Underneath the image were the words "Happy Birthday!" written in ganache.
Ashley leaned over and kissed Dany on the cheek. "Thank you, my darling. I love it."
"Mommy, hurry up and cut the cake!" Fabio said, bouncing on his heels with excitement.
"Okay."
Ashley cut the cake into several pieces with a knife, put them in little plates and gave them to the children.
"Mommy! I want to eat the part of the cake made of my image!"
"Mommy, me, too!"
"Okay, I'll cut them for you," Ashley replied with a smile.
"Let me do it." After Ashley gave the small pieces of cake to Dany and Fabio, Andrew took the knife from her hand.
"Wait a minute," Ashley said as she quickly cut off a piece of the cake with Andrew's image on it. She placed that portion in her own plate.
She then looked at Andrew with a mischievous smile and took a bite.
Andrew looked at her without saying a word, but his eyes darkened.
Ashley lowered her head, slightly intimidated by Andrew's gaze.
She also immediately averted her eyes.
'I just ate the part of cake with your image. Why are you looking at me like that? It's so scary!' she said in her mind, looking at him.
Andrew carefully cut off the part of cake with Ashley's image and put it on a plate.
He then cut the rest of the whole cake into several pieces and handed them out to Richard and Chant.
He also gave several slices to the servants.
There were a few servants in the house. They were the people Chant had brought with him when he moved in—Linda, Porter, and two younger servants.
"Mommy, please come here." After eating half of his share, Fabio suddenly asked Ashley to lean down to him.
The two of them were already sitting very close.
After hearing Fabio, Ashley scooted even closer to him.
"What's wrong? Tell me, Fabio."
When Ashley got close to him, she saw a dollop of icing on his hand. Suddenly, Fabio lifted his hand and smashed the cream on Ashley's cheek.
Laughing, Ashley scooped some icing herself and playfully retaliated on the little boy.
"You look like a kitten,"
Ashley said with a grin.
Seeing this, Dany rolled her eyes in exasperation. Then, imitating Fabio, she also slapped some cake on Ashley's face.
The three children and Ashley were having so much fun playing this little game, while Andrew and Chant quietly looked on.
After they finished eating the cake, the servants cleaned up the mess and Ashley and Andrew went upstairs.
In their bedroom, Ashley sat on the bed, excited to find out what the children had given her.
She was looking forward to opening her presents.
"Wash your face first," Andrew whispered as he watched the childlike excitement on her face.
Under the light, the cream on her face made her face look even whiter.
"I'll open the presents first," Ashley said while looking down at the gifts, disregarding him.
Andrew's face darkened.
He took a step forward and held her hand. "Go wash yourself first."
Ashley looked up at him for a few seconds. Finally, she put down the presents and followed him into the bathroom.
After about half an hour, Ashley stepped out of the bathroom. She was wearing thick flannel pajamas, and her fluffed up hair was carelessly tied back in a loose bun on top of her head.
Ashley's face was a little flushed, which was possibly due to the steam in the bathroom.
Not long after, Andrew followed her out.
Ashley rested her back against the headboard and happily looked at the gifts from her three kids.
She carefully unwrapped them one by one.
Andrew's face darkened once again as he watched her.
'I knew I should have thrown them out of the house. They're hogging Ash's attention again!'
Ashely first unwrapped the gift from Dany. She opened the box and found something carefully swaddled in exquisite wrapping paper.
"What did my baby give me?"
she wondered out loud.
After carefully peeling back the wrapping paper, Ashley clearly saw what it was.
It was a painting of two people—a woman holding a child's hand. The scene looked warm and intimate.
Without even guessing, Ashley already knew who the two people on the painting were.
They were Dany and Ashley.
Ashley felt a tug in her heart, overflowing with love for her child.
The more she looked at the painting, the more she began to notice the details. She was surprised at the quality of the artwork.
Dany's painting skills were really extraordinary.
Ashley wondered if she should enroll Dany in some art classes.
While Ashley was lost in thought, she suddenly felt a warm presence surround her from behind.
Andrew's familiar scent wafted toward her. "What are you thinking about? Huh?"
He wanted her to focus her attention on him!
Andrew felt jealous when he saw her attention focused elsewhere.
He wanted her to stop thinking about the kids.
"Look, Andy, this is Dany's birthday gift to me. Isn't it beautiful?"
Ashley knew that she had to cajole him into a better mood, or else he would lose his temper again.
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