"Did mommy sleep early tonight?" Nadia asked curiously.
"Well... Yes," answered Charles, feeling a little guilty about lying to them.
"Mommy, we're home." Nadia was persistently knocking on Nancy's bedroom door.
However, there was no response coming from their mother.
"Daddy, what's wrong with mommy today?" Bobby asked, looking at Charles with a dejected expression.
Charles smiled at them awkwardly and said, "Your mommy is just really tired. The two of you have to believe me."
"We know mommy really well. If there was no reason, she would never just ignore us like this. We're her most treasured children!" said Bobby, a bleak expression on his face.
He continued, "Every time that Nadia and I come back home, mommy would always be the first to greet us.
This time, mommy can't even respond to us when we're knocking on her door. It's strange, isn't it?"
"Brother, do you think it's because mommy misses our 'dad'?" Nadia asked imploringly, after having thought about it for a while.
Bobby nodded his eagerly and said, "Perhaps."
Clearly, Bobby did this on purpose. Of course he knew who his 'dad' really was.
In that moment, he thought, 'No matter what happens, as long as there is someone competing with daddy, then at least daddy would be pressured to be a better man.
Daddy and mommy can't just waste their lives running after each other like this. Since mommy is a woman, how could it be so difficult for daddy to win a woman's heart?
Why can't he just step up his game?'
As expected, the expression on Charles' face darkened even more.
Additionally, Nadia continued, "Daddy, can I use your phone..."
Before she could finish her sentence, she saw the furious look on Charles' face.
Nadia paused and took a deep breath.
"Hey, Nadia, you're a tough girl, aren't you? Why are you suddenly so timid?" Bobby sneered and said, "Daddy, can I get your phone? I need it."
"Why? What are you going to do?" Charles' voice sounded a little displeased.
"I just want to call our 'dad'. It seems that mommy is unhappy because she misses him. Let him see her," Bobby said with a dead serious expression.
When he heard this, Charles' clenched his fists and his eyes looked like they might pop out.
Nadia was starting to get so frightened that she hid behind Bobby and grabbed on his shirt tightly.
After quite some time of silence, Charles said slowly with a tight jaw, "I'm your daddy. Don't forget, that I am the only daddy that you can have. Do you understand?"
Bobby nodded earnestly. "Yes, I know that you are our daddy, but besides that, we also have a godfather and a 'dad'."
"You can't just call anybody your 'dad'," Charles growled, unable to resist himself. He couldn't fathom the reason why Bobby would oppose him so suddenly.
"Why?" asked Bobby curiously.
"Because... He has nothing to do with you," Charles explained as patiently as he could.
"But then that means that you have nothing to do with Nadia. How come Nadia can call you daddy, but I can't call Uncle Edward, 'dad'?" Bobby continued to ask, trying to understand what Charles meant.
The thought of this was driving Charles mad. "You just can't! Don't refute your daddy."
When all of this was unfolding, there was dark feeling gnawing at Charles' spine. It was that Edward came back so that he could one day take Nancy and the children away from him.
Bobby stared at Charles in disbelief and confusion. "Daddy, what's wrong with you today? Did you and mommy get into a fight again?"
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