Josie stood up, smiling at Thelma, “Are you really going to take Tyler? What if you drink again that day? If you throw a tantrum, it’ll probably ruin the little guy’s fun.”
Thelma couldn’t tell if it was her dark thoughts, but she felt that her words were a jab at her.
It seemed she indeed used to love drinking and probably did many excessive things; otherwise, her sister wouldn’t have repeatedly warned her not to be willful before she left.
Thelma wasn’t angry, because perhaps what she said wasn’t wrong. She did love drinking and would throw tantrums in the past, so it wasn’t surprising for people to say that about her.
But that was all in the past, and even if someone wanted to criticize her, it wouldn’t be her place to do so.
Thelma calmly replied, “You don’t know, I’ve already decided to quit drinking.” She smiled warmly, “Don’t worry, I won’t trouble outsiders for things like taking my son to the amusement park in the future.”
After saying this, Thelma was momentarily stunned. She immediately thought that Josie’s family had a close relationship with Sam Noah’s family, so perhaps he didn’t see her as an outsider. She wondered if her words would upset him.
She subconsciously glanced at Sam Noah, but unexpectedly, he was also looking at her. There was no displeasure on his face; in fact, he even had a smile at the corner of his mouth. Thelma hurriedly averted her gaze, feeling a bit awkward.
Hearing this, Josie’s smile faltered slightly, her expression becoming a bit stiff, but she quickly reacted, smiling, “If you can quit drinking, that’s wonderful. Brother Noah must be so happy now.” After saying that, she glanced at Sam Noah.
Sam Noah had already sat down at the dining table. At that moment, Josie’s gaze swept over, but Sam Noah didn’t respond to her. His expression had somehow turned cold, and he said somewhat curtly, “We’re going to eat now, so we won’t keep you.”
Josie: “…”
Thelma couldn’t help but look at Sam Noah in surprise. This was practically an outright dismissal. She had thought their relationship was good, but she didn’t expect Sam Noah to be so rude to her.
Josie’s face paled slightly, her eyes revealing a sense of hurt and grievance, but she was also quite perceptive and quickly found an excuse for herself, “I just remembered I have something to finish, so I’ll leave now.”
After Josie left, Thelma sat down at the dining table with the little guy. The dinner was quite sumptuous: white cut chicken, steamed bass, crispy meat vermicelli soup, minced meat pot stickers, boiled shrimp, and several green vegetables.
Almost all the dishes were her favorites; she didn’t know if Sam Noah had specifically instructed this.
It wasn’t the first time she had dinner with the father and son, so Thelma wasn’t as nervous as before.
After finishing the meal, Thelma took out the puzzle she had bought and suggested playing it with Tyler. She had bought it at a toy store while familiarizing herself with the surroundings in the morning. The toy store owner told her that this type of puzzle was quite popular among children recently, and adults could also join in to enjoy the fun of spending time with their kids.
As soon as Tyler saw the puzzle Thelma took out, his eyes lit up, “Wow, this is the Forest Boy puzzle, it’s my favorite!”
Seeing her son so happy, Thelma was also pleased and immediately opened it to play with him.
The living room had a carpet, and the mother and son knelt on the floor, their heads close together as they discussed where each puzzle piece should go.
While playing, Thelma felt someone staring at her. She instinctively looked up and saw Sam Noah sitting on the sofa not far away, having appeared there at some point. When she looked over, he happened to meet her gaze, but as soon as their eyes met, he casually lowered his head to look at the documents in his hands, as if he had just raised his head to ponder something, and it was merely a coincidence that his gaze fell on her.
Aunt Hope walked over cautiously and asked, “Sir, did I not clean the study properly? Do you need me to clean it again?”
Sam Noah replied, “No need, I’ll be reading here today.”
Aunt Hope didn’t ask further and continued with her work.
Thelma returned to her thoughts, secretly wondering why he was reading here when he had a study. Having such a presence in the room really made her feel uncomfortable.
