Inside the room, the mother and son talked for a long time. Yet neither of them mentioned a word about the poisoning incident.
However, Natasha understood that Anthony knew everything.
It was just that no one was willing to say it out loud.
The two of them chatted about other things, with Natasha asking about their visit to Magus. Gradually, the atmosphere became less oppressive and sad.
As they were chatting, there was a knock at the door.
Natasha looked toward the door and said, “Come in.”
At that moment, Denise cautiously poked her head in and looked around. Upon seeing that only Anthony and Natasha were present, she finally pushed the door and walked in.
“Tony, what are you doing here?” Denise asked as she walked in, with Benjamin following behind her.
Seeing them approach, Anthony quickly composed his expression, then took a deep breath before turning to face them. “Can't I be here?”
Every move he made, Natasha saw it all. Seeing that Anthony still wanted to hide things from his younger siblings, she could not help but feel a pang of heartache.
Even though they were all the same age, Anthony was only born a few seconds earlier than them. Yet, he already carried the demeanor of an adult and shouldered the responsibilities of an elder brother...
In fact, Natasha did not want their relationship to be defined by who was older and who should tolerate whom. On the contrary, she believed that all children should be treated equally. It should never be a matter of who came first or who arrived later, as it would be unfair to anyone involved.
At that moment, looking at Anthony, all Natasha could do was feel heartache, but she did not say anything.
Then again, those were merely her thoughts and her approach to education. She knew that the siblings had their own way of getting along. Natasha did not want to disrupt this balance. As long as they were happy, that was all that mattered.
Denise walked over to Benjamin, who then spoke up, “No wonder we couldn't find you anywhere. You've been hiding out with Nat all along.”
“What do you mean by hiding? I'm here to chat with Nat, unlike you guys, who can't be found anywhere,” Anthony said. In front of Denise and Benjamin, he had to put on a facade of being okay, no matter how hard it was.
Benjamin was just about to say something when Denise suddenly noticed something. She leaned in closer to look at Anthony. “Tony, have you been crying?”
Anthony was momentarily taken aback and instinctively denied, “No, not at all.” As he denied it, he immediately turned his face to the side.
Benjamin watched, and his eyebrows slightly furrowed. It was clear that Anthony was feeling guilty.
Denise did not give up. She went straight around and asked, “What's the matter, Tony? Your eyes are both red and swollen!”
“That's from staying up all night!” Anthony said.
“You've pulled plenty of all-nighters before, but I've never seen your eyes look like this!” Denise questioned.
Natasha watched from the side and said, “Don't listen to him. He didn't stay up all night. He clearly spent it crying!”
“Crying?” Denise looked at Natasha, noticing that her eyes were also red.
Anthony also lifted his gaze to look at her.
Surprisingly, Natasha remained utterly composed.
“Why was Tony crying?” Denise asked softly.
“Because I criticized him!” said Natasha.
Upon hearing her reply, Anthony's eyebrows slightly furrowed.
It was not just him. Even Denise and Benjamin felt the same way too.
Clearly, neither of them believed it.
Throughout her life, Natasha had only given out a handful of “criticisms” to them. She educated them quite a bit, but serious criticisms were indeed few and far between.
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