Chapter 13: Born On The Same Day
Chapter 13: Born On The Same Day
"Roger, is this little boy really Miss Finch's son?"
His doubts were reasonable.
Wendy looked like she was only about twenty years old.
If the boy was truly her son, then how old had she been when she had given birth? More to the point, his brother had finally set his eyes on a woman! If the said woman turned out to have a son of her own, then Ryan's romance would be dead before it could even develop.
But then another more frightening thought came to Luke's mind.
He pointed at Roger, his finger shaking slightly.
"This boy...Is he yours?"
"Nonsense!"
Roger glared at him.
"How could I possibly have a son this old?"
"Well...This little guy looks to be three or four years old.And you've been abroad for just three years!"
Roger glanced at Ryan before chiding Luke.
"Stop talking like an idiot.I'll tell you all about Ray later."
Meanwhile, as the adults dealt with their business, the two kids began to chat with each other.
"Wow! Little one, how old are you? You are so lucky to be Beautiful Auntie's son.I heard Auntie call you honey just now.Is ‘honey’ your nickname? Mine is also that one.What is your real name? My name is
Precious, by the way."
Ray looked Precious up and down.
"I'm older than you, so you should call me big brother instead!"
Precious cocked her head stubbornly.
"Are you really older than me? I just celebrated my third birthday.I was born on the seventh day of the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar.It's Chinese Valentine's Day.Uncle Luke said that I am the best gift Daddy could ever have.How about you, when were you born?"
Ray was visibly surprised.
"My birthday is also on that day."
The little girl jumped up in excitement.
"Wow! What a coincidence indeed! We were born on the same day! Our names sound the same, and we were born on the same day! In the future, Beautiful Auntie will be my mommy and she can celebrate our birthday together!"
Ray's eyes immediately sharpened at her words. Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!
Why was she saying that his mother was going to be her Mommy?! He rushed back to Wendy's side and grabbed her hand.
"Mommy is mine! I'm her only baby!"
"Oh, don't be so stingy! I will call you brother so you should share Mommy with me!"
"My mommy is not a thing,"
Ray declared, frowning
Wendy watched, unsure whether to laugh or cry.
The children's conversation sounded so weird! Nevertheless, Wendy felt much relieved now that Roger was here dealing with the brothers.
Roger helped Wendy settle on the bed.
She was still feeling a little dizzy.
When she finally looked better, Roger ushered Ryan and Luke outside to have a talk.
When they were gone, Precious ran over to the bed and looked at Wendy eagerly.
"Auntie! My dad proposed to you just now! You don't know this, but my grandparents have been forcing him to get married for so many years.My Daddy has never given in, but today he proposed to you! Let me tell you something, Auntie.My Daddy might seem cold, but he's very nice and very good to the people he loves!"
I The little girl went on and on about her father's good points, counting with her fingers as she went.
"My Daddy is handsome and makes a lot of money.He is very reliable, unlike Uncle Luke, who changes girlfriends every day.
Auntie, if you are with my Daddy, he will definitely love you with all his heart!" Wendy didn't know what to say.How could this child be so stubborn? Wendy sighed and was about to say something when Ray interjected.
"You should just give up.My Mommy doesn't love your father!"
"Ah!"
Precious exclaimed, perplexed.
"But why?"
"My Mommy will only love me!"
The girl cocked her head to the side and proceeded to speak in a sweet voice.
"But you will grow up in the future.Uncle Luke told me that I would have my own home when I grew up, and I would have to leave my Daddy then.That's why they keep telling me to stop disturbing Daddy's blind dates.If I leave Daddy one day, he would have no one around him and he would be very pitiful.You will grow up and leave Beautiful Auntie, too.When you do, Beautiful Auntie will be very pitiful without anyone around her."
Ray's face darkened.
"What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing."
"Liar! You're obviously upset!"
The little girl curled her lips and snorted.
"Duplicity!"Meanwhile, on the corridor outside...
"What's going on, Roger?" Luke asked for the ninth time.
"Is that boy really Wendy Finch's son?"
Then he glanced at Ryan, who stood to the side with an expression of indifference "Brother, don't you want to know?"
"Does it matter?"
To Ryan, the truth of the situation was clear.
Wendy wasn't seeing anyone, nor did she have a husband.
Otherwise there wouldn't have been just one single contact in her phone book.
And it was impossible for her to be in a relationship with Roger as well.
Well, Ryan didn't give a damn whether the woman he liked had a child or not as long as she was not seeing someone else.
Luke gaped at him.
"Brother, are you serious?"
Ryan only looked at him in response.
But Luke understood what that look meant when did I ever make a joke? ‘Oh my God!’ Luke was practically senseless at this point, what with all the shocking developments.
Roger himself was a little surprised as well, but then he smiled.
He looked at the floor for a long while before finally deciding to conceal the truth.
"That boy is not Wendy's biological son.She found him in US, an abandoned child, and adopted him." Luke heaved a long sigh of relief and patted his chest.
"That's good! If my parents find out that my brother proposed to a woman who has a child out of wedlock...well they wouldn't dare do anything to him, but they will definitely lash out at me.If they learn
that I hadn't stopped him, they will surely break my legs!"
Roger's eyes were lit up and he shouted,
"Hey!"
Ryan turned to look at him.
When Roger next spoke, his voice was low and serious.
"I know we all grew up together and are the best of friends, but Wendy is also my best friend.If this is just because of your daughter, there's no need for you to go so far.The past few years hasn't been easy on her.I don't want Wendy to get hurt." Ryan put a hand inside his trouser pocket and cocked his head.
"I thought you hated all the members of the Finch family?" That gave Roger a pause, and he smiled bitterly.
"I'm not that stupid.What happened between me and...It has nothing to do with Wendy.It was my own fault."
After that, the three men fell silent.Wendy listened to the children's chatter and time passed quickly.
Soon enough, the door to the room opened again.
Roger walked inside, but the other two did not follow.
Instead, Luke peeked through the door and waved at his niece.
"Precious, let's go!"
"Are we leaving now?"
"It's getting late.We have to go home."
Precious's shoulders slumped as_ she said _ her goodbyes to Wendy with undeniable reluctance.
"Beautiful Auntie, I'm going home now.I'll come to see you tomorrow."
Wendy didn't even get a chance to reply before the girl hurried over to Ray and gave him a hug.
"Although you don't want to share Beautiful Auntie with me, I still like you very much.You're lucky I'm so open-minded! I'll come see you again when I have the time.I'm leaving now!"
Ray had never been this close to another kid, but he realized that the hug from that chubby little girl didn't feel so bad at all.