The girl's eyes were moist, and she blinked at him, causing Stefan's eyebrows to furrow slightly.
He lowered his eyes, and when his eyes fell on Martha again, he happened to see Martha smiling.
Perhaps Helen was just winking at Martha and he happened to catch their eye contact.
Stefan thought of that and the disgust in his eyes dissipated somewhat.
As they walked and chatted for a while longer, Jimmy suddenly turned to his mommy. "Mommy, I need to go to the restroom. You guys go ahead."
"I'll go with you," Martha said before pointing towards a nearby restroom. "It's right over there."
Just as she finished speaking, Stefan spoke up in a low voice. "I'll go with you."
"It's okay. It's only a short distance away. Just wait for us here," Martha replied while looking back at Stefan with a smile.
She took Jimmy's hand and headed straight for the restroom. On their way, they talked and giggled.
Helen saw them walk away, approached Stefan and said in a soft voice, "I wonder what they're talking about. They're laughing so happily."
Stefan pursed his lips tightly without saying anything.
After waiting for some time without hearing any response from him, she didn't feel annoyed, but reached out to hug herself, gazed sadly at the lights not far away.
"When I was a child, when I saw my uncle's family having a good time together, I couldn't help thinking if I would be one of the happiest kids too if my parents were still alive."
Although Stefan didn't intend to answer Helen, her words reminded him of the time he spent with his adoptive parents before.
That period of time was one of the happiest period of his life.
His adoptive father looked stern, but he was always patient with him - teaching him about life lessons or taking him out for fun activities.
And his adoptive mother was gentle and kind, and treated everyone kindly.
When he looked back now, though he was abandoned by his biological mother, he was lucky because his adoptive parents that gave him a happy childhood.
After waiting for a while, Helen still didn't hear the man beside him speak. She glanced sideways and saw the man's stern side face and deep eyes.
Her face turned slightly red, and her heart sank.
She keenly felt the sadness emanating from him, but pretended not to sense it.
With an envious look on her face, she said, "Stefan, you must have a very happy childhood."
"Mm-hmm," Stefan responded in a light tone.
When he was a child, he was indeed happy.
Memories of Martha accompanying him in those days involuntarily surfaced in his mind.
At that time, Martha wore a cute mask and had a childish and cheerful voice.
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