Not long after, Charlotte changed into clean clothes. She happily ran out, climbed onto the chair, and started devouring her breakfast.
Samantha was afraid she might choke, so she kept reminding her to eat slowly.
Justin sat beside Samantha, watching Charlotte affectionately, as if looking at his own daughter. A strange feeling welled up in his heart.
He felt like they were a family of three at this moment.
Happy and warm.
If all of this were real, how wonderful it would be.
Even if Charlotte wasn't his daughter, he wouldn't mind. He would still treat her as his own.
All his thoughts were on Samantha and Charlotte, completely forgetting about Karen lying on the sofa, applying the ice pack.
It wasn't until Karen felt she had applied it enough and walked over that Justin suddenly remembered her. He apologized, "Karen, I'm sorry. Charlotte was too hungry and ate a bit too much. I ate your portion too."
Karen looked at the almost empty plate, her lips twitching, a trace of embarrassment on her face.
Charlotte remained oblivious, continuing to eat heartily.
Samantha, possibly preoccupied with something, also didn't notice Karen's discomfort.
After finishing breakfast, Justin volunteered to take Charlotte to kindergarten, but Samantha refused, saying, "No need, I'll take her! You rarely visit; spend some time with Karen!"
Without waiting for Justin's response, she took Charlotte's hand and left.
As she left, the room fell into an awkward silence, even the air feeling tense.
Justin cleared his throat and broke the silence, "Are you okay?"
Karen forced a smile, "I'm fine! The three of us grew up together. I know you only love Samantha. Don't worry; I won't compete with my sister for a man. If... if it wasn't for the accident last time, we wouldn't have disrupted our original relationship."
Although she deliberately caused that accident.
Justin's expression relaxed upon hearing her words.
"I appreciate your understanding. I have some work at the company; I should go. If you need anything, feel free to ask, and I'll try my best to help."
Karen's heart throbbed in pain.
Justin had never been so distant and polite to her before.
She felt as if there was an insurmountable river between them.
The way he treated her now was different from before.
Though there was no love, they used to get along naturally and intimately. But after this incident, an invisible distance seemed to have emerged.
This was something she didn't want to see.
In order to prevent the situation from deteriorating further, Karen smiled gently, "Still treating me like a sister? If you really see me as a sister, then don't be so polite with me. Otherwise, I might really get angry."
Seeing that she seemed genuinely unconcerned, Justin smiled in relief.
"Okay, then I won't be polite! I'll head to the company. If there's anything with Samantha, call me immediately."
Karen nodded with a smile.
"Don't worry, we're still the same as before. I'll take care of Samantha for you."
Justin happily thanked her and left.
Watching the closed door, a sinister light flashed in Karen's eyes.
...
Samantha accompanied Charlotte to the kindergarten gate. From a distance, they saw two identical figures smiling at them.
Seeing them, Charlotte widened her eyes in surprise, thinking she was seeing things. She rubbed her eyes vigorously, but the scene before her remained unchanged. Excited, she tugged at Samantha's clothes and exclaimed, "Mommy, there are two Alexanders!"
Suppressing her inner excitement, Samantha walked over.
"How did you two end up here?"
Alexander held Noah's hand, smiling brightly. "Yesterday, I had Dad handle the transfer procedures. From now on, we'll be attending this kindergarten. We've also arranged to be in the same class as Charlotte."
"You transferred?" Samantha stared at them in disbelief.
After all, someone like Ethan wouldn't allow his son to attend an ordinary kindergarten. They usually went to elite ones.
Alexander nodded firmly, "Yes, we transferred! You can rest assured; we got Dad's approval. From now on, we'll continue to be in the same class as Charlotte and protect her."
Samantha was deeply moved, and tears welled up in her eyes. She forcefully sniffed, suppressing the tears, and choked out, "Alright, I'll leave Charlotte with you."
Charlotte, confused about the situation, looked at Alexander and Noah as if they were monsters.
"Why do you both look exactly the same? Who is the real brother or mine?"
Samantha patted her head and explained, "They are both your brothers!" She pointed to them and introduced, "This is Alexander, and this is Noah. Alexander is the older brother, and Noah is the second brother."
According to Samantha's sequence, Alexander should be the eldest, and Noah should be the second.
"Why do I suddenly have an extra brother?" Charlotte asked in surprise.
Samantha knew she wouldn't understand even if she explained, so she patiently asked, "You’re having an extra brother, does that make you happy?"
Charlotte vigorously nodded, pointing to her little head. "I'm happy, super happy. Now I have two brothers to love and spoil me! Of course, I'm happy. Just thinking about it makes me really happy."
Samantha said, "Then listen to them well in the future."
Charlotte obediently nodded, holding hands with Alexander and Noah, proudly tilting her chin up, and happily walking into the school.
Watching Charlotte's triumphant little appearance, Samantha felt warm in her heart. The worries from the previous night suddenly seemed less important.
As long as the three children get along well.
The rest doesn't matter, right?
...
Charlotte led two handsome and cute brothers into the classroom.
Classmates cast envy-filled glances at them.
Especially the little girls, seeing the identical faces of Alexander and Noah, were stunned and couldn't look away.
Some little girls couldn't help but run over and ask, "Charlotte, why did you suddenly get another brother?"
Charlotte raised her chin high and said, "They are both my brothers."
The little girl's eyes sparkled, pleading, "Your brothers look really handsome. Can you give me one?"
Charlotte decisively shook her head and refused, "They are all mine. I won't give them to you! If you want one, ask your mommy to give birth to one for you."
After saying that, she pulled Alexander and Noah to their seats.
Looking at the envious gazes of her classmates, she felt extremely proud.
...
Kindergarten students have lunch at school at noon and don't need to go home.
After Samantha sent Charlotte to kindergarten, she didn't immediately go to Chelsea Creek but went to the company first.
The deadline given by the Stanton family was approaching, and she had to quickly complete the design drafts.
Since Suzy accused her of plagiarism, her status in the industry had been completely ruined.
The company's performance plummeted.
Finding clients for her became even more challenging.
All she hoped for was to win this battle through Lena Stanton and rebuild her reputation in the design field.
***