Evening came.
As agreed, Samantha arrived at Chelsea Creek to prepare dinner for Ethan and his three sons.
Ethan came back unusually early.
Just as Samantha entered the house, Ethan returned shortly after.
Seeing him, Samantha said speechlessly, "Other company CEOs are busy from dawn to dusk, always working late. But you, you go late and come back early every day. Quite leisurely, huh?"
Ethan, with an expressionless face, glanced at her and went upstairs with his briefcase.
Samantha pouted, made a face at his back, and turned to walk into the kitchen.
Because Charlotte was now attending the same kindergarten as Noah and Alexander, the driver would pick them up after school and bring Charlotte back to Chelsea Creek.
Charlotte was brought into the house like a treasure by Alexander and Noah.
The two guarded her like bodyguards, one on the left and one on the right, afraid that she would be harmed in the slightest.
Charlotte felt delighted in her heart.
She thought it was great to have an additional brother who cared for her.
After entering the house, Charlotte immediately saw Ethan sitting on the sofa reading a newspaper. Excitedly, she ran over and hugged his arm and thigh, saying, "Daddy, we finally meet again! I missed you so much."
Ethan frowned displeasedly.
He didn't particularly like the daughter born to Samantha and another man. He disdainfully separated her from his arm.
"I'm not your daddy. Don't touch me."
Although Charlotte was young, she could sense people's attitudes. Even with just a short sentence, she could clearly feel that Daddy didn't like her. She instantly felt wronged, and her eyes turned red.
"Daddy, you only likes my two brothers, not me? Is it because I'm a daughter, so Daddy doesn't like me?"
One of her kindergarten friends was a twin.
The friend often told her that Daddy favored her little brother because he was a boy.
Now, seeing her Daddy liking the two brothers but not liking her, she couldn't help but draw the same conclusion. She thought her Daddy didn't like her because she was a girl.
Seeing her cry, Alexander and Noah felt distressed.
They immediately protected her behind them.
Especially Alexander, watching his sister being treated with such contempt by Daddy, he was furious, like a little dog protecting its owner.
"Daddy, Charlotte is my sister. If you treat her like this again, I won't like you anymore."
Noah wasn't good at expressing himself, but he was resolute in defending Charlotte.
"Alexander is right. Charlotte is Mommy's daughter, and she is our sister. Mommy has raised Alexander for four years, both emotionally and logically, you shouldn't treat Charlotte like this."
This was the first time Noah had been so excited and articulate in front of Ethan.
Ethan was stunned.
But looking at Charlotte, who had the same face as Samantha, his heart felt sour.
His attitude just couldn't improve.
He casually threw the newspaper onto the coffee table, stood up, and went upstairs.
Seeing Daddy leave her like this, Charlotte felt even more wronged. Pouting, she burst into tears.
"Sob, Daddy doesn't like me, Daddy despises mee because I am a girl, sob... I hate Daddy, I don't want to see Daddy again..."
Charlotte's crying was pitiful and grievous, as if she could lift the roof.
Alexander comforted her with distress, "Charlotte, don't cry. Daddy doesn't mean that. He doesn't dislike you. It's just because... because..."
‘Because you're not his biological daughter.’
However, he couldn't bring himself to say that, fearing it would hurt Charlotte.
Noah was anxious and could only keep saying, "Charlotte, don't cry. Even if Daddy doesn't like you, Alexander and I like you. We will protect you well."
His words made Charlotte even sadder.
Initially, she had just suspected that Daddy didn't like her, but now she got the exact answer from Noah.
Feeling both wronged and sad, she cried loudly, catching Samantha's attention in the kitchen.
"Charlotte, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"
Charlotte, tearfully clinging to her, sobbed, "Mommy, is Daddy not liking me because I'm a girl? Sob... Daddy only likes my brothers, not me..."
Through her words, Samantha roughly guessed the reason. Tenderly embracing Charlotte, she patted her back and comforted, "He is the father of your brothers, not your Daddy, of course, he doesn't like you."
Charlotte didn't understand, "If he is my brothers' Daddy, why isn't he my Daddy?"
After hesitating for a moment, Samantha decided to tell her the truth. Keeping it hidden would only cause more harm to Charlotte.
"Alexander and Noah are not Mommy's biological children. They are the sons of the man we met just now. Your Daddy is someone else, and their Mommy is my sister."
Charlotte still couldn't understand. Coming out of Samantha's arms, she blinked, looking at Samantha with confusion.
"How could Alexander suddenly become Mommy's sister's son? We grew up together as twins. How can he not be Mommy's son?"
Samantha sighed and slowly explained, "Alexander is adopted by Mommy from an orphanage. Actually, he's not my biological son. Mommy didn't know how to tell you the truth, so I lied that you are twins. In fact, you are not blood-related siblings."
With this explanation, Charlotte finally understood, her mouth opening wide with astonishment and disbelief. After a brief moment of shock, she suddenly burst into tears even louder.
"Sob, they are not my real brothers. I don't have brothers anymore, sob... I want them to be my brothers, I want Daddy..."
Samantha hurriedly wiped her tears. "Although they are not your biological brothers, they will still love you as a real sister. Look, they are treating you so well!"
Despite Charlotte's innocent and cute appearance, she had never cried so heartbreakingly before, indicating how much this incident affected her.
Charlotte couldn't comprehend it at all. She cried in Samantha's arms for a long time, falling asleep before calming down. Samantha laid her on the sofa.
Noah immediately ran upstairs, brought down a thin blanket, and gently covered her.
At this moment, Ethan came downstairs. He looked at Samantha with complicated eyes, expressing apology, reluctance, and entanglement.
Samantha understood his feelings and said calmly, "I don't blame you. She's not your daughter, so it's normal if you don't like her. I will try my best to keep her away from you in the future."
Considering the situation from his perspective, she would also be unhappy if someone she strongly disliked frequently appeared in front of her. So, she didn't blame Ethan. However, she couldn't tolerate her precious daughter being mistreated.
The best solution was to minimize their encounters. Ethan's lips moved as if wanting to say something, but in the end, he remained silent.
***