Willow buried her face in my arms and hugged me without speaking

I knew that she didn't want to talk, so I didn't probe any further. Instead, I gently patted her back and said, "It's fine if you don't want to talk

"just know that no matter what, Mommy will always be by your side,"

Willow didn't reply to me for a long time after that.

Just when I thought she would remain silent, she made a sound of acknowledgment. Since she was willing to respond, it meant that she was only upset at me temporarily.

If I waited for her to open up, she e would tell me why she didn't want to talk to me soon.

This definitely improved my mood greatly.

Unsurprisingly, Zachary was the last child to leave the kindergarten. However, a newly hired driver picked him up instead of Jessica

this time.

But since Holly didn't recognize the driver, she didn't allow Zachary to leave with him. Thus, she video-called Steven to confirm things with him. Only then, did Holly agree to let Zachary leave with the driver. Then, Zachary sat in the backseat of the car silently.

Ever since Annalise and Steven divorced, Jessica became his new mother. Since then, Jessica had stopped fetching him from school.

Though Zachary told himself that he was a big kid now and he had to get used to being away from his parents, he felt a little upset when he saw his classmates getting picked up by their parents. After returning home, he saw Jessica, who was ordering the chef to cook dinner. She said arrogantly, "Just cook a meal for three people. As for Zachary..."

When Zachary heard his name, he raised his head and met his eyes with Jessica's. Then, he immediately lowered his head and changed. into his slippers.

In the meantime, Jessica continued impatiently, "He probably ate dinner at school, so you don't have to cook for him."

Zachary didn't answer and simply walked past her and went back to his room,

His attitude made Jessica a little confused. Previously, Zachary had at least gotten angry when she said that, so why was he ignoring her now?

She wanted to provoke him before Steven came back so that Steven would see Zachary quarreling with her the moment he entered the house

If Steven had come back to that sort of situation in play, he would probably think that Zachary was disobedient and stubborn. However, Zachary had completely ignored her and spoiled her plans. Since Jessica didn't want to miss this opportunity, she knocked on the door and said, "Zachary, come out."

But Zachary didn't want to go outside. If he went outside, Jessica would mock him, and if he retorted, Steven would find out about it... In the end, he would be scolded.

Since Zachary was a small child, he didn't know how to deal with this situation. However, he sensed that whenever he interacted with Jessica, things would turn out badly for him.

As such, he didn't want to interact with her

Though Jessica kept calling Zachary to come out, the latter didn't reply to her.

This made her furious, but since she couldn't do anything about it, she returned to the living room

At the same time, Cody quietly sat in a corner and watched a television show.

When Jessica saw her son, she calmed down.

As she gently hugProperty © of .

hugged him, she asked, "What do you want to eat tonight? I'll get the chef to make it for you."

Cody shook his head. "Mommy, I'm not picky. I'll eat whatever the chef cooks."

After that, Jessica rested her head on his shoulder and said, "If you feel like eating anything, just tell the chef."

The moments spent with her own son were short but joyful.

But before Jessica could continue her conversation with Cody, the living room door suddenly opened.