"I'll stay here and take good care of Miss Adams," Eagle assured Irene. "You have nothing to worry about."Irene was certainly assured with Eagle around.Meanwhile, she still had not called Isaac as she was heading home to surprise him. It was daytime when she arrived at Franconia due to the time difference, and took a cab home from the airport.She checked her wristwatch to see if he would be at home, and decided that he would still be home.She could not help feeling thrilled at the thought of seeing him again, her drowsiness fading just then as she was eager to get home sooner to see him and their children.She looked out at the scenery. Unlike Zidonia's green zones, most of the area was urbanized, but the buildings themselves made for great scenery too, if different. She alighted once her cab arrived outside the castle, and headed inside.Pierre was the first to see her, and he appeared surprised. "Ma'am…"Irene smiled at him and asked, "Has he left for work?""He just
Irene's second call to Isaac was not answered either, and she stared at her phone, speechless.Was he really upset with her? And her surprise was pointless?She had rushed home to surprise him… but forget not being home, he had to be unreachable even on the phone.Sheryl was staring at her just then. "Why? You can't reach him?"Irene simply smiled. "He might be on the plane by now. We won't reach him."Sheryl saw through her immediately anyway. "That's not what it looks like to me. Why don't you try using the house phone?"Irene simply scooped Tommy up in her arms. "Oh, he's definitely on the plane."There was no way she would use the house phone. If Isaac did answer, it just proved that Isaac didn't want to answer her calls. In that case, she would be embarrassing herself in front of her mother!"I've been away from home for so long, I missed the kids. Take the day off, Mom! I'll take care of them."Sheryl stared at her for a while, and eventually sighed. "It's your busin
Irene simply smiled while Zachary was left seething. "I'm not talking to you. All you people ever do is bully me."He strode off, but he had not walked more than a few paces when he stopped and turned since Irene was not stopping him. "Aren't you going to sweet talk me? Are you actually my friend?" Irene simply remained where she was. "Sweet-talk you?"Right now, she was at a loss of how to sweet-talk Isaac—did she even have time for Zachary?"Sweet-talk yourself. I'm busy," she said bluntly.Zachary was left speechless. "You people have no conscience and don't care about me. Fine! Playtime is over—I'm taking my daughter home.""See you," Irene said without even looking his way.Zachary was left speechless again, but he soon returned and sat beside her. "I refuse to leave just because you want me to."Irene simply got up and left him alone to play with her children, though Zachary did not seem upset and simply watched quietly.After a long while, Mrs. Watson arrived outside w
Zachary shot James a look. "The missus is strict, huh?"James was not about to take the bait. "You don't even have one to be strict with you."Zachary shut up right then—he had to be upset again! Since he could not fight back, he just had to hide!If he snapped at James, James had his wife to back him up, and he alone would never win against two.Picking up the wine bottle and pouring it for Irene, Zachary said, "Let's drink a little since Isaac isn't around." Irene frowned. "Don't mention him.""Who?" Zachary asked despite knowing the answer, and he chuckled as Irene shot him a glare.Even if Irene had a husband, right now, she was alone like him—having a kindred spirit certainly made it feel a lot less lonely.Since he was not the most tragic person around… did that mean she was the same as him?"If I recall, you're bad with liquor. One drink, and that's all," Zachary said, but he poured her a full glass, clearly trying to get her drunk.As Irene rolled her eyes, Zachary
Isaac paused at the door before walking up to the bed.He could smell the faint scent of alcohol even though Irene did not drink that much. He frowned. "Were you drinking?"Irene sat up and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing her face against his abdomen. "Yeah, a little," she purred, half-asleep as she looked up with a dizzy gaze. "Are you upset with me?"Isaac certainly had been at first—he would never stop her from helping a friend, but should she not think of family too? Did she not miss them after being gone for so long?Did family not matter to her?Still, he was surprised to receive a call from Pierre that she came home out of the blue.He was quite curious as to why she would suddenly return out of the blue, but he canceled his business trip anyway. Still, he did not turn around right away, instead heading to his office and arranging for Stan to represent him on the business trip.While he tended to his other work, he never quite calmed down, since he felt
Isaac grinned and tugged at her hair. "You weren't like that last night.""Stop it and get out of bed right now." Irene shoved him, grimacing. "Zachary is definitely going to tease me—he tried to get me to drink last night to loosen my tongue, so I have to be careful too. I have no idea what tricks he would play today.""I could just chase him away if you think he's a bother," Isaac said.Irene gaped in disbelief. "Really?""Nope," Isaac said. He then pulled off the blanket and got out of bed before picking up a bathrobe nearby and heading straight into the bathroom.Irene scratched her head and got out of bed to put her clothes on.While she could hear splashing as Isaac took a shower, she brushed her teeth and washed up before heading downstairs—the sink was separate from the shower area, after all.Sheryl left very early with the children, with a chauffeur and bodyguards escorting them.She would only return with Baby in the afternoon after they had toddler class, while Isaac
Isaac smiled at Irene but did not answer.Irene put down her fork right then. "Fine. You're not going outside today."Although her marriage with Isaac was going steady, there were times she had to play along too.She stared at the man before her, who was in the prime of his life and brimming with vigor. And there certainly was no shortage of attractive ladies in this country, not to mention her own mother's tumultuous marriage… She got up from the table and walked around to him, sitting on his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck as she purred, "Stay home today with me.""I'm just teasing you," Isaac replied, putting an arm around her waist. "I won't have time even if you asked—but I'll get home soon."Irene looked him straight in the eye. "Is it really work or are you seeing a pretty face?"Isaac smiled as he pinched her cheek. "You're really lacking confidence, huh?"That was not the case, but a man's ego should be stroked—if she was unmoved, he would definitely think t
Zachary was chuckling but he did not appear embarrassed.Irene, however, was not humoring him. "Why were you following me?""How was I following you?" Zachary argued. "You don't own this road. I can use it just like you.""Weren't you going sightseeing with Jean? What are you doing here? You took one of the cars too.""We did. We just didn't go that far."Irene was left speechless and asked grumpily, "So? What do you want?""Nothing," Zachary said. "Just taking a stroll, killing time."Irene ignored that and strode off to try to shake him off.Zachary, however, clung to her like a wad of gum. "It's dangerous going alone. Why don't I come with you?""Nope." Irene refused right then. "Keep following me, and I'll tell Isaac you're bothering me."Zachary pouted. "Don't we go way back?"Irene laughed coolly. "You're affecting my mood by following me around. Or should I thank you for that?""By the way, why are you alone? Where's Isaac? I mean, is he really working now that you'r