Both lost in thought, Catherine and Halsey sat in silence for a while.
After a period of silence, Catherine managed to suppress her distress, glanced at the second-floor guest room, and whispered, "Dad, were you and Blake's dad really good friends back then?"
"Yes, we got along pretty well," Halsey nodded, lowering his voice as well.
Although they were in the yard, some distance away from the guest room, they still worried Blake might overhear.
Catherine asked again in a hushed tone, "Then, how well do you know his dad's story?"
Catherine was curious. She knew Blake's father had been betrayed in his marriage by Olivia, but she wasn't clear on the specifics. Maybe her dad knew something.
Halsey's expression stiffened. He hadn't expected his daughter to ask this.
"I know a little," Halsey replied. Although he didn't want to revisit the past, he couldn't hide it from his daughter.
"Then, do you think his dad was a good person?" Catherine asked, feeling like she was doing something secretive, and once more lowered her voice.
Halsey sighed. "He was a good person, just not nice to Abigail."
Catherine agreed with a nod. "Then, was he good to that Olivia?"
"I'm not too clear on that. I actually don't know much about his relationship with that woman," Halsey told the truth.
Catherine had intended to find out more, but seeing her dad didn't know either, she gave up.
They chatted for a bit more, and soon it was lunchtime.
Catherine ran upstairs to rouse Blake for lunch.
She went from one guest room to another, and finally found Blake lying on a small bed in a child's room.
His tall frame nearly filled the entire small bed.
Catherine blinked in surprise. When she pushed the door open, Blake had already opened his eyes and was looking at her.
"Why would my dad set up a child's room?" Catherine entered and noticed there were also quite a few children's toys in the child's room.
"My dad must have been thinking about when I bring Noah and Hedwig over to stay!" Catherine went over, picked up a small toy to play with, and said with a smile.
Blake propped himself up, his gaze sweeping around the room. "This must be your father's way of preparing for your return."
"Ah?" Catherine felt a sharp pain in her heart, as if an invisible hand had given it a hard squeeze. She murmured, "Prepared for me?"
Blake nodded. "You can tell from the things set up here. They've definitely been around for quite a few years."
Catherine lowered her head and took a closer look at the small toy in her hand. It indeed didn't look like a current popular style; rather, it resembled the kind she had played with as a child.
Tears instantly welled up in her eyes and silently rolled down.
Blake got up, stood behind her, and handed her a tissue. "That's enough. Don't cry, or in a bit, your dad will see and think I've been bullying you."
Catherine struggled to hold back the surging sadness within her. In fact, she should be happy.
Her dad had always been looking for her, always waiting for her to come back. He hadn't given up on her. So, she had always been someone who was cared about.
"It's just that I'm really touched," Catherine quickly wiped away her tears with the tissue, not wanting to have red eyes when she saw her dad and made him worry.
"Let's go!" Blake extended his hand, took hold of one of hers, and they left the room.
Only then did Catherine think to ask him, "Why did you sleep on that little bed? There were so many empty guest rooms."
"For no particular reason, I just felt like sleeping in your little bed," Blake replied calmly.
Catherine let out a giggle. "You don't also want to revisit your childhood, do you?"
"Yeah, I want to go back to the day of your full-moon celebration and give you a couple more kisses," Blake grinned at her, his finger brushing against her lips as if teasing her. "Right here, not on the forehead!"
"You're so boring!" Catherine laughed and playfully scolded him.
Blake shrugged without taking offense. "I'm bored because of you. Who asked you to bring me here?"
As they bantered, they went downstairs, and Halsey was already waiting for them in the dining room.
"Dad, why did you prepare so many dishes? There are just three of us," Catherine exclaimed in surprise at the table full of delicious food.
Halsey smiled gently. "I didn't know what you'd like to eat, so I made a few more dishes for you to choose from."
Blake's expression faltered slightly upon hearing Halsey's words.
Having lost his father in his youth, he had never known how to interact with his father as an adult.
At this moment, the warm and familiar feeling Halsey gave him made him suddenly rediscover the lost fatherly love.
But this moment of surprise quickly passed. Blake was already past the age of depending on his father, so he didn't let this emotion linger in his heart.
Seeing the happy and content smile on Catherine's face, he felt that as long as she was happy, that was all that mattered.
At the table, the three of them ate from the spread of dishes.
"Blake, have some wine. I've got a few bottles stored away." Halsey felt that a man's meal without wine seemed a bit dull.
"Sure." Blake didn't refuse his offer.
Catherine glanced at him sideways.
Soon, Halsey brought out two bottles of wine.
Blake chose a white grape wine, and Catherine picked a glass of red.
"Dad, don't pour too much for him, or he'll get drunk!" Catherine quietly reminded him from the side.
A hint of amusement flickered in Blake's eyes. Was she concerned about him?
So, this was the benefit of having a wife by his side—she would care about him.