At dusk-

After coming back from the hospital, Joanne was busy taking care of the two little guys.

Strangely, Romy was particularly cranky. She kept crying and would only quieten down when someone held her and tried to pacify her.

Although Romy always cried more than Aiden, this was the first time that she had bawled in this manner.

Joanne thought the little girl was not feeling well and she examined her thoroughly. However, she did not find anything unusual and there were no signs that her asthma was acting up.

Then why was she crying all the time if she was not sick?

Joanne frowned worriedly as she couldn't figure out the reason.

Noticing Joanne's anxiety, Iris came over and gently patted her shoulder, saying, "Don't worry. She just wants to kick up a fuss. That's what children do."

Iris had rich experience in looking after children as she had brought up Brian by herself.

Joanne knew that she should listen to Iris, but she could not feel at ease at all and her brows were deeply furrowed with worry.

As a mother, Iris understood Joanne's mood. She smiled and added, "Brian was well-behaved when he was a child. But sometimes he would make trouble like Romy today. At that time, his father would stop his work and come back to accompany him."

Joanne was really surprised.

She couldn't imagine Brian being so willful.

When she looked at Romy again, Joanne was more relaxed. She patted the little girl's shoulder gently and said helplessly, "Well, I suppose you inherited that trait from your father."

Suddenly, Romy stopped crying and her dark eyes seemed to be searching for something. Maybe it was because she heard the word "father".

But there were only Joanne and Iris in the children's room. She would have stopped crying a long time ago if she wanted them.

Joanne had a bad feeling that Romy cried so hard because she missed Brian.

But Brian was not at home!

As expected, Romy cried harder than before when she did not find Brian.

Iris smiled helplessly and touched Romy's face and said, "Our Romy misses her daddy." Then she looked at Joanne and asked, "How about we ask Brian to come back earlier?"

Joanne thought for a moment and shook her head. "No, mom. We can handle her. Brian will come back after his work is done."

Iris looked at the clock on the wall and said, "Brian should be off work at this time."

"He's been busy recently. We'd better not disturb him." Joanne kissed her daughter's little face and comforted her softly, "Good girl. Daddy is still working. I will ask him play with you when he comes back, okay?"

"Ah!" Romy protested. She clenched her fists and buried her face in Joanne's arms, humming unhappily.

Although the willful little girl was capricious, it did not make the others angry. Instead, their hearts softened.

Iris brought Aiden over and helped Joanne coax Romy. She asked, "Joanne, what did Gavin tell you in the hospital?"

Joanne had already told Iris that Wendy wanted to marry Gavin. Iris had no objection. Instead, she praised Wendy for being bold and determined and said that she was willing to help.

Iris had always been open-minded, therefore Joanne was not surprised at her reaction at all.

Joanne told Iris everything as she thought she should be frank with an elder. But she declined Iris's assistance as she could handle it by herself.

Iris didn't know what Joanne and Gavin were going to do, so she didn't insist on helping them. She just told Joanne that she would take care of the two little guys while Joanne made preparations for the wedding.

However, taking no part in this affair did not mean that Iris did not care about it. On the contrary, she was more concerned about the progress than anyone else.

Knowing the old lady's concern, Joanne told her what had happened in the hospital today and emphasized that Gavin and Wendy had decided to hold the wedding ceremony during the Spring Festival.

Hearing this, Iris couldn't help laughing. She said, "Before Gavin and Wendy announced their relationship, I felt that they had a tacit understanding. It turned out that I was right, just like I was right about the relationship between you and Brian."

Joanne couldn't help blushing when she heard her talking about her relationship with Brian. She faked a cough and then gave Iris a brief outline of the wedding plan.

"Mom, what do you think?" she asked.

"Aha-" Iris waved her hand smilingly, "I won't interfere in the wedding plans. I'm old and I can't keep up with your pace. Just do whatever you want. As long as Gavin and Wendy are happy, I'll be happy."

Joanne burst into laughter. "Okay!" she responded.

Just at this time, Brian opened the door and came into the children's room.

Maybe it was because she sensed her father's presence. Romy suddenly burst into tears as if she suffered a great grievance.

Joanne was in no mood to pander to the girl. She looked at Brian with pleading eyes and said, "Come here quickly."

Brian walked over and took Romy in his arms. He held the little girl and coaxed her patiently, "What's wrong, baby?"

Of course, Romy wouldn't say anything. She just wept for a while and gradually quieted down and finally fell asleep in Brian's arms.

Joanne couldn't believe what she was seeing-

Was Brian the only person who could deal with Romy?

But she was the one who accompanied Romy every day!

Brian noticed the surprised look in Joanne's eyes. He asked deliberately, "Joanne, did you fail to calm her down?"

Joanne was unwilling to admit it. She defended herself, "Romy was tired out from her crying bout, so she fell asleep in your arms. It's not your credit!"

Brian held Romy as if he was cradling a rare treasure. He glanced at Joanne and quickly turned his attention back to his daughter. "Well, I won't force you to face the reality."

Joanne was about to explode.

It seemed that Brian was giving her some credit, but in fact, his tone was so smug.

With a sense of accomplishment, Brian put Romy in the crib to let her sleep. But unexpectedly, the little girl whined and grabbed his clothes once she touched the bed.

Seeing this, Joanne felt a sense of malicious pleasure. She wanted to smirk. But considering the old lady was still there, she repressed a laugh.

She wanted to see what Brian would do!

Brian's heart softened because of his daughter. He could not leave the little girl alone when she clutched him so tightly, therefore he had no choice but to carry her to the study and take care of her while he read through the documents.

Joanne coaxed Aiden in the children's room. Aiden was well-behaved and fell asleep in his mother's arms after a while. Joanne then went to the study to find Brian and Romy.

She didn't expect to find Brian dealing with both the business and their daughter.

Not wanting Brian to be in such a difficult situation, Joanne pursed her lips and carried Romy back to the children's room.

She put her on the bed. But the little girl refused to sleep. She snorted and began to struggle on the bed. However, she was probably really sleepy. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't, and her little face crinkled in an adorable manner.

Joanne skillfully comforted her. After a while, the little guy finally fell asleep, no longer protesting or making any noise.

Joanne breathed a sigh of relief and pulled Brian out of the children's room.

Iris followed them out. When she reached the study, she suddenly stopped Brian and said, "I have something to tell you."

"Mom," Joanne interrupted, "if it's about Wendy and Gavin's wedding, then you don't need to worry. We got this."

"I believe you can do a good job. I'm not worried about it at all," Iris smiled. "I just want to tell you that I will move back to Orchid Gardens after the Spring Festival."

The house at Orchid Gardens had been bought by Brian's father. Iris lived there since she married Brian's father and she built it into a comfortable paradise where the family lived happily.

Iris had said that she could only sleep peacefully in this house and wanted to spend the rest of her life there.

If it wasn't due to her injury this time, Iris would not have agreed to stay at Prime Villas. Joanne was happy that she could stay here until the Spring Festival.

Joanne nodded and said, "Okay, we'll send you back to Orchid Gardens after Gavin and Wendy's wedding."

Iris waved her hand and replied, "Well, go ahead with your work. I'm gonna help the cook with the dinner."

"Joanne, come to the study with me," Brian said. "I need your help."

Joanne had some business knowledge which she acquired a long time ago and could help Brian with small tasks. When Brian needed her help, he would not hesitate to ask.

"Well, okay." Joanne followed Brian into the study. When she was about to close the door, she suddenly stopped and looked at Brian warily, asking, "Do you really need my help?"

In the past, Brian had used a similar excuse, but it turned out that what he needed Joanne to do was a completely different thing.

Joanne felt that being cautious would not be a bad thing.

Brian did not expect Joanne to suddenly ask this question. He turned around and looked at Joanne and said, "Close the door, and you will know."

Joanne shivered-

She knew that Brian's intentions were not totally pure!