Seeing no response, the person outside stopped ringing the doorbell and started banging on the door forcefully.
With such a temper, Samantha already guessed the identity of the person outside. She rolled her eyes speechlessly and walked over to open the door.
As expected, Ethan stood at the doorway with a gloomy face, surrounded by an aura of frost as if she owed him money.
"The door is broken, and you'll have to pay for it!" Samantha said without any patience.
Ethan gave her a cold glance, then walked into the house and looked around.
Seeing him, Charlotte instinctively hid behind Elliot, her small body trembling in fear.
Elliot comfortingly patted her hand, which tightly grasped his sleeve, while glaring at Ethan with anger.
Charlotte was so good.
So lovely.
The fact that she was afraid of him indicated how terrifying he must be.
And how bad he must treat her normally.
Any man who wasn't good to Charlotte, he would dislike.
Ethan glanced around the room, not seeing Alexander and Noah, then asked displeasedly, "Where are Alexander and Noah? The driver said they came to your place."
Samantha pursed her lips, about to speak, but Ethan interrupted, "Don't think about deceiving me. The driver saw them coming in with his own eyes."
Samantha glared at him and shouted into the house, "Alexander, Noah, come out! You can't hide from your father. He'll find you eventually."
Ethan followed Samantha's gaze.
It was quiet inside, not a sound to be heard.
Just as he was about to approach, the door clicked open.
Alexander and Noah reluctantly stepped out from inside.
Alexander pouted, looking very aggrieved.
Though Noah seemed calm on the surface, his mood was still evident.
Ethan said angrily, "Who allowed you to come here without my permission? What if something happened?"
Alexander wasn't as restrained as Noah. He spoke his mind, "I told you a long time ago that I wanted to come find Mommy, but you never let me. If you had brought me here earlier, I wouldn't have sneaked here. If I had known that acknowledging you as my father would separate me from Mommy and Charlotte, I wouldn't have agreed to Noah's request to exchange identities. I don't want a father; I want Mommy and my sister. I want to go back to them. If I don't go back soon, my position will be taken by him."
As he spoke, he pointed at Elliot.
Only then did Ethan notice the extra person in the room.
And Elliot didn't hide his anger and hostility towards him at all.
He chuckled lightly, unable to help but laugh. "Kid, you've got potential! So far, you're the first one to look at me like that."
Other children would burst into tears at the sight of him.
Except for Alexander, even Noah would obey his every word, obedient and respectful, not daring to disobey his commands.
It's not that he intentionally scared those children.
It's just that he naturally exuded an aura of fear, making children afraid when they saw him.
But this kid was bold.
Not only was he unafraid, but he also dared to meet his gaze directly.
Especially when compared to Charlotte standing behind him, the contrast was even more apparent.
This was the first time Alexander heard his father praise someone, and it made him feel even more bitter, "Now you know why I had to come back! If I don't come back soon, my position will be taken over."
Elliot said softly, "I have no intention of replacing you, nor do I want to become you."
He didn't want to be Charlotte's brother or sister.
He just wanted to be her friend.
Forever.
Alexander was enraged by his words, his temper flaring up instantly. He was about to charge at him, but fortunately, he was stopped by Noah.
"Don't scare Charlotte. Be careful, or she'll distance herself from us even more."
With just one sentence, Noah successfully calmed Alexander down.
Though he was furious inside, he had no way to retaliate.
Ethan looked at the three of them and suddenly found it amusing.
At such a young age, they already knew how to feel jealous.
But clearly, his son was at a disadvantage.
Ethan said impatiently, "Enough embarrassment. Come back with me now!"
Alexander sat down on the sofa, arms crossed, and firmly declared, "I'm not going. I want to stay here."
Noah glanced at him, then at Ethan, feeling that it was disloyal to leave Alexander alone to face his father's anger.
But he also respected his father.
After weighing his options for a moment...
He silently sat down next to Alexander, although he didn't say anything, he had already given everyone the answer.
Seeing their unyielding stance, Ethan's face grew darker and darker.
His thin lips were pressed into a tight line.
A powerful chill emanated from him.
The temperature around them plummeted rapidly.
Each word was squeezed out from between his teeth, "Fine, then don't ever come back."
With that, he left without looking back.
Seeing him leave, Noah's face was full of worry. He stretched his neck and watched Ethan leave.
Alexander remained seated, unmoved like a mountain, with no reaction whatsoever.
Samantha looked at the four children in the room, hesitated for a moment, then quickly caught up with Ethan, who was waiting for the elevator, and said helplessly, "Since Alexander and Noah don't want to go back, let them stay with me for a few days! Don't worry, I'll take care of them and try to comfort them. If we force them to go back today, they might still sneak back here later."
As she finished speaking, the elevator doors opened.
Ethan walked in with long strides.
In the last moment before the elevator doors closed, Ethan's cold voice came from inside, "I'll come to pick them up in a few days."
Ethan left.
Samantha turned around and entered the room.
Seeing Noah looking worried, she said softly, "It's okay, your father isn't angry. He asked me to take care of you and said he'll come to pick you up in a few days."
Upon hearing this, Noah finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Although Alexander still sat proudly on the sofa, after hearing Samantha's words, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and his tense nerves relaxed a lot.
It really takes courage to stand up against one's father.
Just now, he was afraid that his father would lose his temper and crush him to death.
Samantha walked to the edge of the sofa, crossed her arms, and looked down at the two ‘unexpected guests’ in the room, pretending to be angry, "Now, hurry up and have breakfast, then I'll take you to kindergarten. I'll pick you up after school."
Suddenly, there were four more children in the house.
Just the thought of it made her nervous.
Being able to stay, Alexander and Noah instantly felt much better.
Excitedly, they ran to the dining table and started eating heartily.
Once again tasting the familiar flavors, both of them closed their eyes and hummed with satisfaction.
Samantha was amused by them and shook her head speechlessly.
After breakfast, Samantha first took Charlotte and Elliot to kindergarten, then took Alexander and Noah to their kindergarten.
During the ride, Alexander insisted on sitting next to Charlotte.
Helplessly, Noah had to sit in the front passenger seat, while Charlotte sat between Alexander and Elliot.
Elliot and Charlotte walked hand in hand into the kindergarten.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Elliot asked in a low voice, "Aren't they your real brothers?"
Seeing the scene just now, Charlotte and they didn't seem like children of divorced parents.
It seemed like a different relationship.
Charlotte nodded without any guard, "Alexander was adopted by Mommy from an orphanage before. We grew up together from childhood and only recently found his father. Noah is Alexander’s twin brother. The three of us get along very well."
Elliot narrowed his eyes, feeling even more alarmed.
So, Charlotte really has no blood relation with them.
It seemed he needed to be careful.
If they were to snatch Charlotte away, he would lose her forever.
***