Chapter 96: Age Differences Among Children
While Riley was focused on taking care of Finley, her phone in the bag suddenly rang.
Worried about waking Finley up, Riley instinctively covered her ears. She was about to get up to fetch her bag, but she saw Donovan had already gotten up and brought her phone over.
"Thank you."
Riley whispered and glanced at the caller ID, feeling a bit annoyed.
Riley had been so preoccupied with Finley that she had forgotten about the two children at home.
"Mommy!" As soon as the call connected, the voices of Landon and Winston came through. "When are you coming back?"
Riley lowered her voice. "I got held up with something tonight. I might be back very late. Have you both eaten?"
Landon and Winston sounded concerned. "We've eaten, Mommy. What about you? Don't just focus on work. Take care of yourself too!"
Riley was touched by their words and smiled. "I've eaten too. Don't wait up for me. Go to bed early."
"Okay, Mommy, come back early, and don't overwork yourself!" Landon and Winston replied in a sweet tone.
After a few caring words, Riley hung up the phone.
Donovan, who had overheard Landon and Winston's voices, set aside his work, looked at Riley and was about to ask if she needed to go back to take care of them. However, seeing Riley's gentle expression, he changed the subject.
"When you're busy, what do they do? Do they stay home alone, or do you have someone to look after them?"
Riley nodded. "My friend helps take care of them, and Auntie Anderson is there now."
Donovan inquired further, "What about when you're abroad?"
Riley didn't understand why Donovan was so insistent on this question, but she answered subconsciously, "I found someone to help me or just took them to my workplace. All my colleagues love them."
Silence once again filled the living room as Riley continued to focus on Finley's condition.
"They're both grown up a bit now. Taking care of them is quite convenient, but it wasn't as simple when they were young." Donovan suddenly spoke, his gaze heavy on Riley, seemingly casually asking, "How old are they both this year? They seem to be about as tall as Finley, so their ages should be similar too."
Suddenly hearing this question, Riley's heart tightened.
Every time Donovan spent time with Landon and Winston, Riley would worry about being discovered by Donovan. For that reason, she would give countless instructions to Landon and Winston.
However, she never expected Donovan to ask this question directly.
After lowering her gaze for a moment, Riley calmly replied, "They are a little over four years old. Boys tend to grow faster."
This was the answer Riley had discussed with Landon and Winston beforehand, to prevent Donovan from associating Landon and Winston's ages with that night six years ago.
Then Riley nervously awaited Donovan's response.
A while after, Donovan responded in a deep tone
Seeing that Donovan didn't inquire further, Riley secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Donovan lowered his eyes back to the work emails on his phone, but his attention seemed somewhat disturbed.
'Landon and Winston were just over four years old, only a year younger than Finley. In other words, right after Riley gave birth to Finley, she was with another man and gave birth to Landon and Winston,' he thought.
Thinking about this, Donovan's expression slightly darkened, feeling somewhat unhappy.
As the two had their respective thoughts, Finley, in Riley's arms, suddenly stirred.
Riley immediately lowered her gaze to look.
She only saw Finley's delicate brows furrow slightly, followed by pitiful sobs and her little face crumpled up.
