“Tony, Tony!”
“How is he still sleeping so soundly?”
“What was he up to last night?” Denise asked.
Just as Anthony was dead asleep, Benjamin and Denise's voices sounded in his ears.
“Quiet!” Anthony complained with a frown.
“But the sun's already setting, Tony. Are you planning to sleep for an entire day?” Denise asked again after hearing Tony’s complaint.
Her question had Anthony frown even harder before he slowly opened his eyes. Darkness was slowly taking over the sunlight, just as Denise said.
He picked up his watch to look at the time, realizing that it was already five in the afternoon and that he had slept for a very long time.
Denise crawled up to the side of his bed and asked, “What were you up to last night, Tony? Why are you so tired?”
Speaking of this, Anthony failed to hold back the smile waiting to crack open on his face.
“This smile... Hmm... There's definitely something going on!” Benjamin stated as he stared at Anthony.
It was then Anthony finally got up lazily from his bed. He was also smiling with his eyes narrowed. “I'm actually afraid of telling you. I'm worried that both of you might get jealous.”
Benjamin and Denise exchanged a glance immediately after hearing Anthony's reply. They knew it. Anthony was up to something behind their backs!
“Jealous? What could make us jealous?” Benjamin asked.
“That's right!” Denise backed her brother up.
Anthony, however, remained silent while keeping a smile on his face.
“So you're not going to tell us?” Benjamin raised his eyebrows and turned his vision toward Denise after seeing how Anthony was still trying to keep them in the dark. As the two of them exchanged a glance, they, too, were seemingly conveying something through their glances.
Anthony was still sitting on the bed.
He pressed his lips together as the little boy fell back into the sweet memories of whatever he did last night.
“It seems like I'm going to have to use that move!” Denise reached out her two little hands toward Anthony after seeing the look on his face and tried to tickle him.
Anthony was a brave boy, one that feared nothing but Natasha and being tickled.
Hence, as soon as he saw Denise trying to tickle him, his eyes widened immediately, and he ducked out of instinct.
“No, no, no!” The sleepiness in Anthony was gone right away.
“Are you going to tell us now?” Denise smiled back at him.
“All right, all right! I'll tell you,” Anthony gave in.
Benjamin then said, “Speak.”
“I'm being serious and not going to speak. I'm doing this for your own good!” Anthony acted like he was left with no choice.
Seeing this, Benjamin wasted no time. He gave Denise a signal, and the little girl jumped onto Anthony again.
This time, Anthony finally felt scared, and that had him immediately saying, “Okay, I'll tell you.”
“This is your last chance. You'll be facing our wrath if you try to do anything funny again!” Benjamin threatened.
Standing beside him was Denise, who also nodded in agreement.
At this moment, Anthony knew that if he tried to make them yield using his identity as their elder brother, he would be punished by them for sure. Hence, after considering the odds, he decided to give in.
“Uh... It's actually nothing. Nat and I just talked for the entire night,” Anthony confessed. The cheeky smile was still on his face as he dwelled on the sweet memories.
Hearing this, the other two exchanged another glance.
“What did you talk about?” Denise asked.
“Everything. From some important things like the philosophies of life to little things like matters in our daily lives. The most important thing is that Nat now knows our secret.”
The confession had Benjamin and
Denise caught off guard for a second, for they definitely did not see this coming.
“Y-You confessed?” Benjamin looked at him in surprise.
Mommy fell in love when they were young?” Denise immediately came up with a guess.
“I guess so. It's just that Daddy lost his memories after saving Nat while she still remembered everything clearly, which is also why she married Daddy,” Anthony continued explaining. As he spoke, he heartbrokenly recalled the many insufferable events that Natasha had been through.
“Either way, Nat is still the one who suffered the most!” Benjamin said, “She is the only one who remembers all the sweet memories.”
Denise added, “I, too, thought that Nat was a person who did not know love and romance. I really didn't expect to hear such a sensitive side of Nat. She's so cool!”
This time, it was her turn to become the center of attention as the two boys looked at her.
Yet, she did not flinch. Instead, she smiled. “Don't you agree with me? I mean, Daddy had forgotten about Nat, and she still agreed to marry him nevertheless. Don't you think that Nat's bravery is really cool?”
In the end, Denise's focus point was entirely different from theirs.
Meanwhile, seeing how the two remained silent, Denise continued, “Come on. Why are you guys behaving like that? You should know that this is a good thing. What is done is done, and the past can't be altered no matter what. What matters the most right now is what we can do. Think carefully. If they are together for good, then our family will be reunited! Getting Daddy and Mommy back together is of utmost importance right now!”
As this was brought up, Anthony said, “But I've already talked to Nat, and she doesn't seem to plan on getting back with Daddy.”
This came like a bolt from the blue just as Denise had already been brewing some plans in her mind, causing her to frown. “What? But why?”
“Nat says she wants to give Daddy some tests.”
When Anthony said that, he had a similar frown as Denise.
“But I thought they had been through a lot of challenges together. Is there even a need for that?” Denise's reply suggested that she was confused by Natasha’s decision.
At this moment, Benjamin looked at
Anthony with understanding flickering in his eyes. “You're thinking what I'm thinking, right? It's all but Nat's excuse, isn't it?”
“Obviously!” Anthony replied.
On the other hand, Denise was kept in the dark, and she said, “Can you please be straightforward?”
Anthony then took in a deep breath and said, “This is only my guess. Nat's been acting weird lately, but I can't tell what is wrong with her. It just feels like she is keeping something to herself.”
On the other hand, Denise rolled her starry-looking eyes before she exclaimed as if she had figured out something, “Could it be that Nat...”
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