Chapter 1036 Birthday Party
Cassie carried Sophia upstairs until they were both exhausted. As she wiped Sophia down, she felt a towel wrap around her from behind.
Cassie turned and met Joseph's intense gaze.
"Close your eyes," he said softly, wiping the water from her neck and body.
The closeness made Cassie shift uncomfortably. "No need. I'll shower later."
"Alright, but wrap up in a towel. It's cool tonight; you don't want to catch a cold." Joseph nodded gently. After watching Cassie leave with Sophia, he turned and met Oliver's thoughtful gaze with a smile.
"Are you trying to make up with Mommy?" Oliver pouted. "Forget it. I know you're smart, but Mommy and David are married. I won't support you."
"Oliver, listen," Joseph said seriously. "Never give up easily."
Oliver rolled his eyes. "There's a difference between not giving up and being a pest."
"When have I ever pestered your mommy?" Joseph raised an eyebrow. "Have you seen her get impatient with me?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
"No, what I see is her conflicted feelings, afraid of falling for me again." Joseph sighed. "You won't understand adult stuff. When you fall in love someday, you'll get it. You don't understand love yet."
Oliver felt helpless. Come on, he wasn't even three. Love was a foreign concept.
"And I need to remind you." Joseph looked at him seriously. "The world is complicated. Deceitful people aren't easy to spot."
"What do you mean?" Oliver's little face tensed up. "Are you saying David is deceitful?"
Joseph neither confirmed nor denied it. "Oliver, I'm just saying that adults' bad intentions don't always show. I hope you can judge for yourself. Your mommy is a CEO, and your grandpa is a billionaire. In the future, many people with ulterior motives will approach you. Kids think they're smart, but others see through them."
Oliver opened his mouth in anger but, after thinking for a while, pursed his lips and furrowed his brows, staying silent.
When Cassie came out, she saw Oliver and Joseph in silence.
"What’s up with you two?" She felt they were acting strange.
"I was teaching him how to discern people's intentions," Joseph explained quickly. "I've got plenty of experience as a victim. No one gets it better than me."
Cassie was speechless.
Since he was so self-aware, she didn't know what to say. She just looked at Oliver. "Alright, it's good to learn. After all, your daddy met Megan when he was seven or eight and was deceived for over twenty years. It's time for you to learn too. I hope you don't follow his path."
A deeply hurt Joseph silently lowered his head.
Oliver glanced at him disdainfully. "I'm not as stupid as him."
Cassie sighed. "You can't say that. The Hernandez family is like this. Your grandma was deceived for thirty years, your daddy for twenty years. You..."
"We won't be deceived," Oliver and Sophia chimed in together. "Mommy, we're just as smart as you."
Cassie was speechless. Honestly, she felt deceived too, even got married because of it. But as a mom, she had to keep up appearances.
"Let's go. I'll take you to get the car," Joseph said, changing the subject. "Are you free tomorrow night? We could take Oliver and Sophia to—"
"I have plans tomorrow," Cassie cut him off, knowing where he was going with this.
"With David?" Joseph's handsome face looked particularly forlorn in the night.
Cassie gave him a strange look. "He invited me to Marigold's birthday. Didn't Ms. Dixon invite you?"
"I'm not close to her," Joseph replied immediately.
Seeing this, Cassie didn't say anything more.
The next day, as soon as Joseph drove to the company, someone called out to him.
"Joseph, I finally caught you this time." Marigold appeared in front of him, dressed to the nines.
Thinking of Cassie attending her birthday party, Joseph's brow furrowed slightly, and he stopped.
"Joseph, I've come to find you several times. Are you deliberately avoiding me and not answering my calls?" Marigold said, hooking her arm around his.
"Ms. Dixon, please." Joseph dodged.
"I like you." Marigold pouted coquettishly. "Besides, today is my birthday. Can't you accommodate me?"
Joseph gave her a cold look. "Happy birthday."
"You're too cold. I don't care. You must come to my birthday party today." Marigold pulled an invitation from her bag and stuffed it into his hand. "If you don't come, I'll have my dad find something for you to do."
Joseph's face changed slightly.
He didn't think Marigold's so-called "something" would be good.
Right now, the Hernandez family was in a critical period. If any procedures went wrong, things would be disastrous.
"I'll be waiting for you." Marigold blew him a kiss and walked away.
After a flash of disgust in his eyes, Joseph looked at the invitation in his hand and suddenly smiled.
He wondered what Cassie's reaction would be when she saw him tonight.
In the evening, Cassie, dressed in a low-key black cocktail dress, appeared at the Dixon family's villa with David.
Tonight, Marigold was the star, so Cassie had to avoid catch the attention..
Initially, Cassie thought there would be many dignitaries.
But to her surprise, there were only a dozen or so, most of the guests were Marigold's friends.
"Ms. Dixon, this is a birthday gift from Cassie and me. Happy birthday," David said with a smile, handing the gift box to Marigold.
Marigold glanced at Cassie beside him. "You could have come alone. Why did you bring Cassie?"
Her tone clearly showed she wasn't welcoming Cassie.
Ralph's face darkened, and he scolded, "How can you talk like that? Mrs. Brooks is only a few years older than you and is already the chairman of a listed company. She's also friends with Ms. Miller. It's an honor for her to attend your birthday party."
He paused and then said to Cassie, "Mrs. Brooks, I apologize."
"It's alright. I understand. After all, when I was Ms. Dixon's age, I only wanted my close friends at my birthday party. Too many people can sometimes be awkward." Cassie smiled to defuse the situation.
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