“Yes.”
I glanced at Shaun, barely able to hide my surprise. He had been standing silently behind Gregory all this while, and if I had not turned around earlier, I might have questioned my hearing. Shaun had, without a doubt, drawn the analogy of the dolls calmly.
Despite the glaring lack of scientific evidence backing his claims, it was more than enough to convince Audrey.
Children of the same age had an inexplicable way of understanding one another. Both Gregory and Shaun had the same uncanny way of getting through to Audrey where adults could not.
There was virtue in keeping things simple, especially when it came to reasoning with children.
Children viewed the world through a simple lens, and they tended to categorize things into neat blacks and whites. They were acceptable of boundaries their parents drew; yet, raising them in an overly-sheltered environment could inadvertently backfire and impede their development.
I relaxed slightly as these thoughts crossed my mind. The sight of Nora’s eerily-similar face no longer frightened me as much as it did.
Shaun’s words completely helped us out of the situation. Thus, Nathaniel and Nora had no excuse to keep us from leaving anymore.
I had no desire to stay in this wretched place any longer.
Ashton silently made a move to lead the kids away. Nora, however, was not about to let Shaun getaway after ruining her plans, and she grabbed him before he could approach us.
She planted her hands on Shaun’s shoulder menacingly and scrutinized him. She cooed like an excessively-friendly elder, “Which family are you from?”
Shaun glanced at her calmly before looking at Ashton and me. He said, “Mr. and Mrs. Fuller adopted me. I’m their adopted son.”
“Is it?” With her gaze locked on Shaun, Nora continued, “Your family has finally reunited after a long time. I thought you’d be dying to shower your biological kids with love before taking in an unwanted orphan.”
She paused slightly, but not long enough for any of us to rebuke her. “Fate has brought this kid into our acquaintance. It’s fortuitous that Nat and I don’t have children. Why don’t we adopt him instead? We can share your burdens of childcare.”
I was about to reject her offer when Ashton’s voice rang out. “I can afford to care for as many kids as I please. There’s no need to trouble outsiders at all.”
He lowered his gaze and glanced at Shaun. “Why are you standing there? Do you really want to stay here?”
Shaun caught his meaning immediately and plucked off Nora’s hands from his shoulders. He walked toward us determinedly, making his stance toward her offer crystal clear.
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