moment to talk with Dany before leaving her room."
"Well, how long do you want?"
"Just don't give me a time limit. I only want to see my children, okay?"
Ashley replied, raising her voice.
She looked at Andrew like a cute little girl with a hint of pleading in her tone.
"I want half an hour. I'll be quick. If you're bored, you can check if there's anything in the company that
you need to deal with."
Andrew finally agreed. Besides, what else could he do?
Ashley watched Andrew's receding figure until he disappeared to the second floor. She then made her
way to the children's room and knocked on the door.
Dany and Fabio were staying in the same room because they were still young. Moreover, it could help
the two of them be closer.
Ashley was, of course, very pleased to have them stay in the same room.
"Dany, can Mommy come in?"
Ashley asked while she slowly opened the door.
"Yes, Mommy, come in." Almost instantly, Dany stood up. She then walked over to Ashley and pulled
her inside the room.
"What are you doing?"
"Nothing. We just finished doing our homework," Fabio responded.
"Did you just say homework?"
'They have to do homework even if they're still so young?' Ashley thought to herself.
Her children were only in kindergarten so she was very confused.
"Yes, we do." Fabio and Dany said in unison while nodding at her.
"Is there anything you can't figure out? Do you need my help?"
"No, Mommy. Fabio and I have already finished our homework. It's very easy."
Ashley smiled and asked, "Really?"
"Of course. I already know knew to answer these questions when I was just three years old,"
Fabio stated, feeling proud of himself.
"Well, I'm really glad to hear that, but don't be too arrogant, okay? I hope you can still listen to your
teacher attentively while you're in class, got it?"
"Okay, Mom."
"Dany, how about you? Do you like it here? Is there anything that you don't like? Are you okay with
sleeping in the same room with your brother for a while? I'll arrange another bedroom for you in a few
days. We can go shopping together so that you can choose what you want to put in your room, okay?"
"Okay,"
Dany promptly answered.
Ashley couldn't help but gently stroke Dany's hair.
There were maids in the house who were assigned to take care of Fabio and Dany. But the two kids
were very independent even at their age. They liked to do things on their own.
Needless to say, they didn't actually need any maid.
Ashley thought it was a good thing that her children were like that.
She was glad that her children were so capable at such a young age that they didn't rely on the maids.
If there was something that her children couldn't do by themselves, Ashley would remind them that it
was fine to ask some help from the adults.
Then, Ashley let the two children wash their faces and brush their teeth. She didn't leave until they
were comfortable in their beds.
"Good night."
Ashley kissed Fabio's and Dany's foreheads.
"Good night, Mommy," Fabio softly said.
"Good night, Mommy," Dany uttered as well.
She didn't forget to take a look at Richard after leaving their room.
Since Dany and Fabio were together in one room, Richard had been sleeping by himself.
Richard was already ten years old.
So it was the right age for him to have a room all to himself.
Ashley asked Richard about his studies and physical health. After that, she couldn't stop yawning, so
she left his room.
She didn't take a nap that day, so she was really drowsy by that time.
Ashley walked to her bedroom and found that it was pitch dark inside. Not a single light was turned on.
Ashley was taken aback.
Andrew had already come back to the bedroom, right? How could there be no one in there?
It was not until Ashley turned on the light did she see what was going on in the bedroom.
Andrew was quietly sitting on the bed. He squinted his eyes when the light was suddenly turned on.
Then, he fixed his eyes on Ashley.
Ashley breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at Andrew and complained, "Why didn't you turn on the
light when you're already here?" A moment ago, she was almost scared to death.
'He knows that I'm a bit timid and I'm afraid of the dark. Why did he still try to scare me?' Ashley
wondered.
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