Thalia had seen countless women, but not one was as stunning as Natasha.
“Hi, Goddess.” She could not wait to engage in a conversation with Natasha, and neither could she take her eyes off of her.
Natasha looked at her and nodded at her. “Hi. Thanks for taking the trouble to send my son back.”
Thalia shook her head and replied humbly, “You’re most welcome. I’m just practicing good virtues.”
Seeing that Thalia simply stood there and stared straight into Natasha’s eyes, Anthony let out a cough.
Only then did Thalia come back to her senses and give him an awkward smile. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude, but your mommy is super attractive. I can’t help it.”
Anthony was at a loss for words.
“I can see why you’re so adorable. It’s all about the good genes!” Thalia remarked.
Normally, one would see women swooning over pretty boys, but Thalia was ogling a beautiful girl instead. Hence, Anthony found that somewhat strange.
“All right. Now that I’m here safe and sound at the hospital, you need not worry about me anymore. Thank you, miss. I shouldn’t take up your precious time any further.” Smiling, he subtly hinted at Thalia that she should get going.
However, Thalia ignored him completely. She walked past him and approached Natasha. “What do you do for a living, Goddess?”
Anthony could not believe her outrageous acts.
“Programmer.” Natasha gave her a laconic reply.
“Oh, a programmer… How is it possible that your skin is flawless if you have to face the computer for hours on a daily basis?” Thalia asked with envy as she scrutinized Natasha from top to toe.
“My mommy is a natural beauty!”
Thalia turned a deaf ear to Anthony while looking attentively at Natasha. “Can I add you on WhatsApp, Goddess?”
Looking at Thalia’s phone in front of her, Natasha narrowed her eyes and sank into her own thoughts. Moments later, she said, “I’m afraid not because my phone was lost in the accident last night, and I haven’t had a chance to get a replacement.”
“That’s all right. You can just tell me your number, and I’ll add you to my contact list,” Thalia suggested after a brief pause.
“Thalia!” Anthony could not help but call her name.
Natasha chuckled upon hearing that. “It’s okay.” Just like that, she revealed her phone number to Thalia.
It did not take the latter long to add a new number to her phone. “I’ve added you. You just save mine when you can.”
Natasha nodded. “All right.”
“If there’s nothing else, I shall take my leave.” Thalia then threw Anthony a sweet smile and said, “Would you mind sending me, the kindhearted lady, off?”
Anthony turned to Natasha, seemingly asking for her approval. Upon receiving a nod from Natasha, Anthony walked Thalia out.
Thalia asked when they came out of the ward, “I’m a pretty lady. Why must you insist on calling me a kindhearted lady?”
Anthony rolled his eyes at her. “Why did you ask for my mommy’s contact number?”
“I want to be her friend,” replied Thalia in the most straightforward manner. “Since I’m going to stay by your side, it’s best I develop a great relationship with your mommy.”
“You’re going to stay by my side? What do you mean by that, exactly?” Anthony was dumbfounded.
“I’ve decided not to leave, and I want to stay for a period of time and have a jolly good time here.”
Anthony was rendered speechless. What?
“Where do you live?”
“Why are you asking?”
“I plan to rent a unit here so that it’s convenient for me to see you daily.”
“No way!” Anthony rejected her and turned around to leave right after that.
“All right. If that’s the case, I’ll go back in and tell your mommy everything.” As she said so, she pretended to make her way into the ward.
Anthony chickened out and stopped her. “Thalia!”
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to describe it as a beautiful encounter,” she said.
Anthony was reluctant to give in to her.
“You can go ahead and continue to be tight-lipped. In any case, I do have a thousand ways to find out what I want to know.” She was very confident about getting what she wanted.
Anthony knew that Thalia would continue to create problems for him if he remained silent.
Upon thinking twice, he caved. “I’ll send you the address.”
A smug smirk crept up on Thalia’s face. She was not worried at all that Anthony would lie to her. Instead, she approached him and pinched his cheeks as she said, “That’s a good boy! All right, then. I’ll go back, start packing my things, and get ready to move soon.”
“Don’t touch my face!” Displeased, Anthony rubbed the spots she pinched.
Am I still a baby? It’s so annoying that someone would still pinch my cheeks and tell me that I look cute!
Thalia did not think much of it. “Had I not known your real identity, I would have kissed you by now.”
“How dare you!”
“Try me!”
Upon hearing that, Anthony covered his face and stared warily at her.
He always acts like a cool, tough guy. He’s finally looking like a kid of his age. He’s so adorable!
“You’re such a darling!” Thalia ruffled his hair as she spoke.
Anthony was left fuming following her action of treating him like a toy.
“Okay, see you soon.” Upon noticing that his blood was boiling, she stopped her cheeky acts and zoomed away.
Anthony massaged his face while watching her back profile disappear before his sight. Then, he returned to the ward.
Heaving a sigh, Anthony got ready to be interrogated by his mother. However, Terence and Natasha continued their casual chats. Neither of them asked him anything about Thalia.
He strode toward them and asked, “Gramps, Nat, where are Denise and Benjamin?”
“They have left for school,” Terence replied. Suddenly, a thought dawned on him. He looked at his great-grandson and said, “Anthony, you shouldn’t act on your own ever again. What would we do if you’re lost?”
Anthony took a quick glance at Natasha. Seeing that she looked indifferent, he nodded in response. “Understood.”
“Grandpa, you should go back and take a rest too after staying awake for one whole night. See, there are dark circles under your eyes now,” urged Natasha.
“Yes, I plan to go home now and make you some soup.” Subsequently, Terence turned to Anthony and instructed, “Stay here and look after your mommy, okay? I’ll go back now and come back with some home-cooked soup. Don’t roam around. Have I made myself clear?”
“Yes, Gramps!” Anthony nodded obediently.
Among the three children, Anthony was regarded as the one who was most trustworthy and thoughtful. Terence had a lot of faith in him, so he did not leave him with many reminders. “Nat, get a good rest. I’ll be back in a jiffy.” He seemed to be worried about Natasha more.
“Grandpa—”
“I know what you want to say. Rest assured that I’m aware of my own condition, and I know my body well,” Terence interrupted her. After dropping his words, he left the ward in a hurry.
Natasha knew that there was no way she could convince Terence to take it easy. Yet, being cared for by someone made her feel happy. She thought that she was living a blissful and blessed life.
The ward was left with just Anthony and Natasha.
“Would you like to drink some water, Mommy?” Anthony asked.
“About Kenneth… What’s going on?” Natasha stared at him and did not beat around the bush. Instead, she went straight to the point.
“Huh?” Anthony was taken aback.
He did not expect his mother to ask him about that.
After mulling it over for a while, Anthony decided to come clean with her. “Well, Denise has his WhatsApp number, and I once met him downstairs too. From your conversations with Gramps, I learned that you two know each other. The most important thing is that the man and I look exceptionally alike.”
The last sentence confirmed that Natasha’s suspicion was right.
“So?”
“He’s Daddy, isn’t he?” Anthony lifted his head and posted the million-dollar question.
Natasha was stunned speechless.
Anthony never expressed his emotions easily. In fact, he rarely argued with Natasha. Growing up, he was an obedient child who had never once asked questions about the identity and the whereabouts of his father.
Then again, refusing to ask did not mean that he had no intention to discover the truth.
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