Chapter 57: She Doesn't Need Your Thanks

Upon hearing him mention mommy, the two little ones instantly became alert. "Why are you seeking my mommy?" Daniel's gaze fixated on the nearby man, guarded like a little tiger, poised to defend at any instant. Clearly lacking in attack power, yet he still maintained a fierce appearance. Quintus noticed the hostility from the little one and found it strange yet amusing. He didn't take it seriously and simply said, "Thanks to you both for taking care of Grace these two times. Anyway, I need to say thank you." At his words, Daniel felt slightly relieved but still kept a tight expression on his face. "No need. My mommy made a call already, and she doesn't need your thanks." With that, he pulled Leo back to the carpet, and then, lowering his head, he said to Grace, "Since your daddy is here to pick you up, you should go with him. My mommy will be busy working for a while and won't have time to keep you company." Grace was still basking in the joy of her friends speaking up for her. Upon hearing this, she slowly came back to reality. Though reluctant, she understood when she heard that the pretty lady still had work to do, so she nodded understandingly. Ever since that man voluntarily mentioned their mommy, Daniel had been wary of him, not wanting him to see Chloe at all. Now, seeing Grace agree to leave with the man, he quickly pulled Leo and squatted down to start tidying up the LEGO. Quintus saw that Grace had agreed to go with him, so he didn't urge them further and let the three little ones tidy up. After watching for a while, he sensed something odd. The three little ones squatted together, nearly the same height. Moreover, they were all in the same kindergarten class, indicating their ages shouldn't differ too much. But, according to the timeline, even if that woman remarried immediately after giving birth to Grace, and then got pregnant with and gave birth to these twins, Grace shouldn't be so close in age to them. Could it be... because boys grow faster? But why did Chloe insist on them being in the same grade as Grace? Was this also a coincidence? Quintus's mind was full of doubt. After a while of pondering, Quintus slowly withdrew his gaze from the three little ones, boredom overtaking him as he surveyed the surroundings. Though it was only a temporary residence, Chloe had put some effort into decorating it. At the moment, what caught Quintus's eyes was a warm and tidy scene. Upon closer inspection, he could see several photo frames placed around. His gaze was gradually drawn to these photo frames, and he walked over to them, carefully examining each one. After looking for a while, a faint frown appeared on his forehead. Several consecutive photos, without exception, only showed the figures of Chloe and the two children. Though the three of them smiled warmly in the pictures, Quintus couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. In these photos, there was not a trace of the children's father. Or perhaps... were these photos all taken by that man? But would he really not appear in any of these photos? As Quintus pondered, he was suddenly interrupted by a hurried sound of footsteps coming from the stairs. Quintus snapped out of his thoughts, placing the photo frame he had been holding back down and casually walking over to the carpet. On the stairs, Chloe rushed down almost running, her face full of anxiety.