Nelly nodded her head helplessly when she heard that and said, “Okay. I understand.”
Thalia raised her brows dubiously and looked at Nelly after hearing her reply. “You... really understand?”
“Yeah!” Nelly nodded again.
In the past three years, when Thalia tried to “threaten” Shadow Seeker, who was Nelly , Nelly would either ignore or retaliate by hitting back. But now, the same Nelly actually said she understood? Thalia was confused.
Is this really the famous Shadow Seeker in front of me? I don't think they're the same person.
Thalia had achieved what she wanted. She said, “All right. I won't say much since you already
understood.” She then looked at the three kids standing not far behind Nelly , and at the same time, they were looking at her as well.
Seeing that, Thalia knitted her brows and looked at Nelly , speaking at a volume that only both of them could hear. “There's something else, and I think you need to prepare yourself for this...”
“What is it?”
Thalia looked behind Nelly and lowered her volume more. “Your kids are not easy to fool. I almost went crazy because of them in these past few days. I think they'll surely find a way to get things out of me if this goes on.”
This time, Nelly turned her head and looked behind her, and Thalia immediately grabbed her. “Don't do that! They'll know we're talking about them if you do!”
Nelly felt something in her heart when that happened. She lowered her gaze and looked at the arms that Thalia was grabbing. She never had any close bodily contact with any woman before, so there was a weird sensation in her heart when it happened.
However, she didn't seem displeased.
“I almost slipped up in front of them today! I don't think I can handle this anymore,” Thalia said as she shook her head, but Nelly did not reply to her.
“What's wrong?” Thalia asked when she noticed Nelly was quiet. Nelly finally came back to her senses and shook her head. “It's nothing.”
“I think the three of them already sensed something was amiss, but they couldn't ask anyone else about it, so they came to me,” Thalia said, helpless.
“I'll deal with this,” Nelly replied.
“Really?” Thalia looked at Nelly , and she nodded.
“Will you tell them the truth?” Thalia asked, and this time, Nelly shook her head.
“No. I know what I'm doing is selfish as a parent, but I really don't want them to be sad. If delaying the news for a day means that I could see their smile for one more day, then I will.”
Thalia nodded when she heard that. “I understand. Don't worry. I won't tell them no matter what.” Nelly smiled at Thalia.
Just when this happened, the door was opened, and the doctor walked out. “I'll come back again tomorrow for a follow-up.”
“Thank you, and have a safe trip home,” Dave said as he nodded, and the doctor nodded as well before he turned and left.
A few of them immediately went over to Dave after that.
“Alpha Dave, how is Daddy?” Donna was the first one to ask him.
Dave reached out his head and patted her head while looking at her. “Your daddy is strong, so he's fine now. It was just a scratch. He'll be fine after resting for a few days.”
“Really?”
“Of course,” Dave replied in a low voice. He always had immense patience for her. “I'm going in to see Daddy.” Donna ran into the room after saying that.
As for Tony and Ben , they didn't enter the room. They simply stood by the door and waited for Nelly .
Nelly then walked in front of them, and they called out to her. “Nelly .” Nelly nodded with that. “Let's go in.”
After that, they all went in.
Donna looked at the bedridden Alpha Kilian when she entered the room, and she was stunned. “Daddy...”
“He's fine. He's just sleeping,” Spencer replied.
Donna was only relieved when she heard that. Her gaze then moved back to the man on the bed. Alpha Kilian was now pale, and her heart ached when she saw him in that state.
Nelly came in after that. Seeing how deeply asleep Alpha Kilian was, she asked, “How is he?”
Spencer immediately took off his blood-stained gloves and threw them in the bin. He replied while he was cleaning up the mess. “It's nothing. It's just a scratch, and I've already stitched him up. However, he was bleeding a lot... Honestly, I don't know how he could endure that during that journey back home. A normal person would have fainted by then. Well, don't worry too much. Based on his physique, he should be fine after sleeping through it.”
Upon hearing that, Nelly finally felt relieved.
She knew that Alpha Kilian was enduring the pain. In fact, he was just so happy to see that Dave was still alive and that happiness made him endure the pain on his way back.
Seeing that Nelly stayed silent, Spencer consoled her, “Don't worry. He'll be fine.” She nodded. “Yeah. I know.”
“Well, I'm going to wash up. You guys should keep him company and let me know if anything happens.” Nelly nodded again. “Okay.”
After that, Spencer didn't extend his stay and got up to leave the room.
Nelly pursed her lips and kept her gaze trained on them. “I know a lot of things have happened recently, and there are some things I haven't told you, which you must be very curious about. That being said, I need you to understand that I have my reasons for not telling you everything. I'm aware of how amazing you three are, but that doesn't mean you can solve everything by yourselves. As such, I hope that you can give the adults some space, and when the time's right, I'll tell you everything.”
It had been a long time since she had spoken to the kids in such a serious tone. After saying her piece, all three of them stared at her and were at a loss for words.
It wasn't a while later that Donna asked, “Nelly , what exactly is it that you can't tell us?”
Nelly gazed at her daughter and simply pursed her lips, keeping mum. Ben chimed in, “Nelly , we're only asking because we're worried.”
Nelly looked at her kids. Her long lashes trembled ever so slightly when she said, “I know. Feeling worried is an instinct. That's why I'm telling you all this in hopes that you can be a bit more patient.”
“Nelly , you really can't tell us the truth?” Tony asked.
Nelly gazed at her son and a slight smile spread across her lips. “Tony , you have always been the one who understands me the most, so I'm sure you know what I'm getting at.”
Tony lowered his eyes, for he indeed knew his mother well.
I know that Nelly 's saying all this to make it clear that she's not going to tell us the truth and that we shouldn't be looking into this matter anymore.
With that thought in mind, Tony , who had always listened to Nelly 's every request, complied. He nodded and stopped pushing the issue further. “All right, I get it. I'll stop questioning Thalia about this.”
When Nelly heard that, she clarified, “What I want is for you to stop whatever investigation you had that is going on.”
Tony nodded again. “Okay. I understand.”
Staring at his brother, Ben furrowed his brows. “Tony...”
He knew that Tony wasn't joking around when he promised Nelly to stop investigating and that he would very much honor his promise.
“Listen to Nelly . As long as she's happy, I'm fine with anything,” Tony uttered.
To that, Nelly said, “Then, I hope you guys can live a happier life at this age or perhaps spend all your energy on doing the things you like.”
Tony raised his head and looked at his mother before nodding with a smile. “Okay.” Seeing that, Ben and Donna stopped insisting and fell silent.
Noticing their gloomy mood, Nelly cocked her head at them and probed, “What's wrong? Are you guys sulking?”
“I just feel like we're so close to the truth, only to dump all our efforts down the drain because you said so. One word from you is all it takes to get Tony to listen to you.” Although Ben 's voice was soft, but every word he said was clear.
“Ben !” Tony turned to look at his brother. Ben lowered his gaze and stopped talking.
That did not seem to bother Nelly as she looked at her son and inquired, “So, are you upset because your efforts are in vain, or are you unhappy because Tony gave up after hearing what I have to say?”
“Both!” Ben replied truthfully.
Not only was Nelly not angry, but there was an indescribable sense of relief blossoming in her heart when she heard that.
I'm happy to see Ben standing up for his brother. This way, even if I'm gone in the future, I'll know that they'll be able to live in harmony.
With that thought, Nelly closed her eyes and said, “I know that because of my words, your previous efforts were ruined. It doesn't matter even if you guys are mad at me or blame me. All I wish is for you to be happy and not think of anything while living the best childhood you can have.”
“Nelly ...” Ben gazed at his mother, looking as if he had something else to say, but in the end, no words came out of his mouth.
Nelly glanced at her watch. “All right, it's getting late. You guys should go and have your breakfast.” Tony piped up, “We'll be heading out to eat then, Nelly .”
Nelly nodded.
Tony turned toward his siblings and added, “Let's go.”
The two kids raised their heads to look at Nelly before pursing their lips and following Tony out the door.
Nelly let out a long sigh of relief when the door clicked shut. She knew that Tony would always fulfill his promise to her.
As such, she wasn't worried that the kids would continue with their investigations.
Nonetheless, she was aware that she wouldn't be able to hide it from them for long since she was with them all the time, so the best thing to do was to let Thalia take them away.
Under such circumstances, even Thalia seemed like a good choice to leave her kids with.
For some reason, the scene where Alpha Kilian gave Spencer the medicine flashed through her mind, and her intuition told her that things would never go so smoothly. I'm sure there will be more things happening down the road...
Lowering her eyes, her gaze settled on Alpha Kilian , who was lying in bed. Even though he was pale, his sickly complexion somehow made him look ethereal with his exquisite features.
Nelly had thought that they wouldn't meet for a long time once she left, but as fate would have it, they were together again.
Still, she had to admit this felt good.
Even though she knew that she would have to endure countless hardships in the days to come, she was satisfied as long as she could see him and be together with him.
Reaching out, she held Alpha Kilian 's hand in hers and muttered, “Alpha Kilian , I don't want to get together with another man even if I have to die.”