Chapter 206: It Describes How Much Daddy Loves Us
The next day, Wendy Stewart still did not go to the office. She stayed at home resting and began designing a line of clothing inspired by the four seasons.
"Mummy! Mummy!" Leah held a cell phone and toddled over to Wendy’s side. She flashed the phone in front of Wendy and asked, "See? Isn’t that us?"
Leah did not recognize many words. All she knew was that the article had published a photograph of her family.
Wendy took the cell phone to take a closer look. Their little shopping trip had made it to that day’s entertainment news headlines.
The accompanying photograph was of their family of four holding hands.
Since they had not tried to keep a low profile the day before, many people had recognized them.
"It really is us," replied Wendy.
"Mummy, what do the words say?" Leah looked on, eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"It describes how much Daddy loves us," laughed Wendy as she told Leah the gist of the article.
The article wrote nothing special, so Wendy scrolled to the comments section.
"Gosh, Mr. Lucas is too doting towards his wife."
"Mr. Lucas personally went on a shopping trip with his wife and kids?! Rich and handsome and an affectionate husband! I could not be more jealous."
"Who’s the little girl? She looks adorable! Could she be Mr. Lucas and Wendy Stewart’s daughter? I’ve never heard of her, though."
"Ah! I bumped into them yesterday! The whole family looks gorgeous! What a feast to the eyes! I even took a photograph with the little girl!"
.....
Upon reading these comments, Wendy could not help but be all smiles.
After a while, she clicked on another piece of news.
The headline that caught her eye was about Christian Lucas.
Christian had left the detention center recently, so there were articles published about him since the day before.
The person in charge of DR Group had such a major incident, so it was no wonder that media outlets were watching him closely.
Not only were Michael and Christian hot topics on the entertainment news, but they had also made headlines in the business news segment.
In the past month, Michael had taken over much of Christian’s market share. He had been a direct cause of DR Group’s plummeting share value.
On the other hand, MC Enterprise had doubled its stock value.
Wendy looked at the comments section under the article about Christian. Opinions were almost evenly split between supporters and critics.
Zess noticed Wendy on the cell phone and snatched it from her with a knowing smile.
"Wendy, Mr. Lucas instructed that from today onwards, you should not be on the phone or watching the television for over two hours."
"What?" Wendy responded in disbelief at Zess’s announcement. "I can’t go to work now, and even at home, I can’t use my phone? Then what can I do?"
"You can go out to shop, relax at a spa, or even go to the chess lounge downstairs or something," Zess advised. "This is all for the good of your eyes. The other day, you fainted, and your eyes contracted conjunctivitis. When you’ve fully recovered your strength, Mr. Lucas will be less worried about you. "
Helplessly, Wendy weakly argued, "Zess, you are the person whom I brought with me from Rheinsville City. How did you end up following Michael’s instructions to a tee?"
"This is all for your benefit. I was terrified when you were hospitalized for a month the last time!" Zess then turned to Leah with a wide smile, "Leah dear, go bring Mummy out to play."
"Okay!" Leah cheerfully responded and hurried to hold Wendy by the hand. She then turned towards Jake in the distance and called out, "Jake! Let’s bring Mummy out to play together, shall we?"
Wendy could not wrap her mind around how, as a twenty-eight-year-old, she was not only being bossed around by her husband but by her two toddlers as well.
Wendy turned to take a final glance at the paper and pencil that she had prepared earlier and shook her head in resignation.
Zess was now on Michael’s side. To be more precise, Zess had come to a consensus with Michael about the number of hours Wendy was to spend at work and in terms of how much she used her eyes.
Therefore, even when Jake and Leah were at school, Wendy could only be caring for her potted plants at home or strolling around the garden downstairs.
At times, when inspiration struck, she would secretly make some sketches.
Whenever Zess noticed her doing so, she would simply snatch the pencil out of Wendy’s hands.
As if that wasn’t enough, Zess would even tell on Wendy.
When Michael returned home, he would make sure that Wendy got the message about resting her eyes.
A few of such days went by, and it was enough to drive Wendy up the wall.
This day, Wendy received a call. It was from an unknown number. But when she picked it up, she instantly recognized who it was.
"Wendy, what are you up to today?"
"Winnie... " Wendy knew that it was Winnie Quinn who had called.
She should be addressing Winnie as "Mum", but Wendy just could not get herself to say the word.
"I... I’m at home, not doing anything in particular," responded Wendy honestly.
If she wanted to do something more, this would be a good opportunity for her.
"Well, then would you like to accompany me for a walk? I didn’t manage to get company today, but I’m afraid I’d be bored on my own," Winnie’s voice over the phone did not reveal any hints of how she was feeling.
"Pardon me?" Wendy was surprised. She would have never imagined that Winnie would ask to spend time with her.
Even at the hospital, Winnie Quinn was clearly prejudiced against her.
When they had bumped into each other at the mall, their exchange was a little more than usual but had nothing much to it either.
"Are you still angry at me?" Winnie sighed. She now sounded apologetic. "I was a little pushy in the past. Oh, Wendy, are you going to hold grudges against me forever? On Michael’s behalf, let’s try to get along a little better, shall we?"
"In the past?" Wendy naturally could no longer remember what had happened between them in the past.
"Since you’re free, come on out with me for a walk, will you?" Winnie coaxed.
At these words, Wendy was compelled to accept Winnie’s invitation.
Moreover, Winnie was an elder and Michael’s mother.
Her mother-in-law had personally invited her on a walk. Moreover, Wendy was literally not doing anything much. She would not be giving Winnie any face if she were to turn her down.
Wendy did not want to make things difficult for Michael either.
"Sure, Winnie, let me know what time we should meet. Shall I pick you up at your place?" asked Wendy.
"Let’s meet now. It’s one o’clock right now, so it’ll be just enough time to stroll around the mall and have a spa session," responded Winnie.
"No need to pick me up. I’ll get the chauffeur to drive me. Let’s meet at Mont Bleu Cafe along 2nd Avenue East, shall we?"
"Sure."
After hanging up, Wendy went to her closet to change her clothes. After she had put on some makeup, she looked at herself in the mirror. My lipstick color looks a little dark; Winnie might not like it, she thought as she removed the lip color she had on.
Once she was pleased with how she looked, Wendy drove to the cafe.
She was worried that Winnie might not see her when she arrived, so Wendy chose an easily noticeable seat.
She ordered a cup of coffee and waited for Winnie to arrive.
"Are you alone, Miss?"
Wendy’s head was bowed, and her eyes were on her cup, stirring the coffee intermittently. At the sound of an unfamiliar voice, she raised her head to have a look before responding in a frosty tone, "No, I’m waiting for someone."
