Chapter 281 Returning to Luken
Back in his room, Albert stared at the dark, empty space, feeling completely drained.
After hanging up on Vincent's nagging call, Albert collapsed onto the sofa. His usually straight posture was now slouched.
He shut his eyes, letting the darkness take over.
He had hoped that with time, his longing for Yvette would fade. But after today, he realized that the calm he felt before was just him burying his feelings deep down.
How was he supposed to find her?
Albert clutched his chest, but it didn't ease the intense pain.
Unlike the gloomy hotel, the Valdemar family home was brightly lit.
In the bathroom, Lester and Christina were each soaking in a tub, half-asleep.
Yvette was taking turns bathing them. When she saw a bubble about to slide down Lester's forehead, she quickly wiped it away.
Lester forced his eyes open, fighting off sleep. "Mommy, what's wrong?"
"A bubble almost got in your eye," Yvette said, patting his head. "You've been such a big help with CiCi today. I'll finish up here, you can rest."
"It's okay, I can stay awake," Lester mumbled, but his eyelids were drooping.
When Yvette turned around, Christina was already asleep in the tub.
Seeing them so tired, Yvette felt a pang of guilt. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to leave you, but something urgent came up at work."
She had left them to meet Albert, but he never showed.
Yvette sighed.
Rushing to the office, she hoped Vincent could help contact him, but even Vincent had left.
What a day.
With Christina and Lester asleep in the tubs, Yvette could finally vent. She kept bathing them while muttering to herself.
"No wonder your father, who's usually so patient, can't stand him," Yvette grumbled. "He must have a grudge against your dad, so he messes with his colleagues on purpose."
"Even before meeting him, I already have a bad impression of your dad's brother," Yvette said, scooping up some bubbles and dabbing them on Christina and Lester's noses, smiling. "When you meet your uncle, be very careful, okay? He's a tough one."
The only response was the sound of water and the steady breathing of Christina and Lester in their sleep.
After putting them to bed, Yvette couldn't resist kissing their soft cheeks.
"Good night."
Even though she missed meeting Albert from Luken, Yvette didn't give up. She reorganized the project with her colleagues, hoping to fix the previous communication issues.
Yvette stretched in her office chair.
A colleague knocked and came in, placing a file on Yvette's desk. "Jessica, the head office approved it. They won't bother us anymore."
Yvette shrugged. "They probably stood us up last time to give us a warning, trying to make us back down."
The colleague quickly raised a finger to her lips, signaling for silence. "Don't let anyone hear that."
They exchanged a knowing smile.
After a long day at work, Yvette went home and immediately asked Christina and Lester for kisses to unwind.
Hearing footsteps nearby, Yvette looked up to see David coming out of the study, likely reminded by the servants to greet her when she got home.
David approached Yvette. "Welcome home, Jessica. Was work tough today?"
"Not too bad." Yvette saw Christina and Lester with their hands on their hips, looking ready to argue. She quickly ran over to hug them. "What's going on, you two? Why does it look like you're fighting?"
"He bullied me!" Christina's eyes were red with tears. "Mommy, the person we saw yesterday looked just like Daddy. We both thought it was Daddy, but he insists it wasn't!"
Lester frowned. "It wasn't him. It didn't look like him. You're wrong, CiCi."
Yvette said, "Maybe he was dressed like your father. CiCi always mistakes men in shirts for her dad."
Yvette chuckled, but when she looked up, she saw David's expression change to a cold, fierce look she had never seen before.
Yvette was stunned. She had never seen David like this. "What's wrong, David?"
David realized his lapse, quickly relaxed his brow, clenched his hands, and forced a smile, pretending to be angry. "I'm upset that my two kids mistook another man for their father!"
Christina was genuinely startled, cautiously watching David for a few seconds before noticing his smile. She then covered her mouth and laughed. "Daddy is fake angry, I caught you!"
David ruffled Christina's hair. "Yes, you caught me. You're too smart."
Christina laughed and pulled Lester aside to play.
Then Yvette stood up. She looked at David's gentle profile and asked, "David, when are we going back to Luken?"
David's expression remained unchanged, smiling slightly. "Whenever you want to go back, I'll go with you."
Yvette's eyes were calm as she looked up at him. "My work is almost done. I can take the project to the head office."
"I might have spoken too soon. I thought you meant later this year. Jessica, you know the company's situation is busy right now. I can't leave immediately." David smiled. "Don't worry, I'll go with you when I'm free."
Yvette nodded, her smile not reaching her eyes. "It's okay, you focus on your work."
A week later, David returned from his business trip and sat in his office, a dark look in his eyes.
After being absent for three days, and with Yvette not bringing up a return to Luken, David grew increasingly uneasy with her silence.
Thinking of this, David picked up the phone and asked his secretary to check for good flights back to Luken.
Since Yvette's return to Luken was inevitable, any attempt to suppress it would backfire.
Instead of finding excuses not to go, it was better to accompany her and prevent any unexpected events.
With this in mind, David called Yvette.
"Jessica, are you feeling better?"
He had called her this morning, and Yvette said she wasn't feeling well and didn't go to work. But the noise on the other end made David uneasy. "Where are you? If you're under the weather, let the nanny take the kids out."
David added, "I just had my secretary check the schedule. I have time next month. Shall we go back to Luken?"
"I was just about to call you." Yvette's voice was urgent but she tried to explain, "There's a problem with our project with the head office. They need someone to go back to Luken, and since I'm in charge, the company wants me to go. I thought we were planning to go back anyway, so I didn't refuse. I was going to tell you when you got back from your trip, but the company already bought my ticket. I'm at the airport now, taking CiCi and BoBo with me."
David was stunned. "What?"
"I'm taking CiCi and BoBo back first. You buy a ticket and meet us in Luken." Yvette's voice grew more chaotic. "I have to go, we're boarding. See you."
David was silent.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
