Ch. 746..750
Chapter 746 The night was tranquil. Odell’s voice traveled to Sylvia who was hiding behind the wall.
She immediately turned toward the gate. It took her a while before she finally noticed a silhouette inside the darkness around the corner.
Who else could it be but Odell?
Why did he come here instead of resting at home at this hour of the night?
Her heart skipped a beat. She quickly turned and sprinted back into the house like a thief fleeing a crime scene. As if she had seen a ghost.
Odell’s face darkened when he saw the way she reacted.
He took out his phone and sent her a message: “If | catch you trying to listen to them again, I’m sending you back to Galston!” Her reply came within seconds: “I got it. It won’t happen again.”
She even made sure to add a smiling emoji at the end of her message.
Pandering
Odell was speechless.
His finger hovered above the keyboard. He was not sure if he should reproach her or praise her for her obedience. After a moment, he put the phone back in his pocket and took out a lighter along with a pack of cigarettes.
Night had fallen.
Isabel and Liam in the yard next door dragged their tired bodies into the house, supervised by Sebastian. They went back to their room.
After some time passed, the shut door slowly opened. Isabel stuck her head out and looked down the corridor cautiously, then she whispered behind her, “There’s no one outside. Come on out.”.
Liam walked out of the room with her.
At this hour, most of the members in the household must be sleeping. The only ones awake should be the bodyguards on shift tonight.
Two tiny figures sneaked to the gate.
They looked at the bodyguard who was dozing off, then they held their breaths and slipped out the gate silently. It did not take long for them to reach Sylvia’s place.
Isabel was taking the lead but she suddenly stopped and scuttled behind Liam. She grabbed at Liam’s sleeve and muttered anxiously, “There are no ghosts inside, right?”
“No,” Liam declared confidently as he raised the stun baton in his hand. Isabel managed to steal the stun baton from Ben earlier that day.
They walked to the entrance. Liam put his finger on the fingerprint sensor. Beep.
The fingerprint sensor verified his identity and swiftly opened. He opened the door and walked inside, alertly holding the stun baton in one hand and taking Isabel’s hand with his off-hand.
The yard was basked in the darkness of the night. The house was pitch black as well. Isabel shrunk into a ball and whispered into his ears,” Liam, I’m scared.”
Liam squeezed her hands. “Don’t be scared.”
They walked cautiously and gradually inched toward the living room. Clack!
Something suddenly clattered against the floor.
Isabel shrieked, “Ahh!”
Liam made sure he held her close and turned around with the stun baton pointed toward the darkness and shouted, “Who’s that?”
Odell’s tall figure emerged from within the shadows. Liam frowned. “Dad?” Isabel also exclaimed, “Baddie, why are you here?”
Odell threw the stub of the cigarette on the ground and peered at them sternly. “What are you doing here? Shouldn't you two be sleeping?”
Liam stayed quiet.
Isabel made a look and confessed , “Liam suspects that someone is living here. We wanted to see if Mommy came back.” Odell frowned again and said sharply, “There’s nobody here. Now get back to sleep.”
Isabel immediately hid behind Liam.
Liam looked at Odell defiantly. Underneath the moonlight, there was not a hint of fear in his cool
expression. “Dad, why is Mommy’s house so clean?”
Chapter 747
Odell sized him up and answered blankly, “Because we have cleaners come by from time to time.” “Do they clean the room me and my sister used to sleep
in?”
“Yeah.”
“Do they change our bedsheets?”.
“Yeah.”
Liam grimaced.
He was still standing stoutly without the slightest hint of wanting to leave. After a prolonged standstill , he looked around the dark house and frowned before asking suspiciously, “Are you sure Mommy didn’t come back?” When they came here this morning, he was sure he caught the scent of his mother.
Odell fell silent for a few seconds before declaring, “No.”
It was not so much that he was not willing to let them see their mother, but that the wretched woman did not have the right to see them this easily!
Liam turned to Isabel. “Come on, let’s go back.”
“Okay,” Isabel answered with a firm nod.
There was a clear look of disappointment on their faces.
Odell frowned and glanced in the direction of Sylvia’s room. Then he followed them and walked them out.
They held on tightly to each other’s hands and slowly walked out with their heads craned to the ground. Their tiny figures seemed to be filled with grief as if they were abandoned children.
Even though their father was right next to them. “Hurry up,” he urged. Isabel pouted, she resisted the urge to cry and muttered,” Okay.”
The two of them quickened their steps and went back to their house one block over.
Odell followed them until they reached the door of their bedroom. He kept their eyes on them and made sure they crawled back into their beds before he turned away and closed the door.
Meanwhile, inside Sylvia’s bedroom.
She was squatting by the window with her hands cupping her cheeks.
She heard movements the moment Isabel and Liam opened the door and came into the house. Chapter 747
She heard their entire conversation with Odell as well.
Something must have aroused their suspicion when they came during the day, which was why they decided to sneak here at night again. She could tell by their voice that they missed her dearly and were dejected at not getting to see her.
These thoughts consumed her mind and made her spiral out of control. Tears began to fall against her will. No, no. She had to control herself.
Now she knew that her children missed her. Since she was back already, it was only a matter of time until Odell allowed her to see them. Even if he adamantly opposed it now, time would tell.
She got up and went to the bathroom where she washed her face with warm tap water.
It was around ten in the morning by the time Sylvia opened her eyes. She must have slept too late last night.
The bedroom windows were still sealed tightly with iron sheets, obstructing sunlight from entering the room. She washed up and went to the living room. The scorching sun was burning in the skies above. The day was bright.
Al4
She came into the yard and stretched out underneath the glow of the sun.
After that, she went to the wall as usual and tried to listen to any signs of movement in the neighboring yard.
Since it was Sunday, she figured that the children must be at home.
She stood there for an entire hour and heard nothing but the common chatter of two housemaids in the house.
She went back to the living room and sat on the patio. She bathed under the sun and reached for her phone where she sent a text to Odell: “Good morning.”
With a smiley face at the end.
She wanted to get on his good side.
There was no reply sometime after the text was sent.
Either he had not read the message, or he was not interested in replying. The latter seemed like a more likely possibility.
Sylvia pursed her lips and continued sitting on the patio where she zoned out for some time. Since there were no signs of any activity in the neighboring yard after some time, she upped and went to the kitchen where she fixed herself something to eat.
Chapter 748
After dinner, Sylvia grabbed a chair and sat by the wall where she continued to listen to any form of movements on the other side.
Even after several hours had passed, she heard nothing remotely resembling Isabel and Liam chattering on the other side. It was Sunday. Were they not at home? After she pondered for a while, she reluctantly grabbed her phone and selected Odell’s contact.
She hovered her finger back and forth over the keyboard for some time and after some more consideration, she sent a message: “Hey, good afternoon.” Followed by a cute smiling emoji as usual.
Ten minutes passed, then half an hour... Then three hours had passed, and he did not answer. He was probably not going to reply at all by this point.
Sylvia put the phone back in her pocket. The sky was slowly darkening by this point. Just as she was about to head back into the house, she suddenly heard what sounded like a car parking in front of the gate.
She perked up with alertness and immediately went to Chapter 748 2/5
the barred gate where she put her ear over the sheet of metal in hopes of hearing something. She heard Lily’s voice, “Isabel, Liam, did you two have fun today?”
She frowned. She heard Isabel answering, “We had a lot of fun. Thank you very much, Aunt Lily.”
Judging by her formal tone, Sylvia could make out that Isabel was not particularly distrustful of her stepmother, but she was not exactly in love with her either.
She was always the type that showered you with love if you extend any sort of genuine goodwill toward her, but would hold a grudge if you got on her bad side. However, she also had a knack to maintain perfect neutrality if a person was otherwise indifferent to her as well.
The end result was that she was not exactly fond of Lily, but she was not mean toward her either. That was well enough. Sylvia doubted that Lily would be intentionally cruel toward the children once she married Odell.
Lily expressed with a polite smile, “No need to thank me. I’m just glad you two had a great time. That way, | won't feel like | let your father down.”
Neither Isabel nor Liam made a response. Chapter 748 3/5
“You two can head inside first,” a new voice that was deep and heavy with bass spoke this time. Sylvia was taken aback by this. Odell? Why was he there? Did he spend the day with the children along with Lily? Her first reaction was to look at the phone that she still held in her hands.
This explained why he did not answer her messages. He was spending time with his fiancée.
She figured that if she was in Odell’s position, she probably would not be answering the text of an ex-wife when she was spending time with a fiancée.
The footsteps of the children gradually faded over time. They must have gone into the house.
Sylvia was not interested in eavesdropping on Odell and Lily's conversation and went back into her house. Meanwhile, Odell and Lily were still standing outside the
gate.
After making sure that Isabel and Liam had gone into the house, Odell turned to Lily and thanked her, “Thanks for taking the time today.”
Something urgent came up with work today so he had been busy all day until just now.
4/5 It was Lily who took Isabel and Liam out to play.
Lily smiled sweetly and answered, “No need, Odell. | just brought them to a theme park where there was staff who took care of them and played with them. They were very good and didn’t cause any trouble for me or anyone else.”
Isabel and Liam were both adorable , but they were the children of Sylvia Ross, an otherwise insignificant person of a not particularly impressive family or background that Lily would hardly spare the time of her day to acknowledge. She doubted that she would ever take a liking to the children, but she made sure to at least take her grandmother’s advice and get on their good side since Odell cared a great deal about them.
For what it was worth, it was not much trouble for her. All she did was take them to a children’s theme park and had the staff inside look after the two of them for the entire day. The staff members did the bulk of the work while all she had to do was to pick them up. It was not much trouble for her at all.
Odell expressed, “I owe you one.”
The children seemed to be in a very good mood. They must have enjoyed their day at the theme park.
Something gleamed in Lily’s eyes and she said with a smile, “In that case, why don’t you treat me to something nice?”
Odell stayed quiet for several seconds before promising,” Alright, we'll do that someday.”
“Which day are we talking about? Could you give me an exact date so | can free up my schedule?”
Odell frowned and stole a glance at the barred gate connected to the next house and decided on a date. “Next Thursday night.”
He set the date for four days from now because he was not particularly in a mood to go outside to eat within the next day or so. “Okay then. See you Thursday night.” With that, she turned and went back to her car
Chapter 749 Odell went into his house as well. The engine of the white luxury car roared.
Upon entering her car, Lily put on a pair of sunglasses. When she drove past Sylvia’s house, she cast a brief sidelong glance at the house before directing her eyes back to the road and going on her way.
Meanwhile, Sylvia made herself a simple bowl of noodles.
After she finished eating, she went to the wall to listen for any signs of movement to gauge what Isabel and Liam were doing There was nothing to be heard. They must have been exhausted from the day of activities.
After she sat for a while, she went back to the living room.
It was very quiet and she was beginning to get bored.
She sat on the couch and reached for the remote to turn on the television and proceeded to put on a show to watch. Shortly after that, she began to feel tired and let out a long, dragged-out yawn. Her head felt groggy with sleep. After an indiscernible amount of time passed, she had the
brief sensation of something chilly causing her skin to stand up on end, so she opened her eyes groggily.
That was when she noticed a man leaning against a wall nearby peering at her.
The look in her eyes changed. She was immediately jolted and practically sprang up to a sitting position on the couch. Odell frowned displeasingly.
Sylvia pursed her lips and asked in a hushed voice, “Why are you here?”
He walked up to her, his legs were like two long and thick tree trunks.
She wanted to duck away from him but he immediately put a hand out to touch her face.
She froze and did not dare to move. It was as if a spell had been cast on her and immobilized her.
The look in his eyes darkened, and he spoke with an undertone of anger, “What’s this? Weren’t you the one bombarding my phone with messages earlier today? Don’t you want to see me?”
“| wasn’t bombarding your phone with messages. | texted you twice.” Sylvia cautiously corrected him.
His face immediately darkened by several shades. Sylvia hurriedly clarified, “| wasn’t trying to do anything. Chapter 749
| was just greeting you and seeing how you were doing.” “I’m doing very badly right now.” “Sorry to hear that.” Odell: “...” His face was black as ink.
Sylvia immediately zipped her lips. She already apologized to him. Why was he still so upset?
She was just as flustered as she was scared. Her eyes turned into two large circles that beamed with innocence. Odell felt terrible.
Was he a rabid wolf? Or some sort of demon?
Where was her past audacity that compelled her to accuse him of being a disgusting man? Did she shrink into her current pathetic state after Thomas dumped her?!
After a long silence, he let go of her, then he turned around and walked out.
He walked very quickly and reached the entrance of the living room in the blink of an eye.
Sylvia breathed a sigh of relief.
At that very moment, he suddenly stopped and turned around.
His cold, hostile gaze swept over her.
She was stunned. She barely had time to suppress her sigh.
She pursed her lips.
He continued to peer icily at her. She blurted out, “Did | say something wrong? If | said something to upset you, you can just tell me and I'll make sure to be careful from here on.”
“I'm very upset.” He gnashed his teeth and declared, “It pisses me off seeing you like this.” She lowered her head and turned her body silently in another direction , leaving him to stare at the cold hard figure of her back.
Chapter 750
Odell frowned with irritation. “Why are you turning away?”
Was this her way of expressing her sorrow and emptiness? A show of her somber state? “Does this make you feel better?” Sylvia asked.
Odell was puzzled by this.
“Next time, let me know in advance before you come here. That way, | can get something like a shawl to cover my face so you won't have to look at my face again.” After a pause, she asked again, “Does this make you feel better?”
Odell was speechless. Did she think that her face was the reason for him being upset?
A burst of vexation rushed up to his head. He walked up to her in just a few large strides. Then, he clasped his large palms around her chin and made her turn to face him. !!
His laser eyes seemed like they were going to bore holes into her. “Is something wrong with your head?” Sylvia narrowed her eyes and answered, “Not that | know
of.”
He glared at her.
She immediately changed her tone. “If you think there’s something wrong, then it’s probably correct.” Odell pursed his lips. He felt what seemed like a lump in his throat. After that, he put one arm around her waist and carried her off the couch.
Sylvia almost shrieked by the suddenness of his action but did not dare to struggle. She grabbed at his collar and asked sharply, “Where are you taking me?”
“To a mental hospital,” he said with a vicious look, “Let’s have them dissect your brain to see what's wrong with you!”
The look in Sylvia’s eyes became alert, she clenched his collar tightly. Just as Odell was about to carry her past the door, she asked out of nowhere, “Do you still have a thing for me?”
Odell stopped abruptly and stared darkly at her.
“You're just trying to get a feel of me, aren’t you?” she asked again, this time with her reddened eyes cast off to another direction. Odell’s face darkened and he commanded sharply, “Say that while looking at me.”
Sylvia gritted her teeth and confronted his gaze. She built up the courage to say to him, “You’re engaged to Miss Springsteen . You're someone’s fiancé now and it’s not appropriate for you to carry me like this. It would be a bad look on you if someone sees us like this, so you'd better put me down right now.” He crooked one of his eyebrows. “And what if | don’t?”
Sylvia chirped softly. “People will talk.” Odell fell quiet.
The yard was as quiet as a cemetery. It was a cold night but there was no wind.
He stared quietly at her.
She avoided his gaze, a cautious look hung over her face.
After a while, she suddenly winced, and her entire expression became contorted in pain.
Odell became alert. “What's wrong?” Sylvia gestured at her belly and whispered, “The baby is kicking me again.” It was a strong kick.
Odell frowned and looked at her bulging belly.
Perhaps the brat inside heard and understood the conversation between the two of them. He seemed to be able to feel the baby’s movements. It was as if the baby
was kicking Sylvia’s stomach to protest and defend Sylvia.
The look in his eyes cooled down and he promptly let go of her.
He announced in a sharp voice, “I don’t feel anything toward you now. Stop being so full of yourself or else I'll send you back to Galston.”
With that, he stepped past her and walked outside.
Sylvia stood fixed to the same spot with her hands on her stomach.
She gently stroked the rowdy child through her belly and made a long sigh.
If he claimed to not feel anything toward her, then so be it. Besides, he had a fiancée, so it was only to be expected. She said that on purpose to rile him up so he would put her down.
After a while, the baby seemed to settle down at last. She murmured, “It’s okay, all Mommy wants is to have you, your brother, and your sister.”
Several days passed in the blink of an eye. Sylvia had been spending her days and nights listening to Isabel and Liam through the wall.
Odell never showed up again, but she still ritually texted Chapter 750
him every day to greet him even if he never replied even once. It was Thursday.
Just like the past few days, when the two little ones came back from school in the evening, Sylvia quickly went to her usual spot and tried to listen in for anything particularly interesting.
Since it was a colder night than usual, Isabel and Liam only hung around the yard for a short while before entering the house. Since there was nothing to be heard over her side of the wall, Sylvia retreated into her house as well.