After her adorable little outburst, Christine threw herself coquettishly into her mother's arms.
Corinne lifted her and looked sternly at Bryan. "Is that how you should be talking to Christine?"
Bryan curled his lips and replied, "But you dote on her all the time, Mommy..."
Joey, being the older brother, patted Bryan's shoulder and said, "We're her older brothers, so we should be more tolerant of our little sister."
Bryan was extremely unhappy to hear that. "You're my elder brother! She's my age since she and I were born on the same day! Why should I tolerate her?"
Christine turned and pointed angrily at Bryan. "I don't want you as my brother anymore!"
Bryan responded stubbornly. "Fine by me! I don't want a stubborn sister like you anyway!"
"Mommy, please tell him that I'm no longer his sister!"
"Mommy, please tell her that I'm no longer her brother!"
Corinne was exhausted, and she felt as if her head was spinning when she was asked to 'confirm' her two children's unusual request. Just as she was about to mediate and end their argument, Francine stepped in and pulled the two kids over.
"Wait a second. Something doesn't seem to add up. What do you mean by 'the other Bryan', Christine? And what do you mean when you stayed with Daddy, Bryan? Could you two explain, please?"
"Okay. I'll head upstairs and do my makeup." Francine was about to turn around and go back in when she spotted the red marks on Corinne's neck. Her eyes widened and she froze right away.
Francine's gaze made Corinne feel a little uncomfortable. "Is something the matter? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Francine led Corinne to a spot where the children could not hear them. "Be honest with me, Corinne. What did you do when you went out this morning?"
Corinne felt that Francine's actions were a little odd at times. "I went out with Sunny to help him with something. Didn't you see me leave with him?"
Francine frowned. "I did, but it's not like I can constantly keep an eye on you to see what you did while you were out! You're not cheating, are you?"
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