Her Hidden Crowns (Suzanne and Austin)

Austin tapped on his phone to answer the call. Felicia's voice came from the other end of the call. "Austin, come home this evening."

Felicia was in a dress, sitting on a wooden couch. She looked askance at Timothy, who had an utterly grim look on his face. She continued, "Come home on your own, I mean."

In other words, she was telling him not to bring Suzanne along.

Austin frowned, looking rather displeased.

With her phone in hand, Felicia rose to her feet and walked to the other side of the room. In a voice that was soft enough for only the both of them to hear, she said, "Take the opportunity to talk to your father about Suzanne this evening."

Austin hadn't been home recently because he was too busy. Truth be told, Felicia was well aware of why that was so.

It was just that a certain elderly man had been pretending not to get it.

Austin's frown eased up a little. In an indifferent voice, he replied, "Okay."

Felicia breathed a sigh of relief as she had finally managed to convince Austin to come home.

A smile spread across her face as she said, "In that case, I'll get the maids to prepare some of your favorite dishes. Don't be back too late, okay?"

Thereafter, Felicia hung up.

After ending the call, Austin paused for a moment. A slightly puzzled look lingered in his dark eyes. Then, he picked up his phone and sent a message to Suzanne.

His message read, "I'll be heading back to Hall Residence this evening. Don't forget to have your dinner."

Suzanne was caught up with her work when she saw Austin's message. After being taken aback for a moment, she replied to his text. "Sure."

Because of all that Cindy did today, Suzanne wasn't in a great mood. Once she was done replying to Austin's text, she put her phone aside and got back to her work.

Austin placed his phone down and continued focusing on his work too.

In the evening, Hall Residence was no longer as quiet as it usually was. On the contrary, it was bustling with energy.

Emma, wearing a pink dress, was

running around with a butterfly kite in the living room that was filled with

wooden furniture. The end of the kite

wooden

fluttered gracefully in the air as she ran around holding it.

It was a beautiful sight.

Emma's bright laughter echoed throughout the entire residence. While she ran, she called out to Timothy, who was sitting on the couch, "Grandpa, look at the butterfly. It's flying!"

Her coquettish voice melted the hearts of the adults who heard her.

Timothy sat up straight on the couch, all suited up. He was smiling tenderly

instead of looking grim as he usually did. He urged Emma, "Slow down. Watch where you're going."

Emma was the only young girl in their family. So, she was the apple of everyone's eyes.

Still in her workwear, Yasmine emerged from the kitchen with anoveldrama

plate of fruits in her hands. It was clear that she had come over to Hall Residence with Emma right after getting off work.

When she walked out of the kitchen, she happened to bump into Emma, who threw her arms around her legs immediately.

Cheekily, Emma said, "You bumped into me, Mommy. It hurts. I need you to kiss me to make me feel better."

While reaching her arm out to rub her stubby calf, she even hissed sharply to express that she was in pain.

With one glance, one could tell that she was simply putting on an act.

Yasmine laughed out loud. She poked Emma in the forehead with her finger and said, "You're lying to me. I'm not going to kiss you."

Emma crossed her arms in front of her chest and pouted. She harrumphed softly. "You're so mean, Mommy. Why don't you want to kiss me?"

Yasmine's heart had already melted into a puddle. She bent forward and gave Emma a peck on her cheek Then she took two cherries from the plate she was carrying and handed them to Emma.

Emma's eyes lit up the moment she saw that she was being handed something to eat. She grabbed the cherries right away and stuffed them into her mouth.

Yasmine shook her head helplessly. "Take your time. Don't choke on them."

It would probably be challenging for Emma to grow up to be a demure woman. Yasmine wasn't expecting much of her. All she asked was for her not to be as playful as her youngest aunt.

Felicia saw what was happening as she descended the stairs. Chuckling softly, she asked, "Where are you hurt, sweetie? Let me have a look."

With that, Emma, with the remaining cherry in her mouth making her cheeks puffy, walked over to Felicia with an intentional limp.