Both Anthony and Benjamin had their gazes pinned on Thalia, looking extremely unhappy.
“Come on. Re-enact it. I'll take just one look,” she urged.
“Please have some self-respect, ma'am!” As Anthony spoke, he flashed her a grim smile.
“I'm already lying here in this pathetic state. Can't you grant me this humble wish of mine?”
“In that case, have the one who got dust in his eyes re-enact it for you.” Anthony turned to look at his brother, who was rendered speechless by his remarks.
Thalia's gaze lingered between the brothers for a while. Finally, she looked at Anthony and said, “I want you to do it.”
Upon hearing that, Benjamin instantly perked up and cast a mocking glance at Anthony.
However, Anthony was not about to make a fool out of himself and flatly refused her request. “Goodbye.”
He then spun on his heels and strode away.
“Anthony Watson!” Thalia called out to him. “If you leave now, don't blame me for using my ultimate technique on you once I'm fully recovered!”
As such, Anthony abruptly stopped in his tracks, standing as still as a statue.
Never did he expect that he would be tamed in that way—someone threatening to tickle him.
Clenching his fists, he swore to get rid of his weakness one day.
Anthony turned around, his gaze landing on Thalia, who was also looking at him.
The boy was zealous and thin-skinned, so she knew better than to go over the line with her jokes. “Fine. Since you're so petty, just forget about it, then!”
Those words won her a glare from Anthony.
Thalia then shifted her gaze toward Denise and beckoned the little girl to place her ear close to her.
“When I'm fully recovered, let's hold Anthony down and teach him a lesson.”
Although it was a secret, Thalia's voice was not any softer than usual, so everyone heard her perfectly fine.
Denise nodded immediately upon hearing that. “I approve of that!”
“Why don't you two go ahead and use a loudspeaker, huh?” Anthony asked, his voice laced with sarcasm.
“What can you do about it?” Thalia retorted.
Denise, too, glanced over at her brothers. Backing Thalia up, she exclaimed, “That's right!”
“It sure is hard to deal with women and small-minded people—” Anthony instantly held his tongue when he felt Natasha's eyes on him. He paused for a moment and smiled as he clarified, “Nat is an exception, of course.”
Seeing how afraid he looked at the moment brought a hint of disdain to Thalia's and Denise's eyes.
Meanwhile, Natasha observed their silly antics on the side, smiling but never chiming in.
Thalia got along well with the children, and although she did not say it out loud, Natasha knew that she would never allow the children to suffer any grievances.
At the thought of that, Natasha's mind was finally eased.
There were no signs of sadness in her eyes as she watched the four of them while smiling. In them, instead, was serenity.
It was not that Natasha was unafraid of death. In fact, it was very much the opposite. However, because of her beloved family, she was determined to become stronger.
She continued gazing at the people dear to her heart, her fair skin sheening under the light.
Meanwhile, Dave was driving the car, occasionally taking a glance at the silent Kenneth. He pondered for a moment before asking the latter, “Are you still worried?”
Kenneth lifted his eyes. “Yeah.”
“Indeed, the matter progressed beyond our expectations, but it's not unsolvable.”
“I know.” Kenneth nodded.
“Let Spencer handle it. Have some faith in him. He'll definitely be able to do it.”
“We still need to take precautionary measures.”
Naturally, Dave knew what Kenneth was talking about. Looking at the latter, he voiced, “Yeah, it's always good to plan ahead. However, Boss won't fall for our tricks so easily this time. I'm afraid it'll be extremely difficult to find him.”
His remark earned him a glance from Kenneth, who said, “We can't find him, but we can lure him right to our doorstep.”
A chuckle escaped Dave's lips at those words.
As expected of Kenneth to always have a way.
“All right. I'll be on standby, then,” he replied while maneuvering the steering wheel.
The corner of Kenneth's lips quirked into a smile when he looked at Dave, who also had a smile on his face.
Just then, Dave seemed to have recalled something and looked toward the man beside him. “Oh right, did you tell her what you were up to last night?” he asked.
“Are you talking about Nat?”
Dave nodded in response.
“No, why?” Kenneth answered, shaking his head.
Dave's brows knitted together when he heard that. “Kenneth, I think I might have let it slip.”
“What?”
“When I went to look for you earlier, she was going to Thalia's room. We bumped into each other, and she asked me how things went when you went to DX Group yesterday to take care of some matters. I thought that was the excuse you gave her, so I answered her without thinking much. It was only after I spoke that I realized something was amiss... I might have accidentally exposed you.”
At the mention of that, Kenneth knitted his brows.
If that's the case, why didn't Natasha confront me herself?
“What's wrong?” Dave asked in concern, having noticed the man's silence.
“She didn't ask me about it,” Kenneth replied.
At that, there was a feeling Dave could not quite put his finger on. “She didn't ask you? Then...”
As Kenneth mulled over the situation, Dave suddenly piped up, “Don't you think that her gaze feels like it can see through you? She even scrutinized me. To be honest, I've never felt so guilty under a woman's gaze.” His tone was laced with a hint of playfulness.
Hearing that, Kenneth lifted his gaze to him.
Scrutinized him?
At that moment, he was also sizing Dave up.
A thought crossed his mind all of a sudden, and he said in a low voice, “I figured it out.”
“Figure what out?”
“The difference between you and me,” remarked Kenneth.
“Difference?”
Kenneth fixed his obsidian eyes on the road ahead. A moment later, he murmured, “She was testing you by asking about DX Group. If we did go to DX Group, then we'd both be hurt, but that's not the case. Hence, I believe she's trying to rule out some possibilities.”
Realization dawned on Dave.
“No wonder I felt like something was amiss, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. So that's what it was,” he voiced.
Kenneth stroked the knuckle of his left thumb, his ebony eyes turning unfathomable. He seemed to be contemplating something.
“Sorry, it was my carelessness that exposed you. You two... won't get into an argument, will you?” asked Dave.
Kenneth shook his head in response. “I'd much rather she quarrel with me.”
“Well, that's such an... interesting request,” Dave remarked, frowning.
“You wouldn't understand.”
With that, Kenneth took a deep breath and immersed himself in his thoughts. In many situations, he would rather Natasha had a huge row with him, but at the same time, he knew she was not one to do that.
On the one hand, it was because of her personality.
Natasha was a gentle but powerful person. No matter what predicament she was in, she would always be calm and composed. In fact, there were instances where she might also come across as apathetic.
But Kenneth knew she was hard on the outside but soft on the inside.
Hence, she would never quarrel with anyone.
On the other hand, she had gone through a lot in recent years, and perhaps because of those experiences, she did not feel secure enough.
Kenneth cast his gaze outside the car window.
Nat, when will you finally be able to trust and accept me fully?
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