Thaddeus savored the taste of her lips, kissing her earnestly and tenderly as if reminiscing about the past and gradually making up for the missing years. For him, these past four years had been filled with countless nights of dreaming of this moment. Upon waking, he was left with loneliness and an indelible sense of loss. He could only cope with his sorrow by chain-smoking one cigarette after another.But now, he was holding her in his arms, with their two precious children sleeping peacefully upstairs. At this moment, he felt that his life was complete. At 32 years old, he had never been as happy and fulfilled as he was now.Suddenly, he remembered something Jordan had said—for ordinary men, having a loving wife and children was a lifelong pursuit, but for him, a CEO, it was no different.Jessamine was completely stunned. She hadn't expected things to develop to this point when she came downstairs. She remained silent, her mind in turmoil, unsure how to face this situation.Tha
Thaddeus' expression was sincere, and his cheesy words didn't feel out of place at all. They were genuinely coming from the depths of his heart.During the four years she was away, he had lived like a zombie. Whether the earth turned or the moon was full didn't matter to him, as his life had lost its color. But since meeting her again, he changed his WhatsApp profile picture to white, and his world became two-sided—it was either black or white.Jessamine took shallow breaths, feeling uncomfortable with their current position. She knew how sensitive he was and feared accidentally triggering something she shouldn't. She wasn't ready to handle this relationship yet. His words today caught her off guard and left her feeling disoriented.Thaddeus sensed her body tensing up. In their three years of marriage, they had been in much more intimate positions, but she had never been this stiff or seemed so eager to escape his embrace."Jessie, why are you trembling?" he asked.Jessamine could
Thaddeus' eyelids were fiercely twitching. Jessamine's tone clearly indicated that she had no intention of furthering their relationship. Right now, her heart belonged only to her two children.He could sense that she was avoiding the issue. Ultimately, it boiled down to her deep-seated inability to trust him.Thaddeus sat beside her on the couch, his hands instinctively clasping in front of his knees."Jessie, I'm straightforward by nature and not good at sweet-talking girls. But now, I want to sincerely tell you that I've only liked one woman in my entire life, and that's you. Without you, there won't be anyone else. You're right. Life is short, and I don't want to settle."Jessamine swallowed hard. "Thaddeus, you should be able to feel that I'm not mentally prepared for this.""I know. I'm not forcing you to give me an answer right now. I just hope you'll seriously consider it instead of avoiding the issue."What followed in the living room was a long and profound silence.Je
The blanket wasn't as comfortable as the previous one. Now, she couldn't sleep at all. It seems she really had made a mistake. Jessamine lay stiffly all night and only managed to doze off at the break of dawn. She hadn't slept for long before being woken up by a knock on the door.Reaching for her phone, she checked the time—it was 6:30 am. It was Lucas' biological clock, and he woke up at this time every day. Unsure of what he needed, Jessamine was about to sit up when she heard Thaddeus speaking to Lucas outside, his voice lowered."Mommy didn't sleep well last night. Let's not disturb her, okay?"Lucas' voice was also subdued. "But I can't find my shorts. I need to change clothes when I get up. Mommy packed the suitcase yesterday, so I wanted to ask her.""You can ask someone else for help, like Daddy."Jessamine listened carefully to the conversation outside the door. After Thaddeus finished speaking, there was silence for a few seconds. Then Thaddeus asked, "Why aren't you we
He remembered every word she had said and carefully prepared breakfast for their two children, taking note of their preferences. Based on his current performance as a father, Jessamine would rate him as a qualified one.Thaddeus scooped the fried eggs onto a plate and carried them to the dining room, where he saw Jessamine staring at the plates. He set down the eggs and smiled warmly."I saw this set of tableware at the mall last time and thought it looked nice, so I bought it."Jessamine smiled back. "It does look quite nice."They arranged all the food on the table, and Jessamine called out to the living room, "Lucas, Layla, come and eat."The two children were engrossed in their activities and responded lazily, not immediately leaving their toys. Jessamine shook her head helplessly.Thaddeus called out to her from the kitchen, "Jessie, come and help me."Thinking she might have forgotten something, Jessamine went to the kitchen and found Thaddeus standing with his hands behin
"When did you learn to cook?" she asked.Thaddeus raised an eyebrow, honestly replying, "Just recently. I learned from Lana." His answer naturally led Jessamine to think that he had done his homework to be a good father, which added a few more points to his role as "daddy" in her mind.Thaddeus had never liked being in the kitchen before, but at this moment, he suddenly felt that cooking for loved ones was a kind of happiness. Seeing the two children and Jessamine enjoying their favorite foods during breakfast made him feel incredibly satisfied.He remembered how Jessamine used to be busy in the kitchen. Even though he couldn't eat much of the late-night snacks she prepared since he didn't have the habit of eating late at night, he still went along to support her, despite it all.He had advised her many times to take it easy and not bother with the kitchen, but she never listened. She tirelessly researched recipes every day, inventing many dishes, albeit most of them being experi
In the car, Layla was more excited. She didn't want to be cooped up at home, where she could only run around the nearby streets with Julia. But with her dad, she could go to his office to play, especially since his office was decorated like a children's playground and had all the toys they could want.On the other hand, Lucas' expression remained indifferent. He was more interested in his robot than anything else.Thaddeus didn't immediately start the car. Instead, he made a call to Jordan, saying, "Buy some snacks that kids like and put them in my office."At that moment, Jordan was already nearing the company in his car. Upon receiving Thaddeus' request, he turned around and headed to the supermarket. He thought Thaddeus was hosting clients, but when he entered the CEO's office and saw the two children bouncing around on the couch, it dawned on him that Thaddeus was on babysitting duty today.Jordan placed the snacks on the table and briefed Thaddeus on the day's schedule. "Mr.
The area outside his office had been transformed into a children's play area, with not even a single couch for seating. Thus, the meeting, which lasted about half an hour, was conducted while everyone stood.During the meeting, Thaddeus listened to his subordinates' reports while occasionally glancing through the crack in the door to check on what the two children were doing and if they were coming into contact with anything dangerous.After the meeting, the dozen or so executives returned to their respective seats. Soon, the company's internal chat group became lively."Breaking news! Breaking news! Mr. Holt brought his kids to work today. They're super adorable twins, and they're currently in the CEO's office.""What? Mr. Holt has kids? With his cold demeanor, won't the kids be scared?""What would they be scared of? The two kids are bouncing around on his couch. That couch was air-shipped from Italy by Mr. Holt himself. Every time I go to his office to report, I dare not sit on