Samantha lay on the bed, feeling utterly weak.
Suddenly, her phone, placed on the bedside table, rang.
The incoming call displayed an unfamiliar number.
She hesitated for a moment, then answered and murmured, "Hello."
"Sammie, are you sick?"
The voice was deep, hoarse, and filled with deep concern.
Samantha, upon hearing the voice, couldn't help but shudder.
It was actually Justin.
She instinctively thought of hanging up the phone.
As if sensing her intention, Justin urgently said, "Sammie, don't hang up. Didn't you say we can't be a couple, but we can still be friends."
Samantha hesitated for a moment but ultimately did not hang up the phone.
Justin asked, "I heard about your situation. Are you okay?"
Samantha replied, "Thanks for your concern, I'm fine."
Her distance made Justin feel a dull pain in his heart.
He suppressed the bitterness rising from his throat and said, "I know you definitely won't plagiarize. If you need any help, don't hesitate to ask. I will do my best to assist you."
Samantha decisively declined, "Thank you, but I don't need it for now."
Justin said, "You don't need to be polite with me. Even if you can't be my wife, you can be my sister."
Sister?
A boundless bitterness spread in Samantha's heart.
She held back her tears and forced a smile, "I'm not being polite with you. I can handle this matter myself. Thank you. I'm a bit tired; I want to rest for a while."
Without waiting for Justin's response, she decisively hung up the phone.
Looking at the unfamiliar number in the call log, Samantha clicked on it, intending to save the number.
However, when editing the name, she paused.
After a moment of hesitation, she unhesitatingly deleted the number along with the call log.
Since she decided to forget, then forget thoroughly.
She didn't like beating around the bush.
Especially with Justin and Karen about to get married.
She had to cut through the chaos decisively.
...
Samantha, who had always been strong and robust, fell seriously ill this time.
She had been lying at home for three days, and her condition only improved slightly.
During these three days, Yurika took care of the children, and Karen was in charge of preparing meals three times a day.
During the days of receiving intravenous fluids, Yurika specifically took leave to accompany her.
Not seeing Samantha for a few days, Alexander suddenly realized that this situation seemed much more serious than he had imagined.
"Daddy, why hasn't Aunt Samantha come over these days? Is she still mad at you?"
Hearing Samantha's name, Ethan's face instantly darkened.
"She won't come over anymore."
That ungrateful woman.
He accompanied her for the intravenous treatment that day and took her home.
Instead of being grateful, she deliberately angered him.
In these three days, not even a single call or message.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
Alexander asked curiously, "Why? What happened between you two? Aunt Samantha is such a gentle person; how could she be mad at you to the point of not coming anymore?"
Ethan said with a lack of patience, "Adult matters, don't bother yourself with it, little one."
Alexander rolled his eyes and said, "If you don't want me to bother, then eat well! For the past three days, you've only had a bowl of noodles each day. Your body won't be able to handle it."
He even made the bowl of noodles himself.
He had to go to kindergarten during the day.
And after coming home in the evening, he still had to cook noodles for Daddy.
He was really tired, okay.
As for the meals prepared by the nanny, he would at most have a bowl of soup, not even touching the spoon.
At this rate, the father and son would end up exhausted and starved.
Ethan's expression was extremely ugly.
He didn't want to go hungry either.
However, he didn't know what Samantha had put in the food.
Since eating her meals, he couldn't bring himself to eat anything prepared by others.
Especially these days, he couldn't stop thinking about the little cakes she made.
Just the thought of them made his mouth water.
Seeing that he didn't respond, Alexander took out his phone and said, "Since you can't bring yourself to ask her, I'll call her and bring her back."
Ethan gave him a stern look and warned, "She's sick; don't bother her."
Alexander exclaimed, "What? She's sick? What illness? Is it serious?"
"Fever!"
Although his face remained expressionless when answering, concern could be heard in his voice.
"What? A fever?!" Alexander jumped up in surprise.
Her mom had always been very healthy, rarely getting sick except for the occasional cold or cough.
This time, she actually had a fever.
Ethan immediately looked at him suspiciously. "Why are you so concerned when she's sick?"
Realizing he had overreacted, Alexander quickly sat back down, laughing nervously as she explained, "Hehe, it's nothing. I was just surprised. It's okay now, let's eat!"
Ethan had no appetite.
After finishing a bowl of cream soup, he left the table and went upstairs.
Once he was gone, Alexander quickly left his unfinished meal, ran to his room, locked the door, and initiated a video call with Noah.
The video call connected quickly.
Noah's listless face appeared on the small screen of his phone.
Alexander, unable to wait for him to speak, eagerly asked, "What happened to Mommy? I heard Daddy say Mommy is sick? Is it serious?"
Noah truthfully replied, "She has a fever. After three days of intravenous fluids, she's much better. All she needs now is to rest well and take medicine at home."
Even though he said that, Alexander was still worried.
"No, I have to go back and see Mommy! I'm going to take a car to your community right now, and we'll meet in the rockery behind the fountain to switch identities."
Without giving him a chance to refuse, Alexander asserted, "I have to go back. I'm worried about Mommy, and I want to go back to take care of her."
Although Noah was reluctant to let go of Samantha, he couldn't bear to keep her all to himself all the time. So, he agreed to Alexander's request.
One hour later, both of them appeared in the rockery behind the fountain.
As they changed clothes, they briefed each other on important points.
"Daddy has been in a bad mood these past few days and has no appetite. If he refuses to eat, make him a bowl of noodles. I've already enrolled in the IELTS kindergarten. Uncle Jade has found me a new kindergarten, where the children are nice to me, and I've made some friends. Their names are..."
"Everything is normal on my end, but there's a boy named Henley in the kindergarten who seems to like Charlotte. Keep an eye on Charlotte, and don't be fooled..."
Noah added, "We'll exchange for one day this time. Tomorrow night, at the same time, at this location, we'll switch back."
"But..."
Alexander hesitated.
He couldn't bear to leave Mommy.
He wanted to stay with her for a few more days.
"Don't 'but' me! The relationship between Dad and Miss Samantha is currently tense. We need to quickly repair their relationship. Don't you want our family to reunite soon?"
After hearing his words, even though Alexander had countless reluctances, he had to nod in agreement.
After changing clothes and discussing the matters, Alexander walked out from behind the rockery. While waiting for the elevator, he happened to encounter Karen coming out.
Karen had delicate makeup on her face. When she saw Alexander, she greeted him cheerfully, "Alexander, your godmother is going on a date with your godfather tonight and won't be coming home. Take good care of your mommy."
Alexander didn't like her.
He couldn't be bothered to talk to her.
So, he responded with a cold expression and a simple "Hmm" before entering the elevator.
Karen pouted. After the elevator doors closed, she put away her fake expression, snorted, swayed her hips, and walked away.
Just as she arrived at the fountain, she saw a familiar little figure sneaking out from behind the rockery.
Under the dim streetlights.
She clearly saw the other person's face.
Her body froze in an instant.
She stared in disbelief, widened her eyes, glanced at the elevator entrance, and then looked back at Noah.
It couldn't be...
There were actually two Alexanders!
***