Malibu, Point Dume Estate.
Early morning hours.
It's already November, and Los Angeles still doesn't feel like winter.
Veronica Johnston, who was wearing a black sports suit, jogged on the private beach on the west side of the Dume Point Manor until the rising sun came up. She followed the wooden steps along the cliff back to the high ground where the Shell Villa was located. She was supposed to go directly through the Passing the small square in front of the villa, I noticed a small artificially dug pool near the garden on the north side of the manor. A small man was sitting by the pool, looking at the two spot-billed wild ducks swimming in the pool, feeling a little melancholy. Small appearance.
So he walked over.
Dismissing the short-haired maid who was guarding the child, Veronica sat down next to Melbourne, touched the little guy's head, and followed his gaze to look at the two wild ducks.
Melbourne's little face was still worried, but he still greeted politely: "Good morning, NaNa."
Children are used to certain names, and so is Veronica, whose appearance has hardly changed over the years. She also said good morning and asked: "Mer, what happened?"
Melbourne raised his hand and pointed to the two spot-billed ducks in the pool that had grown into adult size after three months, and said: "Last night, my father told me that when Jack and Emma reach 100 days old, they will be sent away. .”
Due to Daenerys Entertainment's annual report review, Veronica has been staying in Los Angeles for more than a month, but she does not live in the Shell Villa, but in an apartment on the west side of the villa. Outside of work, she just comes over to have dinner with everyone every morning and evening. Hearing Melbourne's words at this time, Veronica asked: "Why do you do this?"
Melbourne looked at Veronica expectantly and said, "Dad said that now that Yaya has grown up, he should leave his home and live independently. Dad also said that he should do the same when I grow up to 18 years old in the future."
Veronica gently touched the child's head again: "Do you think dad is right?"
Melbourne hesitated for a moment, then nodded, but then quickly added: "But, I don't want Jack and Emma to leave."
Veronica thought for a moment and said, "Mer, NaNa also thinks what dad did is right. The two ducks have grown up and should return to their original living environment to live freely."
Seeing that Veronica didn't support him, Melbourne quickly shook his head: "No, that's not the case."
Veronica quickly hugged the child over and comforted: "Well, don't be anxious, tell NaNa slowly."
Melbourne was hugged by Veronica, leaned against her, raised his head and said: "I know what dad said is right, but I saw on TV that in the wild, there will be hunters who kill Jack and Emma. ,very dangerous."
"Well, Mel can rest assured. Dad will definitely choose a place where hunters are not allowed to harm ducks. It is an animal sanctuary. We went to such a place when we were in Australia. Do you remember that, Mel?"
"Remember," the little guy nodded, and added, "But there are also crocodiles and leopards. They can also hurt ducks."
Veronica said patiently: "Dad will also choose places where there are no crocodiles and leopards. Mel, you should believe Dad."
The little guy was obviously still not convinced by Veronica: "NaNa, even if dad chooses a very safe place, Jack and Emma will still fly around, just like they almost ran out of the manor last time, and then encountered bad guys. "
Veronica was a little silent this time.
She certainly knew the dangers that two mallard ducks would encounter outdoors. Hunting was prohibited in most areas of California, and mallard ducks happened to be the most hunted species every year.
Seeing that Veronica stopped talking, Melbourne continued: "NaNa, actually Mel knows that his father wants to use two ducks to teach Mel that he will leave his parents and live alone when he grows up. But even if When Moer grows up, if he encounters danger, your parents, Aunt Jenny, NaNa, and grandpa and grandma, you will all protect Moer, right?"
Veronica nodded without hesitation, turned her face and gently placed a sticker on the little guy's head: "Of course."
"Then," the little guy paused for a moment, seemed to be organizing his words, and said, "Mom, dad, and everyone, even if Moer grows up, they will protect Moer. Now that Yaya has grown up, I can do the same. Keep protecting them, won’t you?”
"Um."
"So, I want Yaya to stay, NaNa. Our family is very big. Jack and Emma are also very well-behaved and won't cause trouble to everyone. I want to protect them forever."
At this point, the little guy's eyes flickered a little, obviously thinking of the last time the two ducks almost ran out of the manor, causing so many people to go looking for them, he felt a little guilty.
Veronica didn't notice the child's guilty conscience. Instead, she suddenly thought of something. Her eyes turned red inexplicably. She lowered her head and kissed the little guy's forehead. She pulled the child up and said, "Let's go, NaNa will take you and tell daddy, Don’t send Ducky away.”
Melbourne stood up after Veronica, held her hand, and said: "And, Mom."
"Um?"
"Mom, last time the ducks ran around, she was very angry and said she wanted to eat roast duck."
Veronica took the little guy's hand and walked to the villa together, promising: "No, mom is just talking."
"Mom is not talking about it," the little guy retorted very firmly: "But as long as mom doesn't eat Jack and Emma, it's fine. I just need to protect Jack and Emma. Well, like, there are many, many things in this world As people grow up in the future, it will be impossible to protect everyone. Melbourne will only protect its family and friends."
"That's good," Veronica's voice became much softer, and she suddenly stopped: "Do you want a hug from NaNa? Moore liked NaNa's hugs the most when she was a child?"
The little guy looked forward to it, but still shook his head: "Moer has grown up, and dad will be angry when he sees it."
Inheriting the good genes of his parents, Melbourne will only turn four next month, but his height has already reached 112 centimeters, and he is much stronger than children of the same age.
Veronica ignored the child's worries this time. Seeing Melbourne's expectant eyes, she stretched out her hand to pick up the little guy and said, "Let's be careful not to let your father see it."
Melbourne buried his head on Veronica's shoulder, feeling a familiar and warm atmosphere, and whispered: "Dad should be in the restaurant, NaNa, I can come down outside the restaurant door."
"Um."
The senior and the young were talking. As soon as they entered the lobby of the villa, Veronica saw Simon, who was affectionately holding Janet's arm and walking towards the restaurant together.
Children's intuition is always very keen. After noticing Veronica's slight pause, Melbourne immediately realized something and tried to slip out of Veronica's arms with just a little effort. From the moment he could remember it, the little guy started to I know that the scene my father hates to see the most is when NaNa hugs me.
However, Veronica did not put the child down this time. She continued to hold her with a little more force. She also patted the little kid on the back comfortingly and said, "Mer will really grow up in the future. The last hug today is For once, dad won’t be angry.”
The boy's head was buried in Veronica's shoulder again, and he didn't dare to turn his head to look. He couldn't help but retort in a low voice: "I will definitely do it."
"Then, after breakfast, NaNa will take Moer out to play, and then come back when daddy is not angry anymore."
The little guy thought this was a good solution and hummed slightly.
Anyway, today is Saturday and there is no need to go to school.
With that said, Veronica had already carried Melbourne through the hall, and met Simon and his wife at the door of the restaurant on the west side of the villa. She turned a blind eye to Simon's cold gaze and Janet's playful smile, and walked directly into the restaurant.
Jennifer, who was taking a few waitresses to distribute meals to everyone and taking care of the two little guys Seattle and Nick at the table, saw Veronica coming in with Melbourne in her arms, and was about to make a joke when she saw Simon and the two following behind, and then He stopped talking, just smiled and said good morning to Veronica, and then casually put little Nick, who was about to climb along the special child seat to the dining table, back into the seat.
Even if he is not as good as his sister Seattle, Melbourne, who is also very smart and understands many things early, actually likes his father, or should say worships him. From the time he became a little sensible, people around him always revealed more or less who his father was, even if they didn't mean to do so. What a great person.
Small children instinctively feel close to each other.
However, there are times when I feel a little scared, like this time, when NaNa held her in her arms and asked her father to catch her. The little guy who used to sit next to his father to have meals together only dared to stay cautiously next to Veronica this time.
The family sat down at the dining table and just started eating. Veronica took the initiative to look at the head of the family across the dining table and said, "Merl just told me that he hopes the two ducks can stay and not be sent away. I think it’s okay.”
Simon lowered his head to cut the breakfast in front of him and said calmly: "What's the reason?"
Veronica was about to speak when the voice on the other side added lightly: "Let him speak for himself."
Realizing that the little body next to her was leaning slightly nervously, Veronica simply hugged Melbourne onto her lap, but ignored Simon's words and insisted: "Melbourne said he understands that you want to educate Jack and Emma by releasing them. He will be independent when he grows up, but he hopes the two ducks can stay and protect them forever, just like he will protect his own family when he grows up."
Melbourne, who was sitting on Veronica's lap, realized that what NaNa said was not his original words. However, it seemed that it would be easier to convince his father if he said it this way, so he carefully raised his eyes and glanced over, but because of timidity, he could not see clearly before he could His father's expression subconsciously retracted.
The atmosphere at the table was silent for a moment, and then a male voice spoke again: "Okay."
The atmosphere relaxed again.
Veronica lowered her head and said something in Melbourne's ear. The little guy raised his head and looked at his father: "Thank you, Dad."
Seeing the father across the dining table slightly nodding, the boy jumped off Veronica's lap and said, "NaNa, I can just sit by myself."
Veronica smiled and watched the boy return to his seat, reached out and rubbed his head, and then said, "I plan to take Moer out to play in the next two days."
"no."
“…”
Seeing that the atmosphere was a little cold again, and Janet looked like she was watching a big show with a smile again, Jennifer had no choice but to smooth things over and said, "More hasn't gone out to play for a long time, so you can relax a bit."
Simon still didn't let go.
Veronica did not give in this time. She looked at Simon for a moment and insisted: "I have made an agreement with Moore. I am just informing you."
Click.
There was a sudden cracking sound, and everyone looked together. The expensive bone china dinner plate in front of Simon had been broken into two halves, and the man still maintained the posture of cutting fried eggs.
Seeing this, Janet stopped watching the excitement and quickly came over to hug her man: "Okay, okay, the little guy can go and play if he wants. He has grown up anyway. Well, you can go out and play today too. Victoria's Secret Show, find a lot of goblins around you." After saying that, he turned to the Indian girl and said: "Aaliyah, go tell A to prepare for the flight. Simon will leave for New York after breakfast."
Seeing that no one else, especially the male host, had any objections, the Indian girl nodded and walked out quietly.
Jennifer also stood up at this time, gave the indifferent Janet a blank look, quickly cleared away the broken plates and spilled breakfast in front of Simon, replaced them with new ones, and then sat down next to the man, as if worried Some guy is going to get violent and hurt someone.
Across the dining table, Veronica saw Simon cutting up the dinner plate, and she immediately regretted that she should not have had sex with him just now.
So he softened his tone and found a reason to take the initiative to moderate: "I will see that Moer completes his homework on time and will not fall behind."
After all, the breakfast ended in a somewhat cold atmosphere.
After breakfast, Janet personally dragged Simon out of the villa, sent the man to the car, and rushed directly to the airport to fly to the east coast.
Today is November 11th.
Saturday.
The fourth annual Victoria's Secret Show takes place tonight in New York City.
Simon had not planned to attend this time. He originally planned to stay at Dume Point Manor to spend the weekend with his family. However, after breakfast, Janet felt that it would be best to keep a certain guy away.
After the man left the manor in his car, Janet returned to the villa and came to a living room on the east side of the hall. She seemed to be very busy and threw herself on the sofa, watching Jennifer and the two maids take care of four children, large and small. During this period, Veronica pulled Melbourne, who had already changed clothes and carried a small schoolbag, over to say goodbye. Janet just waved her hands on the sofa, looking very hard-working.
The female assistant fed twins Snow and Greenwich, watched the two little ones sleeping in their cribs, and made sure that little Nick, who was buried in a pile of wooden toys under Zoe's care, had not swallowed anything, and finally sat obediently. He kissed his daughter on the cheek who was flipping through a large encyclopedia at the round table by the window, and then came to Janet's side.
Sitting down relaxedly on the carpet in front of the sofa where Janet was, Jennifer leaned over and pressed her cheek against Janet's, smiling and saying softly: "I still don't quite understand."
There were other maids present, so Janet also lowered her voice and whispered: "Jealous."
Jennifer still wanted to laugh a little, and bit her ears with Janet: "It feels like a child having a tantrum."
"Who says it isn't?"
"Haha, it seems that I am the only adult in this family, and I feel very tired."
Janet did not refute, but hugged Jennifer's neck and deliberately imitated the tone of a child and started acting coquettishly: "Mom, mom, I want to drink apple juice, freshly squeezed."
Jennifer held down Janet's arm and said helplessly: "Let me take a break. Okay, I'll let Zoe get it for you."
He called Zoe Parks and gave an explanation. When the maid left, he couldn't help but look at Janet and said, "I've only been home for a week, and you kicked me out again."
"If we don't drive him away, it will be even more troublesome if something happens."
Of course Jennifer understood what Janet was saying, but she shook her head and said, "I don't think so. How is it possible?"
Janet remembered something. It had happened many years ago, but it was not suitable to talk about it with Jennifer. She just hugged the female assistant's arm tightly and said with a smile: "Anyway, the two of us are enough. Tonight we sleep together."