“Ms. York, where's Great-grandaunt?”
Tim lifted his head and looked up at Arissa.
Arissa caressed her son's petite face. Gosh, he's really skinny!
“She's asleep. Go and play!”
Smiling, she wiped the sweat off his forehead.
Tim scrutinized her for a moment before murmuring, “I'll go and look in on her!”
With that said, he spun around and sprinted down the stairs.
Arissa glanced at the other children. Seeing that Benjamin was there, she also turned around and went after Tim.
Benjamin cast a look over.
Then, he ordered Gavin, Zachary, Oliver, Jasper, and Jesse, “It's late. Go and bath!”
After saying that, he shifted his gaze to Edwin and instructed, “Edwin, go and draw a bath for them!”
Darius also kindly urged the children, “Sweethearts, let's not play anymore. Let's go and take a bath instead. How about I give you all a bath?”
All five children shook their heads in refusal.
Darius was utterly disappointed, but still, he tried to coax them to allow him to bathe them. “You'll be as clean as a whistle after I give you all a bath!”
“We can also do the same!” Zachary countered, staring at the man unblinkingly.
“We can bathe by ourselves. We don't need to trouble the adults!” Oliver seconded solemnly.
Jasper and Jesse nodded in agreement. Grinning, Jasper added, “It's been a long time since we last had Mommy bathe us!”
Sticking his hands into his pockets, Benjamin swept a gaze over Jesse. “Then why is your mommy bathing Jesse every day?”
“Because Jesse's the youngest!” Gavin answered. With a straight face, he declared, “Anyway, we don't need anyone to bathe us! We can manage by ourselves!”
“Okay, okay, you all can bathe by yourselves!” Darius mollified.
He quickly asked William to draw a bath for the children as well.
“We'll bathe later. We want to wait for Tim!”
Sitting at the side, Gavin called out to his siblings, “Come over here! We'll wait for Tim!”
Zachary, Oliver, Jasper, and Jesse all raced over and plopped down beside him.
They all had exquisite features and adorable countenances, melting the hearts of all who beheld them.
“I'll go downstairs and take a look at things.”
Benjamin pivoted and walked away, going downstairs.
After Tim ran downstairs, he carefully opened Mary's room door. He poked his head inside for a look before stealthily creeping into the room.
Upon seeing that Mary was really asleep, he tucked the covers around her.
Arissa followed behind him, gratified to see her son's considerate gesture.
“Tim, let's go and take a bath before going to bed!” she whispered.
Tim glanced back over his shoulder and looked at her. Afraid that they would disrupt Mary's slumber, he trotted over to her.
“Great-grandaunt is asleep. Can I bathe outside?”
Crouching, Arissa stroked his head and replied dotingly, “Of course. We'll go and take a bath upstairs in the room in which you were playing earlier. That will also be your room in the future. How about you sleep with Gavin and the others tonight?”
Tim turned and glanced at Mary before nodding at her.
Delighted, Arissa caressed his head gently and scooped him up.
“Let's go and take a bath!”
Only after closing the door gently did she whirl around. At once, she saw that Benjamin had come downstairs.
“Gavin and the others are waiting for Tim to bathe together,” Benjamin stated.
Subsequently, he reached out to take Tim from her. “I'll take him upstairs.”
However, Arissa dodged him. “I'll carry him by myself!”
At that, Benjamin swept his gaze over her.
Contrarily, Arissa's eyes were trained on her son. “Let's go upstairs, Sweetheart!”
“Okay!”
Tim hugged her around the neck, a wealth of warmth suffusing him.
Benjamin eyed the two of them before following them.
Out of the blue, Arissa glanced over her shoulder at him. “Go and get busy. I'm fine bathing them alone!”
Benjamin's gaze darkened. He said nothing but continued trailing after her.
Proceeding to ignore him, Arissa returned to the room earlier with Tim in her arms.
The moment Gavin and the others saw that Tim was back, they cried out excitedly, “Quick, Tim! Let's go and take a bath!”
“Okay!” Tim nodded, wriggling to be put down.
Arissa promptly leaned down and placed him on the ground.
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