I inhaled deeply but failed to raise my spirits.
“Mom, I need to take a shower!”
Beryl ran over barefoot at this moment and threw herself into my arms, bringing me crashing back to the present.
When I came to my senses, I locked the sadness away in a corner of my mind and smiled. I reached out to caress her little face and kissed her. Then I picked her up and said, “Let’s go take a shower.”
As I walked by the sofa, I gather Arron in my arms as well and said, “Arron, you should take a shower too.”
“No, Mom. I’m a big boy now. I can shower by myself,” Arron squirmed in my arms and blushed.
“Are you sure? The last time you took a shower by yourself, the whole bathroom became flooded with water.” I raised my eyebrows and scrutinized him.
“Yes, I had an accident last time. I couldn’t reach the knob for the shower head, which is why the bathroom got flooded,” Arron replied with blazing cheeks.
“That’s because you’re too short!” Beryl looked at her brother and said in her childish voice, but her words were enough to anger him.
Beryl was slightly taller than Arron, so she always showed off in front of him.
I pinched her lips together and reproachfully said with a smile, “Don’t make fun of your brother. You’re not that much taller than him.”
She pouted. “I know I’m only half a finger taller than him, but the truth remains that I’m the taller one!”
“Fine, it’s time to shower!” I ordered. Before Arron could protest again, I took him along too.
The bathroom was quite spacious and contained two small cubicles. Both of them had a bathtub and a small stool with a curtain running down the middle. This was done so I could keep the kids separate and bathe them at the same time, saving me a lot of time.
Although both kids were mature for five-year-olds, they still needed adults to take care of their daily requirements.
After bathing them, I carried them out of the bathroom and plunked them on the bed.
Then I took my phone out and waved it in front of them. “Do you miss Grandma? Do you want to see her?”
“Yes!” Arron and Beryl answered together happily.
“Then sit down.” I ordered them to sit properly and made a video call. I projected the call onto a big screen.
I had planned to video call Laura and informed her in advance. The call connected quickly, and Laura’s wrinkled face filled the screen.
Crystal’s POV
Laura’s eyes lit up at the sight of the two kids. Unlike the noble and elegant queen that she usually appeared to be, she didn’t look aloof and distant to them at all.
Beryl and Arron liked their Grandma very much. They both scrambled to tell Laura what had happened this week.
Arron always restrained himself and patiently waited for Beryl to finish her words first.
Listening to the children’s innocent chatter and silly stories, Laura laughed heartily.
I felt somehow comforted watching them talk so happily like that.
Upon giving birth, I had secretly contacted Laura and asked for her opinion about their names. However, after that, I barely spoke to her.
There were two reasons for that. One was that I had just taken over the position of Alpha and thus had little free time. The second was that the kids were still too young to recognize their grandmother.
However, I frequently snapped images of them and forwarded them to Laura.
Over the years, Laura had always secretly sent a lot of gifts to the kids. Every time I received a big package, even without checking, I just knew they were from her.
Unfortunately, Ethan passed away at the start of this year. Worried about Laura, I then often asked the children to video chat with her, which made her feel better.
As for Rufus, I had been deliberately avoiding talking about him. Occasionally, I would hear news about how the new lycan king was ruthless and tough. After he assumed the throne, he had punished a lot of people for corruption, and many councilors and ministers had been replaced. Those who had been granted a reprieve from their death sentences were put to execution without any delay.
Rufus once again became the cold-blooded, ruthless, and tough man like he was in the past.
The rumors around him never died. They used to paint him as a terrible monster, so I was wary and skeptical of him at first. But after getting to know him, I realized that he was upright and warm, much the opposite of what I had heard about him.
And because of that experience, I didn’t believe the rumors about him now.
I felt a stirring in my chest as I overheard Laura chatting with the kids. Deep down, I’d also wanted to talk to Laura and ask her about Rufus.
But a big part of me had been struggling, and I felt like I shouldn’t even mention him.
Since I had decided to break up with him, there was no need to ask any more.
I lowered my eyes and stared absently at the carpet patterns, lost in thought.
“Where is your mother?” Laura asked.
Beryl grabbed my hand and waved at the screen. “She is here! She is daydreaming.”
Beryl flashed a cheeky grin.
I pinched her face gently and said reproachfully with a smile, “You cheeky little monkey.”
On the other end of the line, Laura asked about the celebration and the military parade. “Are you still not going to attend the ceremony this year?”
“No. I’m afraid there will be too many people and it’ll be too risky. Warren and Harry will probably attend the ceremony as well,” I said.
Laura didn’t say anything, but she did drop a tidbit of information about Rufus.
I was both amused and grateful. Laura was as stubborn yet soft-hearted as ever. She always acted like an arrogant, pompous woman and she never showed her kindness to others by mere words, but by genuine actions.
“Mother, who are you talking to on the phone?”
Suddenly, a familiar male voice came from the video. It was Rufus!
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