Could everything really be the way it had been in the past?

Thinking about this question, Joanne was lost in thought.

Gavin stretched out his hand in confusion and waved it in front of Joanne. "Joanne?"

Joanne came to her senses and said somewhat hesitantly, "I'm worried about Wendy."

"Don't worry." Gavin looked relaxed. "I know how to deal with that damned girl."

Seeing Gavin teeming with confidence, Joanne deliberately posed a challenge for him. "Then, do you know how to let her call you brother?"

As expected, Gavin looked embarrassed and daunted. "The little girl has been a little rebellious recently. It is indeed a challenge." After that, he suddenly said in a different tone, "However, even if she is unwilling to call me brother for the rest of her life, it can't change the fact that I am her brother."

"..." Joanne didn't know how to refute him, so she had to show Gavin an expression of great approval.

"Well, I'm leaving first," Gavin said, "I still have a lot of things to do in the hotel. See you tonight."

"See you tonight."

Joanne gazed after Gavin, and stood still even when Gavin's car was so far away.

Brian came to her and asked, "What's wrong?"

Joanne said with a sigh, "I suddenly feel that it's not bad for Gavin to be my cousin. Thus, we are a real family."

Brian pondered for two seconds and said, "You don't have to call him cousin."

"Huh?" Joanne looked at Brian curiously. "Why did you say that too?" Could her husband have discussed it with Gavin?

"Since he was young, Gavin has always thought that he was an orphan." Brian gave the explanation. "Now, he suddenly has a few relatives in his life. We have to give him time to get used to it."

Joanne nodded even if she didn't quite understand.

Indeed, for Gavin, they had been just his good friends.

But one day, the world was turned upside down, and his good friends actually became his relatives.

He had lived alone for more than 20 years. So for him, it was not necessarily a good thing that would be worth celebrating immediately.

Instead, beyond all doubt, it was a huge shock.

Even if he had extraordinary abilities, and even if he looked as if nothing had happened, he still needed time to digest and accept that.

Joanne looked at Brian and said meaningfully, "Sure enough, you know Gavin better..."

Brian narrowed his long and slender eyes. "What do you want to say?"

"Well, nothing!" Joanne covered what she was about to say with a bright smile and naturally changed the topic. "Do you think Gavin will call Auntie 'Mom'?"

Even Brian did not know the exact answer to this question.

Brian just said, "It depends on whether he can forgive Auntie."

Joanne pursed her lips.

It seemed that tonight was not the end to all this, but a new beginning.

For her, it was true.

...

After three o'clock in the afternoon, Wendy ran over happily.

Different from her usual casual style, she was dressed in a long ankle-length off-shoulder dress tonight. The whole dress had a girlish touch, nude and pink, coupled with the embellishment of lace, full of tenderness and sex appeal. It was shaped to fit well at the waist, perfectly showing her body figure and outlining her slim waist.

Her hairstyle was also well-styled. She'd got long, black, and slightly curly hair, which made her look like an adorable and sweet girl. Some strands of hair before her forehead were carefully braided and fixed at the back of her head, gentlewomanly and unconventional.

The rarest thing was that after Wendy put on the dress, no casualty and leisure could be found in her temperament as before. Wendy seemed to be an elegant princess who had grown up in a castle since childhood.

Joanne thought to herself, "If Connell hadn't dated her first, there would have been a lot of men asking about Wendy's contact information tonight."

Wendy noticed the look in Joanne's eyes and asked with little confidence, "Cousin, can't I dress like this? I feel very awkward..."

"Yes, you can." Joanne said with certainty, "You look very good!"

Wendy fiddled with the hemline of her dress and said, "In fact, I don't like dressing like this at all! But I'm happy today, so I'm willing!"

Joanne's smile silently froze for half a second.

"It's still far from the end today..."

Wendy didn't notice the oddity in Joanne's expression at all, and asked, "Cousin, is there anything I can do for you? I specially asked for a half-day leave today!"

Gavin and his men were responsible for the dinner party, while Simon and others were dealing with the rest of the trivial things. The only thing that Joanne needed to do was to dress up and then take the two little guys to the hotel.

However, Wendy was very enthusiastic. So Joanne thought about it and led her back to the room.

Wendy had thought that Joanne was going to arrange a secret mission for her. She was excited for a short while but soon realized that Joanne just wanted her to watch her makeup and dress up.

However, it was also a kind of enjoyment to watch Joanne change into the dress!

"Cousin, you showed me a kind of person!" Wendy stated.

Joanne stopped applying lipstick and asked curiously, "What kind of person?"

"They appear in fashion magazines and are envied by many people!" Wendy replied. "A few days ago, I read a report that when a model was pregnant, she only had a big belly and would restore her original body figure one month after delivery. I thought it was impossible at first, but you showed me that everything is possible..."

Xiao was not exaggerating at all.

It was said that delivery was a cruel transformation for women.

But this kind of big transformation seemed to have ignored Joanne.

Joanne now looked almost the same as before. Her limbs were shapely and slender. Also, the dress outlined her graceful and fabulous body shape.

Perhaps because she had become a mother, the tenacity and tenderness were more obvious in her temperament, which endowed her with an additional appeal apart from her appearance.

Joanne smiled at Wendy's amazement and closed lightly her lips to spread the lipstick. "Do you want to know why?"

"I know." Wendy said and looked as if she had seen through the truth, but she was not envious. "It's by birth, and others can do nothing but be envious!"

"How can there be so many good things by birth?"

As she spoke, Joanne called a girl in.

The girl looked about the same age as Wendy. She was a beautiful foreign girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, enthusiastic to greet Wendy in standard American English as soon as she came in.

Wendy responded politely and asked Joanne confusedly, "Cousin, who is she?"

"She's Anna, a well-known postpartum recovery expert in the United States." Joanne said lightly, "Since the wound was healed, I've started to learn from her to do the postpartum recovery exercise. Three hours a day, it's the part of my unshakable routine. I won't even have the slightest bit of strength left in my body after the exercise."

Wendy blinked her eyes. "Then today..."

Joanne said, "When you came, I just finished my exercise today."

"..." Wendy was completely stunned.

Joanne put down her lipstick and gave an invitation card to Anna to attend the dinner for celebrating the first month of Aiden and Romy.

"I'll be there." Anna smiled and turned to leave.

Joanne then said to Wendy, "Actually, a lot of things are not as simple as what you see on the surface."

Wendy nodded in a daze. She finally understood why people said that apparently easy success depended on much unknown effort.

In this world, few people were blessed with good luck. Most of the bright and beautiful figures had been wet with sweat.

"I see!" Wendy smiled and suddenly called Joanne. "Cousin!"

"Hmm?" Joanne motioned for Wendy to continue.

Wendy said word by word, "I think-you look more fabulous!"

Joanne just smiled and took Wendy to the children's room next door.

Martha and Sister Wu had already helped the two little guys change into new clothes.

Aiden was dressed in a blue suit, and his soft hair was combed back so that he looked like an adorable gentleman.

Romy was dressed in a pink dress. She was restless, so there were no extra decorations on the dress for the sake of safety. But it did not prevent the little girl from turning into a beautiful and lovely princess in fairy tales.

Joanne thought to herself with a sense of accomplishment. "Indeed, I picked the right dress."

"Mrs. Lambert, everything necessary for Aiden and Romy is ready," Martha said, "We can set off at any time."

Joanne believed in Martha, but she still checked it carefully, especially the medicine for Romy.

As soon as she was done inspecting, there was a knock on the door, followed by Brian's voice. "Are you ready?"

Joanne subconsciously looked toward the door. It's a face she would see each day and night, but she still could not help being amazed.

Brian was well proportioned and in as good shape as a model. He looked good in whatever he wore, but the suit was best for him.

The well-fitting cut, the high-quality fabric, and the exquisite design were completely in line with his luxurious temperament as an elite businessman. Coupled with a face that could captivate all living beings and a perfect shape, he was simply a walking ecstasy.

Aiden took after him, and Joanne could already imagine how many people would be fascinated by the little guy when he grew up.

Wendy didn't hide her saliva at all. "Cousin-in-law, are you... going to the hotel like this?"

Brian raised his eyebrows. "Is there something wrong?"

"Of course, a lot of people will faint because of your appearance, won't they?" Wendy turned to look at Joanne. "Cousin, how can you stay calm when you see such a man as my cousin-in-law every day?"

Joanne said lightly, "I grew up watching handsome guys. I'm used to it."

Only then did Wendy think of Chris, and she couldn't agree more with Joanne's words.

However, this kind of welfare was something that could only be enjoyed thanks to fate, instead of hard work.

Speaking of which, she also had Gavin.

Gavin was not inferior to Brian and Chris. Instead, he was more popular among girls.

But unfortunately, she didn't even know Gavin's existence before, let alone growing up with him.

If they could grow up together, she would never have had those feelings for him. Today, she... Wouldn't need to take much effort to hide her feelings...

Joanne noticed that Wendy was distracted and called her. "Wendy, what's wrong with you?"

Wendy said as if nothing had happened, "I just thought that it must be an extremely happy thing to have a handsome and powerful brother!"

Wendy seemed as if she really looked forward to it.

Joanne looked at her, suddenly falling into silence...