Chapter 45 - 42: Timothy and Tiffany, Are They Like Their Daddy?
Before Roy Lewis had a chance to respond, his words were stifled by Richelle Dunn, and his son doused him with a bucket of cold water.
In all honesty, although his son’s words had caught him off guard, they did make him seriously consider his proposal.
Therefore, when he heard Richelle gently reject him, he felt a tinge of disappointment deep down in his heart.
Then, he heard his son bring up the question that had been troubling him.
“Do my brother and sister have a godfather? Is it Uncle Kendrick?”
Richelle Dunn was shaking her head smiling, “Absolutely not!”
Timothy and Tifanny crawled out of Roy Lewis’s embrace. As Timothy intended to tidy her messy hair, he turned to Mr. Timmy saying, “Our godfather is a great painter with such long hair!”
Timothy gestured to his own waist while Tifanny lifted her face and giggled, “Our godfather has a girlfriend, she’s our godmother!”
Once the misunderstanding about the godparents was cleared, the children finally sat happily on the sofa for present-opening time.
Roy Lewis, naturally, would have no idea what to buy for gifts. However, he had the insight to delegate this arduous task to the capable Nathan Caroule, under the advice of Uncle Axel.
Nathan Caroule, living abroad with a reversed time zone, hurriedly gathered some secretaries from the CEO’s office into a group chat. After half an hour of discussion, a list of the top ten gifts for four-year-old boys and girls was created.
Roy Lewis then purchased the top three gifts for boys and girls as listed.
Timothy’s gifts included a set of darts, a simulated astronaut suit, and a proportional aircraft carrier model.
Tifanny’s presents consisted of a princess diadem, a worldwide limited edition Barbie Doll, and a pair of beautiful crystal boots.
Deep inside their hearts, Timothy and Tifanny longed for their dad’s attention and love.
So, hearing that Roy Lewis had bought them gifts, they were already enormously happy.
The unwrapped gifts matched their expectations perfectly. The two little kiddos were shouting with joy as they unpacked them.
Tifanny placed the princess diadem on her head, then strutted over to face Roy Lewis, tilting her face upwards to ask, “Uncle, is Tifanny pretty?”
Roy Lewis gazed at the rosy-faced, starry-eyed little girl, and couldn’t help but touch her half-visible cheek.
“Very pretty, just like a little princess.”
“Hehe!”
The little girl, having received a compliment from her dad, spun around in joy, and then ran to Richelle Dunn to preen herself.
Timothy also came along in his astronaut suit, donning a solemn expression and saluting Roy Lewis, “Thank you, Uncle officer, for the gifts. 1 love them!”
Roy Lewis laughed as he tousled his cute mushroom head, “You look dazzling and impressive!”
Mr. Timmy, who seldom asked for gifts, seeing his brother looking so handsome and cool in the astronaut suit, rushed to his brother’s side and saluted Roy Lewis too, “Reporting to officer dad, Timmy wants a set too!”
Of course, Roy Lewis wouldn’t play favourites. He pinched his son’s rosy cheeks.
“Rest assured, whatever Timothy has, dad has prepared one for you too.”
Little Timmy grinned widely, “Thank you, dad!”
Seeing such childish, radiant joy in his son, he couldn’t help but feel this was the best thing he had ever done in his four years of being a dad.
He patted the two little boys on their behinds, “Alright, off you go to play.”
The two little boys scampered off.
There were two sofas in Richelie Dunn’s house, one long, one short.
The three children snuggled on the long sofa playing, while Roy Lewis sat on the short sofa sipping tea, as Richelle sat on a stool. She watched them laughing together, couldn’t help but whip out her phone, and snap a bunch of photos.
“Send me a copy.”
Roy Lewis suddenly spoke, startling Richelle Dunn.
Upon recovering, she couldn’t help but find it strange.
“I thought Mr. Lewis didn’t like taking photos.”
Roy Lewis nodded, “I don’t, but the kids are very adorable.”
In the past, he only saw the good in his own son.
Now, not only his son but even Timothy and Tifanny, were equally adorable in his eyes.
Richelle hesitated for a bit. To be frank, even if Timothy and Tifanny wore masks, she did not want to give their photos to Roy Lewis.
“Haha, my photography skills are poor. I will send some good ones to you later!”
In her mind, however, she planned to select a few blurry shots that did not clearly show their faces.
Roy Lewis did not notice the discrepancy between Richelle’s assurances and her actual intent. His attention remained focused on the children.
However, at some point, his sight was drawn to Richelle.
Strange enough, he generally paid no attention to women’s faces; all women looked pretty much the same to him, nothing but two eyes, one nose, and a mouth on a face.
The only exception was Richelle. From the moment he first laid eyes on her, he felt she was dazzlingly beautiful, unforgettable at first sight.
At this moment, Richelle, with her hair casually pinned up into a bun using a hair stick, sat there with a beaming smile as she watched the children. Her slightly curled hair draped over her pink-cheeked face, accentuating her beautiful gentle profile as if it was a painting.
The child on the sofa must have said something, as Richelle’s smile grew wider, making her dimples even deeper.
“Timothy and Tiffany, why don’t they have dimples?”
Roy Lewis thought he must be going mad, how could he ask such a peculiar question?
Richelle, who was jovially playing with the children, answered him without a second thought.
“They resemble their father, hence, the lack of dimples.”
For some unknown reason, Roy felt a sour feeling in his stomach. Lightly pressing against his stomach, he attributed it to his recurring gastritis.
“What a pity!”
Roy truly felt it was regrettable. If Tiffany smiled just like Richelle, gracing her face with two dimples, it would indeed be endearing enough to melt one’s heart.
Only then did Richelle realize, she turned to look at Roy suspiciously. On seeing his casual demeanour, she heaved a sigh of relief.
“Mr. Lewis, you should get going soon, otherwise it’ll get late.”
Roy’s probing had startled Richelle into a cold sweat. In order to avoid any potential complications, she quickly urged him to leave.
Roy, however, remained seated, “The kids are enjoying themselves, let them play for a bit longer.”
Now, he understood somewhat why his son always wanted to run off to Richelle’s side.
As it turned out, even he wished to linger here a bit longer.
Even if, unlike his son, he didn’t have compatible playmates to laugh and joke around with.
But just sitting here silently, watching quietly, brought an immense sense of satisfaction.
It was a satisfaction he had never experienced before.
It was as if the long-emptied corner of his heart was suddenly filled by the lighthearted laughter of the children, and Richelle’s tender and beautiful profile.
Richelle watched him suspiciously again.
Roy who was looking at the children, shifted his gaze and found himself staring back into Richelle’s guarded eyes. At first, he was taken aback. But understanding the wariness in her eyes, he became somewhat annoyed.
“Richelle, rest assured, 1 have no interest in you!”
On this point, Richelle was always confident.
Since their first encounter, this man had made no attempts to hide his dislike for her.
But her concern was not about herself!
Her worry was about her precious children!
“Hehe, thank you, Mr. Lewis, for recognizing that I am an ignorant and arrogant person who doesn’t know better. How dare 1 hope for your favor.
H
Having said that, Richelle stood up while clapping her hands twice towards the children.
“My darlings, it’s getting late, time to bathe and sleep.”
In order to protect Timothy and Tiffany, she reluctantly bid her eldest son goodbye.
Fortunately, her eldest son’s attitude towards her had changed slightly. When she called, he didn’t dawdle and resist leaving as before. Instead, he hugged his small brother and sister, touching his little face against theirs.
“See you tomorrow, little brother and sister!”
Timothy and Tiffany were in a very good mood today. Just like last time, they happily walked Mr. Lewis and their older brother to the door, waving their small hands in farewell.
Roy was initially in a good mood, but Richelle’s reaction had left him feeling a tad frustrated.
However, his habitual stoic expression meant that, except for Richelle, none of the children noticed anything unusual.
After Roy left with his son, Richelle, along with Mrs. Walker, started cleaning the living room with the two children.
“Brother, I think Uncle treats us quite well…”
Tiffany no longer resented Roy. In fact, she liked him even more than before.
“Sister, you shouldn’t sell yourself out for a few gifts…”
Timothy showed some backbone. He constantly reminded himself that, although Daddy was Daddy, there was a good chance he might take Tiffany and himself away from Mommy.
Thus, he continued to caution himself not to be bought over by Daddy’s small favours.
“No, brother, you also really like Uncle’s gifts, don’t you?”
Tiffany pouted, defending Roy.
Timothy reached out his chubby fingers to poke her little head.
H
Silly sister, Mommy suffered so much to give birth to us and works so hard to raise us. Uncle just gives these small gifts, who does he think he is…”
Tiffany was taken aback by her brother’s words. After thinking for a moment, she admitted that compared to Mommy’s love for them and the hardship she went through to raise them, Uncle’s gifts were indeed insignificant.
“Of course, the ones Tiffany likes the most are Mommy and brother, then elder brother, then grandma, and godparents including Uncle Kendrick. Uncle isn’t important…”
Despite her words, Tiffany felt very sad deep down and wanted to cry….