欧美亚洲另类范冰冰

"It was supposed to be a surprise but I will tell you if you want to know...,"

"If it\'s a surprise then I will wait until the day your surprise is ready to be revealed to me," She cut in.

She didn\'t know that she had fallen into the trap he set.

[Thank goodness I didn\'t need to say much to convince her]

He exhaled out of relief and leaned his back against the back chair.

"Let\'s go now. I need to find out what is wrong with Drey and why she has been ignoring my calls," She muttered.

"I need to find out what is the problem so that I will know ways to appease her if she is perhaps angry with me," she added worriedly.

"I am here. If she is indeed mad at you I am here to shield you. And don\'t worry I will do anything to make sure your relationship is not affected this time around," He tapped his shoulders to assure her that he was more than capable of sharing her troubles.

"Thank you," She said and beamed at him. He ignited the car and drove off.

"While at it can you drop by the Academy? I need to pick up my little rice ball from school," She informed him when they had almost reached the route leading to Anthony\'s school.

"Wasn\'t picking him up from school always being the driver\'s responsibility so why do you...,"

"With everything going on I doubt whether anyone recalled that he existed," She replied in a carefree tone.

[Does what she says have anything to do with the contract cancellation? Is her family so affected because I had the investors back out of investing in her father\'s company?]

Amos was worried that his decision had one way or the other affected her also.

"What happened?" he asked worriedly

"From what I noticed before I left for school I bet the entire household is at the hospital now...,"

"Hospital?" He narrowed his eyebrows and waited for her explanation but her explanation never came.

When they reached the academy, only Anthony and a few more students were around.

He couldn\'t hide his excitement when he saw that Joanna was the one who came to pick him up.

Inside the car, Joanna and Amos sat at the front while Anthony occupied the backseat by himself.

"Big Sis, why is it that you are the one who picked me up and not Uncle Mike?" Anthony asked the question which was on his mind when none came to pick him up at the academy on time.

"Because Big Sis wants to steal you away, aren\'t you happy?" Joanna playfully asked.

She couldn\'t bring herself to tell him that the reason she picked him up was that everyone was too busy to remember him.

"You want to steal me away? Won\'t Mum, Dad and Grandma make things hard for you if...,"

"I was only kidding Little rice ball. I am not stealing you away. Your Mum arranged for you to spend a few days with me," Joanna lied.

"Mum did?" He asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. You will be staying with me and your Sister Audrey for a few days. Don\'t worry you will have a blast in these few days," Joanna beamed.

She reached out her hand and stroked his face.

"Big Sis, did you forget to add Brother Kay... no I meant Brother Amos," He quickly corrected himself.

"Of course, I am included too," He smiled at Anthony through the rear mirror.

When they got to the apartment Audrey was nowhere to be seen. Joanna was disappointed although she didn\'t make it obvious.

"Little rice ball, you can drop your back there," She said and pointed at the marble centre table.

"Also, that is the bathroom," She informed him and pointed her index finger at the brown door at the right corner of the room.

"While you freshen up. I will try to prepare a sumptuous meal for you...,"

"Are you going to prepare bacon too for lunch?" He asked in excitement.

His glimmering eyeballs made Joanna smile.

Because she prepared his favourite bacon dish for him at breakfast he wanted the same thing for lunch.

[The mere thought of eating your favourite dish for lunch makes you happy but I am certain your mother will not feel the same way. I am certain after today\'s breakfast the mere mention of your mother\'s favourite food will infuriate her forever]

Joanna smiled and shook her head.

"Big Sis...,"

"I am not sure your Sister Audrey has Bacon in her refrigerator. I will prepare a meal with whatever available ingredients she has in her refrigerator," She replied.

She strolled to the refrigerator to check the grocery Audrey had.

"If your little man\'s task is to freshen and yours is to prepare the meal, then what about mine?" He demanded and moved to where she stood.

"You can help him freshen up or watch me cook. Choose one out of the two tasks," She said nonchalantly.

"I am almost 10 years old. I am a big boy, I don\'t need anyone to help me shower," He retorted with confidence.

"Since he says he doesn\'t need my help then I am left with one option now...,"

"You can join me in the kitchen but you are prohibited from touching or doing anything that has to do with cooking," She interrupted abruptly.

"I can\'t afford to let you set Drey\'s kitchen on fire too. I will only let you into the kitchen after you agree to abide by the rules...,"

"You are the Madam here and as such you have the final say. I will follow your arrangements," He agreed without any argument.

Anthony who was watching everything from the sideline chuckled seeing the way Amos and Joanna were acting.

"Big Sis, does this means that Brother Amos is doting on you?" he asked innocently.

"How did you know that is the perfect explanation for this situation now?" Amos asked, grinning.

"What does he know about doting on someone?" Joanna scoffed and pretended to be angry.