After listening to Dylan for a long time, Nicole raised her head while stirring her cup of coffee, implicitly asking, “Mr. Dylan, there's actually something I'm concerned about. It's about his kids. What happened back then that caused him to have kids?”
Dylan was taken aback by the way she addressed him.
Isn't she being too polite by calling me that? If my memory serves me right, the last time she called me that was when she had just left the orphanage and entered the rich social circle. She used to address everyone respectfully. In the end, this little orphan went from being a little sparrow into becoming a full-fledged legitimate phoenix. After getting used to being one, she became equal with her peers and never addressed me respectfully again. But, of course, as William and Claire's daughter, she has the right to be equal with everyone. Technically speaking, she should be a cut above everyone else the moment her last name became Lambert.
Dylan had never really expected Nicole to ask that question. He had been too focused on how he should make sure Nicole did not give up on Cayden.
Nevertheless, Dylan easily came up with an answer, stating, “Honestly, I don't know exactly where the children came from. However, I heard someone in my family talk about it before, and I've come to the conclusion that Cayden did not have a relationship with the children's mother when she gave birth.”
That was exactly what Nicole wanted to hear.
No relationship! Cayden and the mother of those kids are better off not having anything to do with each other! To my knowledge, no woman has ever succeeded in getting close to Cayden, so he's an honest and dignified man. But since the mother of the children got pregnant, the woman must have slept with him before... Were they lovers, or was it a one-night stand? I need to figure this out before I make my move. Knowing more will help my chances.
“Can you tell me about it in detail? How did you come to that conclusion?” Nicole wanted to know if there was any proof that supported Dylan's statement.
She would be more assured that way.
Dylan did not want his plan to be exposed in the future, and it was too late to take back what he had said. Hence, he decided to only state the facts. “I don't know how they got associated with each other. After all, other than Cayden, no one knows the real identity of the children's mother.”
Upon listening to the man, Nicole nodded.
“You know how it goes for prominent families. They all care about their bloodlines, especially when it comes to fraternal twins. Even if Cayden did not want them, Old Mr. Moore would not have agreed to that. They were his great-grandchildren; there was no way he could have rejected them. And just like that, the children were naturally brought into the Moore family to become part of it.” Dylan thought that what he said was, in a sense, the truth.
It was just that he left out the fact that the mother of the children was Avery.
Hearing his words, Nicole dejectedly muttered, “I wonder how he convinced the children's mother to part with the children.”
“A sum of money was probably how he did it,” Dylan remarked as he could tell what she was worried about.
In fact, Avery and Cayden did make a deal back then, and it was a clean exchange.
Nicole finally showed signs of a smile when she heard that.
She liked the Cayden that was described by Dylan—cold, chaste, heartless, uninterested in women, and lastly, career-oriented.
That is what makes it interesting to win over a man like Cayden! I will succeed in conquering him and make him unable to live without me!
As she mused, she couldn't help stealing a glance at Dylan, remembering the time when Cayden and Dylan's wife shared a glass of water back in Livingsfill.
On the city streets, the evening rush hour was not yet over.
Xavier was attentive and steady as he drove.
The black Bentley went with the gradual flow of traffic for about half an hour before the family of four finally reached their home.
After dropping the family off in front of the condominium, Xavier then drove away.
In front of the elevator, Cayden informed, “I've already asked Weston to take care of things. I know you watched the surveillance footage of your father before he died.”
Avery was shocked for a moment before finally understanding what he said.
She had been affected by low blood sugar for the whole day, so her mind was still muddled.
Cayden was worried she might be harassed and added, “Call me immediately if they try to contact you.”
Squeezing Rory's little hand, Avery looked up and thanked him.
Their gazes met, but Cayden did not say anything else. When the elevator door opened, Cayden's large hand naturally rested around her waist, and he walked in with her.
It was quiet the rest of the way upstairs.
As soon as they reached the entrance of their home, Rory suddenly remembered something, prompting her to turn her head and say, “Mommy, you should remember our unit number. It's 3369. Oh, I can also write it on a piece of paper for you to keep in your bag. You can't get lost again, okay? Otherwise, Zachary and I would be worried.”
Rory remembered that the old people with bad memory in the cartoons would always have a note in their bags or a sign worn by them that were given by their families to help them get home if they ever got lost.
The mother-daughter duo's gazes met, and as Avery heard her daughter's adorable words, she started to tear up for some reason. Why did she suddenly say that I can't get lost again? Wait... Again? When did I ever get lost before?
Seemingly sensing his mother's confusion, Zachary immediately went to the shoe cabinet to get a pair of indoor slippers for his mother before he worriedly explained, “That's what Daddy told us. He said you got lost before this, and that's why you could not be by our side.”
Hearing her brother, Rory nodded fervently as she tugged on her mother's clothes.
Avery was speechless and only processed the information after a long time.
While walking into the condominium, she gratefully glanced at Cayden, who was making his way into the living room.
In the days before she reunited with the children, she had been racking her brain on how she should explain her disappearance to the children after giving birth to them.
Abandonment was irreparable harm to children.
No matter how one explained it, the children would only perceive their mother's absence as an abandonment since their way of thinking was simple.
The first five years were an important stage of a child's life, and the two children went through it alone.
Guilt and helplessness filled Avery's heart. She had never expected Cayden to appease the children for her by using this reason, which was easy for the children to understand and accept. When they became adults one day, they would understand why their mother was not with them when they were little.
“Thank you.” Avery expressed her gratitude once again as she looked at the man, who was still standing motionlessly before her.
The man's low magnetic voice sounded above her head. “How do you plan on thanking me?” The voice was filled with desire and yearning.
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