Chapter 2

As if suddenly sensing my presence, all four of them turned to look at me as I was standing at the stairway.

Cheryl licked her lips and reluctantly put the ice cream back on the table. "Mommy, I swear I didn't sneak a bite… I just licked a tiny bit," she said pitifully.

Ivana immediately held her in her arms with a mournful expression, and tears fell from her eyes immediately. She said, "You poor girl. You just wanted some ice cream. Why do you have to ask so cautiously?"

Luther frowned as well and chimed in, "Yara, I know you mean well. But you don't have to be so strict. They're young pups."

Cheryl's eyes reddened as she stared at the ice cream on the table, silent tears sliding down her cheeks.

I pursed my lips, unable to hide the disappointment I felt inside. Although I limited the pups' intake of sweets, I never banned them completely. I let them have a sweet treat once or twice a month.

Now, they acted as if they had never had anything sweet to eat and allowed the misunderstanding against me to deepen.

"Go on and eat it. Ms. Lamont was kind enough to offer it to you. You shouldn't refuse it," I said softly, not bothering to defend myself.

Cheryl's eyes widened in surprise. Lucas even let out a small cheer before grabbing the ice cream and biting into it with satisfaction.

Cheryl looked at me in disbelief. "Mommy, can we really eat it?"

Only when she saw me nod did she happily snuggle in Ivana's arms and start eating the sweets on the table.

A trace of smugness could be seen on Ivana's face briefly as she pretended to apologize to me. "I'm sorry, Yara. I think you're too strict with the kids. See? They ate it, and nothing happened. You're too possessive and controlling," Ivana said.

I looked down and replied, "You're right. I won't do it again in the future."

Now, it was Cheryl's turn to let out a small cheer. She quickly covered her mouth and shot Ivana a playful wink.

Seeing that I didn't scold her, she tested the waters by proposing, "Mommy, can Ms. Lamont attend the parent-child sports day, please?"

My breath caught, and I looked up at Cheryl. The twins told me about the sports day quite some time ago. Cheryl had even said very seriously, "Mommy, you have to win first place in the race! Otherwise, Lucas and I will be mad."

In order to keep that promise, I forced myself to practice running every day. Whether it was rain or shine, I never skipped a day.

Even though I was going to leave soon, I never once thought of going back on what I had promised. But I didn't expect that they would give that chance to Ivana so easily.

I didn't voice any objection to her request but asked in a hoarse voice, "Didn't you say that we must win first place?"

Cheryl hesitated for a moment.

When she noticed that I wasn't angry, she boldly said, "You go running every day and don't even spend time with us! You're only concerned about winning. You're too focused on the results."

Lucas bit into his cake and nodded in agreement. "Yeah! You don't match our pace well, unlike Ms. Lamont. She can work with us so well."

"So, we think it's better for Ms. Lamont to go, Mommy. You won't be mad, right?" Cheryl added, quickly burying her face in Ivana's arms while gauging my reaction cautiously.

Luther let out a heavy sigh with a look of dismay in his eyes. "Yara, your behavior is really disappointing. Stay home and reflect. Ivana and I will attend the sports day."

Their words were like tight slaps to my face. Looking at the smug smile on Ivana's face, I opened my mouth and closed it again. Then, I nodded and answered hoarsely, "Alright, you guys go with Ivana."

Originally, I had wanted to accompany them one last time so that we would have a beautiful memory together before I left. Sadly, they crushed that possibility themselves. I hoped that when they looked back one day, they wouldn't regret this decision.