Chapter 154 Debbie Perishes in Fire
It was like a current ran through him.
Martin froze, momentarily unsure where to place his hands.
After a pause, he gathered his wits, slowly reaching out to gently wrap his arms around Patricia's back, preparing to hold her—
Before her hand could make contact, Patricia seemed to snap out of her behavior, suddenly becoming aware of its impropriety. She awkwardly released Martin, apologizing sheepishly, "I'm sorry, I was just... just startled..."
Martin's arm froze midair for a moment before it fell resignedly back to his side. He cleared his throat twice, adjusting his posture to conceal his own embarrassment. "It's alright... if you're scared, you can hold my hand tightly," he suggested, extending his hand toward Patricia.
In the darkness, the details of his hand were not clear.
Patricia's heart tightened slightly, a new sensation swirling inside her chest.
After a pause, she shook her head and declined, "No need, once is embarrassing enough!"
Martin's eyes betrayed a hint of disappointment as he awkwardly withdrew his hand.
Randy stood close to Patricia, watching their interaction, a thought surfaced—recent events had piled up, leaving Patricia exhausted and severely sleep deprived.
Halfway through the movie, drowsiness overcame her. Despite her efforts to stay awake, she eventually succumbed and closed her eyes in sleep.
Martin noticed her sleeping, and after hesitating for a moment, reached out tentatively to push her head onto his shoulder.
Patricia leaned into him naturally, settling herself comfortably and fell asleep, totally at peace.
Martin's heart melted instantly.
Her soft, long hair was strewn loosely, the faint scent of flowers on it assaulted his thoughts.
His heartbeat skipped uncontrollably...
His heart thudded wildly, as if it might leap out from his throat at any second.
Martin sat rigid, trying not to move, his chest scratched like by a cat, his mind rippled, unable to contain itself.
The movie ended.
The audience gradually began to stand and leave.
Fannie was visibly unsatisfied. "How could the murderer be her? Such a kind person turned out to be the culprit! Why did Conan have to expose her? She's so pitiful. It was those people who killed her parents and escaped justice! She was just avenging her parents."
Charles gave her a look and said dryly, "It's just a movie, don't take it so seriously."
Fannie, deflated, insisted, "Even movies are based on real life."
At a loss for words, Fannie found herself unable to argue.
Charles hopped out of his seat, dusting off his pants and straightening his clothes, "Alright, the movie is over, it's late, and we should hurry back. We have to go to the kindergarten tomorrow!"
With that, he looked over at Patricia.
But to his surprise, he found Patricia sound asleep on Martin's shoulder.
Charles: "…?"
Fannie, following his gaze: "…?"
Randy's eyes and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise, not at all concealing his glee.
Seeing no sign of Patricia waking up, Charles attempted to speak up: "Mum..."
He had barely let out a word when Martin immediately gestured to him for silence with a finger to his lips.
Charles gestured around, indicating to him that everyone had left; the staff needed to clean up and prepare for the next session.
Martin pulled out his phone, his slender fingers tapping quickly on it.
"...??" A vague sense of foreboding washed over Charles as he leaned in for a closer look.
As expected.
Dad had actually messaged Alan, asking him to book the entire hall and relocate the ticketed patrons to another auditorium.
Charles's response to this was just, "Money talks."
Knowing Charles was still looking at his phone, he typed another string of words: "Take Fannie and Randy out back to play, don't disturb your mom."
Charles felt rebuffed by his own father: "...??"
Randy, who also saw the text Martin composed, took the initiative to lead Charles and Fannie further away.
Fannie, scratching her head, voiced her inner question: "Why is dad so good to mom?"
Her form of address momentarily surprised Randy: "Dad?"
Realizing her slip of the tongue, Fannie quickly explained: "I was just following what Charles calls him."
"Oh!" Randy nodded, not doubting her explanation, and shared his thoughts: "I think Dad still really likes Mom. We could work on getting them back together. If they remarry, we could all be a family again."
Hearing his suggestion, Charles instantly rejected it without hesitation: "No way, I don't agree."
"Why not?" Randy wondered in confusion.
Fannie, clearly curious, asked, "Yeah, why not?"
Charles gave Fannie a disdainful look: "Just because it's not okay."
He knew their mom the best.
The incident five years ago when dad had forced her onto the operating table to donate bone marrow for Debbie had always been a thorn in mom's side.
Unless that issue was addressed, mom would never reconcile with dad.
Even if they tried to play matchmaker, it would be futile.
Moreover, he didn't want to force mom into anything.
Randy, head bowed, murmured softly: "But, but I really feel like dad loves mom!"
Charles pursed his lips contemptuously: "No matter how much he loves her, it's useless if mom doesn't return his feelings. What did he expect after all this time? He got what he deserved today. It's his karma."
Seeing Charles's adamant opposition, Randy had many questions but had to reluctantly shelve the idea for the time being.
The three little ones sat in the last row, all with the same posture, same crossed arms resting on the front seat's back, same chins on their arms, same pouting lips.
Time quietly slipped away.
Fannie's eyelids were battling each other; she couldn't hold back anymore and asked with a weary soul, "How much longer do we have to wait? I am so sleepy."
Charles and Randy, in unspoken agreement, did not reply.
Because they didn't know how much longer they would have to wait either.
Judging by dad's attitude, they seemed unlikely to leave until mom woke up.
Time passed, but no one knew how much of it.
Suddenly, Charles's phone pinged with a notification.
It was a breaking news alert he had been following.
He took out his phone, opened the news link, and upon seeing the content, his expression subtly shifted.
Noticing his change, Fannie and Randy both asked, "Charles, what happened?"
Charles's face was grave as he said seriously, "The Athens Mental Hospital has caught fire. Not a single person inside survived; they were all burned to death."
This was indeed breaking news, instantly dominating the headlines of every news platform.
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