Chapter 1352 - 1292: Putting Off as Long as Possible

Paige went back to the room to check on her daughter.

Ella was asleep. When Oni saw Paige walk in, she stood up and bowed to her. "Your Majesty, the little Princess is asleep. She woke up once just now. I changed her diaper, and then she fell back asleep."

"Did you wash her bottom?"

"Yes."

Paige looked at her daughter, her gaze tender and soft as water. Right now, Ella was sleeping soundly, sucking on her hand.

"How come she’s started sucking her hand? If she stretches her mouth too big, she won’t be pretty anymore."

Paige took her daughter’s little hand out of her mouth. The tiny hand was covered in drool, and Paige gently wiped it clean with a small handkerchief.

At night, Paige always took care of the baby herself. Normally, once Paige was back, Oni should leave, but this time Oni didn’t go.

Seeing that Oni was still there, Paige asked, "Do you still need something?"

Oni thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, His Majesty the Sultan just called you. He said he wants you to call him back."

Since Adrian Desmond couldn’t get through to Paige’s phone, he had called Oni’s directly, which put Oni in a difficult position.

"I know." Paige brushed it off, with no intention of calling Adrian back.

Even without answering, Paige knew exactly what Adrian wanted to say to her—nothing more than telling her to come back to Abyanabad.

It just happened to be around the Lunar New Year in Orienta; she’d wait until after the holiday to talk about it.

Looking at Paige, Oni could tell she had no plans to return the call. Cautiously, she said, "Your Majesty, you should still make the call. The Sultan, he..."

"Oni, it’s late. Go get some rest." Paige cut her off.

"Yes." Oni understood that if she kept pushing, she’d only annoy Paige.

After Oni left, Paige stared at her daughter, lost in thought.

With the Johnson Family, she and the children were truly happy.

No one in the Johnson Family treated her like an outsider. Whenever Pauline Briggs prepared something for the children, there would always be things for Dylan and Ella as well. Pauline doted on them.

Compared to the grandmother back in the Imperial Palace, Pauline felt much more like the children’s real grandmother.

Looking at her delicate, soft, adorably sweet daughter, Paige really didn’t want her little girl to go back to Abyanabad and suffer along with her.

The longer she stayed with the Johnson Family, the less Paige wanted to return.

The phone was set to vibrate, buzzing nonstop, buzzing and buzzing... then finally it fell silent.

"Mom..." Dylan ran in.

Dylan was wearing a red puffer jacket; Curly and George each had one too. Pauline Briggs had bought them. If there had been infant sizes, the twins and Ella would probably have gotten them as well.

"Shh, keep your voice down, your sister’s asleep."

"..."

"Look at you, your face is all red from the cold. Are you cold?" Even as she said this, Paige was still very happy that her son was this healthy.

Back in the Imperial Palace, he’d been sick every few days; nothing like now, when he was so sturdy.

"I’m not cold. The down jacket Grandma bought is really warm." Dylan followed Curly’s lead and called Pauline Briggs Grandma.

Dylan’s face was flushed, his hands were red from the cold, and his body carried the chill of the outdoors. Paige pulled him over, cupping his small hands in both of hers to warm them.

"Mom, making snowmen and having snowball fights are so fun. Next time you and little Sis come play with us, okay?"

As someone from Abyanabad, Dylan had a special fondness for "snow."

"Your sister’s too little, her immunity is weak. If she goes out for a snowball fight, she’ll get sick."

Dylan glanced at his tiny sister on the bed and said regretfully, "Oh, I see..."

Paige patted his head and smiled. "But when your sister grows up, she can go have snowball fights with you."

Dylan said, "Aren’t we going back to Abyanabad soon? There’s no snow in Abyanabad. Even when Sis grows up, she won’t be able to play with me."

"Who told you we’re going back to Abyanabad soon?"

"Dad did."

Paige frowned. After hesitating for a moment, she still asked, "Do you want to go back?"

Dylan fell silent.

"Dylan, Mom doesn’t want to go back. The Queen Mother is nothing like Curly’s Grandma... She’s not as pretty as your Grandma, not as gentle as your Grandma, and she won’t love you the way your Grandma does..."

"But if we don’t go back, what about Dad?"

"Mom doesn’t know either. But Mom likes staying here. Are you willing to leave here?"

"I don’t want to. I like Curly, I like little George, and I like Sheehan and the others... Tomorrow, Uncle Robertson is taking us sledding.

Mom, have you ever gone sledding? Dog sledding. Curly has gone; Curly says riding the sled is really fun...

Uncle is taking us horseback riding tomorrow too..." The more Dylan talked, the more excited he got. Then, thinking of his father, he suddenly clamped his mouth shut.

"Mom has never gone sledding."

"Mom, then let’s go together tomorrow, okay? You can bring Sis, put lots and lots of clothes on her, then she won’t be cold."

"Mm, okay."

Dylan kissed Paige’s cheek and said, "Mom, I’m going to bed. Good night, wish you sweet dreams."

"You too."

Watching her son’s back as he left, Paige thought, as long as her son was this happy, she’d drag things out one more day if she could. After all, once they went back to Abyanabad, their peaceful life would be shattered.

The phone started ringing again. Seeing Adrian’s relentless persistence, Paige sighed and answered, her head aching.

"Hello..."

"I’m at the Johnson Family house. Where did you all go?"

Paige was startled. "What are you doing in Sileria City?"

"To drag you back!" This time Adrian was determined to take this woman home.

Paige lowered her voice. "We came out to Cloudscape Mansion."

"Got it." Adrian hung up.

Cloudscape Mansion was out in the Suburb, about an hour’s drive from the Johnson Family home. Paige was still reeling from the shock that Adrian had come all the way to Sileria City when he showed up.

The two of them looked at each other, their moods completely different.

"How come you suddenly came? Didn’t you say you were very busy?"

Without a word, Adrian pushed Paige down onto the bed and began undressing her. Paige let him, even helping him take off his clothes. Her willing cooperation finally eased some of Adrian’s anger.

The baby girl was in the crib beside the bed. Paige dimmed the lights.

The rhythmic slapping sounds echoed ambiguously in the room. Paige said, "Keep it down a bit, you’ll wake our daughter..."

"I’ve missed you so much... Missed being joined with you like this... You heartless woman, why won’t you come back to my side?"

"Could you focus a little when you’re doing this?"

"Okay."

Adrian wanted to savor this completely too. He kissed her, bit her, claimed her...

...

When Adrian arrived, Adrian Desmond was feeding the horses. Adrian Desmond stroked the horse’s mane, and the horse snorted loudly, looking wild and unruly.

"You’d better behave tomorrow when my daughter rides you..."

Adrian Desmond was feeding the thoroughbreds concentrated feed, and to keep them healthy he also had to give them fiber or roughage.