Chapter 269: Caroline's Children
Josie stood there, not knowing what to do.
Emma seemed not to like her room, what should she do?
Emma's warm little hands grasped Josie's slightly cold ones.
"Josie, your Barbie doll is so pretty, many times prettier than mine."
Josie instantly cheered up, happily picking up her Barbie doll.
"It's a present from my dad."
It was the only gift that was left.
Every time her dad came back from a trip, her mom would take away the gifts he brought for her, only this one her mom didn't like, so it stayed.
Emma was surprised inside.
In her experience, when adults liked them, they would buy all sorts of gifts for them.
Like her godmother, Uncle Colin, and her big brother... Even her bad dad had given her many gifts.
The two little girls played with the Barbie doll for a while; Ethan stood quietly by their side, accompanying them.
Then the three of them went to watch cartoons.
Daisy yawned as she came downstairs and said impatiently, "It's so noisy."
Josie shivered slightly and instinctively reached for the remote to turn off the TV.
It was a reflex, and she was very quick—so fast that Emma didn't even realize what had happened.
When Daisy saw Ethan and Emma, a chill flashed in her eyes.
Josie's good friends were Caroline's children!
Could this be the pull of blood relations?
To hell with blood relations, she was determined to stir things up!
Daisy then put on a smile.
"Josie, why did you turn off the TV? Turn it back on for your classmates."
Josie obediently turned the TV back on.
The joyful sounds of the cartoon started up again, but Ethan and Emma were no longer interested.
"What are your names?" Daisy asked with feigned gentleness.
"Guillimore."
"Emma."
The two kids replied coolly.
Daisy thought that the two kids must feel out of place and restrained in a strange setting, so she didn't pay it much mind.
"Does your mom treat you well?" she asked.
Emma boasted, "Of course, she's really good to us, especially good."
"Then she must really love you," Daisy noted.
"We're super loved by our mommy," Emma said, though finding the auntie's questions rather odd.
She noticed that Josie seemed a bit unhappy.
Daisy didn't want to hang around with the three little kids, so she stood up to head upstairs, reminding Josie to make sure her friend was taken care of before she left.
As soon as her mom left, Josie's tense body relaxed.
"Your mommy is so weird," Emma said, someone who always spoke her mind.
Josie, worried that Emma might not like her because of her mom, quickly explained, "My mom is actually really nice."
Saying this, she felt somewhat guilty.
She wasn't sure if her mom was considered nice. To others, she seemed nice, and when dad was home, she was nice to Josie too.
Emma found Josie's house boring, with so few toys and even fewer snacks.
"Does your mommy make you tasty food?" Emma asked softly.
Josie shook her head, surprising Emma, who couldn't believe it.
"My mommy makes us delicious food every day, sews clothes for us, and tells us bedtime stories to help us sleep."
Josie, hearing this, widened her eyes in amazement. She had never experienced any of those things.
"Even my godmother often buys us tasty snacks and fun things," Emma added.
Josie felt downcast.
But Emma, patting her on the shoulder, said, "Don't be sad. Next time I'll invite you over to my place and you can try my mommy's cooking, okay?"
Josie's spirits lifted, "Okay."
Children can so easily swing from being heartbroken to feeling content and happy.
Emma and Ethan didn't stay long at the Watson family's place, just about an hour before they phoned their godmother to pick them up.
Josie sent off her two friends reluctantly.
She happily collected the water glasses to wash in the kitchen and put the leftover fruit back in the fridge, even though there were servants at home who could have done those chores, and she could have been the little princess of the house. But she had to do them, or else her mom would scold her for being too lazy.
...
At the mall, Sophia was shopping with Stark Arya, while Colin expressed his dislike for the activity and took off after dropping his mother at the mall.
Stark Arya was on a shopping spree, buying everything in sight without hesitation.
She didn't even blink at the price tags of jewelry worth tens or hundreds of thousands, purchasing them on the spot.
Upon seeing a pair of wedding rings that seemed particularly appealing, Stark Arya asked the sales clerk to take them out for a closer look.
"Sophia, stretch out your hand," she commanded.
Obediently, Sophia extended her hand.
Stark Arya slipped the ring onto her ring finger without hesitation.
"Mrs. Arya..." Sophia started.
"Hold still, I want to see how it looks."
Apparently, Arya was using Sophia's hand as a reference, and Sophia compliantly let her proceed.
Sophia had fair skin with slender, well-defined fingers, rivaling those of a professional model. However, due to her long hours of sewing and tailoring, her thumb had developed a slight callus.
The ring was a perfect fit, and Stark Arya, examining the sparkling diamond, asked Sophia, "What do you think?"
"It looks beautiful."
Without a moment's delay, Arya turned to the sales assistant and said, "I'll take it."
"Mrs. Arya, are you purchasing this as a wedding ring for Mr. Colin?" Sophia guessed, smiling.
"Yeah, you got it. You're so smart."
Arya smiled warmly and smoothly handed her card to the sales assistant. Millions were spent in an instant.
After browsing the jewelry section, they moved on to clothing. Sophia was puzzled to see Arya enter a trendy women's fashion store. The clothes there didn't quite suit Mrs. Arya; they seemed more fit for a younger woman.
Was Mrs. Arya trying to chase a youthful and fashionable look? It didn't quite match her persona.
Once inside, Arya picked out many outfits for Sophia to try on.
Sophia thought to herself, bewildered...
"I have a niece about your age, and you two have similar figures. Can you help me by trying these on?"
This was a favor that Sophia couldn't refuse.
One by one, Sophia tried on outfits for Arya's approval.
Ten outfits later and six were purchased.
Their hands were full of bags, and just when Sophia thought they were headed home, Arya dashed into a children's clothing store.
Sophia couldn't stop her as Arya bought heaps of clothes for her three kids.
"Sophia!"
As they left the children's store, someone called her name. Sophia turned to see who it was.
It was Kathy Caroline, approaching with a look of happy surprise.
"Mrs. Arya!"
The idea that Sophia could be shopping with Stark Arya was astonishing to Kathy.
Arya felt a sense of deja vu, "You are?"
"I'm Kathy Caroline, Sophia's colleague," Kathy offered, reintroducing herself without any hint of awkwardness.
Noticing the bags they were carrying, she said with a cheerful smile, "You've bought so many things. Let me help you with some of them."
"No need," Stark Arya said with a polite but distant smile.
"Don't be shy, Mrs. Arya. I'm on good terms with Sophia, and I'm not busy at the moment," KathyCaroline said as she unhesitatingly took the shopping bags from Stark Arya's hands.
Stark Arya: ...
"Thanks, then. We're heading to the parking lot now," Sophia said as she handed a portion of her own bags to KathyCaroline.
When someone is eager to do the heavy lifting, it would be rude to refuse.
Stark Arya chuckled to herself.
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