When the three children first walked in, they were still sweeping their gazes around the room to look for Natasha.
Since the couch did not face the door, they could not see what was happening. Even so, they figured it out upon seeing the partially undressed man and hearing his annoyed tone.
“S-Sorry, Daddy. We didn't know you were here...” Denise quickly apologized before she and her siblings thoughtfully closed the door and hurried away.
“How many times has it been?” inquired Anthony when he and the others were catching their breath.
After thinking carefully, Denise replied, “This is probably the third time.”
“At this rate, even if Daddy doesn't lose his mind, we will,” he stated helplessly.
To that, she nodded in agreement. “You're right. I was so terrified because of the look Daddy gave us!”
Just then, Benjamin piped up, “Why did Daddy's tone sound as if he had never succeeded in it before?”
As soon as those words fell from his lips, his two siblings directed their gazes at him.
Somewhat taken aback by their reaction, he explained in bemusement, “What? It was just a wild guess...”
Looking at his brother, Anthony nodded in agreement. “You're right!”
Denise, too, nodded in response. “Now I know why Daddy was so angry!”
“We should call Nat first before going to her next time.”
“Right. Sending her a text message beforehand is also a good idea.”
After the discussion, the trio nodded in unison.
Meanwhile, in the bedroom, Kenneth and Natasha simply stared at each other.
Because of the children's interruption, neither had the mood to carry on.
“I think it's time I talk to the kids.” Kenneth let out a helpless sigh while looking at Natasha.
Chuckling, she covered herself properly with her clothes. “Do you really think they were the problem?”
“Why wouldn't I?”
“We wouldn't have had this problem if you had locked the door, would we?” questioned Natasha rhetorically.
After a pause, Kenneth narrowed his eyes at her. “So you're blaming me?”
“Objectively speaking, yes!” she answered with a nod.
His face then began to break into a smile, so she could not help but wonder why he would smile when she had just told him that he was to be blamed.
“What are you smiling at?” asked Natasha.
Leaning close to the woman, Kenneth whispered into her ear, “Nat, are you lashing out at me because you weren't satisfied?”
“Of course not!” she retorted after a moment of silence.
“I beg to differ!” Kenneth's voice was charmingly deep and magnetic.
With Natasha at a loss for words, the two stared at each other quietly again before he lowered himself in an attempt to get her back in the mood for intimacy.
Unfortunately, just when his lips were merely a centimeter away from hers, his phone rang inopportunely.
Being forced to come to a halt, Kenneth was evidently annoyed, as seen by his hardened face and the anger gleaming in his eyes.
At that moment, Natasha could no longer hold her laughter in. “It seems that we're bound to be interrupted.”
“Who said so?” he retorted as he gazed at her. “Nothing's going to come between us today.”
Kenneth then picked up his phone to reject the call but froze when he saw the name on display—it was Spencer, the only person he could not ignore then.
Upon seeing how grim he looked after checking his phone, Natasha asked, “What's wrong?”
He regained his senses and glanced at her before replying, “Nothing. It's Spencer calling, so I should probably go and see what's up!”
At that, she nodded as though she had figured out what was going on. “Okay.”
Kenneth then leaned in to peck the woman on the forehead. “I'll be back soon.”
In response to that, Natasha merely smiled without saying anything.
“You should get some rest, Nat,” he suggested after getting up and straightening his clothes.
“Sure.” Again, she nodded.
Kenneth then glanced at Natasha one last time before heading out.
Once the door closed behind the man, the smile and gentleness on Natasha's face began to fade away, for she knew why he had to leave even though he did not say a word about it.
With a troubled mind, she stared blankly out the window.
The three children were still by the door when Kenneth headed out of the room.
“Daddy,” Denise called out the moment she saw their father.
“I'll talk to the three of you later,” uttered Kenneth with slightly knitted eyebrows because he knew Spencer had a good reason for reaching out to him.
The kids remained where they were, and only after Kenneth had left did Denise finally break the silence. “Come. Let's go to Nat.”
However, Anthony simply stood still and stared in Kenneth's direction. There was a pucker between his brows.
“Come on!” urged Denise.
Just then, Anthony said, “You two go ahead. I need to ask Daddy something.”
His sister nodded without much thought.
As Anthony chased after Kenneth, Benjamin stood at the same spot and looked thoughtfully in his sibling's direction.
“Let's go, Benjamin,” voiced Denise.
After returning to his senses, Benjamin followed his sister.
“Nat, we need help!” exclaimed the little girl as soon as she barged into their mother's room.
At that moment, Natasha was already properly dressed, standing before the floor-to-ceiling window.
Denise then rushed over to wrap her arms around Natasha's legs before lifting her head to look at the woman. “This is an emergency, Nat!”
“What's wrong?” The latter smiled at the sight of her.
“Daddy was so fierce just now. He even said he would talk to us later!” explained Denise.
“So?”
“Aren't you going to help us?”
Natasha smiled again before replying, “Why? Are you afraid of him?”
“Not most of the time, but sometimes, we are,” answered Denise.
“Is that so?” teased Natasha.
“Come on! I know I was wrong.”
“What did you do wrong, then?”
“Uh, I shouldn't have ruined your moment with Daddy?” Denise raised her brows as she guessed an answer.
When Natasha kept quiet, she quickly added, “That's not the reason?”
“Forget it. I should just let your daddy teach you guys a lesson!” Natasha responded in resignation.
“Nat, how could you bear to do this to your little cutie?” Denise whined.
With her eyes narrowed at the girl, Natasha uttered, “Don't you think my little cutie needs a class or two?”
“Of course not! I'm more than fine just the way I am!”
“Really?”
“Absolutely!”
“Then will you remember to knock before coming in next time?”
“Not only that, but we'll notify you with our phones first before coming in. If you don't answer our call or reply to our messages, we'll know not to barge in!” answered Denise while looking at Natasha.
It was then that the latter nodded in satisfaction. “Good. That's more I like it.”
“About Daddy...”
“Don't worry about him,” Natasha assured.
At once, Denise exclaimed, “You're the best, Nat!”
All of a sudden, Natasha swept her gaze across her children and questioned, “Where's Anthony?”
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