Araceli POV
After I had put Valeria and Essel to sleep, I gingerly walked out of the room.
When I saw Raphael, I froze.
Raphael was standing in the hallway on the second floor, staring at a painting on the wall.
Raphael gazed intently at a painting. The side of his face was perfect and had me mesmerized. His deep brown eyes revealed a wisdom and sensitivity, as if he could see every detail and meaning hidden in the painting.
Suddenly, I felt a wonderful empathy forming between him and me, as if I could feel his thoughts.
He frowned slightly and asked me, "Why are you still awake?"
I came back to my senses and didn't know what to say.
It was only ten o'clock at night.
I was not a child, so why should I go to bed so early?
Raphael said calmly, "I just had a little chat with your son."
I was a little surprised, but I played it cool, walked past him and headed downstairs.
As I gathered the picture books on the couch, I asked, "What did you two talk about?"
"Your son is very smart."
Raphael paused and added, "Believe it or not, he's a computer genius. I can be sure of that."
I frowned slightly and paused for a moment.
"How do you know that?"
In fact, Krish had shown a great interest in programming when he was barely three years old. I rarely taught him, so he was always self-taught. It wasn't until he made an application that I realized he had mastered a lot of computer knowledge.
At that point, I was so shocked that I immediately took Krish to have his IQ tested.
The result was that Krish's IQ far exceeded that of children his age, reaching 180.
In my eyes, every child was unique, and the IQ test itself had some limitations and controversies. It did not fully reflect the full range of a person's abilities and potential. In addition to IQ, other factors such as creativity, emotional intelligence, social skills and practical application were also important factors in one's success and achievement.
So, I didn't care too much about it and just wanted Krish to grow up happy and carefree like any normal child.
Raphael said calmly, "Krish is only five years old, and he can read deep-learning books. That's enough to prove that he's a genius. You can hire a special teacher for him. I know some professors in machine learning, and I can get in touch with them if you need..."
I put the picture book in the drawer, frowning slightly and pursing my lips.
"Thank you, Mr. Lancaster. I'm not considering it for now."
Raphael frowned, paused, and continued, "I hope you can think this through. This is a great opportunity for your son..."
I looked up and looked at him seriously.
"Mr. Lancaster, is Essel no longer going to daycare?"
Raphael nodded. "My child does not need to go to daycare, and I have hired a more professional teacher to teach her..."
"Mr. Lancaster, Krish is my child. Perhaps, we expect different things from our children. I just want my children to grow up healthy and happy, not learning so much unnecessary knowledge. My son is only five years old, so I want him to just be happy every day."
I interrupted Raphael with a retort.
It was the nature of children to like to play. No child wanted to be stuck in a room studying.
Raphael frowned.
"Geniuses are often lonely. He will only feel out of place at daycare. When Micah first turned four, I realized he was completely different from the other kids. He was a genius, so he couldn't communicate with other kids at all."
"Micah?" I froze. "What is Micah's relationship to Essel?"
Raphael answered casually, "Micah is Essel's biological elder brother."
His tone was calm.
I froze, only to feel as if the temperature around me had instantly dropped to freezing cold.
Micah was Essel's brother...
Melany had given Raphael two children and hadn't been able to marry him.
I looked at Raphael with a little more contempt.
Raphael obviously didn't want to be responsible for Melany yet.
Bastard!
Raphael looked at me with some confusion and a slight frown.
He took a deep breath and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
I withdrew my eyes and said calmly, "Krish is my son, so I will provide him with the best and most suitable life. Mr. Lancaster, thank you, but this has nothing to do with you. It's very late, Mr. Lancaster, get some rest."
I turned around, walked up to the second floor, and gently closed the door behind me.
As I went upstairs, I glanced at Raphael, who was standing still, motionless, his eyes puzzled.
He probably didn't know why my attitude had changed so quickly.
I shook my head and decided to have less contact with him in the future.
He had always been a man of few words. This was the first time I had spoken to him so much.
I never thought he and I would get closer to each other one step at a time because of the kids.
I lay down on bed and slowly closed my eyes.
Soon, I fell into a deep sleep. In the haze, I felt like I was back to that night when the fire was burning.
I was shaking with fear and didn't know where to go, except to hold my two babies tightly.
Valeria was about to run out of breath. Her body was getting cold.
I was about to despair when a voice rang out from my head. Instantly, everything around me fell silent.
A pleasant, penetrating female voice echoed in my head.
She said, "Araceli, are you calling me?"
It was my wolf, Eve.
Tears flowed from my eyes, but I couldn't wake up anyway.
Later, I escaped from that warehouse and my former life through a window in the smoke. However, Eve never spoke to me again.
I kept remembering that scene. I was holding Valeria, who was dying, struggling with the brink of death.
At that moment, I wanted nothing more than for my little girl to live...
Could it be ... that Eve had left me to protect my little daughter?
Could it be ... that Eve was inside my daughter now?