Although Mrs. Dottie pitied Natalia a lot, under Ariana's sharp gaze, she dared not to utter any beep.
Shortly after, Archie arrived home.
He had seen Natalia's message but he didn't think anything wrong as he just thought Natalia had invited her friends to stay overnight.
He wasn't interested to know who the guests were.
However, all his thoughts were broken in shock when he entered his house.
In the living room, Ariana and Anne were sitting on the sofa. Since it wasn't bedtime yet and Natalia was taking a shower, the granny was playing some rope game with Anne.
Mrs. Dottie was watching them with a smile while standing aside. On the TV was Anne's favorite cartoon. It was so warm and harmonious.
"You..." Archie said in surprise.
"Oops, you must be Natalia's husband. You are so handsome, young man!"
Suddenly, Ariana stood up from the sofa, looking at Archie with a smile.
Archie choked up and couldn't finish his words at all.
Mrs. Dottie's mouth corners slightly twitched. In a hurry, she walked up to take over the suit jacket from Archie's hands.
"Good evening, Mr. McCarthy. You're back."
Archie took an extremely deep breath to suppress the shock in his heart.
When he was about to say something, he heard Natalia's voice from the stairs.
"Hey, Archie. You're back."
She had just finished a shower, wearing a nightgown. Her wet hair was wrapped in a towel. She walked downstairs quickly.
"Let me introduce – this is Anne, and this is her great-grandmother, Ariana. They are my new friends and will stay here tonight. Is that OK?"
Natalia was quite worried that Archie would say no.
After all, this man looked quite easy-going, but he could be quite tough sometimes.
She had found that he didn't like any outsiders to come into his home.
Last time, when Victoria came over, Archie wasn't happy.
Archie took another deep breath.
He glanced at Ariana, who kept smiling on her face. However, if anyone knew her well, he would find that her aged eyes were full of warnings and sharpness.
Then he tilted his head to glance at the little girl sitting on the sofa.
With fair skin and a pair of bright eyes, she looked like a priceless and fragile porcelain doll, blinking her expectant eyes at him.
She didn't look guilty at all after everything they had done.
Archie felt quite complicated for a moment.
Seeing that he was silent, Natalia misunderstood that he wasn't happy but he couldn't express it for her sake.
Hence, she approached him closer and tugged his sleeve slightly.
She whispered, "They are quite pitiful. Their family doesn't care about them. They came to town for a trip, but their wallet was stolen. Now they don't have any money and couldn't stay outside..."
Archie sneered.
Tilting his head, he looked over at Natalia. "Quite pitiful? Their family doesn't care about them?"
Natalia nodded seriously.
Archie tries his best to suppress the unhappiness in his heart.
"All right. If they'd like to stay here, just let them be. Come with me."
As he spoke, he walked upstairs directly.
Looking at his darkened face and his fast-receding figure, Natalia felt a migraine. She rubbed her forehead.
"Natalia, are we disturbing you?" asked Ariana in embarrassment.
Natalia smiled.
"Not really. That's just how he is. He looks cool but warm-hearted. He didn't mean anything. Please don't worry."
"Okay. That's good then."
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: My Wife Is So Sweet (Natalia Dawson)